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Sanmenxia

Sanmenxia
三门峡市
Prefecture-level city
Sanmenxia Dam
Location of Sanmenxia City jurisdiction in Henan
Location of Sanmenxia City jurisdiction in Henan
Sanmenxia is located in China
Sanmenxia
Sanmenxia
Location in China
Coordinates: 34°46′N 111°12′E / 34.767°N 111.200°E / 34.767; 111.200Coordinates: 34°46′N 111°12′E / 34.767°N 111.200°E / 34.767; 111.200
Country China
Province Henan
Area
 • Prefecture-level city 9,936.65 km2 (3,836.56 sq mi)
 • Urban 204.6 km2 (79.0 sq mi)
 • Metro 1,385.6 km2 (535.0 sq mi)
Elevation 376 m (1,234 ft)
Population (2010 census)
 • Prefecture-level city 2,234,018
 • Density 220/km2 (580/sq mi)
 • Urban 325,628
 • Urban density 1,600/km2 (4,100/sq mi)
 • Metro 583,869
 • Metro density 420/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
Time zone China Standard (UTC+8)
Postal Code 472000
Area code(s) (0)398
GDP 70.6 billion RMB (10.8 billion USD)
Major Ethnicities Han
County-level divisions 6
License plate prefixes M
Website http://www.smx.gov.cn

Sanmenxia (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Sānménxiá; postal: Sanmenhsia) is a prefecture-level city in western Henan Province, China. The westernmost prefecture-level city in Henan, Sanmenxia borders Luoyang to the east, Nanyang to the southeast, Shaanxi Province to the west and Shanxi Province to the north. The city lies on the south side of the Yellow River at the point where the river cuts through the Loess Plateau on its way to the North China Plain.

It was home to 2,234,018 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 583,869 lived in the built-up area made of Hubin urban district and Pinglu county in Yuncheng, now within the agglomeration.

The city's name in Chinese (三门峡) means "The Gorge of Three Gateways" and is derived from two islands that split the Yellow River into three parts.

According to Chinese mythology, Yu the Great used a divine axe to cut the mountain ridge three times, creating the Sanmenxia gorges to prevent massive flooding. The three "men" or gates were then named "The Gateway of Man" (人门), "The Gateway of Gods" (神门) and "The Gateway of Devils" (鬼门).

With the construction of the Sanmenxia Dam in the late 1950s, the ancient passes were flooded.


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