Study On The Medium-sized Cities And The Regional Development Of Shanxi Province In The 20～(th) Century

As one of the cultural birthplaces for Chinese nation, there are many cities with a long history in Shanxi province. Since the 20th century, with the social and economic development, the medium-sized cities have showed their imp romance in the city system of Shanxi province. In the first half of the 20th century, the backward social economy resulted to the lagging city development. In addition, the Anti-Japanese war and the birth of railway in Shanxi province are also the important factors influencing the city development in Shanxi province. In the latter 20th century, the cities of Shanxi province got a renascence due to the social economic recovering and development. The development of society and economy of Shanxi province falls behind the advanced regions of China because of the factors of history and natural situation. So the most of the cities of Shanxi province are small, and not integrated, and there are few big cities in Shanxi province, which makes the medium-sized cities act a very important role in the social economic development of Shanxi province. Menwhile, the city distribution in Shanxi province is not balanceable, which resulted the regional difference among the middle, the northern and the southern regions of Shanxi province. And the regional difference of the distribution of the medium-sized cities becomes more distinct. In addition, the problems, etc lack of the water, the seriously pollutedenvironment, and the aging city industry structure and so on, puzzle the development of the medium-sized cities. The development of western regions is a great opportunity to the development of the medium-sized cities and region of Shanxi province. Realizing the sustainable development is the strategic choice to the medium-sized cities and region of Shanxi province.