CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · Places & Architecture

Mount Mian

mountain (Shanxi Sheng, China)

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionApr 27, 2026
Entity authorityQ43531116
Source-derived summary

Mount Mian, also known by its Chinese name Mianshan, is a mountain in the town of Mianshan in Jiexiu, Jinzhong, in central Shanxi Province in North China. Its official scenic area opened in the year 2000 and covers 75 km2 (29 sq mi), with about 400 attractions grouped into 14 tourist areas.

Name

Mount Mian is supposedly named for the resemblance of its long, unbroken ridgeline to a piece of cotton. In ancient Chinese, however, mián did not refer to cotton but to silk floss. It was then used by extension for the ideas of "weak", "soft", and "downy", before coming to be used in modern Chinese as the usual word for cotton.

Geography

Mount Mian is a branch of the Taihang Mountains south of the Fen River. Its official scenic area covers 75 km2 (29 sq mi), with about 400 attractions grouped into 14 tourist areas. The chain's ridgeline stretches for over 160 km (100 mi), with its highest peak reaching 2,440 meters (8,010 ft).

The vegetation in the area has been a focus of study at Shanxi University. Geographical features of note include Buddha Embrace Rock, Tiesuo Ridge, Yinkong Cavity, and the Mosta Dome.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Mount Mian” is mountain (Shanxi Sheng, China). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Mount, Mian and mountain, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA strong orientation record where physical form, institutional use and historical geography need to be read together. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2000—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Mount, Mian and mountain is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “mountain (Shanxi Sheng, China)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q43531116. The Library of Congress control number is sh2015001454. Authority coordinates are 37.033, 112.146. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2000.

Critical limits

A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Mount Mian”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Mount Mian primary sources, Mount Mian archive and Mount research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Mount Mian”?
  2. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
  3. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Mount Mian” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.