In North China's Shanxi province, profound cultural legacies are intertwined with a landscape that is majestic, yet graceful. The mighty Yellow River, having journeyed from the distant west, carves through sheer cliffs, entering Shanxi at Laoniu Bend in Pianguan county, Xinzhou, where the Great Wall stands sentinel.

From there, winding south, the grand river forms the border between Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces, before making a sharp turn eastward to separate the former from neighboring Henan.