Taiyuan is also in Shanxi Province and is a "little big city" by China standards - about 4M. It is not much of a tourist destination but is occasionally visited on the way to Pingyao. The Jingshi Temple was our tourist stop. The city itself is modern and accessible, with large shopping districts and lots of public parks and recreational spaces. Trains to Xian were booked solid for several days, so we opted for a flight to Chengdu. As with most china cities, the airport was newly expanded and very efficient. The airport express bus was interesting. It sits at it's starting point and doesn't seem to ever leave. Rather, the taxis greet the guests there and offer them shared rides for the same price per person that the express bus charges.