Artists perform a dragon dance to entertain visitors in the old city of Taiyuan in Shanxi. Cultural tourism is an emerging growth area in the province. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Shanxi's GDP reached 2.56 trillion yuan ($359 billion) in 2022, surpassing the 2.50 trillion yuan bench mark for the first time, according to data released by the Shanxi Bureau of Statistics last month.

Over the past five years, the figure has increased from 1.45 trillion yuan in 2017 to 2 trillion yuan in 2021 and 2.56 trillion yuan in 2022, with an average annual increase of about 6 percent. Its nationwide ranking grew from 21st in 2021 to 20th last year, showing its improving economic strength.

Local officials said the steady and sustainable growth is a result of Shanxi's economic transformation, a campaign aimed at upgrading its traditional industries and fostering emerging sectors as new growth engines.

Through the use of digital and intelligent technologies, Shanxi has made great achievements in upgrading its traditional coal-mining industry.

According to the Shanxi Energy Bureau, about 80 percent of Shanxi's coal output was produced by advanced facilities featuring cleaner, safer and more efficient operations in 2022. The total coal output reached 1.3 billion metric tons last year, ranking first in the country.

As about 620 million tons of local coal was transported to power generation enterprises in the rest of the country last year, Shanxi's coal-mining industry played a crucial role in ensuring national energy security.

In addition, Shanxi's power generation enterprises produced 415.33 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity last year, growing 7.5 percent year-on-year. More than 146 billion kWh of electricity was transmitted to the rest of the country, increasing 18.5 percent from 2021.

The province has also seen substantial growth in its clean energy resources development.

Shanxi's natural gas output reached 11.33 billion cubic meters last year, growing 20.2 percent year-on-year. The capacity of power generated from clean energy resources including wind and solar energy reached 49 million kilowatts, accounting for 40.25 percent of Shanxi's total.

While traditional energy industries have been upgraded and enhanced, the province's emerging industries are offering new momentum for growth.

The new energy vehicle industry is one of 14 strategic emerging sectors in Shanxi.

Geely Automobile's NEV facility in Jinzhong, Shanxi reported an output value of 20 billion yuan for 2022, marking its leading role in the sector.

Last year, total NEV output in Shanxi increased 62.2 percent year-on-year, while the combined sales revenue rose 85.7 percent.

The fledgling digital economy, which is playing a crucial role in local industrial digitalization, also reached a scale of 500 billion yuan last year, according to local statistics.

Shanxi's authorities predicted the province's transformation from a resource-reliant economy to an economy of diversification will be completed by 2030.

Leng Xue contributed to this story.