Yulin, a prefectural city under the jurisdiction of Shanxi Province, is located in the northernmost part of Shanxi Province, at the junction of Loess Plateau and Mu Us Sandy Land. It is a transition area between Loess Plateau and Inner Mongolia Plateau, facing the Yellow River in the east across Shanxi Province, Ningxia and Gansu in the west, Yan 'an in the south, and Ordos in the north. It is a junction of Shanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Mongolia and Shanxi provinces. The total area is 42,920.2 square kilometers. By 2020, the city has jurisdiction over 2 municipal districts, 9 counties and 1 county-level city in charge. Yulin is the main production area of cereals in Shanxi province, rich in natural resources, known as the "pearl in the jam". Energy-rich, Shenfu coal field, one of the world's seven coal fields. According to the seventh census data, as of midnight on November 1, 2020, Yulin's permanent population was 3,624,750.

Yulin was built from the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period and the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is a national historical and cultural city, a national cultural ecological protection area, a national health city, a national forest city, a national new energy demonstration city, and a national demonstration city for ecological protection and construction.

Yulin has Zhenbei Tai, Yulin Ancient City, Yulin Desert National Forest Park and other famous scenic spots.

In 2022, the GDP of Yulin was 654.365 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 5.6%.