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Lanzhou is the capital of Gansu province in northwestern China.
History
Originally in the territory of the Western Qiang peoples, Lanzhou became part of the territory of Qin in the 6th century BC.
In 81 BC, under the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), it became the seat of Jincheng county (Xian) and later of Jincheng commandery (jun), the county being renamed Yunwu. The city used to be called the Golden City, and since at least the first millennium BC it was a major link on the ancient Northern Silk Road, and also an important historic Yellow River crossing site. To protect the city, the Great Wall of China was extended as far as Yumen.
After the fall of the Han Dynasty, Lanzhou became the capital of a succession of tribal states. Mixed with different cultural heritages, the area at present-day Gansu province, from the 5th to the 11th century, became a center for Buddhist study. In the 4th century it was briefly the capital of the independent state of Earlier Liang. The Northern Wei dynasty (386–534) reestablished Jincheng commandery, renaming the county Zicheng. Under the Sui Dynasty (581–618) the city became the seat of Lanzhou prefecture for the first time, retaining this name under the Tang Dynasty (618–907). In 763 the area was overrun by the Tibetans and was then recovered by the Tang in 843. Later it fell into the hands of the Western Xia Dynasty (which flourished in Qinghai from the 11th to 13th century) and was subsequently recovered by the Song Dynasty (960–1126) in 1041. The name Lanzhou was reestablished, and the county renamed Lanzhuan.
After 1127 it fell into the hands of the Jin Dynasty, and after 1235 it came into the possession of the Mongols.
Under the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) the prefecture was demoted to a county and placed under the administration of Lintao superior prefecture, but in 1477 Lanzhou was reestablished as a political unit.
The city acquired its current name in 1656, during the Qing Dynasty. When Gansu became a separate province in 1666, Lanzhou became its capital.
In 1739 the seat of Lintao was transferred to Lanzhou, which was later made a superior prefecture called Lanzhou.
Lanzhou was badly damaged during the rising of the Gansu Muslims in 1864–1875. In the 1920s and 1930s it became a center of Soviet influence in northwestern China. During the Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) Lanzhou, linked with Xi'an by highway in 1935, became the terminus of the 3,200 km (2,000 mile) Chinese-Soviet highway, used as a route for Soviet supplies destined for the Xi'an area. This highway remained the primary traffic route of northwestern China until the completion of the railway from Lanzhou to Urumqi, Xinjiang. During the war Lanzhou was heavily bombed by the Japanese.
The city is the seat of a currently vacant Roman Catholic diocese and was previously the center of a vicariate apostolic (Vicariate Apostolic of Northern Kan-Su).
Geography
* Area: 14,620 km2
* Elevation: 1,600 m above sea level
* China's northwest geographical center
* More than 20 km along urban corridor along the southern banks of the Yellow River.
* Zonary basin
* Location of mountains, located on the south and north sides of the city:
* Qilian Ranges, Mt. Pingliang and Mt. Kongtong (the most famous in Taoism)
* Rivers:
* The Yellow River flows through from west to east.
Lanzhou is situated on the upper course of the Yellow River, where the river emerges from the mountains. It has been a center since early times, being at the southern end of the route leading via the Hexi Corridor across Central Asia. It also commands the approaches to the ancient capital area of Chang'an (modern Xi'an) in Shaanxi province from both the west and the northwest, as well as from the area of Qinghai Lake via the upper waters of the Yellow River and its tributaries.
Climate and environment
Lanzhou is situated in the temperate zone and enjoys a semi-dry climate.
In regard to air pollution Lanzhou has some of the worst air quality of all cities in China.[5] According to the Blacksmith Institute, Lanzhou is one of the 30 most polluted cities in the world. The air quality is so poor that at times one can not see Lanshan, the mountain rising straight up along the south side of the city. The city is located in a narrow river valley with an unfortunate curve causing it to be hemmed in with no free air flow. Lanzhou is also the home of many factories, including some involved in petroleum processing, and suffers from large dust storms kicked up from the Gobi Desert, especially in the winter and spring.
The reach of the Yellow River at Lanzhou carries a high load of silt, giving the river its characteristic muddy appearance; however water quality in this reach is better than the "fetid outflow that barely passes for water two hours downstream".
Economy
Productivity
Since 1949 Lanzhou has been transformed from the capital of a poverty-stricken province into the center of a major industrial area. The GDP per capita of Lanzhou was 15,051 yuan (RMB) (ca. US$1,820) in 2003, ranked no. 134 among 659 Chinese cities.
Natural resources
* Minerals: coal, gold, silver, zinc, nickel, manganese, clay, and dolomite
* Hydropower
There is a thermal generating plant supplied with coal from fields in Qinghai. In addition, there is a hydroelectric station at Zhulama Gorge in Gansu, and a large multipurpose dam has been built in the Liujia Gorge on the Yellow River above Lanzhou.
Industry
* Main industries: textile mills, rubber, fertilizer plants, oil refinery, petrochemical, machinery, and metallurgical industry.
Gansu has one of the largest oil refineries in the country and Lanzhou itself is the center of the province's petrochemical industry. Lanzhou has a large refinery linked to the fields at Yumen by pipeline. It also manufactures equipment for the oil industry.
Lanzhou has a large textile industry, particularly noted for the production of woolens and leather goods. In addition, Lanzhou produces locomotives and rolling stock for the northwestern railways, as well as machine tools and mining equipment. Aluminum products, industrial chemicals, and fertilizers are produced on a large scale, and there is a large rubber industry. Copper is mined in nearby Gaolan.
Lanzhou has been one of the centers of China's national atomic energy industry since the 1960s.
Agriculture
Lanzhou is the collecting center and market for agricultural produce and livestock from a wide area.
* Spring wheat, vegetables, beans, oil-boiling, melon, peaches, and tobacco
* Roses and lilies
Transportation
* Airlines: Lanzhou Airport serves as the main airport and is located 70 km north of Lanzhou. Flights from more than 20 cities depart and arrive at the airport.
* Railroad: linked to Beijing, Shanghai, ürümqi and Baotou
* Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway: linked to Xinjiang destinations only
* Highways: linked to neighboring provinces
* Trolleybus services: serves local and provincial areas
Lanzhou is a regional rail, highway, and air hub in NW China and the junction point to Xinjiang. The Longhai Railway (Lianyungang-Urumqi) line was extended westward to Lanzhou from Tianshui by 1953. Later Lanzhou was linked with Beijing via Baotou in Inner Mongolia, and lines have also been constructed northwest to Urumqi and westward via Haiyan on Qinghai Lake to Golmud (in Qinghai).
Places of interest
* Bingling Temple, Yongjing
* Gansu Provincial Museum
* Wuquan Mountain
* Baita Mountain
* Xinglong Mountain
* Lutusi ancient government
Culture
The city is the cultural centre of Gansu.
* Chinese opera: Qinqiang Drama
* Cuisine: Lanzhou beef lamian noodles
Colleges and universities
National level
* Lanzhou University, founded 1909
Other public institutions
* Northwest Nationalities University
* Eastern Gansu University
* Gansu Institute of Administration
* Northwest Normal University, founded 1902
* Lanzhou University of Technology, founded 1919
* Lanzhou Jiaotong University, founded 1958
* Gansu Agricultural University, founded 1958
* Lanzhou Medical College
* Gansu College of Traditional Chinese Medicine
* Lanzhou Commercial College (Lanzhou Business Institute)
* Gansu Political Science and Law Institute
Sister cities
Sister cities of Lanzhou are:
* Albuquerque, United States
* Akita, Akita, Japan
* Christchurch, New Zealand
Get in
By Plane
Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (IATA: LHW) is situated 75km from the city centre of Lanzhou. Daily flights to Beijing, Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Dunhuang, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Haikou, Hangzhou, Jiayuguan, Kunming, Nanjing, Qingdao, Shanghai, Shenyang, Shenzhen, ürümqi, Wenzhou, Wuhan, Xiamen, Xi'an, and Zhengzhou.
By Train
Lanzhou Huoche Zhan - southern end of Pingliang Lu at Tianshui Lu
* Beijing via Hohhot and Datong
* Beijing via Xi'an and Zhengzhou - takes about 25 hours
* Chengdu - takes about 19 hours
* Golmud via Xining - takes about 14 hours
* Guangzhou - takes about 29 hours
* Lhasa - takes about 30 hours
* Shanghai via Xi'an and Zhengzhou - takes about 23 hours
* Urumqi via Jiayuguan and Turpan - takes about 24 hours
* Xian - takes about 9 hours
* Xining - takes about 3-4 hours
By Bus
East Long-Distance Bus Station
Location: Pingliang Lu
* Dunhuang - takes about 24 hours
* Guyuan - takes about 8 hours
* Jiayuguan - takes about 17 hours
* Pingliang - takes about 5 hours
* Tianshui - takes about 4 hours
* Urumqi* Dunhuang - takes about 38 hours
* Xi'an - takes about 14-16 hours
* Yinchuan - takes about 12 hours
* Zhangye - takes about 12 hours
West Long-Distance Bus Station
Location: Xijin Xilu
* Linxia - takes about 3 hours
* Liujiaxia - takes about 2 hours
* Xining - - takes about 5 hours
* Xiahe - takes about 6 hours- from the SOUTH Bus Station, not the West
Get around
The #1 Bus is really useful getting around Lanzhou. It travels from Lanzhou Station to the Lanzhou Hotel, Qingyang Lu, Xihu Gongyuian Park, Qiliheqiao and ending at Lanzhou West Station.
See
* Gansu Provincial Museum - Silk Road history in one place
* Green Corridor along Binhe Rd.
* Five-Spring Mountain (Wuquanshan Gongyuan)
* White Pagoda Mountain (Baitashan) - Yuan dynasty White Pagoda Temple overlooks the Yellow River
* Sun Yat-Sen Bridge (Zhongshan Qiao)
* Waterwheel Garden
* Sculptures of the Mother River
* Lanshan Mountain - cool place to be when the summer heat kicks in
* Qiaomen Mosque
* Tianfusha Palace
* Bingling Si - cave grottoes and a boat ride, all in one trip
Do
Really Lanzhou is one of the most polluted cities in China, having had most if not all touristy areas knocked down and rebuilt. If you want to photograph industry this is a good place if not head for DunHuang, head for Xiahe, head for Xian, but not spending time here, unless you are looking for reasonably remote but well paid teaching.
Buy
* Sanfo is the leading outdoor gear stores in China and their store in Lanzhou is located at 1 Youshengnan Lu, Jinshui District
* Xidan, off Zhangye Lu, is the main shopping district of Lanzhou.
Eat
Lanzhou is famous for its beef noodle soup (Lanzhou niurou lamian). The noodles are always hand made, and the broth served hot and spicy with as much beef as you care to pay for. This dish is a specialty of the 'Mazilu' restaurant chain.
* UBC Coffee House (Shangdao Kafei Ting) - Zhongshan Lu, opposite Shengli Binguan, for when you need a Western food break thats consistant whereever you are.
Get out
* Linxia - center for the Dongxiang minority, has colorful markets and relaxing teahouses
* Sichuan Back Entrance Route - south via Xiahe, Hezuo and on past Langmusi into Sichuan province
