Situated 92"10"-108"43" east
longitude and 32"36"-42"47" north latitude, Gansu Province in the upper Yellow
River valley in northwest China was named after the first character of the names
of its two ancient cities, Ganzhou (modern Zhangyi) and Suzhou (modern Jiuquan).
Long and narrow in shape, it has an area of more than 450,000 square kilometers.
It neighbors Shaanxi in the east, Sichuan in the south, Qinghai and Xinjiang in
the west, Ningxia and Inner Mongolia in the north, with a diversified
topography, where the Loess Plateau, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Inner
Mongolian Plateau meet. Most of its middle and east parts are of special loess
topography, the Hexi Corridor in northwestern Gansu is of green land and the
Gobi Desert intermittently spread. The Hexi Corridor occupies the fortress of
the ancient Silk Road.
Gansu has a temperate monsoonal climate with
the marked transitional characteristics of a continental climate. It has a mean
annual temperature of 9oC -- the hottest month, July, averaging 20-24oC and the
coldest month, January, -12-2oC -- and a mean annual precipitation of 50-500 mm,
decreasing from east to west.
Administrative Division and
is divided into 6 prefecture-level cities,
6 districts, 2 autonomous prefectures, 9 county-level cities, 60 counties
and 7 autonomous counties, with a population of 25.62 million by 2000, mainly
including ethnic groups of Han, Hui, Tibetan, Dongxiang, Mongolian, Tu,
Yugur and Baoan.
The best dishes of Gansu Cuisine include
Lanzhou Lamian (Lanzhou Beef Noodles), Roasted Chicken in Jingning, Dunhuang
Saozi Noodles, and West Long Preserved Ham, etc.
Hua'er (flower), Long Opera, Qinqiang,
Shadow Play, Lanzhou Drum, etc
Gansu Province is also called Long or Gan
for short. It is the cradle of Chinese culture. According to archeological
findings, the Yangshao Culture emerged in this area about 6,000 years ago.
During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-8AD), the Silk
Road linking the Central Plains with the Western Regions was built.
This ancient trade route starts in the old capitals of Luoyang and Xi'an,
reaches the Yellow River at Lanzhou, follows along the Hexi Corridor and
stretches along the edge of deserts and mountains. Before the discovery of the
sea route to India, the Silk Road was the most important connection between the
Orient and the West, via which China's ancient four inventions, pottery, iron
wares were exported to the West, and astronomy, mathematics, religions and gems
were introduced into China. Gansu was officially established during the Yuan
So far as the industries are concerned,
there are equipment manufacture for petroleum, chemical industry, non-ferrous
metals and petrochemical industry, all of which have occupied the important
position in the whole country. The agricultural products mainly include wheat,
cotton, flax and sugar beet, among which flax occupies an important position in
The traditional specialties of fame are
carved jade wine cup, carpets modeled after ancient ones, three-red apples,
angelica, almond, benne, Bailan melon and lily, etc. Some of the rare animals
found in Gansu include giant panda, golden monkey, red deer, snow rooster and
Rich cultural relics are the most important
tourist resources in Gansu Province. The famous Silk Road is the link in ancient
time between China and western countries. Oases, ancient towns, passes, part of
the Great Wall, temples and grottos attract thousands of visitors home and
abroad every year. Places of historic and cultural interest include the Dunhang
Grottos and the Jiayu Pass (an important outpost in ancient China and at the
western end of the Great Wall), etc.
Gansu is renowned as home of grotto art. The
Dunhuang Mogao Grottos, also known as the "Thousand Buddha Grottoes", is located
at the rock side of the Singing Sand Mountain in Dunhuang City of Gansu
Province. It is the largest and best-preserved Buddhist art museum and also a
post along the ancient Silk Road. According to historical records, the Mogao
Grottos were carved in 366. There are 492 grottos in existence with some 45,000
square meters of murals, and 415 painted clay figures. It's worthy of the name
of Art Treasure House of China.