Lanzhou Introduction

Lanzhou is the capital of Gansu Province, the second biggest city in the northwest of China, and an important joint on the New Euro-Asian Continental Bridge.

Lanzhou covers an area of 1631.6 square kilometers (629.96 square miles) with the population of 3.14 million, the major people here are Han, Hui, Bao’an, Dongxiang, Tibetan, Yugu and Sala.

Lanzhou has an obvious continental monsoon climate with the character of less rainfall, more sunshine, large potential of solar energy, and big different temperatures between day and night, and with an annual average temperature of 9.1 C, annual frost-free period of 185-200 days, annual sunshine of 3,600 hours, and annual rainfall, most coming from June to September, of 250-350 mm.

History
Early settlement in this region could be dated to the Han Dynasty and has a history of over 2,000 years. The city used to be called the Golden City, when it was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road. 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.

The city now municipality administers 5 districts :
They are Chengguan, Qilihe, Xigu, Anning, Honggu.

3 counties :
Yongdeng, Yuzhong, Galan ,

Lanzhou is famously one of the most polluted cities in China, and 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 petroleum processing, and suffers from large dust storms kicked up from the Gobi Desert, especially in the winter and spring.