Cities along Chinese Silk Road No.5

---Lanzhou

Lanzhou (Simplified Chinese: 兰州; Traditional Chinese: 蘭州; Pinyin: Lánzhōu; Wade-Giles: Lan-chou; Postal map spelling: Lanchow) is the capital of and a prefecture-level city in the Gansu province, China.

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 acquired its current name in 1656, during Qing Dynasty.

The city is the seat of a currently vacant Roman Catholic diocese and was previously the center of the vicairite apostolic of northern Gansu.

Geography

Climate and Pollution

The semi-dry climate is in the temperate zone.

Lanzhou is said to be one of the most polluted cities in China, if not around 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.

Economy

The GDP per capita was 15051 yuan (RMB) (ca. US$1820) in 2003, ranked no. 134 among 659 Chinese cities.

Natural resources

• Minerals: coal, gold, silver, zinc, nickel, manganese, clay, and dolomite
• waterpower

Industry

Gansu has one of the largest oil refineries in the country and is the center of China's atomic energy industry.

• Main Industries: textile mills, rubber, fertilizer plants, oil refinery, petrochemical, machinery, and metallurgical industry.

Agriculture

• spring wheat, vegetables, beans, oil-boiling, melon, peaches, and tobacco
• roses and lilies

Transportation

Lanzhou is a rail, highway, and air hub and the junction point to Xinjiang in NW China.

• Airways: Flights from Lanzhou fly to more than 20 cities around the country.
• Railroad: Lanzhou is linked by rail to Beijing, Shanghai, Ürümqi and Baotou.
• Highways: on the highway to Tibet.
• Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway: only railway leading into Xinjiang

Places of interest

• Bingling Temple, Yongjing
• Gansu Provincial Museum
• Wuquan Mountain
• Baita Mountain
• Xinglong Mountain
• Lutusi ancient government

Media

Lanzhou Radio serves the Lhasa and Lanzhou province regions with music, and news.

Culture

• Chinese drama/Chinese opera: Qinqiang Drama
• Cuisine: Lanzhou beef lamian noodles

Sister cities

Lanzhou is a sister city of:

•  Albuquerque, United States
•  Christchurch, New Zealand

Colleges and universities

National level

• Lanzhou University (兰州大学), founded 1909

Other public institutions

• Northwest Normal University (西北师范大学), founded 1902
• Lanzhou University of Technology (兰州理工大学), founded 1919
• Lanzhou Jiaotong University (兰州交通大学), founded 1958
• Gansu Agricultural University (甘肃农业大学), founded 1958
• Lanzhou Medical College (兰州医学院)
• Gansu College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (甘肃中医学院)
• Lanzhou Commercial College (兰州商学院)
• Gansu Political Science and Law Institute (甘肃政法学院)

Note: Institutions without full-time bachelor's degree programs are not listed.

Cities along the Chinese Silk Road No.4

Cities along the Chinese Silk Road No.3

Cities along the Chinese Silk Road No.2

Cities along the Chinese Silk Road No.1

Map of Silk Road

Culture, arts and technology on the Silk Road

History of Silk Road

General Introduction of Silk Road