1. Brief Introduction
Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. A prefecture-level city, it is a key regional transportation hub, allowing areas further west to maintain railroad connections to the eastern half of the country. Lanzhou is home to 3.6 million inhabitants and 2.18 million in the built-up area (urban) of 1,088 square kilometers.
2. 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 25,566 CNY in 2008, ranking it at number 134 among 659 Chinese cities. The International Solar Energy Center (UNIDO-ISEC) is located in Lanzhou's Chengguan district.
Natural Resources
Minerals include coal, gold, silver, zinc, nickel, manganese, clay and dolomite and Hydropower is also abundant. 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 include textile mills, rubber processing and fertilizer plants, an oil refinery, petrochemicals, 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 woolen 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 nuclear power industry since the 1960s. There are two industrial zones in Lanzhou: Lanzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone and Lanzhou High-tech Industrial Development Zone.
3. Higher Education
Lanzhou University, founded 1909
Eastern Gansu University
Gansu Agricultural University, founded 1958
Gansu College of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Gansu Institute of Political Science and Law
Gansu Lianhe University
Gansu Political Science and Law Institute
Institute of Technology, Lanzhou
Lanzhou City University, founded 1958
Lanzhou Commercial College (Lanzhou Business Institute)
Lanzhou Jiaotong University, founded 1958
Lanzhou Medical College (Lanzhou Medical Institute)
Lanzhou Niuroumian Cultural Research Institute
Lanzhou University of Technology founded 1919 (formerly Gansu University of Technology)
Northwest Nationalities University
Northwest Normal University, founded 1902
Tianshui Normal University
4. Transportation
Airlines
Lanzhou Airport serves as the main airport and is located 70 km north of Lanzhou. The airport opened for public service in 1970 and a new terminal was opened for travelers in February 2015. Flights from more than 20 cities depart and arrive at the airport. The airport has flights to several domestic major cities as well as international destinations including Hong Kong and St. Petersburg.
5. Climate
Lanzhou is situated in the temperate zone and enjoys a semi-arid climate with hot summers and cold and dry winters. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −5.3 °C (22.5 °F) in January to 22.4 °C (72.3 °F) in July. The mean annual temperature is 9.75 °C (49.5 °F), while annual rainfall is 315 millimeters (12.4 in), almost all of which falls from May to October. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 50 percent in December to 59 percent in February, sunshine is generous but not abundant, as the city receives 2,424 hours of bright sunshine annually.
6. Tourism
(1). The Five Spring Mountain Park was built at the northern side of Gaolan Mountain, is famous for its five springs and several Buddhist temples.
(2). The Yellow River Bridge has connected the transport hub of Lanzhou to the mainland and northwest since the Ming dynasty when people began to envisage such a crossing to conquer the Yellow River.
(3). Baita Mountain Park was built close to the mountains at an elevation of 1,700 meters (5,600 ft) and opened in 1958 across the Yellow River bridge.
(4). Lanzhou is home to the Gansu Provincial Museum, where archeological and fossil finds from Gansu are displayed as well as exhibitions on Gansu's history.
(5). The Lanzhou Botanical Garden, located in the Anning District, has a large variety of trees, flowers and other plants.
Population: 3.6 million
Temperature: annual average 9.75 °C (49.55 °F)
