Lanzhou

Lanzhou (Traditional Chinese: 蘭州, Simplified Chinese: 兰州, Hanyu Pinyin: Lánzhou, Wade-Giles: Lan-chou, sometimes seen transliterated as Lanchow) is the capital of the Gansu province in China.

History
Early settlement in this region could be dated to Han Dynasty, when it was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road. To protect the city, the Great Wall 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.

Contemporary Lanzhou was founded in 1656 (Qin Dynasty).

Lanzhou is famously one of the most polluted cities in China. The air quality is so poor that at times one cannot see Lanshan, the mountain rising straight up along the south side of the city. The city is located in a river valley with an unfortunate curve causing it to be hemmed in with no free air flow. Lanzhou also is the home of far too many factories including petroleum processing, and suffers from storms of dust kicked up from the Gobi Desert, especially in the winter and spring.

Geography
Area: 14,620 sq km
Elevation: 1600m above sea level
China's geographic center
More than 20km along urban corridor along the southern banks of the Yellow River.
Character of zonary basin
Mountains: the south and north
Qilian Ranges, Mt. Pingliang and Mt. Kongtong (the most famous in Taoism)
Rivers:
The Yellow River flows through from east to west.

Climate
The semi-dry climate is in the temperate zone.

Demographics
Population: 32 million
Urban Population: 1.2 million (2004- considered to be 2.5 million inside Lanzhou City)
Ethnic groups: Han, Hui, Tibetan, Bonan, Dongxiang, Yugur, and Salar

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

Natural resources
Mineral: 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, Petro-chemical, 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 remote Xinjiang in extreme NW China.
Airways: The airplane here can take you to more than 20 cities all over the country.
Railroad: Lanzhou is linked by rail to Beijing and to the Republic of Mongolia and Russia
Highways: on the highway to Tibet.
Lan-Xin railway: only railway leading into Xinjiang
See also: Trolleybus

Places of interest
Wuquan Mountain
Baita Mountain
Xinglong Mountain
Lutusi ancient government

Culture
Chinese drama/Chinese opera: Qinqiang Drama
Cuisine: Lanzhou beef noodles