Gansu Province

Gansu Province is located on the upper reaches of Yellow River in west of China bordering Shaanxi Province in the east, Sichuan Province in the south, Qinghai and Xinjiang in the west and Inner mongolia in the north. Covering an area of 455,000 sq.km, it’s like a precious gem inlaid in the middle of  Loess Plateau, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Inner Mongolian Plateau. It has a population of about 25.6 million people and administers twelve cities and three autonomous prefectures with Lanzhou  as its capital city.

Gansu is a mountainous province. Major ranges include Qilian Mountains , Wushaolin, and Liupan Mountains upon which lush forests grow. North of Qilian Mountains lies Hexi Corridor which is famous for its flat and fertile lands, abundant sunlights and rich water resources. Besides, it has a rich deposit of mineral resources. Up to 2006, mineral products amounting to 173 kinds have been discovered accounting for 74% of the national discovered list of mineral substances. It also boasts the largest gold deposit in Asia—Yangshan Gold Deposit.

Apart from conventional energy resources like oil, coal, and natural gas, Gansu is also endowed with new energy resources like solar and wind engery. Guazhou county. located in northwest of Gansu is reputed as the “repository of wind in the world’ due to rich wind energy resources.

In Gansu province, there is the spectacular and wondrous Danxia landform which is formed six million years ago and covers an area of over 510 sq.km. Many precipitous cliffs, arduous mountain peaks, and strange stone pillars can be found there making is an unbelievable colorful masterpiece of nature. While standing in, you are likely to be stroken down by its blazing beauty.It is even more miraculous than the landscape of “ghost city” in Dunhuang. One of the New Year movie entitled A Simple Noodle Story directed by Zhangyimou (a famous Chinese director) was shot right there. Some key tourist attractions there include: Mogao Caves, Lanzhou Waterwheel Park, Mingsha Mountain and the Crescent Spring, Yumen Pass and Gansu Provincial Museum.

At present, Gansu has five civil airports and eight major railway lines including Longhai line (starting from Lianyungang in Jiangsu province to Lanzhou city in Gansu) and Lanxin line (starting from Lanzhou, to Urumqi, in Xinjiang). Besides, there is also a convenient transportation network woven by numerous highways facilitating the transfering of both passengers and goods.

Gansu is a dynamic religious province with 1,600,000 Muslims, 30,000 Catholics, 60,000 Christians, 800,000 believers in Buddhism and 210,000 believers in Taoism. It’s also the hometown of the famous romantic poet known as Libai (crowned as “God of poetry”) who lived during ancient Tang Dynasty (618-1907), and the outstanding male host of CCTV—Zhujun.

While you are visiting Gansu, you can have the opportunity to try some delicious local food such as Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles, deep-fried lamb’s tail (don’t be fooled by the name ,check it out there and you’ll surely be surprised) and the popular summer snack named water slurry (a kind of specially made noodles ).