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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.1 History
Early settlement in this region could be dated to 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 current name in 1656, during Qin Dynasty.
See also:
- DunhuangDunhuang ( Chinese: ) is a city located in an oasis in the Gansu province, China. Its population is 100,000. It is located near the historic junction of the northern and southern Silk Roads, and was therefore a town of military importance. For centuries B
- Bingling Temple
- White Pagoda Hill ( pinyinPinyin (, pinyin) literally means "join together sounds" (a less literal translation being "phoneticize", "spell" or "transcription") in Chinese and usually refers to Hany pinyin (, literal meaning: " Han language pinyin"), which is a system of romanizati: bai2 ta3 shan1).
2 Geography
- AreaThis article explains the meaning of area as a Physical quantity. Article area (geometry) is more mathematical. Area is a quantity expressing the size of a region of space. Surface area refers to the summation of the areas of the exposed sides of an objec: 14,620 sq km
- ElevationElevation has several related meanings: Geography The elevation of a geographic location is its height above mean sea level (or possibly some other fixed point). A topographic map shows variations in elevation by contour lines. Elevation is mainly used wh: 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:
2.1 Climate and Pollution
The semi-dry climate is in the temperate zone.
Lanzhou was famously one of the most polluted cities in China. The air quality was 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. In the recent years, through the city's effort to protect environment, Lanzhou has withdrawn from the most polluted city list. The air quality is improving continuously.
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