Lanzhou is the

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

and largest city of

Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

northwestern China Northwestern China () is a region in the People's Republic of China. It consists of five provincial administrative regions, namely Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, and Xinjiang. The region is characterized by a (semi-)arid continental climate. ...

. Located on the banks of the

Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...

, it is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the eastern half of the country. Historically, it has been a major link on the

Northern Silk Road The Northern Silk Road is a historic inland trade route in Northwest China and Central Asia (historically known as the Western Regions), originating in the ancient Chinese capital of Chang'an (modern day Xi'an), westwards through the Hexi Corrido ...

and it stands to become a major hub on the

New Eurasian Land Bridge The New Eurasian Land Bridge, also called the Second or New Eurasian Continental Bridge, is the southern counterpart to the Eurasian Land Bridge and runs through China and Central Asia with possible plans for expansion into South and West Asia. Th ...

. The city is also a center for

heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...

and

petrochemical industry file:Jampilen Petrochemical Co. 02.jpg, 300px, Jampilen Petrochemical co., Asaluyeh, Iran The petrochemical industry is concerned with the production and trade of petrochemicals. A major part is constituted by the plastics industry, plastics (poly ...

. Lanzhou is the third largest city in Northwest China after

Xi'an Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...

and Urumqi. Lanzhou is also an important center for scientific research and education in

Northwestern China Northwestern China () is a region in the People's Republic of China. It consists of five provincial administrative regions, namely Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, and Xinjiang. The region is characterized by a (semi-)arid continental climate. ...

after

. The city is one of the top 60 major cities in the world by scientific research output as tracked by the

Nature Index The Nature Index is a database that tracks institutions and countries/territories and their scientific output since its introduction in November 2014. Originally released with 64 natural-science journals, the Nature Index expanded to 82 natural-sci ...

. It hosts several research institutions, including,

Lanzhou University Lanzhou University () is a public university in Lanzhou, Gansu, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. Founded in 1909, the ...

Northwest Normal University Northwest Normal University () is a public university in Lanzhou, Gansu Province of the People's Republic of China. The university is authorized by the State Council of the Central Government of the People's Republic of China to grant associate ...

Lanzhou University of Technology Lanzhou University of Technology () is a scientific and technological university located in Lanzhou, the provincial capital of Gansu Province, China. History Lanzhou University of Technology was established as Ganzhou Technical School in 1919 ...

, Gansu Agricultural University, Gansu University of Chinese Medicine, and

Lanzhou Jiaotong University Lanzhou Jiaotong University () is a transport university in Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China. It was founded in 1958 as the Lanzhou Railway University for railway engineering, a collaboration of Southwest Jiaotong University, Beijing Jiaotong Univ ...

. Notably,

is one of China's prestige universities as a member of the

Project 985 Project 985 () was a higher education development and sponsorship scheme of the Chinese central government for creating world-class higher education institutions, initiated in May 1998. There were 39 universities selected to be part of this ...

History

Originally in the territory of the ancient Western Qiangs, Lanzhou became part of the territory of the

State of Qin Qin (, , or ''Ch'in'') was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. It is traditionally dated to 897 BC. The state of Qin originated from a reconquest of western lands that had previously been lost to the Xirong. Its location at ...

in the 6th century BC. In 81 BC, under the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

(206 BC–AD 220), it was taken from the Huns' Huandi Chanyu and made the seat of Jincheng

commandery In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and G ...

(), and later of the Jincheng (Golden City)

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

(), later renamed ''Yunwu''. From at least the first millennium BC it was a major link on the ancient

, and also an important historic

crossing site. To protect the city, the

Great Wall of China The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand ''li'' long wall") is a series of fortifications in China. They were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against vario ...

was extended as far as Yumen. Parts of the Great Wall still exist within the built-up area. After the fall of the

, Lanzhou became the capital of a succession of tribal states. In the 4th century it was briefly the capital of the independent state of Liang. The

Northern Wei dynasty Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei ( zh, c=北魏, p=Běi Wèi), Tuoba Wei ( zh, c=拓跋魏, p=Tuòbá Wèi), Yuan Wei ( zh, c=元魏, p=Yuán Wèi) and Later Wei ( zh, t=後魏, p=Hòu Wèi), was an imperial dynasty of Chi ...

(386–534) reestablished

Jincheng Jincheng is a prefecture-level city situated in the southeast of Shanxi province, China. It shares its border with Henan province to the south and southeast. The city is recognized as an industrial hub, with coal mining being one of its key indu ...

commandery, renaming the county

. Mixed with different cultural heritages, the area at present-day

province, from the 5th to the 11th century, became a center for

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

study. Under the

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri ...

(581–618) the city became the seat of Lanzhou prefecture for the first time, retaining this name under the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

(618–907). In 763 the area was overrun by the

Tibetan Empire The Tibetan Empire (,) was an empire centered on the Tibetan Plateau, formed as a result of expansion under the Yarlung dynasty heralded by its 33rd king, Songtsen Gampo, in the 7th century. It expanded further under the 38th king, Trisong De ...

and in 843 was conquered by the Tang. Later it fell into the hands of the

Western Xia dynasty The Western Xia or the Xi Xia ( zh, c=, w=Hsi1 Hsia4, p=Xī Xià), officially the Great Xia ( zh, c=大夏, w=Ta4 Hsia4, p=Dà Xià, labels=no), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts ...

(which flourished in

Qinghai Qinghai is an inland Provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. It is the largest provinces of China, province of China (excluding autonomous regions) by area and has the third smallest population. Its capital and largest city is Xin ...

from the 11th to 13th century) and was subsequently absorbed by the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

(960–1126) in 1081. The name Lanzhou was reestablished, and the county renamed Lanzhuan. After 1127 it fell into the hands of the

Jin dynasty Jin may refer to: States Jìn 晉 * Jin (Chinese state) (晉國), major state of the Zhou dynasty, existing from the 11th century BC to 376 BC * Jin dynasty (266–420) (晉朝), also known as Liang Jin and Sima Jin * Jin (Later Tang precursor) ...

, and after 1235 it came into the possession of the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire was the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in human history, history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Euro ...

. Under the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

(1368–1644) the prefecture was demoted to a county and placed under the administration of

Lintao Lintao County () is administratively under the control of Dingxi, Gansu province, China. History Pottery from the Majiayao culture (3300 to 2000 BC) has been found in Lintao. Until the 20th century, Lintao was known as Didao (). The Battle of D ...

superior prefecture, but in 1477 Lanzhou was reestablished as a political unit. The city acquired its current name in 1656, during the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

. When

was made a separate province in 1666, Lanzhou became its capital. In 1739 the seat of

was transferred to Lanzhou, which was later made a superior prefecture called Lanzhou. Lanzhou was badly damaged during the Dungan revolt in 1864–1875. In the 1920s and 1930s it became a center of

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

influence in

Second Sino-Japanese War-World War II

During the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

(1937–1945) Lanzhou, linked with

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

in 1935, became the terminus of the Chinese–Soviet highway, used as a route for Soviet supplies destined for the Xi'an area. This highway remained the primary traffic route of northwestern China until the completion of the railway from Lanzhou to

Ürümqi Ürümqi, , is the capital of the Xinjiang, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Northwestern China. With a census population of 4 million in 2020, Ürümqi is the second-largest city in China's northwestern interior after Xi'an, also the ...

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

The Battle of Lanzhou

Lanzhou's old '' Donggang'' Airport, located near the city centre, was the primary entry point for combat aircraft provided to China under the

Sino-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact The Sino-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact () was signed in Nanjing on August 21, 1937, between the Republic of China and the Soviet Union during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The pact went into effect on the day that it was signed and was registered in ...

, and along with other targets around Lanzhou, including civilian centers, were heavily bombed by the

Imperial Japanese Army Air Force The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS) or Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF; ) was the Military aviation, aviation force of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). Its primary mission was to provide tactical close air support for ground ...

and Navy Air Force. Many air battles were fought between the Chinese Air Force and the Imperial Japanese air forces over Lanzhou and surrounding regions from 1937 to 1945, particularly from 1938 to 1941 when the influx of Soviet war materials formed the primary support in China's War of Resistance against the Imperial Japanese invasion. Instances of major air-battles include an IJAAF raid consisting of 30 BR.20 and Ki-21 bombers against civilian targets in Lanzhou on 20 February 1939; 17th PS, 5th PG commander Capt.

Cen Zeliu Cen Zeliu (; 1912–1941), also Shum Tsak-lau ''(Cantonese),'' was born in Enping, Guangdong, China. He trained at the Guangdong provincial aviation academy as a fighter pilot, graduating in 1934, and was attached to the provincial warlord air ...

and his deputy commander Capt. Ma Guolian (Ma Kwok-Lim), a Canadian-Chinese volunteer for the Chinese Air Force, shot down the first two bombers in the battle, followed by two more downed as Capt. Cen led another attack on the third formation. They would be joined by pilots of the

Soviet Volunteer Group The Soviet Volunteer Group was the volunteer part of the Soviet Air Forces sent to support the Republic of China during the Second Sino-Japanese War between 1937 and 1941. After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, the Sino-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact ...

led by Nikolay Garilov and the 15th PS led by Li Debiao, who would all shoot down five more of the Japanese bombers; the northern Chinese air-raid early-warning net headquarters in

observed 21 of the original 30 IJAAF bombers returning from Lanzhou. As the Imperial Japanese forces were preparing for '' Operation Z'' against the United States and other allies in Southeast Asia and the Pacific by mid-1941, the IJANF were busy training new aircrews in live combat action across China for the upcoming war in the Pacific; on 22 May 1941, Lt.

Gao Youxin Gao (or Gawgaw/Kawkaw) is a city in Mali and the capital of the Gao Region. The city is located on the River Niger, east-southeast of Timbuktu on the left bank at the junction with the Tilemsi valley. For much of its history Gao was an impo ...

of the 21st PS, 4th PG engaged an IJNAF raid on Lanzhou in an I-16 fighter aircraft, while avoiding confrontation against the ''Zero'' fighters, he shot down a

Mitsubishi G3M The was a Japanese bomber and transport aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) during World War II. The Yokosuka L3Y (Allied reporting name "Tina"), was a transport variant of the aircraft manufactured by the Yokosu ...

bomber north of Lanzhou. On the ground, the KMT

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Generals

Ma Hongkui Ma Hongkui ( zh, s=马鸿逵 , t=馬鴻逵 , p=Mǎ Hóngkuí , w=Ma Hung-k'uei , first=t, Xiao'erjing: ; March 14, 1892 – January 14, 1970) was a prominent Hui people, Chinese Muslim warlord during the Republic of China (1912–1949), R ...

and

Ma Bufang Ma Bufang (1903 – 31 July 1975) (, Xiao'erjing: ) was a prominent Chinese Muslim Ma clique warlord in China during the Republican era, ruling the province of Qinghai. His rank was lieutenant-general. Life Ma Bufang and his older brother ...

protected Lanzhou with their cavalry troops, putting up such resistance that the Japanese never captured Lanzhou.

Geography

At above sea level, Lanzhou lies in China's northwest geographical center. The metropolitan area covers more than of urbanisation along the southern banks of the

, which flows through from west to east. The

Qilian Ranges The Qilian Mountains (), together with the Altyn-Tagh sometimes known as the Nan Shan, as it is to the south of the Hexi Corridor, is a northern outlier of the Kunlun Mountains, forming the border between Qinghai and the Gansu provinces of nort ...

, Mt. Pingliang, and Mt. Kongtong are located on the south and north sides of the city. Lanzhou is situated on the upper reaches of the

where it emerges from the mountains and has been a center since early times, being at the southern end of the route leading via the

Hexi Corridor The Hexi Corridor ( ), also known as the Gansu Corridor, is an important historical region located in the modern western Gansu province of China. It refers to a narrow stretch of traversable and relatively arable plain west of the Yellow River's O ...

across

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

. It commands the approaches to the ancient capital area of

Chang'an Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...

(modern

) in

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

province from both the west and the northwest, as well as the area of

Qinghai Lake Qinghai Lake is the list of lakes by area, largest lakes of China, lake in China. Located in an endorheic basin in Qinghai Province, to which it gave its name, Qinghai Lake is classified as an alkaline lake, alkaline saline lake, salt lake. The ...

via the upper waters of the Yellow River and its tributaries.

Climate

Lanzhou is situated in the

temperate zone In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ra ...

and has a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''BSk'') with hot summers and cold and very dry winters. In the urban core, based on 1971–2000 normals, the monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from in January to in July. The mean annual temperature is , while annual

rainfall Rain is a form of precipitation where water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. ...

is , almost all of which falls from May to October. The winters are so dry that snowfall is sometimes restricted to fall and spring. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 47 percent in September to 57 percent in April, sunshine is generous but not abundant, as the city receives 2,350 hours of bright sunshine annually.

Environmental problems

The city is located in a narrow and curved river valley with surrounding mountains causing it to be hemmed in blocking a free flow of air. According to the National Environmental Analysis released by

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (THU) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Constructio ...

and The Asian Development Bank in January 2013, Lanzhou was among the ten most air-polluted cities in the world. Air quality reportedly was so poor that at times one could not see Lanshan, the mountain rising up along the south side of the city. Lanzhou is also the home of many factories, including some involved in petroleum processing, and suffers from large

dust storm A dust storm, also called a sandstorm, is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface. Fine particles are transpo ...

s kicked up from the

Gobi Desert The Gobi Desert (, , ; ) is a large, cold desert and grassland region in North China and southern Mongolia. It is the sixth-largest desert in the world. The name of the desert comes from the Mongolian word ''gobi'', used to refer to all of th ...

, especially in the winter and spring. In 2011, using Chinese statistics, the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

reported that Lanzhou had the worst air quality among eleven western Chinese cities. Its annual mean

PM10 Particulate matter (PM) or particulates are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. An ''aerosol'' is a mixture of particulates and air, as opposed to the particulate matter alone, though it is sometimes defined ...

μg/m³ of 150 is 7 times the safe level established by the

. It was worse than Beijing with its reading of 121. Since then, authorities have taken measures to improve air quality, which have largely been successful. "Thirteen polluting enterprises with excessive capacity have been closed, more than 200 highly polluting enterprises were suspended in winter, and 78 industrial enterprises have moved to an industrial park outside the city." In 2015 it was awarded China's climate progress title. As a city once unable to be spotted from satellites, Lanzhou has taken various measures to combat

air pollution Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...

in recent years, having reduced its Air Pollution Index at the fastest speed across China. According to the 2018 WHO database, of 2700 towns listed, Lanzhou has the 158th highest level of PM 2.5 pollution, with an average of 54 micrograms per cubic meter (twice that of Milan). The large particle PM10 remains high, at 132 micrograms per cubic meter, in part as a result of sand storms. The reach of the Yellow River at Lanzhou carries a high load of silt, giving the river its characteristic muddy appearance; however water quality in this reach is better than the "fetid outflow that barely passes for water two hours downstream" (2008). In recent years, several specimens of the endangered

Chinese giant salamander The Chinese giant salamander (''Andrias davidianus'') is one of the largest salamanders and one of the largest amphibians in the world.benzene Benzene is an Organic compound, organic chemical compound with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecular formula C6H6. The benzene molecule is composed of six carbon atoms joined in a planar hexagonal Ring (chemistry), ring with one hyd ...

levels were 20 times the national limit of 10 micrograms per liter. The city water supply suspected industrial chemical production to be the culprit, similar to what happened in the

2005 Jilin chemical plant explosions The Jilin chemical plant explosions were a series of explosions which occurred on November 13, 2005, in the No.102 Petrochemical industry, Petrochemical Plant in Jilin City, Jilin Province, People's Republic of China, China, over the period of an ...

. A

brucellosis Brucellosis is a zoonosis spread primarily via ingestion of raw milk, unpasteurized milk from infected animals. It is also known as undulant fever, Malta fever, and Mediterranean fever. The bacteria causing this disease, ''Brucella'', are small ...

outbreak infecting humans took place in Lanzhou in 2020 after the Lanzhou Biopharmaceutical Plant involved in vaccine production accidentally pumped out the bacteria into the atmosphere in exhaust air, due to use of expired desinfectant, and affecting over 3,000 people.

Earthquakes

Lanzhou experiences earthquakes regularly, although usually at low intensities. In 1920 a large earthquake was experienced killing more than 100,000 people in Ningxia and Eastern Gansu province, although only 42 were killed in Lanzhou itself, the low number being attributed to the strong yet flexible nature of the wooden buildings in the city. Lanzhou was also affected by

2008 Sichuan earthquake An earthquake occurred in the province of Sichuan, China at 14:28:01 China Standard Time on May 12, 2008. Measuring at 8.0 (7.9–8.3 ), the earthquake's epicenter was located boxing the compass, west-northwest of Chengdu, the provincial ...

in 2008.

Demographics

As of the

2020 Chinese census The Seventh National Population Census of the People's Republic of China (), also referred to as the 2020 Chinese Census, was the seventh National Population Census of the People's Republic of China, national census conducted by the National Bure ...

, Lanzhou surpassed 4 million population for the first time, with a total population of 4,359,446 inhabitants and 3,042,863 in the built-up (''or metro'') area of 1,112.9 square kilometres (429.7 sq mi) made of the 4 central urban districts (Chengguan, Qilihe, Anning and Xigu District).

Lanzhou New Area Lanzhou New Area () is a state-level new area. It was established in 2012 as the fifth state-level new area and the first in Western China. It is located on the Qingwangchuan plain, around north of downtown Lanzhou, which is also where Lanzho ...

, near the airport and Honggu Districts are not yet conurbated. The growth increased significantly after a period of slower growth. The strong growth has been attributed to parents seeking better education opportunities for their children, retired

migrant workers A migrant worker is a person who Human migration, migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have an intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work. Migrant workers ...

returning to Gansu, improved services in the city and government policies.

Sport

The 14,000-capacity

Northwest Minzu University Stadium The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...

is one of the main sports venues in the city. It is mostly used for football games. A new sports center complex, including a stadium with a capacity of 60,000 spectators and a swimming hall, is under development. Lanzhou previously had a professional soccer team named

Gansu Tianma Dongguan Dongcheng (Simplified Chinese: 东莞东城) was a football team based in Dongguan, Guangdong province, in the People's Republic of China, that played in the Chinese Football Association Jia League. Founded on 18 December 1999, as Gansu ...

from 1999 to 2003.The team played in

Chinese Football Association Yi League The Chinese Football League 2 (), or China League Two, is the third-tier association football league of the People's Republic of China. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association and operated by the Chinese Professional ...

from 1999 to 2001 and bought a position in the Jia League from Tianjin Lifei. The team relocated to

Ningbo Ningbo is a sub-provincial city in northeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises six urban districts, two satellite county-level cities, and two rural counties, including several islands in Hangzhou Bay and the Eas ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

and changed their name to Ningbo Yaoma in 2003. The team later relegated to

China League Two The Chinese Football League 2 (), or China League Two, is the third-tier association football league of the People's Republic of China. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association and operated by the Chinese Professional ...

in 2004 and became Dongguan Dongcheng after moving to

Dongguan Dongguan,; pinyin: alternately romanized via Cantonese as Tungkun, is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. An important industrial city in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou t ...

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

. Former

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

international

Paul Gascoigne Paul John Gascoigne (, born 27 May 1967), nicknamed Gazza, is an English former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Regarded as one of the best playmakers of his generation and one of the best English footballers of ...

played four games in both a playing and coaching role for Gansu in 2003, scoring two goals, before returning to

after falling out with the club, as his mental state meant that he had to return to America for treatment against drink and depression.

Administrative divisions

On August 20, 2012, Lanzhou New Area was approved by the State Council of China's Central Government. In 2019, Lanzhou New Area was formally established as a

county-level division The administrative divisions of China have consisted of several levels since 1412, due to mainland China's large population and geographical area. In the People's Republic of China, the constitution provides for three levels of government. Ho ...

of Lanzhou, its area being split off from Yongdeng and Gaolan. The updated area and population of Yongdeng and Gaolan are not yet reflected in the table.

Tourism

*The Five Spring Mountain Park (), located on the northern side of Gaolan Mountain, is renowned for its five springs and numerous Buddhist temples, featuring many ancient architectural sites. *The

Zhongshan Bridge The Zhongshan Bridge () is a steel truss bridge over the Yellow River in Lanzhou. Opened in 1909, it was the first permanent bridge over the Yellow River. The bridge is one of the most well-known landmarks of Lanzhou. Construction of the bridge ...

() was the first permanent bridge over the

. *Baita Mountain Park () was built close to the mountains at an elevation of and opened in 1958 across Zhongshan Bridge. *The

Lanzhou Botanical Garden The Lanzhou Botanical Garden () is a botanical garden located in north-western part of the city's Anning District, near the Science Park of Lanzhou Jiaotong University. The 214 ha large park was constructed in 1993 and features over 200 plant spec ...

(), located in the Anning District, has a large variety of trees, flowers and other plants. * Xiguan Mosque (), is one of the larger mosques in China. * Xinglong Mountain (), is covered with thick pine forests and scattered with colorful temples. * Lutusi ancient government (), a large complex of ancient governmental buildings.

Museums

Gansu Provincial Museum The Gansu Provincial Museum () is a museum in Lanzhou, China. Its collections include over 350,000 artefacts, in two main sections: history and natural science. Since its foundation, the museum has held almost 300 exhibitions, and items from its ...

(), displays archaeological and fossil finds from Gansu and exhibitions on Gansu's history. *

Lanzhou Museum Lanzhou is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Gansu Provinces of China, province in northwestern China. Located on the banks of the Yellow River, it is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the ...

(), is an important cultural unit on the Silk Road. As of October 2017, the collection contains more than 13,000 pieces of collections, including pottery, porcelain, bronze, calligraphy, coins, jade, stoneware, etc. There are 52 national first-class cultural relics, 78 national second-level cultural relics and 682 national third-level cultural relics. * Gansu Art Museum (), Providing a broad display and external communication platform for artists. *

Lanzhou City Planning Exhibition Hall Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu province in northwestern China. Located on the banks of the Yellow River, it is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the eastern half of the country. Histo ...

(), showing the profound Yellow River culture of Lanzhou and integrating indoor exhibition, architectural concept and urban characteristics. * Lanzhou Painted Pottery Museum (), The total number of collections is 250, including 50 precious cultural relics, it displays the painted pottery civilization represented by the cultural pottery of Majiayao. * Gansu Science and Technology Museum () sound, light, electricity and other high-tech means will be fully adopted, and the way of teaching and learning will enable visitors to embrace modern science in a pleasant atmosphere.

Economy

Since 1949 Lanzhou has been transformed from the capital of a poverty-stricken province into the center of a major industrial area. It was one of the first cities in China to industrialize, as a focus of the First and Second Five-Year Plans. The

GDP per capita This is a list of countries by nominal GDP per capita. GDP per capita is the total value of a country's finished goods and services (gross domestic product) divided by its total population (per capita). Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is ...

of Lanzhou was 25,566 (

RMB The renminbi ( ; symbol: ¥; ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB), also known as the Chinese yuan, is the official currency of the People's Republic of China. The renminbi is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of Chin ...

) (US$3,681) in 2008, ranking it at number 134 among 659 Chinese cities. In 2015, the GDP per capita had grown to 57,191 RMB (US$9,182.28) and the city ranked at place 100 for total GDP of Chinese cities.

Institutions

The International Solar Energy Center (

UNIDO The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (French: Organisation des Nations unies pour le développement industriel; French/Spanish acronym: ONUDI) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that assists countries in ...

-ISEC) is located in Lanzhou's Chengguan district.

Natural resources

Minerals In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): M ...

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...

nickel Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...

manganese Manganese is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese was first isolated in the 1770s. It is a transition m ...

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

, and dolomite *

Hydropower Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...

There is a thermal generating plant supplied with coal from fields in

. In addition, there is a

hydroelectric station Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and also m ...

at Zhulama Gorge in

, 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 Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...

processing and

fertilizer A fertilizer or fertiliser is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from liming materials or other non-nutrient soil amendments. Man ...

plants, an

oil refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial processes, industrial process Factory, plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refining, refined into products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, Bitumen, asphalt base, ...

petrochemical Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable s ...

s, machinery, and

metallurgical Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the ...

industry. Gansu has one of the largest

oil refineries An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, liquefied pet ...

in the country and Lanzhou itself is the center of the province's petrochemical industry. The refinery is linked to the fields at Yumen by pipeline. It also manufactures equipment for the

oil industry The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The largest volume products ...

. Lanzhou has a large

textile industry The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of textiles: yarn, cloth and clothing. Industry process Cotton manufacturing Cotton is the world's most important natural fibre. In the year 2007, th ...

, particularly noted for the production of woolen and leather goods. In addition, Lanzhou produces

locomotives A locomotive is a rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for longer and heavier freight train ...

and

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, Railroad car#Freight cars, freight and Passenger railroad car, passenger cars (or coaches) ...

for the northwestern railways, as well as machine tools and mining equipment.

Aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

products, industrial chemicals, and fertilizers are produced on a large scale, and there is a large rubber industry.

Copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

is mined in nearby

Gaolan Gaolan County () is a county of Gansu Province, China, one of 58 counties of Gansu. Its postal code is 730200, and its population in 2019 was 147,000 people, a 13% decrease since 1999. It falls under the administration of the prefecture-level city ...

. Lanzhou has been one of the centers of China's national

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...

industry since the 1960s.

Agriculture

Lanzhou is the collecting center and market for

agricultural produce Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food ...

and

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

from a wide area. *

Spring wheat Wheat is a group of wild and domesticated grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known wheat species and hybrids include the most widely grown common ...

vegetable Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including edible flower, flo ...

bean A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are traditi ...

s, oil-boiling,

melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. It can also specifically refer to ''Cucumis melo'', commonly known as the "true melon" or simply "melon". The term "melon" can apply to both the p ...

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and Agriculture, cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called necta ...

es, and

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

s and

lilies ''Lilium'' ( ) is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large and often prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are ...

Transportation

Airport

Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport is the main airport serving Lanzhou, it is located north of Lanzhou. It opened for public service in 1970. The airport offers direct connections to over 70 international and domestic destinations.

Railway

Subway

Lanzhou was the second city in

northwest China Northwestern China () is a region in the People's Republic of China. It consists of five provincial administrative regions, namely Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, and Xinjiang. The region is characterized by a (semi-)arid continental climate. ...

to announce the construction of a subway line, in August 2012. The urban railway network,

Lanzhou Metro Lanzhou Metro or Lanzhou Rail Transit is a rapid transit system in Lanzhou, Gansu, China. There are of lines in operation, including Line 1 (), and Line 2 (). The first two lines will cost about 23 billion yuan ($3.6 billion). Lines in operati ...

, is planned to consist of six subway lines running . The first line, which is completely underground, opened in June 2019. Lanzhou Metro Line 2 (First-stage project), opened in June 2023. Passengers can transfer between Line 1 and Line 2 at Dongfanghong Square Station and Wulipu Station.

Regional

Lanzhou Railway Station is a major railway hub of western China. Every day over 100 passenger trains originate or pass via this station. It is a vital focal point connecting the western provinces with the

east East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

. Lanzhou Railway Station is located on Huochezhan Dong Lu, in Chengguan district.

Lanzhou West Railway Station Lanzhou West railway station () is located in Qilihe District, Lanzhou, Gansu Province. It is served by the Longhai Railway, Lanzhou–Xinjiang Railway, Lanzhou–Ürümqi High-Speed Railway, Lanzhou–Zhongchuan Airport Intercity Railway ...

is the city's second major railway station, offering connection to high-speed rail services. Lanzhou Railway Station has the following railway connections: *

Longhai Railway The Longhai railway (), formerly romanized as the is a major arterial east–west railway in China. It runs from Lianyungang, Jiangsu, on the Yellow Sea to Lanzhou, Gansu, through the provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, Shaanxi, and Gansu, cove ...

to the east (

Zhengzhou Zhengzhou is the capital of Henan, China. Located in northern Henan, it is one of the nine National central city, national central cities in China, and serves as the political, economic, technological, and educational center of the province. Th ...

Lianyungang Lianyungang () is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Jiangsu province of China, province, China. It borders Yancheng to its southeast, Huai'an and Suqian to its south, Xuzhou to its southwest, and the province of Shandong to its north. Its ...

), with connection to the main railway of eastern China supporting direct trains to

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, etc. Finished in 1953, it was the first railway to reach Lanzhou. * Lanxin Railway to the west and northwest (with direct trains to western Gansu and

, and further connections to other points in

and to

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

) * Lanqing Railway to the west and southwest, with direct service to

Xining Xining is the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of Qinghai province in western China and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau. As of the 2020 census, it had 2,467,965 inhabitants (2,208,708 as of 2010), of whom 1,954,795 l ...

and

Lhasa Lhasa, officially the Chengguan District of Lhasa City, is the inner urban district of Lhasa (city), Lhasa City, Tibet Autonomous Region, Southwestern China. Lhasa is the second most populous urban area on the Tibetan Plateau after Xining ...

* Chongqing–Lanzhou railway to southeast, with direct service to

Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

and

Guangyuan Guangyuan ( zh, s= , t=廣元 , p=Guǎngyuán , w=Kuang-yüan) is a prefecture-level city in Sichuan Province, China, bordering the provinces of Shaanxi to the northeast and Gansu to the northwest. Guangyuan City is located on the northern edge ...

* A line to the north and northeast, with direct service to

Yinchuan Yinchuan is the capital of the Ningxia, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China, and was the capital of the Tangut people, Tangut-led Western Xia, Western Xia dynasty. It has an area of and a total population of 2,859,074 according to the 2020 C ...

and

Baotou Baotou; is the largest city by urban population in Inner Mongolia, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, as of the 2020 census, its built-up (''or metro'') area made up of its 5 urban districts is home to 2,261,089 people with a total po ...

* Lanzhou–Zhongchuan Airport Intercity Railway between Lanzhou Railway Station and Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport. *

Lanhe Railway Lanhe may refer to the following places in China: * Lanhe, Guangzhou, Guangdong * Lanhe, Heilongjiang, Lanxi County, Heilongjiang See also * Lanzhou–Hezuo railway, or Lanhe railway {{Geodis ...

(under construction) to Linxia and

Hezuo Hezuo city ( zh, c=合作市), also known as Zö from its Tibetan name (), is the administrative seat of the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (TAP) in southern Gansu province in Northwestern China. It is home to the Gêndên Qöling (''Zö ...

High speed rail

New high-speed passenger-only railways are completed both toward the east (the

Xuzhou–Lanzhou high-speed railway The Eurasia Continental Bridge corridor () is a high-speed rail corridor connecting Lianyungang, a port in northern Jiangsu province, to Ürümqi, the regional capital of Xinjiang. The corridor passes through the cities of Xuzhou (Jiangsu), Zheng ...

), the west (the Lanzhou–Xinjiang high-speed railway) and the north (the

Yinchuan–Lanzhou high-speed railway Yinchuan–Lanzhou high-speed railway is a high-speed railway in China between Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province, and Zhongwei in Ningxia Ningxia, officially the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region in Northwestern Ch ...

). These services only stop at

. The

Sichuan–Qinghai railway Sichuan–Qinghai railway (), formerly known as Chengdu–Lanzhou railway during planning and construction, is a railway line under construction in China. The railway connects Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan with Xining, capital of Qingh ...

, which is designed for a top speed of to , is under construction.

Freight rail

Lanzhou forms an important link in one of the routes of the

Eurasian Land Bridge The Eurasian Land Bridge (), sometimes called the New Silk Road (, ), is the rail transport route for moving freight and passengers overland between Pacific seaports in the Russian Far East and China and seaports in Europe. The route, a trans ...

and also provides rail access to

and

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

further to the west. A large rail freight terminal has recently been constructed to accommodate increasing volumes of rail freight and Lanzhou is home to China's fourth largest

marshalling yard A classification yard (American English, as well as the Canadian National Railway), marshalling yard (British, Hong Kong, Indian, and Australian English, and the former Canadian Pacific Railway) or shunting yard (Central Europe) is a railway y ...

. Regular freight services connect Lanzhou to destinations including

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Almaty Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...

and

Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...

Road network

In 2016, Lanzhou was ranked 4th of Chinese cities with the worst rush hour traffic jams; however, by 2017, after completion of an urban ring road, it dropped to 33rd place.

Highways

G75 Lanzhou–Haikou Expressway The Lanzhou–Haikou Expressway (), designated as G75 and commonly referred to as the Lanhai Expressway (), is an expressway in China that connects the cities of Lanzhou, Gansu, and Haikou, Hainan. When fully complete, it will be in length. It is ...

G30 Lianyungang–Khorgas Expressway The Lianyungang–Khorgas Expressway (), designated as G30 and commonly referred to as the Lianhuo Expressway (), is

G6 Beijing–Lhasa Expressway The Beijing–Lhasa Expressway (), commonly abbreviated to Jingzang Expressway (), is part of the Expressways of China, Chinese national expressway network and is planned to connect the nation's capital, Beijing, to the capital of the Tibet Autono ...

G22 Qingdao–Lanzhou Expressway The Qingdao–Lanzhou Expressway (), designated as G22 and commonly referred to as the Qinglan Expressway () is an expressway that connects the cities of Qingdao, Shandong, China, and Lanzhou, Gansu. It is in length. This expressway is someti ...

G2201 Lanzhou Ring Expressway The Lanzhou South Ring Expressway (), designated G2201, is a that bypasses the built-up area of Lanzhou on the south side, the capital of Gansu Province. The design speed of the road is . Construction started in 2014 and the Expressway was opened ...

China National Highway 212 China National Highway 212 (G212) runs from Lanzhou in Gansu to Chongqing. It was originally 1302 kilometres in length. In the 2013 National Highway Network Planning it was extended to Longbang, Guangxi, on the border with Vietnam. After the ...

China National Highway 213 China National Highway 213 (G213) runs from Ceke, Inner Mongolia, to Mohan, on the border with Laos, in Yunnan. It is in length and runs via Chengdu, Sichuan and Kunming, Yunnan. Before the 2013 Highway Planning, the route started in Lanzhou, ...

China National Highway 312 China National Highway 312 (312国道), also referred to as Route 312, is a key east-west route beginning in Shanghai and ending at Khorgas, Xinjiang in the Ili River valley, on the border with Kazakhstan. In total it spans , passing through Ji ...

Bus services

For long-distance buses, there are three major bus stations in the urban area, West Bus Station in Xiaoxihu neighbourhood, East Bus Station near Lanzhou Station and South Bus Station near

terminus. Furthermore, there are a total of 132 local city bus lines. These have their main node station at Xiguan. Lanzhou has a noted bus rapid transit system which opened in 2013 and won the city an honorable mention at the 2014 Sustainable Transport Awards.

Media

Gansu People's Press Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...

, in Lanzhou, publishes ''

Duzhe ''Duzhe'' () is a bimonthly Chinese general interest magazine. It is among the most widely circulated and the leading magazines in the People's Republic of China. History and profile ''Duzhe'' was first published in Lanzhou in March 1981. The mag ...

'', the most widely circulated magazine in China. * Lanzhou Radio serves the

and Lanzhou province regions with news and music. *''

Gansu Daily Gansu is a province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan and Loess plateaus and borders ...

'', newspaper for Gansu Province, has its editorial offices in Lanzhou.

Culture

The city is the cultural centre of

. It is home to many different ethnic groups and their respective cultures, but the most prominent three groups are the Han,

Hui The Hui people are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the northwestern provinces and in the Zhongyuan region. According to the 2 ...

, and Zang. *

Chinese opera Traditional Chinese opera (), or ''Xiqu'', is a form of musical theatre in China with roots going back to the early periods in China. It is an amalgamation of various art forms that existed in ancient China, and evolved gradually over more tha ...

Qinqiang Qinqiang (秦腔, pinyin: Qín qiāng, literally "Qin's tune") is a genre of folk Chinese opera originated in Shaanxi Province of Qing China in 1807 and soon took over other genres to be the representative genre of the province. Historically, t ...

Opera *

Cuisine A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, List of cooking techniques, techniques and Dish (food), dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, ...

Lanzhou beef noodles Lanzhou beef noodles or ''Lanzhou lamian'' is a type of beef noodle soup from Lanzhou, China. This dish has an extensive history, and the recipe differs by region due to cultural factors, availability of ingredients, and local innovations. His ...

are well known throughout China. The city of Lanzhou is home to over 1,000 beef noodle restaurants. The root of the lily, and many different kinds of

mutton Lamb and mutton, collectively sheep meat (or sheepmeat) is one of the most common meats around the world, taken from the domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries'', and generally divided into lamb, from sheep in their first year, hogget, from sheep in thei ...

are important elements of Lanzhou's food culture. *

Islam in China Islam has been practiced in China since the 7th century CE.. There are an estimated 17–25 million Muslims in China, less than 2 percent of the total population. Though Hui people, Hui Muslims are the most numerous group, the greatest concentr ...

: Xiguan Mosque, the mosque was constructed in the

and rebuilt in 1990. It occupies an area of and is one of the most influential mosques in China. The architecture of the mosque predominantly reflects that of

Arab architecture Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both Secularity, secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Muslim world, Islamic world encompasse ...

. * The city is the seat of a currently vacant

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

and was previously the center of a

vicariate apostolic An apostolic vicariate is a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church under a titular bishop centered in missionary regions and countries where dioceses or parishes have not yet been established. The status of apostolic vicariate is often ...

(

Vicariate Apostolic of Northern Kan-Su The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lanzhou (, ) is a Latin Metropolitan Archdiocese of the Catholic church with an Ecclesiastical province, yet depends on the missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. Its archiepiscopal see ...

). Many people in Lanzhou believe in

superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic (supernatural), magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly app ...

Colleges and universities

Lanzhou is a major center for scientific research and education in

after

. The city is one of the top 60 major cities in the world by scientific research output as tracked by the

. The city is the seat of

, founded in 1909. The National Minorities Institute at Lanzhou and a branch of the

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS; ) is the national academy for natural sciences and the highest consultancy for science and technology of the People's Republic of China. It is the world's largest research organization, with 106 research i ...

are also located in the city. In particular,

has been the key university at the provincial level, which has prepared over 100,000 teachers in schools across the province Gansu.

List

''Note: Institutions without full-time

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

programs are not listed.''

National level

, founded 1909

Other public institutions

* Eastern Gansu University * Gansu Agricultural University ( zh, labels=no, s=甘肃农业大学), founded 1958 * Gansu University of Chinese Medicine ( zh, labels=no, s=甘肃中医药大学), Formerly known as Gansu College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, it has contributed to Gansu's medical and health undertakings and social development. * College of Politics and Law, Gansu ( zh, labels=no, s=甘肃政法学院), Based in Gansu, radiating to the northwest, facing the country, actively serving local social development and establishment of the legal system. * Lanzhou University of Arts and Science ( zh, labels=no, s=兰州文理学院), Composed by the merger of Gansu Institute of Education and Gansu Union University in 2013. * College of Technology, Lanzhou ( zh, labels=no, s=兰州工业学院) * Lanzhou City College ( zh, labels=no, s=兰州城市学院), founded 1958 *

Lanzhou University of Finance and Economics Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu province in northwestern China. Located on the banks of the Yellow River, it is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the eastern half of the country. Histo ...

( zh, labels=no, s=兰州财经大学), The only financial and economic university in the three provinces of Gansu, Ningxia and Qinghai. *

( zh, labels=no, s=兰州交通大学), founded 1958 * Lanzhou Medical College ( zh, labels=no, s=兰州医学院) (

Lanzhou Medical Institute Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu province in northwestern China. Located on the banks of the Yellow River, it is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the eastern half of the country. Histo ...

) incorporated into Lanzhou University *Lanzhou Niuroumian (Noodle with beef soup) Cultural Research Institute ( zh, labels=no, s=兰州牛肉面文化研究所) *

, ( zh, labels=no, s=兰州理工大学), founded 1919 (formerly Gansu University of Technology) * Northwest University for Nationalities ( zh, labels=no, s=西北民族大学) *

( zh, labels=no, s=西北师范大学), founded 1902

Healthcare

* People's Hospital of Gansu * Second People's Hospital of Gansu (see Borden Memorial Hospital, predecessor) * Third People's Hospital of Gansu * First People's Hospital of Lanzhou * Second People's Hospital of Lanzhou * Lanzhou University First Hospital * Lanzhou University Second Hospital * General Military Hospital * Lanzhou Military Hospital * Lanzhou Heavy Ion Cancer Treatment Center, joint venture by Sheng De Group, the city government and

' Institution of Modern Physics * Gansu Tumor Hospital

Sister cities

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, * Akita, (friendship city) *

Ashkhabad Ashgabat (Turkmen language, Turkmen: ''Aşgabat'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies between the Karakum Desert and the Kopet Dag, Kopetdag mountain range in Central Asia, approximately 50 km (30 ...

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Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth ca ...

, *

Penza Penza (, ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Penza Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Sura (river), Sura River, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Russian census, 2010 Census, Penza had ...

, *

Nouakchott Nouakchott ( ) is the capital and largest city of Mauritania. Located in the southwestern part of the country, it is one of the largest cities in the Sahara. The city also serves as the administrative and economic center of Mauritania. Once a ...

, *

Young Shire Young Shire was a Local government in Australia, local government area in the South Western Slopes, South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire was located adjacent to the Olympic Highway. Young Shire was created on 1 July ...

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Hachinohe is a city located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 213,453 in 110,121 households, and a population density of . As of October 2020, Hachinohe is Aomori Prefecture's second largest city by population. The c ...

Aomori , officially Aomori City (, ), is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 264,945 in 136,781 households, and a population density of 321 people per squa ...

, since April 1998

Notes

References

Bibliography * Cheung, Raymond. ''OSPREY AIRCRAFT OF THE ACES 126: Aces of the Republic of China Air Force''. Oxford: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2015. . * 徐 (Xú), 露梅 (Lùméi). ''隕落 (Fallen): 682位空军英烈的生死档案 - 抗战空军英烈档案大解密 (A Decryption of 682 Air Force Heroes of The War of Resistance-WWII and Their Martyrdom)''. 东城区, 北京，中国: 团结出版社, 2016. .

External links

Lanzhou government websiteMap of Lanzhou
* {{Authority control Populated places along the Silk Road Cities in Gansu Prefecture-level divisions of Gansu Provincial capitals in China National Civilized City