Lintao County () is administratively under the control of

Dingxi Dingxi ( zh, c=定西 , p=Dìngxī), also known as Longyou ( zh, c=陇右, p=Lǒngyòu) is a prefecture-level city in the southeast of Gansu province, People's Republic of China. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,524,097 inhabitants, 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, China.

History

Pottery from the

Majiayao culture The Majiayao culture was a group of Neolithic communities who lived primarily in the upper Yellow River region in eastern Gansu, eastern Qinghai and northern Sichuan, China. The culture existed from 3300 to 2000 BC. The Majiayao culture represent ...

(3300 to 2000 BC) has been found in Lintao. Until the 20th century, Lintao was known as Didao (). The Battle of Didao was fought in the area in 255 CE, during the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

era. In the 8th century, an anonymous poet of the Tang dynasty places General Geshu Han and the Chinese army in Lintao, battling the Tibetans. Poet

Li Bai Li Bai (, 701–762), Literary and colloquial readings, also pronounced Li Bo, courtesy name Taibai (), was a Chinese poet acclaimed as one of the greatest and most important poets of the Tang dynasty and in Chinese history as a whole. He and hi ...

references Lintao in his poem, "Ballads of Four Seasons: Winter." Located at an important

Tao River Tao River, Taohe River () or Lu Chu () is a right tributary of China's Yellow River. It starts in Xiqing Mountains () near the Gansu– Qinghai border, flows eastward across Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and then northward more or les ...

crossing, Didao City (i.e., today's Taoyang Town) was an important trade center during the

Northern Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an 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 Ten Kingdoms, endin ...

(ca. 11–12th century), when the more northern route of the

Silk Route The Silk Road was a network of Asian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over , it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the ...

was blocked by the Xi Xia state. It is known to have been home to hundreds of foreign merchants at the time, some of whom may have been the ancestors of today's

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

of Gansu.

Geography

The county is located mostly on the right (eastern) bank of the

, a right tributary 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 borders with

Lanzhou 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. His ...

, capital of Gansu, in the northeast, with

Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture ( zh, s=临夏回族自治州 , t=臨夏回族自治州 , p=Línxià Huízú Zìzhìzhōu, Xiao'erjing: ), formerly known as Hezhou (河州) and Baohan (枹罕), is located in Gansu, Gansu Province, south of the pro ...

in the west, and with other parts of

Prefecture-level City in the east and south. Lintao area

Climate

Culture

Lintao is known for its Huashutang candy (花酥糖) and

Nuo opera Nuo theatre, Nuo drama, Nuo opera, or ''Nuoxi'' ( zh, s=, t=, first=t, p=nuóxì) is a traditional theatrical art popular in many regions of China. Characterized by its special features such as ferocious masks, unique dresses and adornments, the ...

Administrative divisions

Lintao County is divided to 12 towns and 6 townships. The county seat of Lintao County is in Taoyang town. ;Towns ;Townships

Transport

China National Highway 212 and the Lanhai Expressway (G75) cross the county from the north to the south, on its way from

to south-eastern Gansu. A military airfield, Lintao Air Base, is located south of the county seat.

References

County-level divisions of Gansu Dingxi {{gansu-geo-stub