Longnan ( zh, t= , s= , p=Lǒngnán , l="south of

Mount Long Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, ...

") is a

prefecture-level city A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province of China, province and above a Counties of the People's Republic of China, county in China's ...

in the southeast 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 in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. It borders

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

on its south and

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 ...

on its east. 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 ...

, the population of the prefecture-level city was 2,855,555.

Geography and climate

Longnan is in southern Gansu province bordering Shaanxi in the east and Sichuan in the south. It is called Gansu's southern gateway and gateway to the northwest. The major geographic features in Longnan are the Qinba Mountains in the east, the Loess Plateau in the north, and the Tibetan Plateau in the west. It is part of the Central Han basin in the east and the

Sichuan basin The Sichuan Basin (), formerly transliterated as the Szechwan Basin, sometimes called the Red Basin, is a lowland region in southwestern China. It is surrounded by mountains on all sides and is drained by the upper Yangtze River and its tributar ...

in the south. Elevations range from above sea level. The three major rivers in Longnan are the Bailong, the Baishui, and the Jialing. Besides these major rivers there are more than 3800 streams and creeks. The annual flow from all of these rivers and streams is more than 28 billion m³. The area of the prefecture is . Longnan has a temperate,

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

-influenced

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/BSh'', depending on the source definition), with cool and very dry winters and hot, moderately humid summers. Due to the protected valley location and the southerly location in the province, the area is one of the warmest in Gansu, with annual temperatures ranging from . The annual precipitation is , while there are between 160 and 280 frost free days. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 34% in September and October to 53% in December, the city receives 1,850 sunlight hours annually. Two-thirds of the annual rainfall occurs from June to September. At Wudu, the monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from in January to in July, the annual mean is , and the annual precipitation is .

History

Longnan was settled by humans at least 7000 years ago. Between 5000 and 6000 years ago, civilizations developed along the Xihan ("Western Han") and Bailong ("White Dragon") rivers. Anping in Wudu as well as Lixian both have ancient ruins. Longnan is very important in Chinese history: it was the home of Rong tribes that troubled the

Shang The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty that ruled in the Yellow River valley during the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Western Zhou dyn ...

and Zhou

dynasties A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. Historians ...

and is considered the homeland of the

House of Ying A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

, the family of the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ) was the first Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China. It is named for its progenitor state of Qin, a fief of the confederal Zhou dynasty (256 BC). Beginning in 230 BC, the Qin under King Ying Zheng enga ...

that united China at the end of the

Warring States period The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...

. Wudu County was even founded as part of the Qin Empire. It is still common to find Qin artifactsincluding pottery, bronzes, and coinsin the area. During the

Sixteen Kingdoms The Sixteen Kingdoms (), less commonly the Sixteen States, was a chaotic period in Chinese history from AD 304 to 439 when northern China fragmented into a series of short-lived dynastic states. The majority of these states were founded b ...

period, the region was ruled by the Qiang kingdoms of

Later Qin Qin, known in historiography as the Later Qin ( zh, s=后秦, t=後秦, p=Hòuqín; 384–417) or Yao Qin (), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Yao clan of Qiang ethnicity during the Sixteen Kingdoms period in northern China. As the onl ...

and Tanchang, the latter has its capital in present-day Tanchang. Tanchang is conquered by

Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother/grandmother ( empress dowager/ grand empress dowager), or a woman who rul ...

in 564. The region then went under control of Sui, Tang and

Song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

dynasties, then subsequently conquered by the

Tibetans Tibetans () are an East Asian ethnic group native to Tibet. Their current population is estimated to be around 7.7 million. In addition to the majority living in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, significant numbers of Tibetans live in t ...

Tanguts The Tangut people (Tangut language, Tangut: , ''mjɨ nja̱'' or , ''mji dzjwo''; ; ; ) were a Sino-Tibetan languages, Sino-Tibetan people who founded and inhabited the Western Xia, Western Xia dynasty. The group initially lived under Tuyuhun aut ...

Jurchens Jurchen (, ; , ) is a term used to collectively describe a number of East Asian people, East Asian Tungusic languages, Tungusic-speaking people. They lived in northeastern China, also known as Manchuria, before the 18th century. The Jurchens wer ...

and

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

before finally administered by

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 ...

court. Under imperial Chinese rule, the area was administered as Jie Prefecture ''Jiēzhōu'').

Administration

Longnan has 1 urban districts, 8 counties, 242 towns, and 3243 villages with a total population of 2567718. Main data bulletin of the sixth national census in 2010
, 2011-05-09

Economy

In 2004, Longnan's GDP was 6,338,000,000 RMB, a 12% growth over the previous year. Important agricultural products include cereals and grains, Chinese medicinal herbs, vegetable oil, fruits, nuts, berries, and vegetables.

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 ...

, copper, lead, zinc,

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...

, and

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 ...

are all major mineral resources for Longnan. Cement and other building materials are also produced here.

Transportation

* Longnan Chengxian Airport * China National Highway 212 *

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 ...

* Chongqing–Lanzhou railway *

Baoji–Chengdu railway The Baoji–Chengdu railway, Bao–Cheng railway or Bao–Cheng Line was formerly designed as a rail line that connects Tianshui and Chengdu called Tianshui–Chengdu railway ( zh, s=天水—成都铁路, t=天水—成都鐵路, p=Tiānshuǐ Ch� ...

(stations only available in Hui County and Liangdang County) * Tianshui–Longnan railway (under construction)

Notable people

Cai Wu Cai Wu (; born October 1949) is a retired Chinese politician and a former Minister of Culture of the People's Republic of China. Biography Cai Wu was born in Gansu Province. During the Cultural Revolution, Cai was forced to leave his home in th ...

, Chinese politician and former

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organiza ...

of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. * Cao Dong, Chinese footballer ( Chongqing Dangdai Lifan,

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Super League (), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL (), also known as the China Resources Beverage Chinese Football Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Ch ...

) * Chen Hongjun,

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

who was killed in combat during the 2020–2022 China–India skirmishes in the

Sino-Indian border The Line of Actual Control (LAC), in the context of the Sino-Indian border dispute, is a notional demarcation lineAnanth KrishnanLine of Actual Control , India-China: the line of actual contest, 13 June 2020: "In contrast, the alignment of ...

* Li Xi, Chinese politician * Yang Fulin, Chinese military officer and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

* Zhang Zhixi, Chinese actress (

Lady Zhen Lady Zhen (26 January 183 – 4 August 221), personal name unknown, was the first wife of Cao Pi, the first ruler of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period. In 226, she was posthumously honoured as Empress Wenzhao when her son Cao R ...

in '' The Advisor's Alliance'')

Flora and fauna

Longnan has more than 1300 species of trees and shrubs, 1300 plants and herbs used for Chinese medicine, 100 wild fruits and berries, and 300 species of animals, many species of which are protected.

Notes

External links

Official Website
{{authority control Prefecture-level divisions of Gansu