Gansu
is an important province in northwest China.
Being
abbreviated as “Gan” or “Long”, it is situated as geographical center,
on the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River and the Yangtze
River, and at the juncture of the Loess Plateau, Inner Mongolia Plateau
and the Qinghai Tibet Plateau. It faces Shaanxi Province in the east,
boards Sichuan and Qinghai provinces on the south and southwest, and
adjoins Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the northwest. It is
bounded on the north by Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and the
People’s Republic of Mongolia and joined by Ningxia Hui Autonomous
Region in the northeast. Running through the whole province, the
ancient Silk Road and the new Eurasian Continental Bridge are important
thoroughfare linking up East Asia, Central Asia, West Asia and Europe.
Being located at 92.13-108.46 E and
32.31-42.57 N, Gansu
is about 1,520 kilometers long from east to west, 1,655 kilometers in
its widest place and only 25 kilometers in the narrowest place.
Topography
and Landforms The
landforms in Gansu are complicated and varied. High mountains
and deep
valleys aloft on its southeastern part with peaks rising one higher
than another. Covered by loess, a loess topography has formed in its
eastern part. Hexi Corridor, the western fringe of the province has
smooth terrain, oasis, dessert and Gobi desert. With cold climate and
modern glacier, the terrain is highly situated in the southwestern part
of the province.
The
highest peak of the province is Tuanjie Peak of Qilian
Mountain with an altitude of 5,808 meters above sea level and its
lowest point is the bottom of Bailongjiang River valley in
the eastern
part of Wenxian county with an altitude of only 550
meters above sea
level. The terrain in the whole province is descending to three levels
as a flight of stairs. Hilly areas and plateau consist of 70% of the
total land area while desert and Gobi desert consist of 14.99%.
According to its topographic feature and structural formation, Gansu
can be divided into 8 landform areas of Longnan (Liupan mountain)hilly
area, Longzhong loess plateau, Gannan plateau, Qilian mountainous area,
Hexi corridor high land plain, Beishan mountainous area and Alashan
plateau.
River
Distribution
There
are 450 rivers in Gansu, among which 78 rivers have a yearly runoff of
over 100 million cubic meters each.. The Black River, Shule River,
Yellow River trunk stream, Tao River and Jialingjiang River are the
greater ones. The river basin within the province can he divided into 3
valleys as Hexi and the northern part of Chaidamu inland river valley,
the Yellow River valley and the Yangtze River valley with 9 water
systems of Shule River system, Yellow River mainstream system, Tao
River system, Huang River system, Wei River system, Jin River system
and Jialingjiang River system.
Climatic
Characteristics Gansu
has a dry climate with plenty of sunshine, strong radiation and the
temperature varies greatly from day to night. The annual average
temperature is between 0 。C-14 。C
dropping from the southeast to the northwest. It is 4 。C-9 。C
in Hexi Corridor, 0 。C-6 。C
in Qilian mountainous area, 5 。C-9 。C
and 7 。C-10 。C
in Longzhong and Longdong respectively. Its annual rainfall
is about
300millimeters and differs greatly in different parts. It is reduced
from 760 millimeters in the southeast to 42 millimeters in the
northwest. The seasonal rainfall is also uneven and concentrated mainly
from June to September. Gansu has rich solar energy resources with an
annual sunshine time of 1,700-3,300 hours, increasing from the
southeast to the northwest. Hexi Corridor has a maximum annual sunshine
time of 2,800-3,300 hours, Longnan has a minimum sunshine time of
1,800-2,300 hours, Longzhong, Longnan and Gannan has an annual sunshine
time of 2,100-2,700 hours.
Provincial
Administration Under the provincial
administration, there are 12 prefecture
level cities of Lanzhou, Tianshui, Baiying, Jinchang, Jiayuguan,
Qingyang, Pingliang, Zhangye, Jiuquan, Dingxi and Longnan, two
autonomous prefectures of Linxia and gannan, 4 county level cities, 59
counties, 7 ethnic minority autonomous counties and 17 districts under
city jurisdiction.
Provincial
Capital Lanzhou
Lanzhou is the only city in the country
that the Yellow River flows
across the downtown area and reputed as “the Capital of the Yellow
River and the Famous City with Mountains-and-Waters”. Lanzhou is the
biggest newly industrialized city on the upper reaches of the Yellow
River and one of the 50 cities with strong comprehensive strength in
China.
more info Official Website of Gansu
Provincial People's Government
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