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Gansu Province
Name transcription(s)
 • Chinese 甘肃省 (Gānsù Shěng)
 • Abbreviation or / (pinyin: Gān or Lǒng)
Map showing the location of Gansu Province
Map showing the location of Gansu Province
Coordinates: 38°N 102°E﻿ / ﻿38°N 102°E﻿ / 38; 102Coordinates: 38°N 102°E﻿ / ﻿38°N 102°E﻿ / 38; 102
Named for gān - Ganzhou District, Zhangye
/ sù - Suzhou District, Jiuquan
(and largest city)
Divisions 14 prefectures, 86 counties, 1344 townships
 • Secretary Wang Sanyun
 • Governor Liu Weiping
 • Total 425,800 km2 (164,400 sq mi)
Area rank 7th
Population (2010)[2]
 • Total 25,575,254
 • Rank 22nd
 • Density 60/km2 (160/sq mi)
 • Density rank 27th
 • Ethnic composition Han - 91%
Hui - 5%
Dongxiang - 2%
Tibetan - 2%
 • Languages and dialects Zhongyuan Mandarin, Lanyin Mandarin, Amdo Tibetan
ISO 3166 code CN-62
GDP (2011) CNY 502.0 billion
US$ 79.6 billion (27th)
 - per capita CNY 16,113
US$ 2,380 (29th)
HDI (2010) 0.630[3] (medium) (28th)
(Simplified Chinese)
Simplified Chinese 甘肃
Traditional Chinese 甘肅
Postal Map Kansu

Gansu (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: About this sound Gānsù) is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northwest of the country.


Gansu has a population of 26 million (2009), covers an area of 425,800 km2 (164,400 sq mi). The capital is Lanzhou, located in the southeast part of the province.


Gansu is abbreviated as "" (Gān) or "" (Lǒng), and is also known as Long West or Long Right, in reference to the Long Mountain east of Gansu.[citation needed]


Jiayuguan Fort

Gansu is a compound name first used during the Song dynasty of two Sui and Tang dynasty[clarification needed] prefectures (): Gan (around Zhangye) and Su (around Jiuquan).

The ruins of a Han dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD) Chinese watchtower made of rammed earth at Dunhuang, Gansu province, the eastern edge of the Silk Road

In prehistoric times, Gansu was host to a number of Neolithic cultures. The Dadiwan culture, from where numerous archaeologically significant artifacts have been excavated, flourished in the eastern end of Gansu from about 6000 BC to about 3000 BC.[4] The Majiayao culture and part of the Qijia culture also took root in Gansu from 3100 BC to 2700 BC and 2400 BC to 1900 BC respectively.

The Yuezhi originally lived in the very western part of Gansu until they were forced to emigrate by the Xiongnu around 177 BCE. The State of Qin, later to become the founding state of the Chinese empire, grew out from the southeastern part of Gansu, specifically the Tianshui area. The Qin name itself is believed to have originated, in part, from the area.[5][6] Qin tombs and artifacts have been excavated from Fangmatan near Tianshui, including one 2200-year-old map of Guixian County.[7]


By the Qingshui treaty, concluded in 823 between the Tibetan Empire and the Tang dynasty, China lost a part of Gansu province for a significant period of time.[8]


Situated along the Silk Road, Gansu was an economically important province, as well as a cultural transmission path. Temples and Buddhist grottoes[9] such as those at Mogao Caves ('Caves of the Thousand Buddhas') and Maijishan Caves contain artistically and historically revealing murals.[10] An early form of paper inscribed with Chinese characters and dating to about 8 BC was discovered at the site of a Western Han garrison near the Yumen pass in August 2006 [11]

The province was also the origin of the Dungan Revolt of 1862-77, which later spread to much of China and resulted in the deaths of upwards of twelve million Chinese Muslims[12] in addition to the decimation of Chinese Muslim culture in Yunnan province, where over one million Muslims were killed by Qing dynasty imperial forces.[13] Among the Qing forces were Muslim Generals like Ma Zhan'ao and Ma Anliang who helped Qing crush the rebel Muslims. The revolt had spread into Gansu from neighbouring Qinghai.

Frequent earthquakes, droughts and famines have tended to slow economic progress of the province until recently. Based on the area's abundant mineral resources it has begun developing into a vital industrial center. An earthquake in Gansu at 8.6 on the Richter scale killed around 180,000 people in 1920, and another with a magnitude of 7.6 killed 275 in 1932.[14]

Muslim General Ma Hongbin was acting Chairman of the province, and Muslim General Ma Buqing was in virtual control of Gansu in 1940. Liangzhou District in Wuwei was previously his headquarters in Gansu, where he controlled 15 million Muslims.[15]


Semi-arid land, suitable for light grazing

Gansu has an area of 454,000 square kilometres (175,000 sq mi), and the vast majority of its land is more than 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above sea level. It lies between the Tibetan Plateau and the Loess Plateau, bordering Mongolia (Govi-Altai Province) to the northwest, Inner Mongolia and Ningxia to the north, Shaanxi to the east, Sichuan to the south, and Xinjiang to the west. The Yellow River passes through the southern part of the province. The province contains the geographical centre of China, marked by the Center of the Country Monument at 35°50′40.9″N 103°27′7.5″E﻿ / ﻿35.844694°N 103.452083°E﻿ / 35.844694; 103.452083﻿ (Geographical centre of China).[16]


The Yellow River gets most of its water from Gansu. The Yellow River also flows straight through Lanzhou. Area around Wuwei is part of Shiyang River Basin.[17]

The landscape in Gansu is very mountainous in the south and flat in the north. The mountains in the south are part of the Qilian Mountains, while the far western Altyn-Tagh contains the province's highest point, at 5,830 metres (19,130 ft).

A natural land passage known as Hexi Corridor, stretching some 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) from Lanzhou to the Jade Gate, is situated within the province. It is bound from north by the Gobi Desert and Qilian Mountains from the south.

Gansu generally has a semi-arid to arid, continental climate, with warm to hot summers and cold to very cold winters. Most of the precipitation is delivered in the summer months. However,due to its extreme altitude and remoteness, some areas of Gansu exhibit the Subarctic Climate - with winter temperatures dropping to -40.

Panorama of the lower Daxia River valley in the northeast of the Linxia County, and the loess plateau flanking in, cut by a canyon

Administrative divisions[edit]

Gansu is divided into fourteen prefecture-level divisions: twelve prefecture-level cities and two autonomous prefectures:

Map # Name Administrative Seat Chinese
Hanyu Pinyin
Population (2010)
Gansu prfc map.png
Prefecture-level city
1 Jiuquan Suzhou District 酒泉市
Jiǔquán Shì
2 Jiayuguan Jiayuguan
(Xiongguan District)
Jiāyùguān Shì
3 Zhangye Ganzhou District 张掖市
Zhāngyè Shì
4 Jinchang Jinchuan District 金昌市
Jīnchāng Shì
5 Wuwei Liangzhou District 武威市
Wǔwēi Shì
6 Baiyin Baiyin District 白银市
Báiyín Shì
7 Lanzhou
(Provincial seat)
Chengguan District 兰州市
Lánzhōu Shì
10 Dingxi Anding District 定西市
Dìngxī Shì
11 Longnan Wudu District 陇南市
Lǒngnán Shì
12 Tianshui Qinzhou District 天水市
Tiānshuǐ Shì
13 Pingliang Kongtong District 平凉市
Píngliàng Shì
14 Qingyang Xifeng District 庆阳市
Qìngyáng Shì
Autonomous prefecture
8 Linxia
(for Hui)
Linxia 临夏回族自治州
Línxià Huízú Zìzhìzhōu
9 Gannan
(for Tibetan)
Hezuo 甘南藏族自治州
Gānnán Zāngzú Zìzhìzhōu

Anti-desertification project[edit]

The Asian Development Bank is working with the State Forestry Administration of China on the Silk Road Ecosystem Restoration project, designed to prevent degradation and desertification in Gansu. It is estimated to cost up to US$150 million.


Gates of a provincial government complex in Lanzhou

Secretaries of the CPC Gansu Committee: The Secretary of the CPC Gansu Committee is the highest-ranking office within Gansu Province.[18]

  1. Zhang Desheng (张德生): 1949−1954
  2. Zhang Zhongliang (张仲良): 1954−1961
  3. Wang Feng (汪锋): 1961−1966
  4. Hu Jizong (胡继宗): 1966−1967
  5. Xian Henghan (冼恒汉): 1970−1977
  6. Song Ping (宋平): 1977−1981
  7. Feng Jixin (冯纪新): 1981−1983
  8. Li Ziqi (李子奇): 1983−1990
  9. Gu Jinchi (顾金池): 1990−1993
  10. Yan Haiwang (阎海旺): 1993−1998
  11. Sun Ying (孙英): 1998−2001
  12. Song Zhaosu (宋照肃): 2001−2003
  13. Su Rong (苏荣): 2003−2007
  14. Lu Hao (陆浩): April 2007 − December 2011
  15. Wang Sanyun (王三运): December 2011 − incumbent

Governors of Gansu: The Governorship of Gansu is the second highest-ranking official within Gansu, behind the Secretary of the CPC Gansu Committee.[18] The governor is responsible for all issues related to economics, personnel, political initiatives, the environment and the foreign affairs of the province.[18] The Governor is appointed by the Gansu Provincial People's Congress, which is the province's legislative body.[18]

  1. Wang Shitai (王世泰): 1949−1950
  2. Deng Baoshan (邓宝姗): 1950−1967
  3. Xian Henghan (冼恒汉): 1967−1977
  4. Song Ping (宋平): 1977−1979
  5. Feng Jixin (冯纪新): 1979−1981
  6. Li Dengying (李登瀛): 1981−1983
  7. Chen Guangyi (陈光毅): 1983−1986
  8. Jia Zhijie (贾志杰): 1986−1993
  9. Yan Haiwang (阎海旺): 1993
  10. Zhang Wule (张吾乐): 1993−1996
  11. Sun Ying (孙英): 1996−1998
  12. Song Zhaosu (宋照肃): 1998−2001
  13. Lu Hao (陆浩): 2001−2006
  14. Xu Shousheng (徐守盛): January 2007 − July 2010[18]
  15. Liu Weiping (刘伟平): July 2010 − incumbent


The Yellow River in Lanzhou seen from the park of the White Pagoda.

Agricultural production includes cotton, linseed oil, maize, melons (such as the honeydew melon, known locally as the Bailan melon or "Wallace" due to its introduction by US vice president Henry A. Wallace),[19] millet, and wheat. Gansu is known as a source for wild medicinal herbs which are used in Chinese medicine. However, pollution by heavy metals, such as cadmium in irrigation water, has resulted in poisoning of many acres of agricultural land. The extent and nature of the heavy metal pollution is considered a state secret.[20]

However, most of Gansu's economy is based on mining and the extraction of minerals, especially rare earth elements. The province has significant deposits of antimony, chromium, coal, cobalt, copper, fluorite, gypsum, iridium, iron, lead, limestone, mercury, mirabilite, nickel, crude oil, platinum, troilite, tungsten, and zinc among others. The oil fields at Yumen and Changqing are considered significant.

Gansu has China's largest nickel deposits accounting for over 90% of China's total nickel reserves.[21]

Industries other than mining include electricity generation, petrochemicals, oil exploration machinery, and building materials.

According to some sources, the province is also a center of China's nuclear industry.

Despite recent growth in Gansu and the booming economy in the rest of China, Gansu is still considered to be one of the poorest provinces in China. Its nominal GDP for 2011 was about 502.0 billion yuan (79.69 billion USD) and per capita of 12,836 RMB (1,879 USD). Tourism has been a bright spot in contributing to Gansu's overall economy. As mentioned below, Gansu offers a wide variety of choices for national and international tourists.

As stipulated in the country's 12th Five Year Plan, the local government of Gansu hopes to grow the provinces GDP by 10% annually by focusing investments on five pillar industries: renewable energy, coal, chemicals, nonferrous metals, pharmaceuticals and services.[22]

Economic and technological development zones[edit]

  • Lanzhou National Economic and Technological Development Zone

Lanzhou Economic & Technology Development Zone was established in 1993, located in the center of Lanzhou Anning District. The zone has a planned area of 9.53 km2 (3.68 sq mi). 17 colleges, 11 scientific research institutions, 21 large and medium-size companines and other 1735 enterprises have been set up in the zone. Main industries include textile mills, rubber, fertilizer plants, oil refinery, petrochemical, machinery, and metallurgical industry.[23]

  • Lanzhou New & Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, Lanzhou Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, one of the first 27 national hi-tech industrial development zones, was established in 1998 covering more than 10 km2 (3.9 sq mi). It is expected to expand another 19 km2 (7.3 sq mi). The zone mainly focuses on Biotechnology, chemical industry, building decoration materials and information technology.[24]


On the streets of Linxia

Gansu province is home to 30,711,287 people. Most of the population, 73%, is still rural. Gansu is 92% Han and also has Hui, Tibetan, Dongxiang, Tu, Manchu, Uyghur, Yugur, Bonan, Mongolian, Salar, and Kazakh minorities. Prior to the Panthay Rebellion and the Dungan Revolt, Gansu province had a large community of Chinese Hui Muslims, which was almost decimated by Qing authorities. Gansu is also a historical home, along with Shaanxi, of the dialect of the Dungans, who migrated to Central Asia. The southwestern corner of Gansu is home to a large ethnic Tibetan population.




Sheep grazing beside a main road near Jiuquan



Circle frame.svg

Religion in Gansu (2012)[25]

  Non religious and traditional faiths (88%)
  Buddhism (8.2%)
  Islam (3.4%)
  Protestantism (0.4%)
  Catholicism (0.1%)
Nanhua Amituo Fo Temple of Chinese Buddhism seen on a hill above the roofs of the Yu Baba Gongbei, a Sufi shrine.

According to a 2012 survey[25] only around 12% of the population of Gansu belongs to organised religions, the largest groups being Buddhists with 8.2%, followed by Muslims with 3.4%, Protestants with 0.4% and Catholics with 0.1%. Around 88% of the population is non religious or partakes to traditional folk religions, Taoist rites, worship of gods and ancestors.

Muslim restaurants are known as "qingzhen restaurants" ("pure truths (Islamic) restaurants"), and feature typical Chinese dishes, but without any pork products, and instead an emphasis on lamb and mutton. There was a Dungan revolt from 1895 to 1896. The Muslim Conflict in Gansu (1927–1930) was a conflict against the Guominjun. Kuomintang Islamic insurgency in China (1950–1958) was a prolongation of the Chinese Civil War. Gansu has many works of Buddhist art, including the Maijishan Grottoes. Dunhuang was a major centre of Buddhism in the Middle Ages.


Jiayuguan Pass of the Great Wall[edit]

Main article: Jiayuguan Pass



Mogao Grottoes[edit]

The Mogao Grottoes near Dunhuang have a collection of Buddhist art. Originally there were a thousand grottoes, but now only 492 cave temples remain. Each temple has a large statue of a buddha or bodhisattva and paintings of religious scenes. In 336 AD, a monk named Le Zun (Lo-tsun) came near Echoing Sand Mountain, when he had a vision. He started to carve the first grotto. During the Five Dynasties period they ran out of room on the cliff and could not build any more grottoes.

Silk Road and Dunhuang City[edit]

A terracotta warrior from Gansu, with traces of polychrome and gold, from the Tang Dynasty (618−907)


Located about 5 km (3.1 mi) southwest of the city, the Crescent Lake or Yueyaquan is an oasis and popular spot for tourists seeking respite from the heat of the desert. Activities includes camel and 4x4 rides.

Silk Route Museum[edit]

The Silk Route Museum is located in Jiuquan along the Silk Road, a trading route connecting Rome to China, used by Marco Polo. It is also built over the tomb of the Xiliang King.[26]

Bingling Temple[edit]


Labrang Monastery[edit]


Space launch center[edit]


Postage stamps[edit]

In August 1949, the provincial government overprinted the nondenominated stamps "locomotive" and "airmail arrow" stamps issued by the central government. These overprints were made by handstamping in purple, and are quite rare, valued at over US$500 each. Counterfeits are known, and apparent examples should be expertized.


Colleges and universities[edit]

Natural resources[edit]


  • 166,400 square kilometres (64,200 sq mi) grassland
  • 46,700 square kilometres (18,000 sq mi) mountain slopes suitable for livestock breeding
  • 46,200 square kilometres (17,800 sq mi) forests (standing timber reserves of 0.2 cubic kilometres (0.048 cu mi))
  • 35,300 square kilometres (13,600 sq mi) cultivated land (1,400 square metres (15,000 sq ft) per capita)
  • 66,600 square kilometres (25,700 sq mi) wasteland suitable for forestation
  • 10,000 square kilometres (3,900 sq mi) wasteland suitable for farming


Three thousand deposits of 145 different minerals. Ninety-four minerals have been found and ascertained, including nickel, cobalt, platinum, selenium, casting clay, finishing serpentine, and five other minerals whose reserves are the largest in China.[citation needed] Gansu has advantages in getting nickel, zinc, cobalt, platinum, iridium, copper, barite, and baudisserite.


Among Gansu’s most important sources of energy are its water resources: the Yellow River and other inland river drainage basins. Gansu is placed ninth among China’s provinces in annual hydropower potential and water discharge. Gansu produces 17.24 gigawatts of hydropower a year. Twenty-nine hydropower stations have been constructed in Gansu, each capable of generating 30 gigawatts. Gansu has an estimated coal reserve of 8.92 billion tons and petroleum reserve of 700 million tons. There is also good potential for wind and solar power development.

Flora and fauna[edit]

Gansu has 659 species of wild animals.[27] It has twenty-four rare animals which are under a state protection.

Gansu's mammals include some of the world's most charismatic: the Giant panda, Golden Monkeys, lynx, Snow leopards, Sika deer, musk deer, and the Bactrian camel.

Among zoologists who study moles, the Gansu Mole is of great interest. For a reason that can only be speculated, it is taxologically a New World Mole living among Old Word Moles; that is to say an American mole living in a sea of Euro-Asians.

Gansu is home to 441 species of birds; it is a center of endemism and home to many species and subspecies which occur nowhere else in the world.

Gansu is China's second-largest producer of medicinal plants and herbs, including some produced nowhere else, such as the hairy asiabell root, fritillary bulb, and Chinese caterpillar fungus.

See also[edit]


  4. ^ Dadiwan Relics Break Archeological Records
  5. ^ Xinhua - English
  6. ^ People's Daily Online - Chinese surname history: Qin
  7. ^ Over 2,200-Year-old Map Discovered in NW China
  8. ^ Turghun Almas, "Uygurlar", Kashgar, 1989.
  9. ^
  10. ^ "Artistic treasures of Maiji Mountain caves" by Alok Shrotriya and Zhou Xue-ying.
  11. ^
  14. ^ NGDC. "Comments for the Significant Earthquake". Retrieved 2 November 2010. 
  15. ^ Harrison Forman (19 July 1942). "Moslem War Lord Isolated by China; Ma Pu-ching Sent to Swamps of Tibet With the Title of Reclamation Commissioner Member of a Noted Clan Vital Route to Russia Passes Through Area With 15,000,000 Believers in the Koran". The New York Times. 
  16. ^
  17. ^ FutureWater. "Groundwater Management Exploration Package". # Wageningen, Netherlands. Retrieved 2009-06-15. 
  18. ^ a b c d e "Xu Shousheng re-elected governor of northwest China's Gansu Province". Xinhua. 2008-01-27. Retrieved 2008-02-23. 
  19. ^ This simplified Chinese page discusses how the seeds were brought to China, the connection to Wallace, dates, etc.
  20. ^ Liu Hongqiao (March 1, 2013). "The Poison Eaters of Gansu Province: Pollution is not a problem some western farmers can choose to ignore, as many say they have suffered from chronic bone pains for decades". Caixin. Retrieved March 1, 2013. 
  21. ^ The China Perspective, Gansu Economic News and Data
  22. ^
  23. ^, Lanzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone
  24. ^, Lanzhou Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone
  26. ^

External links[edit]