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. Its nominal GDP for 2009 was about 338.2 billion yuan (49.5 billion USD) and per capita of 12,836 RMB (1,879 USD).

Location

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. Running through the whole province, the ancient Silk Road and the new Eurasian Continental Bridge is important thoroughfare linking up East Asia, Central Asia, West Asia and Europe. 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.

Climate

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. Its annual rainfall is about 300millimeters and differs greatly in different parts.

Population and ethnic groups

Gansu has been a multi-ethnic province since ancient times. 54 ethnic groups have inhabited here. Among its total population of 26.0334 million, the minority population takes up 2.199 million. Hui nationality is the largest in all the minority nationalities with a population of 1.185 million. Ten ethnic groups of Hui. Tibet, Dongxiang, Tu, Yugu, Baoan, Mongolia, Sala, Hazak and Manchu have inhabited in Gansu for generations. Yugu, Dongxiang and Baoan are unique nationalities.

Transportation

Gansu has several civil airports, such as Lanzhou Airport, Dunhuang Airport and Jiayuguan Airport. Taking Lanzhou, the inland port city as the center, more than 40 air routes have been opened to 30 cities in the whole country and a tourist flight from Lanzhou to Hong Kong. Railway lines taking Lanzhou as the pivot extend in all directions and 90 trains go to different parts of the country every day. With convenient transportation, all the three traditional tourist lies have been linked together either by state highway or provincial highway.

History and Culture

Gansu has the organizational system of province for more than 700 years, which of the county is even earlier than that of the province and has already had a history of 2,200 years since the Spring and Autumn Period. The name of Gansu came from the first two characters of ancient Ganzhou (present Zhangye ) and Suzhou (present Jiuquan). In western Xia Dynasty, Gansu already had the organizational system of military command and that of province was started in Yuan Dynasty. As an administrative area, it was simply named “Gan” Because most part of the province was lying in the west of Long Mountain (Liujpan Mountain), it was also simply named “Long”.

The traditional handicrafts in Gansu are archaized carpets (using patterns from ancient carpets), luminous cups and the duplicates of sculptures and murals of the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang.

Food

The food in Gansu is quite unique compared to that of central China, having been influenced by ethnic groups - especially the Hui people. Besides the beef noodles, there are local delicacies that cannot be tasted in other places, as well as Sichuan cuisines, hotpot, and western food.

Tourism

With a long history and brilliant cultures, Gansu is abundantly endowed with cultural relics and natural scenery. Vast and graceful natural scenery like endless desert and pure glacial landscape presents an impressive and breath-taking picture before your eyes. Take for example the world-famous Mogao Grottoes. It is the largest and most well-preserved Buddhist art palace and also a post along the ancient Silk Road; the grand Jiayuguan Pass, an important outpost in ancient China, is the western end of the Great Wall; the Labrang Monastery in Xiahe is one of the largest Tibetan Buddhist resorts in China while the Bingling Thousand Buddha Caves in Lanzhou are a treasure trove of Han Buddhism. All of these are commendatory scenic spots for tour.

Universities in Gansu

Lanzhou University
Lanzhou Jiaotong University
Lanzhou University of Technology
Long Dong University
Lanzhou University of Finance and Economics
Gansu Political Science and Law Institute
Northwest Normal Unviersity
Northwest University for Nationalities
Gansu Industry Polytechnic College
Gansu Lianhe University
Lanzhou Petrochemical College of Vocational Technology
Lanzhou Polytechnical College
Gansu Agricultural University
Gansu Construction Vocational Technical College
Lanzhou Foreign Languages Vocational College
Gansu college of Traditional Chinese Medicine