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This north-western Chinese province astride the upper reaches of the Yellow River has an area of 455, 000
square kilometres inhabited by 23,450,000 people of the Han, Hui, Tibetan, Mongol and eight other ethnic groups. The
provincial capital is LanZhou, North-west China's largest industrial centre situated on the western terminus of the
LongHai Railway - China's major east-west trunk line.
Climate: Gansu has a temperate monsoon climate with the marked transitional characteristics of a continental
climate. It has an annual temperature of 0ºC 15ºC, with great differences between north and south, and an annual
precipitation of 50-800 millimetres, with lesser amounts in the northwest.
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Geography: Gansu adjoins the Loess Highland, and inner Mongolia, and Qinghai-Tibet plateaus,
averaging 1,000-3,000 metres in elevation. The eastern part, composed of undulating Loess Highland, is drained by the
Yellow River and its tributaries, the Weihe and Taohe rivers. The QiLian Mountainous area on the Gansu-QingHai border
generally exceeds 4,000 metres above sea level.
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are the Heihe, Shule and other inland rivers in the Gansu Corridor Between the Qilian range and the Longshou and Heli
mountains. Although the greater areas of the corridor are deserts and semi-deserts with an arid climate, there are
contiguous oases which have the benefit of the melt-water from the QiLian Mountains for the development of farming and
animal husbandry. A natural passage from the heartland of China to XinJiang and Central Asia in ancient times, the Gansu
Corridor is intersected by the LanZhou-XinJiang Railway.
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The mouth of the Hexi corridor, Gansu, where the Gobi meets the Taklimakan desert |
Population: 24,670,000 (2001 March)
Ethnic groups: Han, Hui, Tibetan, Mongol and eight other ethnic groups
Agriculture: The grassland in Gansu Province is the fifth biggest in China. Growing in
the Loess Highland are mostly wheat, maize, millet, cotton and linseed. The area around LanZhou is a melon and fruit
producer famous for its BaiLan melons. Its main livestock
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Mogao Caves contain many examples colourful Buddist Art, Dunhuang |
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includes pigs, sheep, cattle and horses.
Industry: Gansu has more than 60 types of minerals, the best-known being nickel, copper, lead and zinc. Jinchang
is the country's leading nickel producer. Iron, Chromium, tungsten, mercury, and antimony are found in a number of
areas. YuMen and ChangQing are sizable oilfields. The province is also rich in coal, troilite, cement, limestone,
gypsum, mirabilite and fluorite.
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