Dingxi (), also known as Longyou () is a

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

in the southeast of

Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibe ...

province, People's Republic of China. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,524,097 inhabitants, of which 422,383 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of Anding urban district.

History

Dingxi was important in the development of some of China's earliest cultures, specifically along the Wei River, one of the Yellow River's biggest tributaries. Numerous

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...

sites from various cultures are found throughout the area. A series of earthquakes in July 2013 killed at least 95 people and destroyed 120,000 homes.

Geography

Dingxi City is located in central Gansu province, east of Lanzhou, giving it the nickname the "eastern gateway". The Wei River, a tributary of the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...

flows through the district and provides it with the majority of its water. Dingxi is semi-arid, with little precipitation. Even though sunlight here can be intense, temperatures are generally cool. The surrounding terrain is mostly

loess Loess (, ; from german: Löss ) is a clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loess or similar deposits. Loess is a periglacial or aeoli ...

hills and ravines in the north and highlands in the south. The area is . After the

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 ...

period (18th century), the land of Dingxi went from lush grasslands and forests to being severely deforested as a result of war, famines and overpopulation.

Climate

Dingxi has a

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

- influenced

cool 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 semi-ar ...

( Köppen ''BSk'') characterised like most of eastern Gansu by warm to very warm, humid summers and freezing, virtually snowless winters.

Administration

Dingxi has 1 urban district, 6 counties, and 119 towns with a total population of 2,698,622.

Economy

Dingxi has been one of the most poverty-stricken regions in Gansu province and China as a whole. Up to 1999, some citizens still lacked food and clothing. Although most of Gansu is arid, in other regions of the province a large portion of farmland is irrigated, whereas in Dingxi this was not the case. Especially after the 1960s, the agricultural output of Dingxi plummeted due to land degradation. Agriculture and natural resource based industries are the key to Dingxi's economy. There are more than 300 different kinds of Chinese medicinal plants and herbs found in the area. Dingxi's Anding County is China's number one grower of yams. '' Zanthoxylum'' (also called Sichuan Pepper or prickly ash fruit), walnuts, wild apricots, and other fruit are some of Dingxi's famous dried exports. Potato is an important crop, and Dingxi has been described as the 'Potato Capital of China'.

Culture

The local Dingxi dialect of Central Plains Mandarin has only three tones instead of the normal four.

Food

* Shouzhuarou, cooked mutton on the bone * Dingxi Niangpi, a type of noodle similar to

Liangpi Liangpi () is a Chinese dish composed of cold skin noodles made from wheat or rice flour. It is a specialty dish originating from the cuisine of Shaanxi Province, but has now spread throghout all of China. In northwestern areas of China, it is of ...

* Longxi Qianrou, a dish made from donkey tail * Minxian Fenyu, a type of noodle that looks like a small fish or tadpole

Transportation

G22 Qingdao–Lanzhou Expressway The Qingdao–Lanzhou Expressway (), designated as G22 and commonly referred to as the Qinglan Expressway () is an expressway that connects the cities of Qingdao, Shandong, China, and Lanzhou, Gansu. It is in length. This expressway is sometimes ...

* G30 Lianyungang–Khorgas Expressway * China National Highway 312 * Longhai railway * Xuzhou-Lanzhou High-Speed Railway

References

External links

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