Lintao County ) is administratively under the control of
Dingxi
Dingxi (), also known as Longyou () is a prefecture-level city in the southeast of Gansu 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 ...
,
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 Tibet ...
province.
History
Until the 20th century, Lintao was known as Didao ().
The
Battle of Didao was fought in the area in 255 CE, during the
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...
era.
In the 8th century, an anonymous poet of the Tang Dynasty places General
Geshu Han Geshu Han () (died December 1, 757), formally Prince Wumin of Xiping (), was a general of Tang China who was of Turgesh extraction. He became a powerful general late in the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and in 756 became responsible for defend ...
and the Chinese army in Lintao, battling the Tibetans. Poet
Li Bai
Li Bai (, 701–762), also pronounced as Li Bo, courtesy name Taibai (), was a Chinese poet, acclaimed from his own time to the present as a brilliant and romantic figure who took traditional poetic forms to new heights. He and his friend Du F ...
reference Lintao in his poem, "Ballads of Four Seasons: Winter."
Located at an important
Tao River
Tao River () is a right tributary of China's Yellow River. It starts in Xiqing Mountains () near the Gansu–Qinghai border, flows eastward across Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and then northward more or less along the border between Di ...
crossing, Didao City (i.e., today's Taoyang Town) was an important trade center during the
Northern Song Dynasty
Northern may refer to the following:
Geography
* North, a point in direction
* Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe
* Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States
* Northern Province, Sri Lanka
* Northern Range, a ra ...
(ca. 11-12th century), when the more northern route of the
Silk Route
The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...
was blocked by the
Xi Xia
The Western Xia or the Xi Xia (), officially the Great Xia (), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as ''Mi-nyak''Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts and Tibetans, was a Tangut-led Buddhist imperial dynasty of China tha ...
state. It is known to have been home to hundreds of foreign merchants at the time, some of whom may have been the ancestors of today's
Hui people
The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the ...
of Gansu.
Geography
The county is located mostly on the right (eastern) bank of the
Tao River
Tao River () is a right tributary of China's Yellow River. It starts in Xiqing Mountains () near the Gansu–Qinghai border, flows eastward across Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and then northward more or less along the border between Di ...
, a right tributary of the
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...
. It borders with
Lanzhou
Lanzhou (, ; ) is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. Located on the banks of the Yellow River, it is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the eastern half of the country. H ...
in the northeast, with
Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture
Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture (, Xiao'erjing: ), formerly known as Hezhou (河州) and Baohan (枹罕), is located in Gansu Province, south of the provincial capital Lanzhou, bordering Qinghai to the west. It is an autonomous prefecture for the ...
in the west, and with other parts of
Dingxi
Dingxi (), also known as Longyou () is a prefecture-level city in the southeast of Gansu 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 ...
Prefecture-level City in the east and south.
Climate
Culture
Lintao is known for its Huashutang candy (花酥糖) and
Nuo opera
Nuo opera or Nuo drama () is one of China's most popular folk operas. Characterized by its special features such as ferocious masks, unique dresses and adornments, the strange language used in performance, and mysterious scenes, Nuo opera has be ...
.
Administrative divisions
Lintao County is divided to 5 towns and 6 townships.
The county seat of Lintao County is in Taoyang town.
;Towns
;Townships
Transport
China National Highway 212
China National Highway 212 (G212) runs from Lanzhou in Gansu to Chongqing. It was originally 1302 kilometres in length. In the 2013 National Highway Network Planning it was extended to Longbang, Guangxi, on the border with Vietnam. After the ex ...
and the
Lanhai Expressway (G75) cross the county from the north to the south, on its way from
Lanzhou
Lanzhou (, ; ) is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. Located on the banks of the Yellow River, it is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the eastern half of the country. H ...
to south-eastern Gansu.
A military airfield,
Lintao Air Base, is located south of the county seat.
References
County-level divisions of Gansu
Dingxi
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