Qingyang () is a
prefecture-level city in eastern
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, China.
Geography and climate
Qingyang is the easternmost
prefecture-level division of Gansu and is thus sometimes referred to as "Longdong" (). It forms an administrative peninsula, as it is surrounded, on all sides but the south, by
Shaanxi and
Ningxia. It is in the lower middle part of the
Yellow River on the ''
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 aeolian ...
'' plateau and is within the eastern Gansu basin. Elevation ranges from 885 to 2082 meters above sea-level. There are 5 major rivers in Qingyang including the
Malian (),
Pu (),
Hong (),
Xilang (), and Hulu or "Gourd" (). Their combined annual flow is more than 800 million cubic meters. Bordering prefecture-level cities are:
Shaanxi:
*
Yulin Yulin may refer to the following places in China:
Cities and prefectures
*Yulin, Guangxi (玉林市), a prefecture-level city in Guangxi
*Yulin, Shaanxi (榆林市), a prefecture-level city in Shaanxi
* Yulin Prefecture (鬱林州), a prefecture b ...
north
*
Yan'annortheast
*
Xianyangsoutheast
Gansu:
*
Pingliangsouth/southwest
Ningxia:
*
Guyuanwest
*
Wuzhongnorthwest
Qingyang has a
humid continental climate (
Köppen ''Dwb'') with
monsoonal influences. The normal monthly mean temperature ranges from in January to in July, with the annual mean standing at . The normal annual precipitation is , with a two/thirds of it occurring from June to September, and winter seeing minimal precipitation.
History
Qingyang was part of the area where the earliest cultures along the
Yellow River developed and was part of the heartland of the
Qin Qin may refer to:
Dynasties and states
* Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China
* Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC
* Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Emp ...
state that would eventually unite China. It was also an important place in the
communist revolution.
Meteor shower
In March or April 1490 AD a presumed
meteor shower
A meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate, or originate, from one point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere at extre ...
occurred in the Qingyang district.
If a meteor shower did occur, it may have been the result of the breakup of an
asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere.
...
. At least three surviving Chinese historical records describe a shower during which "stones fell like rain", killing more than 10,000 people.
Due to the paucity of detailed information and the lack of surviving meteorites or other physical evidence, researchers have also been unable to definitively state the exact nature of the dramatic event.
Administration
Qingyang has 1 urban district, 7 counties, and 146 towns with a total population of 2,211,191 (2010),
Main data bulletin of the sixth national census in 2010
, 2011-05-09 only 310,000 of which are urban residents.
Economy
In 2004 Qingyang's GDP was 8.014 Billion RMB, 11.6% growth over the previous year. Average annual urban income was 5130 RMB, rural was 1428 RMB. Petroleum and natural gas are the backbone of Qingyang's economy. Agricultural products include donkeys, Huan County sheep, cattle, Jin jujubes, milk, apricots and other fruits, vegetables, and berries. 69 different kinds of Chinese medicinal plants and herbs are collected or grown here, 25 of which are exported.
Transportation
*Qingyang Xifeng Airport
Qingyang Xifeng Airport is an airport serving the city of Qingyang in Gansu Province, China.
Qingyang Airport was built in 1976 and opened to traffic in 1977, with a runway length of 1,800 m. The airport was closed in 1993 due to the ageing of ...
* China National Highway 211
* China National Highway 309
*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 ...
*Xi'an-Pingliang railway (limited service, station at Ning County)
Culture
Qingyang is famous for its rich folk culture. Traditional Chinese art forms such as shadow puppet theater, paper cuts (such as the Qingyang sachet
Qingyang sachet, also known as "chu chu" or "shua huo" (hidden stitch) is a folk custom of Qingyang, Gansu, China. Sachets are created from small pieces of silk, which are embroidered with colorful strings in a variety of patterns according to pa ...
), folk music, and songs are still part of Qingyang's culture.
References
External links
Official Website(Chinese)
{{authority control
Prefecture-level divisions of Gansu