Yongjing (,

Xiao'erjing Xiao'erjing or Xiao'erjin or Xiaor jin or in its shortened form, Xiaojing, literally meaning "children's script" or "minor script" (cf. "original script" referring to the original Perso-Arabic script; zh, s=本经, t=本經, p=Běnjīng, Xiao ...

: ) is a county in

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 China's

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. The county seat, the town (''zhen'') of Liujiaxia (), is located about 80 km south-west from the provincial capital city,

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 ...

. As is the case with most Chinese county seats, Liujiaxia Town is labeled on most less-detailed maps simply as "Yongjing" or "Yongjing County". The

Liujiaxia Dam The Liujiaxia Dam () is a major hydroelectric dam on the upper Yellow River, in Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture of China's Gansu Province. The dam and its hydroelectric facility (Liujiaxia Hydroelectric Station, ) are located in Liujia Gorge, or ...

on 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 ...

is located on the eastern outskirts of Liujiaxia Town.

History

Yongjing's history goes back approximately 5000 years. It was part of the ancient Western Qiang state. In the

Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

it was part of Jincheng () or Gold City. For many dynasties after that, it was part of Hezhou (). Not until 1928 did it become part of Linxia ().

Administrative divisions

Yongjing County is divided to 10 towns and 7 townships. ;Towns ;Townships

Geography

Yongjing is located in center western Gansu province along the Yellow River, north of the

Liujiaxia Reservoir The Liujiaxia Reservoir () is a reservoir in China's Gansu Province, formed by the Liujiaxia Dam on the Yellow River. It occupies over ,"临夏旅游" (Linxia Tourism), published by Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture Tourist Board, 2003. 146 pages. ...

, or Bingling Lake. Yongjing County's area covers more than 1,863 km². It is mountainous and hilly with elevations between 1560–2851 m above sea-level and is located between 35°47'-36°12'N and 102°53'-103°39'E.

Climate

Economy

Yongjing's economy is based mainly on the Yellow River and the hydropower it and its tributaries provide. The 3 local dams are Liujiaxia (located just upstream from the county seat), Yanguoxia (; upstream from Yanguoxia Town, further north), and Bapanxia (actually located within the Lanzhou prefecture, but with much of its reservoir being in Yongjing County). With beautiful natural scenery and the famous Bingling Temple nearby, tourism is growing. Agriculture, mining, fishing, and other natural resource related industries are also important.

Transport

China National Highway 213 China National Highway 213 (G213) runs from Ceke, Inner Mongolia, to Mohan, on the border with Laos, in Yunnan. It is in length and runs via Chengdu, Sichuan and Kunming, Yunnan. Before the 2013 Highway Planning, the route started in Lanzhou ...

Tourism

Bingling Temple The Bingling Temple () is a series of grottoes filled with Buddhist sculpture carved into natural caves and caverns in a canyon along the Yellow River. It lies just north of where the Yellow River empties into the Liujiaxia Reservoir. Administrati ...

is located in the southern part of Yongjing County, a 3-hour boat ride away (upstream) from Liujiaxia Dam. Most boats start from just next to the dam, although some private boats also take tourists to the temple from the Lianhua Tai ferry dock on the southern (

Linxia County Linxia County (, Xiao'erjing: ) is a county in the Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, province of Gansu of the People's Republic of China. Geography Linxia County is located in central and south-western parts of the Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefect ...

) side of the Liujiaxia Reservoir. In order to improve foreign tourism, the local government has introduced foreign teachers to improve the English of the locality and social awareness of foreigners. In 2001 archaeologists discovered more than 100 dinosaur tracks on a hillside near Yangouxia Gorge, and a dinosaur themed park was built but closed down in 2010.Three gorges along Yellow River in Yongjing
(at the Gansu Province official site)

References

External links

Official Website
Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture {{Gansu-geo-stub