Zhongwei (, Xiao'erjing: جْووِ شِ) is a prefecture-level city of Ningxia, People's Republic of China. It has an area of and a population of 1,174,600 in 2019. The city is known for its wolfberry and Gobi watermelon cultivation. One of the world's largest

photovoltaic power station A photovoltaic power station, also known as a solar park, solar farm, or solar power plant, is a large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic power system (PV system) designed for the supply of merchant power. They are different from most building- ...

, Tengger Desert Solar Park, is located in Zhongwei.

History

Under general Meng Tian, 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 ...

captured the area of Zhongwei and established the Beidi Commandery. In 205 BC a city was built at the current location of Zhongwei urban area, which would grow as irrigation systems were built to allow farming. In 1226

Genghis Khan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin , ...

captured Zhongwei. In 1403 the city was named Zhongwei, part of Shaanxi. In 1920 Zhongwei was struck by the Haiyuan earthquake. In 1926 the highway 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 Zhongwei opened.

Tourism

Zhongwei's main attraction is Gao Miao, a temple that has hosted Confucian, Buddhist, and Taoist ceremonies. A bomb shelter was also built beneath the temple during the Cultural Revolution. It has since been converted into a rendition of a Buddhist hell. The prefecture is also the location of the beginning of the northern bend in the Yellow River that produces the

Ordos Loop The Ordos Plateau, also known as the Ordos Basin or simply the Ordos, is a highland sedimentary basin in northwest China with an elevation of , and consisting mostly of land enclosed by the Ordos Loop, a large northerly rectangular bend of the Y ...

. A drum tower is located in the city center.

Administrative divisions

Geography

Zhongwei is located on the northern banks of the Yellow River and bordered directly by the Tengger Desert in the north. The city has been battling desertification since the 1950s. Using straw checkerboard patterns the advance of sand dunes is stopped.

Climate

Transportation

Zhongwei Railway Station (20151229075936)

* Zhongwei Shapotou Airport * Baotou–Lanzhou railway *

Baoji–Zhongwei railway The Baoji–Zhongwei railway is a railway line in northwest China: it starts in Baoji in Shaanxi, passes through Pingliang in Gansu and finally ends in Zhenluobao (镇罗堡) in Zhongwei in Ningxia, with a total length of 498.19 kilometres. Con ...

, to points south (connections to Xi'an,

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...

) * Taiyuan-Zhongwei-Yinchuan railway, to the east (connection to Beijing) *

Gantang–Wuwei railway The Gantang–Wuwei railway () is a railway line in China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahe ...

, to western Gansu and westward * Zhongwei–Lanzhou high-speed railway * G70 Fuzhou–Yinchuan Expressway *

G2012 Dingbian–Wuwei Expressway The Dingbian–Wuwei Expressway (), commonly referred to as the Dingwu Expressway () is an expressway that connects Dingbian County, Yulin, Shaanxi, People's Republic of China and Wuwei, Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a p ...

* China National Highway 109

Gallery

Image:DesertLake3.jpg, Desert Lake Image:DesertLake.jpg, Desert Lake Image:DesertLake2.jpg, Desert Lake File:Shapotou desert area (20171005173240).jpg, Shapotou scenic area File:Camel convoys in Shapotou (20171005173358).jpg, Camels in Shapotou Image:Zhongwei_cultural_centre.jpg, Zhongwei cultural centre

References

External links

Official website of Zhongwei Government
{{Authority control Prefecture-level divisions of Ningxia Cities in Ningxia