Wuwei ( zh, c=武威 , p=Wǔwēi) is a
prefecture-level city
A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province of China, province and above a Counties of the People's Republic of China, county in China's ...
in northwest central
Gansu
Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...
province. In the north it borders
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's China–Mongolia border, border with the country of Mongolia. ...
, in the southwest,
Qinghai. Its central location between three western capitals,
Lanzhou,
Xining, and
Yinchuan
Yinchuan is the capital of the Ningxia, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China, and was the capital of the Tangut people, Tangut-led Western Xia, Western Xia dynasty. It has an area of and a total population of 2,859,074 according to the 2020 C ...
makes it an important business and transportation hub for the area. Because of its position along the
Hexi Corridor, historically the only route from central China to western China and the rest of
Central Asia
Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
, many major railroads and national highways pass through Wuwei.
History

In ancient times, Wuwei was called Liangzhou (—the name retained by today's Wuwei's
central urban district) and is the eastern terminus of the
Hexi Corridor. People began settling here about 5,000 years ago. It was a key link for the
Northern Silk Road, and a number of important
archaeological finds were uncovered from Wuwei, including ancient copper carts with stone animals. The motifs and types of objects in the Wuwei graves, as well as their earthenware, lacquer, and bronze composition, constitute typical examples of the
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...
burial style that can be found all over China. Other graves found along the Hexi Corridor show
Xiongnu
The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of Nomad, nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese historiography, Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, t ...
and other minority influence, which are used to trace regimes such as the
Northern Liang. It became an important provincial capital during the
Former Han dynasty as the ''
Hou Hanshu'' makes clear:
"In the third year 70 CE Meng Tuo, the Inspector of Liangzhou (modern Wuwei), sent the Assistant Officer Ren She, commanding five hundred soldiers from Dunhuang. He, with the ''Wuji'' Major Cao Kuan, and Chief Clerk of the Western Regions, Zhang Yan, brought troops from Yanqi ( Karashahr), Qiuci ( Kucha), and the Nearer and Further Kingdoms of Jushi ( Turfan and Jimasa), altogether numbering more than 30,000, to punish Shule ( Kashgar). They attacked the town of Zhenzhong ( Arach) but, having stayed for more than forty days without being able to subdue it, they withdrew. Following this, the kings of Shule ( Kashgar) killed one another repeatedly and, for its part, the Imperial Government was unable to prevent it."
In 121 BC
Han emperor
Wudi brought his cavalry here to defend the
Hexi Corridor against the
Xiongnu
The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of Nomad, nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese historiography, Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, t ...
Huns. His military success allowed him to expand the corridor westward. Its importance as a stop along the
Silk Road made it a crossroads of cultures and
ethnic groups from all over central Asia. Numerous
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
grottoes and
temples in the area attest to its role as a path for bringing Buddhism from
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
to China.
During the
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...
period (184-280), Liangzhou was governed by
Ma Teng. After the death of Ma Teng,
Ma Chao assumed the post and governed the province for a short time before it fell into the hands of
Cao Cao
Cao Cao (; ; ; 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde, was a Chinese statesman, warlord, and poet who rose to power during the end of the Han dynasty (), ultimately taking effective control of the Han central government. He laid the foundation f ...
, ruler of
Cao Wei
Wei () was one of the major Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic states in China during the Three Kingdoms period. The state was established in 220 by Cao Pi based upon the foundations laid by his father Cao Cao during the end of the Han dy ...
.
Liangzhou was briefly (from 400 to 421) a state during the
Sixteen Kingdoms period.
Famous cultural relics from Wuwei include
the Galloping Bronze Horse (),
Western Xia mausoleums (),
Wuwei White Towers Temple (),
Tianti Mountain Grotto (), the Luoshi (Kumārajīva) Temple (), and the Confucian temple ().
Geography and climate
Wuwei is located in the
Hexi Corridor between the
Tibetan plateau and
Mongolian Plateau. The south of Wuwei is higher than the north, with an elevation ranging from above sea-level. Its area is . Average annual temperature is . The climate is a
cold desert climate (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''BWk''), with precipitation between . Evaporation is from , creating a
net loss of water each year. There are 2200–3000 sunlight hours each year and 85–165 frost free days. Summer temperatures can be in excess of , in the shade are by no means unheard of.
Southwest of Wuwei, there is a thick
Tianzhu Formation made of
clastics intercalated with sandy
shale and shale. Minerals deposits occurring in the vicinity of Wuwei include
graphite
Graphite () is a Crystallinity, crystalline allotrope (form) of the element carbon. It consists of many stacked Layered materials, layers of graphene, typically in excess of hundreds of layers. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable ...
,
iron
Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...
,
titanium, and
limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
.
A species of
stone loach, ''
Triplophysa wuweiensis'', is named after Wuwei where it was first discovered.
Administration

1
urban district, 2
counties, 1
autonomous county, 116
towns, and 41
townships
Demographics
Population Overview
By 2020, the population reached 1,464,955
with 38 ethnic groups represented including
Han,
Hui,
Mongol,
Tu,
Tibetan, etc.
Urbanization and Gender Structure
Education Level
Age Distribution and Population Pyramid
No. of Household
Wuwei Ethnic Population and Gender
Ethnic Population by County/District(2020)
Gender Data by Ethnicity(2020)
Birth Rate, Mortality Rate, and Natural Growth Rate in Wuwei
Economy
Consistent sunlight and fertile soil make agriculture one of Wuwei's biggest industries. Other important industries are textiles, metallurgy, and construction materials. Melons, vegetables, wine and livestock are all major agricultural products.
Organic farming is a trend with more land being set aside for “green farming” each year. Land use can be broken down into the following:
* of water
* of forest
* of grassland.
* of “undeveloped” land.
* of farmland.
** of corn
** of vegetables
** of melons
** for livestock
** of vineyards
Transport
Railway
There are two railway lines that pass through Wuwei, namely the
Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway and the
Gantang-Wuwei Railway. Both are east-west railway lines. Since there are no north-south railway lines crossing Wuwei, there are no railway lines passing through Minqin County which lies in the northern part of Wuwei, therefore, there are no railway stations in
Minqin.
There exist various railway stations in Liangzhou District, Gulang County and
Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County. Wuwei Railway Station (second-class station) is the largest train station in terms of passenger traffic in Wuwei. It is located 303 kilometers east of
Lanzhou Station and 1,589 kilometers west of
Urumqi Railway Station.
Railway Stations in Wuwei
Highway
Footnotes
References
*Hill, John E. (2015) ''Through the Jade Gate to Rome - China to Rome.'' CreateSpace, Charleston, South Carolina. .
External links
Official website of Wuwei government
Gansu Province Official Website
{{authority control
Prefecture-level divisions of Gansu
Populated places along the Silk Road
National Famous Historical and Cultural City