Dingxi

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Location of Dingxi Prefecture (yellow) within Gansu
Location of Dingxi Prefecture (yellow) within Gansu

Dingxi (simplified Chinese: 定西; pinyin: Dìngxī) is a prefecture-level city in China's Gansu province.

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[edit] Geography and climate

Dingxi City is located in central Gansu province, 98 km east of Lanzhou, giving it the nickname the "eastern gateway". The Wei River, a tributary of the Yellow River flows through the district and provides it with the majority of its water. Dingxi is semi-arid, with little precipitation. Even though sunlight here can be intense, temperatures are generally cool. The surrounding terrain is mostly loess hills and ravines in the north and highlands in the south. The area is 20,300 km².

[edit] History

Dingxi was important in the development of some of China's earliest cultures, specifically along the Wei River, one of the Yellow River's biggest tributaries. Numerous Neolithic sites from various cultures are found throughout the area.

[edit] Administration

Dingxi has 1 urban district, 6 counties, and 119 towns with a total population of 2,960,000.

City District:

  • Anding (安定)

Counties:

[edit] Economy

Agriculture and natural resource based industries are the key to Dingxi's economy. There are more than 300 different kinds of Chinese medicinal plants and herbs found in the area. Dingxi's Anding County is China's number one grower of yams. Zanthoxylum (also called Sichuan Pepper or prickly ash fruit), walnuts, wild apricots, and other fruit are some of Dingxi's famous dried exports.

[edit] External links