Zhangye

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

Zhangye (simplified Chinese: 张掖; pinyin: Zhāngyì) is a prefecture-level city in China's Gansu province.

Contents

[edit] Geography and climate

Zhangye is located in far western Gansu province. In the north it borders Inner Mongolia and in the south Qinghai. It has a large area of 42,000 km² and is blessed with numerous streams, abundant sunlight and fertile soil, making it an important agricultural center for Gansu and all of China.

[edit] History

Zhangye is in the center of the Hexi Corridor. The area was the frontier for much of China's history, forming a corridor to the Central Asian portion of the empire; in fact the name Zhangye (lit. "to extend the arm") is an abbreviation of 国臂,以通西域 (lit. To extend the arm of the country, through to the Western Realm . During the Western Han dynasty, Chinese armies were often engaged against the Xiongnu in this area. It was also an important section of the Silk Road.

[edit] Administration

Zhangye has 1 urban district, 4 counties, 1 autonomous county, 97 towns, and 977 villages.

City Districts:

  • Ganzhou (甘州区)

Counties:

  • Linze (临泽县)
  • Gaotai (高台县)
  • Shandan (山丹县)
  • Minle (民乐县)

Autonomous county:

[edit] Demographics

Zhangye has a total population of 1,260,000, only 260,000 being urban residents. There are 26 ethnic minorities other than Han represented including many Hui, Yugur and Tibetans.

[edit] Economy

The 2002 GDP was 7.566 billion RMB, almost 9% growth over the previous year. Annual urban income was 5960 RMB,10.4% growth from the previous year and rural income was 3092 RMB, up 5%.

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 38°56′N 100°27′E / 38.933, 100.45