Major Economic Indicators (2010)
Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province, is at the center of Gansu’s politics, economy, and culture.
Lanzhou is located in the middle of Gansu Province with mountains surrounding the city in the North and the South, and the Yellow River passing through from the West to the East. Lanzhou is rich in mineral resources, such as black metals, valuable metals, rare earth and energy mines.
Lanzhou has a comprehensive transportation system of highways, railways and aviation, and has highway networks of six expressways, five national highways, six provincial highways and forty-seven county highways. There are four main railways from Gansu-Lianyungang, Lanzhou-Qinghai, Lanzhou-Urumchi and Baotou-Lanzhou converging there. In addition, the Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport has routes to approximately forty domestic and overseas cities.
Lanzhou is one of the most polluted cities in China, and the world. Lanzhou is also the home of many factories, including those in the petroleum-processing industry, and suffers badly from large dust-storms kicked up from the Gobi Desert, especially in the winter and spring months.
There are nine state-level key laboratories, and thirteen universities and colleges for high education, located in Lanzhou, including Lanzhou University, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou University of Finance and Economics, et cetera.
Lanzhou, dated from the Han Dynasty,, has an extensive history dating back over 2,000 years, and was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road. The Great Wall was extended as far as Yumen to protect the city.
There are a great many local delicacies with a long history in Lanzhou, such as Lanzhou beef-noodle soup, cold starchy noodle, red pea gruel, et cetera. Lanzhou beef-noodle soup has a nation-wide reputation of excellence.
Major Development Zones
By the end of 2010, Lanzhou had two state-level development zones.
5.9 (2009)
