Zhangye

Situated in the northwestern part of Gansu province, midway through the Hexi Corridor and bordering Inner Mongolia in the north, the city of Zhangye covers an area of 41,924 square kilometers. It has an elevation of 1,200 - 5,565 meters.It has a number of rivers and is a national base of grain, fruit and vegetables. The city's administrative division includes one district (Ganzhou district) and five counties -- Shandan, Minle, Linze, Gaotai and the Sunan Yugur autonomous county.By the end of 2011, the city had a population of 1.2 million with a total of 38 ethnic groups, including Han, Hui, Tibetan and Yugu. Most of China's Yugu people live in the city.

History: anciently named Ganzhou, Zhangye was a famous commercial port on the Silk Road and one of the biggest international trade markets in the country. Merchants from the west continuously arrived here for trading. Irrigation from the Black and Shandan rivers makes agriculture here quite well-developed. It has gained the reputation of "lush southern-type fields in the desert".

Climatic Features: continental climate with average sunlight of over 3000 hours annually; coldest in January and hottest in July, and the comfortable time for travel is from June to September. Average Temperature: 7 C annually Rainfall: annual average rainfall 104 millimeters-459 millimeters (4 inches-18 inches)

Resources: Zhangye is a mineral cluster for metal minerals, energy minerals and non-metallic minerals, including metallurgical and chemical materials.The large proven reserves of coal, tungsten, molybdenum, iron, gypsum, attapulgite, and potash play an important role in local economic and social development. There are 33 kinds of mineral resources within the city.

Zhangye is home to a collection of more than 577 cultural relics, including 13 national nature reserves, two national 4A level scenic spots and Asia's largest desert reservoir.The city has 577 historic sites, including 13 important units of cultural relics under national protection and 47 units of cultural relics under the provincial level. It has a collection of more than 30,000 cultural relics.The famous tourist attractions in the city include China’s largest indoor clay sleeping Buddha in the Giant Buddha Temple, the Wooden Tower of the Sui Dynasty (AD 581-618) and many tombs of the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24).It is blessed with many natural resources, and a number of natural landmarks including glaciers, oases, deserts, forests and grasslands.

The Qiyi Glacier in the Sunan Yugur autonomous county is the closest glacier to an Asian city. The Danxia landform in Linze and Sunan is one of the seven most beautiful landscapes of unique petromorphic geomorphology. It is found only in China.

The Shandan Horse Farm served as a royal horse farm since the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24). Now, it is the largest in Asia and the second largest in the world.

In 1986, Zhangye was listed as one of China’s historical-cultural cities and a recommended tourism city by the National Tourism Administration of China.

Economy: In 2011, Zhangye's GDP reached 25.66 billion yuan ($4.19 billion), up 13.2 percent year-on-year. The primary industry had a total added value of 7.2 billion yuan, an increase of 19.7 percent year-on-year, The secondary industry added value totaled 9.6 billion yuan, an increase of 19.7 percent. The tertiary industry added value totaled 8.86 billion yuan, up 12.6 percent year-on-year.