Lanzhou

Lanzhou 兰州市
Prefecture-level city
View of Lanzhou
Location of Lanzhou City (yellow) in Gansu and the PRC
Lanzhou Location in China
Coordinates: 36°02′N 103°48′E / 36.033°N 103.800°E / 36.033; 103.800Coordinates: 36°02′N 103°48′E / 36.033°N 103.800°E / 36.033; 103.800
Country	China
Province	Gansu
County-level divisions	8
Government
• Party Secretary	Yu Haiyan
• Mayor	Yuan Zhanting (袁占亭)
Area
• Prefecture-level city	13,300 km2 (5,100 sq mi)
• Urban	1,088 km2 (420 sq mi)
Population (2010 census)
• Prefecture-level city	3,616,163
• Density	270/km2 (700/sq mi)
• Urban	2,177,130
• Urban density	2,000/km2 (5,200/sq mi)
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)
Postal code	730000
Area code(s)	931
License plate prefixes	甘A
GDP (2015)	CNY 200 billion
- per capita	CNY 57,191
Website	http://www.lz.gansu.gov.cn (Chinese)
City flowers Rugosa Rose

Lánzhōu
"Lánzhōu" in Simplified (top) and Traditional (bottom) Chinese characters
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Postal	Lanchow
Literal meaning	Orchid Hills Prefecture
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Lánzhōu Bopomofo ㄌㄢˊ   ㄓㄡ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Lanjou Wade–Giles Lan2-chou1 IPA [lǎn.ʈʂóu̯] other Mandarin Xiao'erjing لًا جِوْ Dungan Ланҗу Wu Romanization lae1tseu1 Yue: Cantonese Jyutping laan4zau1 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Lân-chiu

Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. The prefecture-level city, located on the banks of the Yellow River, is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the eastern half of the country. Historically, it has been a major link on the Northern Silk Road. The city is also a center for heavy industry and petrochemical industry. Lanzhou was previously ranked as one of the cities with the worst air quality in the world, due to industrial pollution and its situation in a narrow river valley. However, as of 2015^[update] it was awarded China's climate progress title. As a city once unable to be spotted from satellites, Lanzhou has taken various measures to combat air pollution in recent years, having reduced its Air Pollution Index at the fastest speed across China.

Lanzhou is home to 3,616,163 inhabitants at the 2010 census and 2,177,130 in the built-up area (urban) of 1,088 square kilometres (420 sq mi).

Originally in the territory of the Western Qiang peoples, Lanzhou became part of the territory of the State of Qin in the 6th century BC.

In 81 BC, under the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), it was taken from the Huns' Huandi Chanyu and made the seat of Jincheng commandery (jùn), and later of the Jincheng county (xiàn), later renamed Yunwu. The city used to be called the Golden City, and since at least the first millennium BC it was a major link on the ancient Northern Silk Road, and also an important historic Yellow River crossing site. To protect the city, the Great Wall of China was extended as far as Yumen.