- Zhangye
Zhangye (
simplified Chinese : 张掖;pinyin : Zhāngyì ) is aprefecture-level city inChina 'sGansu province.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.
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 张国臂掖，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.In the 2007 book "
China Road ", authorRob Gifford stated thatMarco Polo wrote in his journals that he stayed in Zhangye (referred to by Marco Polo as Kan Chau) for one year. [Gifford, Rob. '"We Want to Live!"' "China Road ". 187.]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:
*Sunan Yugur Autonomous County (肃南裕固族自治县)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.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%.
External links
* [http://www.zy.gansu.gov.cn/ Official Website(Chinese)]
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