Province · Northwest China
Gansu
甘肃
The Hexi Corridor, gateway of the Silk Road
Gansu is a long, narrow province in north-west China that stretches some 1,600 km from the Loess Plateau to the edge of the Gobi. Its Hexi Corridor, between the Qilian Mountains and the desert, carried the Silk Road westward; the province holds the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, the western end of the Ming Great Wall at Jiayuguan, and its capital Lanzhou lies on the Yellow River.
Key facts
- Capital
- Lanzhou
- Abbreviation
- 甘 (Gān) or 陇 (Lǒng)
- Area
- about 425,800 km²[1]
- Resident population
- 24.43 million(as of end of 2025)[2]
- Gross regional product
- CNY 1.37 trillion(as of 2025)[2]
- Census population
- 25.02 million(as of 2020 census)[3]
- Divisions
- 12 prefecture-level cities, 2 autonomous prefectures[1]
- UNESCO World Heritage sites
- 3 (1987–2014; two shared)[4]
Profile
- Chinese name
- 甘肃
- Abbreviation (简称)
- 甘 or 陇
- Type
- Province
- Region
- Northwest China
- Capital
- Lanzhou
- Area
- about 425,800 km²
- Divisions
- 12 prefecture-level cities and 2 autonomous prefectures (Linxia Hui, Gannan Tibetan)
- Ethnic groups
- Han, Hui, Tibetan, Dongxiang, Tu, Yugur, Bonan, Kazakh
- Languages
- Gansu Mandarin, Amdo Tibetan, Dongxiang (Santa), Western and Eastern Yugur
- Borders
- Mongolia
Languages
Gansu Mandarin
甘肃话
Lanyin Mandarin in Lanzhou and the Hexi Corridor, Central Plains Mandarin in the east and south of the province.
Amdo Tibetan
藏语
Spoken in Gannan prefecture around Xiahe and Labrang Monastery, and in Tianzhu.
Dongxiang (Santa)
东乡语
A Mongolic language of the Muslim Dongxiang people of Linxia prefecture.
Western and Eastern Yugur
裕固语
A Turkic and a Mongolic language spoken by the small Yugur community of Sunan county.
Name and abbreviation
The name joins the first characters of two prefectures of the Hexi Corridor: Ganzhou (甘州, today's Zhangye) and Suzhou (肃州, today's Jiuquan). It was used for a regional administration from the Western Xia and became the name of a province under the Yuan dynasty in the late thirteenth century. The alternative abbreviation 陇 comes from the Long Mountains (陇山) on the border with Shaanxi; lands west of them were called Longxi (陇西) or Longyou (陇右), “west of Long”.
Historic names
Hexi Corridor
河西走廊 — “corridor west of the river”
The chain of oases west of the Yellow River between the Qilian Mountains and the northern deserts.
Four Commanderies of Hexi
河西四郡
Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan and Dunhuang, founded by the Han in the late second century BCE; all four names survive as cities.
陇右
Tang-dynasty circuit covering most of today's Gansu and eastern Qinghai.
凉州
Name of the Han province of the north-west and later of Wuwei; the “Liangzhou songs” of Tang poetry are set here.
Land and climate
Gansu is shaped like a dumb-bell. In the south-east lie the loess hills of Longdong and Longzhong and, in the far south, the forested valleys of Longnan on the edge of the Sichuan Basin. The south-west rises onto the Tibetan Plateau in Gannan. The long western arm is the Hexi Corridor, a string of oases fed by meltwater from the Qilian Mountains, with the Badain Jaran and Gobi deserts to the north and the Kumtag Desert beyond Dunhuang.
Landforms
Hexi Corridor
河西走廊
About 1,000 km of oases and gravel plains between mountains and desert, the natural route to Central Asia.
Qilian Mountains
祁连山
Glaciated range with peaks over 5,000 m along the border with Qinghai; its snowmelt waters the Hexi oases.
Loess Plateau
黄土高原
Covers the eastern third of the province, from Lanzhou to Qingyang and Tianshui.
Gannan Plateau
甘南高原
High grassland at the north-eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, the Amdo Tibetan region of the province.
Zhangye Danxia
张掖丹霞
Striped red, yellow and white sandstone hills at the foot of the Qilian Mountains.
Rivers and lakes
Yellow River
黄河
Loops into Gansu from Qinghai, passes through Liujiaxia and flows through the middle of Lanzhou.
Tao River
洮河
Tributary of the Yellow River draining Gannan and Linxia.
Hei River
黑河
The largest inland river of the Hexi Corridor, flowing north from the Qilian past Zhangye into Inner Mongolia.
Shule River
疏勒河
Inland river of the western corridor, flowing past Guazhou towards Dunhuang.
Wei River
渭河
Rises in Weiyuan county and flows east through Tianshui into Shaanxi.
Climate
The climate is continental and mostly dry. The Hexi Corridor is arid, with hot summers, cold winters, large daily temperature ranges and very little rain. Lanzhou and the loess hills are semi-arid; Gannan is cold and alpine; Longnan in the far south is humid and mild. Late spring to early autumn is the usual travel season, with September and October clear and settled in the corridor.
History
Eastern Gansu has some of the oldest farming cultures of northern China, including Dadiwan and the painted pottery of Majiayao, and the ancestors of the Qin rose in the Tianshui area. The Han drove the Xiongnu out of the Hexi Corridor in 121 BCE and founded four commanderies, opening the road to the Western Regions. For the next millennium the corridor carried trade, envoys and Buddhism between China and Central Asia, and Dunhuang's Mogao Caves record that exchange in murals and manuscripts. The corridor was ruled at times by Tibetans, Uyghurs and the Western Xia; the Ming fixed the end of the Great Wall at Jiayuguan in 1372. In the twentieth century Gansu became a centre of oil, nonferrous metals, nuclear industry and, later, wind and solar power.
c. 5800–5300 BCE
Dadiwan culture
Early farming village at Qin'an near Tianshui, with some of the oldest painted pottery in China.
c. 3300–2000 BCE
Majiayao culture
Neolithic culture of the upper Yellow River known for its spiral-painted pottery; named after a site in Lintao.
9th–8th century BCE
Rise of Qin
The ancestors of the Qin royal house bred horses for the Zhou in the upper Wei valley; early Qin tombs have been excavated at Li county.
121 BCE
Huo Qubing defeats the Xiongnu in Hexi
The Han took control of the corridor and founded the commanderies of Wuwei, Jiuquan, Zhangye and Dunhuang over the following years.
366
First caves at Mogao
According to a later inscription, the monk Yuezun began cutting caves at Dunhuang; work continued for a thousand years.
786–848
Tibetan rule over Dunhuang
The Tibetan Empire held the western corridor until Zhang Yichao led a revolt and returned the region to nominal Tang allegiance.
1036
Western Xia completes its conquest of the Hexi Corridor
The Tangut state controlled the corridor until the Mongol conquest of 1227.
1247
Meeting at Liangzhou
Sakya Pandita met the Mongol prince Köden at Wuwei, beginning the relationship between the Mongol rulers and the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism.
1372
Jiayuguan fort built
The Ming fixed the western end of their Great Wall at the narrowest point of the corridor.
1900
Library Cave discovered
Wang Yuanlu found a sealed cave at Mogao containing tens of thousands of manuscripts and paintings; many were later taken to London, Paris, St Petersburg and elsewhere.
1939
Yumen oilfield
China's first modern oilfield began production in the western corridor.
1958
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
China's first space launch centre was founded in the desert north of Jiuquan, in what is now the Ejin Banner of Inner Mongolia.
8 August 2010
Zhouqu mudslide
Debris flows after heavy rain killed more than 1,700 people in Gannan prefecture.
2014
Lanzhou–Xinjiang high-speed railway
The line through the Hexi Corridor linked Lanzhou with Urumqi.
World heritage
World Heritage sites
Cultural · inscribed 1987
莫高窟
Some 492 decorated cave temples cut into a cliff near Dunhuang between the fourth and fourteenth centuries, with murals and painted sculpture spanning a thousand years of Buddhist art.
Cultural · inscribed 1987 · shared
长城
Gansu holds the western end of the Ming wall at Jiayuguan and long stretches of Han-dynasty wall and beacon towers near Dunhuang.
Cultural · inscribed 2014 · shared
Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an–Tianshan Corridor
丝绸之路：长安—天山廊道的路网
Serial site shared with Shaanxi, Henan, Xinjiang, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The Gansu components are the Maijishan Grottoes, the Bingling Temple Grottoes, the Yumen Pass and the Xuanquan posthouse.
Intangible cultural heritage (UNESCO lists)
Inscribed 2009
Hua'er
花儿
Improvised love songs sung in Chinese by Hui, Han, Dongxiang, Bonan, Salar, Tu and Tibetan singers across Gansu, Qinghai and Ningxia, especially at summer song festivals around Lianhua Mountain and Songming Rock in Linxia.
Culture
Gansu sits where Chinese, Tibetan, Mongol and Islamic worlds meet. Linxia is a centre of Hui and Dongxiang Muslim life with many mosques and Sufi tomb shrines; Xiahe, with Labrang Monastery, is one of the great centres of Tibetan Buddhism; the Hexi towns keep the memory of the Silk Road; and the loess east shares the folk culture of Shaanxi. The province claims Fuxi, the mythical first sovereign, whose temple stands in Tianshui.
黄河远上白云间，一片孤城万仞山。羌笛何须怨杨柳，春风不度玉门关。Huáng Hé yuǎn shàng bái yún jiān, yī piàn gū chéng wàn rèn shān. Qiāng dí hé xū yuàn yángliǔ, chūn fēng bù dù Yùmén Guān.
“The Yellow River climbs far into the white clouds; a lone fort stands among mountains ten thousand fathoms high. Why should the Qiang flute lament the willow? The spring wind never passes the Jade Gate.”
— Wang Zhihuan, “Liangzhou Song” (凉州词), Tang dynasty
Opera, music and dance
Hua'er songs
花儿
Free-rhythm love songs sung at mountain fairs in Linxia and Gannan.
Huanxian shadow puppetry
环县道情皮影
Shadow plays of Qingyang in eastern Gansu, sung in the daoqing style.
Tales of the Silk Road
丝路花雨
Dance drama created by the Gansu Song and Dance Theatre in 1979, with choreography based on the Dunhuang murals.
Crafts
Luminous cups
夜光杯
Thin wine cups turned from Qilian jade in Jiuquan, known from Tang poetry.
Tao inkstones
洮砚
Green-banded inkstones carved from stone of the Tao River in Zhuoni county.
Qingyang sachets
庆阳香包
Embroidered fragrant pouches made for the Dragon Boat Festival.
Festivals and customs
Fuxi ceremony
伏羲大典
Public rites at the Fuxi Temple in Tianshui honouring the legendary ancestor.
Monlam at Labrang
拉卜楞寺正月法会
The great prayer festival of the first Tibetan month at Xiahe, with the unveiling of a giant thangka and cham dances.
Cuisine
Gansu food is northern, wheat-based and shaped by its Hui and Tibetan communities. Lanzhou's hand-pulled beef noodles are the most famous dish; lamb is eaten boiled, roasted and in soups, and cold noodles, fermented jiangshui broth and potato dishes are everyday fare. The Hexi Corridor adds dishes from Central Asia and the Tibetan south adds tsampa, yak and butter tea.
Signature dishes
Lanzhou beef noodles
兰州牛肉面
Hand-pulled noodles in a clear beef broth with radish, coriander and chilli oil, served in Hui noodle shops from early morning.
Hand-held lamb
手抓羊肉
Boiled lamb on the bone, eaten with salt, garlic and chilli.
Niangpi
酿皮子
Cold gluten-rich wheat sheet noodles with chilli oil and vinegar.
Jiangshui noodles
浆水面
Noodles in a sour broth of fermented vegetables, a summer dish of Tianshui and Lanzhou.
Huidouzi
灰豆子
Sweet soup of peas and dates cooked with plant ash, a Lanzhou dessert.
Specialities
Lanzhou lily bulbs
兰州百合
Sweet edible lily bulbs grown on the hills around Lanzhou.
Minxian angelica
岷县当归
Angelica root from Min county, one of the best-known medicinal herbs of Gansu.
Dingxi potatoes
定西马铃薯
Potatoes from the dry loess hills of Dingxi, one of China's main seed-potato regions.
Jingning apples
静宁苹果
Apples from the loess uplands of Pingliang.
Longnan olives
陇南油橄榄
Olive oil from the warm valleys of the Bailong River in southern Gansu.
Notable people
Li Guang (d. 119 BCE)
李广
Han general from the Tianshui area, the “Flying General” feared by the Xiongnu.
Zhang Zhi (d. c. 192)
张芝
Calligrapher from Dunhuang honoured as the “sage of cursive script”.
Huangfu Mi (215–282)
皇甫谧
Scholar from Lingtai who compiled the ABC Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (针灸甲乙经).
Li Mengyang (1473–1530)
李梦阳
Ming poet from Qingyang, leader of the movement to revive the style of Han and Tang literature.
Economy
Gansu's economy grew around resources and state industry: petrochemicals in Lanzhou, nickel and cobalt at Jinchang, copper and lead-zinc at Baiyin, steel at Jiayuguan and oil in Yumen and Qingyang. Its deserts and wind-swept corridor have made it one of China's largest bases for wind and solar power, with the Jiuquan wind farms among the first gigawatt-scale projects. Agriculture includes potatoes, apples, medicinal herbs and seed maize from Zhangye, and cultural tourism centres on Dunhuang.
Main industries
- Petrochemicals and oil (Lanzhou, Qingyang, Yumen)
- Nonferrous metals: nickel and cobalt (Jinchang), copper (Baiyin)
- Iron and steel (Jiayuguan)
- Wind and solar power
- Medicinal herbs, potatoes, apples and seed production
- Cultural tourism along the Silk Road
Zones, ports and hubs
Lanzhou New Area
兰州新区
The first national-level new area in north-west China, approved in 2012 near Zhongchuan airport.
Jiuquan wind power base
酒泉风电基地
Wind farms along the western Hexi Corridor, one of China's first large-scale wind power bases.
Silk Road (Dunhuang) International Cultural Expo
丝绸之路（敦煌）国际文化博览会
Cultural exhibition held in Dunhuang since 2016.
Cities
- Lanzhou兰州Capital · Historic city · Industrial centreYellow River city at the head of the Silk Road
- Dunhuang敦煌Historic city · Cultural centre · Scenic areaOasis of the Mogao Caves at the western end of the Hexi Corridor
- Jiayuguan嘉峪关Historic city · Industrial centreThe western end of the Ming Great Wall
- Tianshui天水Historic city · Cultural centreFuxi's city and the Maijishan grottoes
- Zhangye张掖Historic city · Scenic areaOasis of Ganzhou, the Giant Buddha and the Danxia hills
- Wuwei武威Historic cityLiangzhou, city of the bronze galloping horse
Mountains and nature
Getting there
- Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport, north of the city, is the main airport; Dunhuang, Jiayuguan, Zhangye, Tianshui and Xiahe also have airports.
- Lanzhou West is the hub of high-speed lines east to Xi'an, north-west through the Hexi Corridor to Urumqi, and to Xining and Zhongwei.
- The historic Lanzhou–Xinjiang railway follows the corridor through Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan and Liuyuan (for Dunhuang).
Entry rules for foreign visitors are on the visa and entry pages.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Gansu Provincial People's Government — Gansu Provincial People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- 2025年甘肃省国民经济和社会发展统计公报 (Statistical Communiqué of Gansu on the 2025 National Economic and Social Development) — Gansu Provincial Bureau of Statistics (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Seventh National Population Census communiqués — National Bureau of Statistics of China (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- World Heritage List: China — UNESCO World Heritage Centre (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Intangible Cultural Heritage: China — UNESCO (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Gansu — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)
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