Xining 西宁市 Sining | |
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City of Xining | |
Coordinates(Qinghai People's Government): 36°37′21″N101°46′49″E / 36.6224°N 101.7804°E | |
Country | China |
Province | Qinghai |
Municipal seat | Chengzhong |
Government | |
• Type | Prefecture-level city |
• Body | Xining Municipal People's Congress |
• CCP Secretary | Wang Weidong |
• Congress Chairman | Song Chenxi |
• Mayor | Shi Jianping |
• CPPCC Chairman | Duan Fada |
Area | |
• Prefecture-level city | 7,596 km2 (2,933 sq mi) |
• Urban | 2,892.7 km2 (1,116.9 sq mi) |
• Metro | 2,892.7 km2 (1,116.9 sq mi) |
Elevation | 2,275 m (7,464 ft) |
Population (2020 census) [1] | |
• Prefecture-level city | 2,467,965 |
• Density | 320/km2 (840/sq mi) |
• Urban | 1,954,795 |
• Urban density | 680/km2 (1,800/sq mi) |
• Metro | 1,954,795 |
• Metro density | 680/km2 (1,800/sq mi) |
GDP [2] | |
• Prefecture-level city | CN¥ 164.4 billion US$ 18.2 billion |
• Per capita | CN¥ 49,185 US$ 7,897 |
Time zone | UTC+8 (China Standard) |
Postal code | 810000 |
Area code | 971 |
ISO 3166 code | CN-QH-01 |
License plate prefixes | 青A |
Website | www.xining.gov.cn (in Chinese) |
Xining | |||||||||||
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Chinese name | |||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 西宁 | ||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 西寧 | ||||||||||
Postal | Sining or Ziling | ||||||||||
Literal meaning | "Western tranquility" | ||||||||||
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Tibetan name | |||||||||||
Tibetan | ཟི་ལིང | ||||||||||
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Mongolian name | |||||||||||
Mongolian Cyrillic | Сэлэнг | ||||||||||
Mongolian script | ᠰᠢᠨᠢᠩ | ||||||||||
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Xining [lower-alpha 1] is the capital and most populous city of Qinghai province in western China [4] and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau. As of the 2020 census,it had 2,467,965 inhabitants (2,208,708 as of 2010),of whom 1,954,795 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of 5 urban districts. [5] The city lies in the Huangshui River Valley,also known as Tsongkha (Tibetan:ཙོང་ཁ་),and owing to its high altitude,has a cool climate on the borderline between cool semi-arid and dry winter humid continental.
Xining was a commercial hub along the Northern Silk Road's Hexi Corridor for over 2000 years,and was a stronghold of the Han,Sui,Tang,and Song dynasties' resistance against nomadic attacks from the west. Although long a part of Gansu province,Xining was added to Qinghai in 1928. Xining holds sites of religious significance to Muslims and Buddhists,including the Dongguan Mosque and Kumbum Monastery. It is connected by the Qinghai–Tibet railway to Lhasa,Tibet and connected by a high-speed railway to Lanzhou,Gansu and Ürümqi,Xinjiang.
The city is home to Qinghai University,a comprehensive university and the only Double First-Class University in Xining.
Xining has a history of over 2,100 years [6] and was a chief commercial hub on the Hexi Corridor caravan route to Tibet,handling especially timber,wool and salt in ancient times. The trade along the Hexi Corridor was part of a larger trade corridor along the Northern Silk Road,whose use was intensified in the 1st century BC after efforts by the Han dynasty to control this route. [7]
Under the Han dynasty (206 BC –220 AD),a county called Linqiang was established to control the local Qiang tribesmen. It was again a frontier county under the Sui (581–618) and Tang (618–907) dynasties;during the 7th and early 8th centuries it was a center of constant warfare with Tuyuhun and Tibet. In 763,it was overrun by the Tibetans and while under Tibetan control was known to the Chinese as Qingtang cheng (青唐城). Recovered by the Song dynasty in 1104,it received the name Xining (meaning "peace in the west") and has been the seat of a prefecture or superior prefecture under that name since that time. The founder of Gelug Tsongkhapa (Tibetan:ཙོང་ཁ་པ་,meaning:"the man from Tsongkha". c. 1357–1419) was born in the 14th century,and on the site of his birthplace the Kumbum Monastery was founded in the late 16th century,establishing Xining as an important religious center for the Gelug School of Buddhists.
A major earthquake occurred May 22,1927,measuring at a magnitude of 7.6. It was one of the deadliest earthquakes in China with a total count of over 40,000 deaths. It also caused large land fractures.
Xining was the extraterritorial capital of the Koko Nor territory and remained in Gansu until 1928,when it became the provincial capital of the newly established independent province of Qinghai. [8] [9]
Xining was subjected to aerial bombardment by Japanese warplanes in 1941 during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The bombing spurred all ethnicities in Qinghai,including the local Qinghai Mongols and Qinghai Tibetans,against the Japanese. [10] [11] The Salar Muslim General Han Youwen directed the defense of the city of Xining during air raids by Japanese planes. [12] [13]
Xining was given municipal status in 1945.
Under the rule of Governor Ma Bufang,Xining,like the rest of Qinghai,underwent industrialization and modernization. In 1947 the USA sold Ma Bufang a piped water (sewage) system which was installed in Xining. [14] Ma Bufang also promoted education. He made businessmen methodically clean up Xining by serving as insect exterminators. [15]
Since the late 1950s,when the Liujiaxia Dam and hydroelectric project came into operation in neighboring Gansu province,Xining has been linked by a high-tension electrical grid to both Liujia and Lanzhou. It also uses local coal from mines at Datong County to the north. A modern woollen mill was installed at Xining before 1957. The city also has a leather industry and is a market for salt from the Qaidam region. During the late 1950s medium-sized iron and steelworks were built there,supplying metal to Lanzhou.
Construction of a highway to the mineral-rich Qaidam basin,and completion in 1959 a link to the Chinese rail network via Lanzhou in Gansu province,has spurred industrial development. This effort was part of a plan of the central government to rapidly exploit oil and pasturage in the Xining area beginning in the 1950s. [16]
Xining is located in the eastern part of Qinghai Province and lies on the Huangshui River. The four urban districts have a total area of 343 km2 (132 sq mi).
Xining is located on the eastern edge of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau and the upper reaches of the Huangshui River. It is the political,economic,and cultural center of Qinghai Province with an average altitude of about 2,200 metres (7,200 ft). Human activity in the region can be traced to 2,100 years ago. During the Western and Eastern Han dynasties,owing to its developing agriculture,Xining was paid notice due to its economic and military significance. As well as being an important hinge between the Central Plains and the western part of China in ancient times,Xining was an important link in the Silk Road. It continues to be an important rail and road link to the hinterlands of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau.
Xining has also been dubbed the Summer Resort Capital of China owing to its cool summer,with a borderline cold semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk)/dry winter humid continental climate (Dwb). Conditions are influenced by the aridity and high altitude. Nights are cold or cool throughout the year,and the diurnal temperature variation often reaches or exceeds 15 °C (27 °F). The monthly 24-hour average temperatures ranges from −7.9 °C (17.8 °F) in January to 17.5 °C (63.5 °F) in July;the annual mean is 6.0 °C (42.8 °F),still making it one of the warmest locations in Qinghai due to the low elevation by provincial standards. Rainfall falls mainly from May to September,and the area is often dry and sunny:with monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 49 percent in September to 67 percent in November,the city receives 2,540 hours of bright sunshine per year. Extreme temperatures have ranged from −26.6 °C (−16 °F) to 36.5 °C (98 °F). [17] Snow cover is very sparse due to the dry winters.
Climate data for Xining,elevation 2,295 m (7,530 ft),(1991–2020 normals,extremes 1951–2010) | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 13.9 (57.0) | 20.8 (69.4) | 26.2 (79.2) | 31.8 (89.2) | 30.7 (87.3) | 31.9 (89.4) | 36.5 (97.7) | 34.0 (93.2) | 29.9 (85.8) | 25.2 (77.4) | 19.3 (66.7) | 13.3 (55.9) | 36.5 (97.7) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 2.1 (35.8) | 5.8 (42.4) | 11.0 (51.8) | 16.6 (61.9) | 20.2 (68.4) | 23.2 (73.8) | 25.1 (77.2) | 24.2 (75.6) | 19.6 (67.3) | 14.5 (58.1) | 8.6 (47.5) | 3.4 (38.1) | 14.5 (58.2) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | −7.9 (17.8) | −3.6 (25.5) | 2.2 (36.0) | 8.3 (46.9) | 12.3 (54.1) | 15.6 (60.1) | 17.5 (63.5) | 16.6 (61.9) | 12.2 (54.0) | 6.2 (43.2) | −0.7 (30.7) | −6.3 (20.7) | 6.0 (42.9) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −14.6 (5.7) | −10.4 (13.3) | −4.4 (24.1) | 1.4 (34.5) | 5.7 (42.3) | 9.2 (48.6) | 11.6 (52.9) | 11.1 (52.0) | 7.4 (45.3) | 0.9 (33.6) | −6.5 (20.3) | −12.6 (9.3) | −0.1 (31.8) |
Record low °C (°F) | −24.9 (−12.8) | −20.7 (−5.3) | −16.9 (1.6) | −12.5 (9.5) | −2.3 (27.9) | 0.2 (32.4) | 4.2 (39.6) | 3.7 (38.7) | −1.1 (30.0) | −12.5 (9.5) | −19.0 (−2.2) | −26.6 (−15.9) | −26.6 (−15.9) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 1.8 (0.07) | 1.9 (0.07) | 8.8 (0.35) | 20.7 (0.81) | 53.8 (2.12) | 64.5 (2.54) | 81.5 (3.21) | 87.0 (3.43) | 68.0 (2.68) | 23.3 (0.92) | 5.2 (0.20) | 1.2 (0.05) | 417.7 (16.45) |
Average precipitation days (≥0.1 mm) | 3.2 | 2.9 | 4.9 | 7.1 | 11.7 | 14.4 | 15.4 | 14.5 | 14.4 | 7.7 | 3.2 | 2.1 | 101.5 |
Average snowy days | 5.1 | 5.8 | 7.0 | 3.4 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 1.5 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 31.5 |
Average relative humidity (%) | 48 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 55 | 61 | 66 | 69 | 72 | 67 | 58 | 52 | 57 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 196.7 | 200.3 | 223.9 | 232.8 | 240.5 | 230.1 | 223.8 | 215.8 | 181.4 | 200.0 | 201.8 | 192.6 | 2,539.7 |
Percent possible sunshine | 63 | 65 | 60 | 59 | 55 | 53 | 51 | 52 | 49 | 58 | 67 | 64 | 58 |
Source:China Meteorological Administration [18] [19] [20] |
In 2007,the World Bank lent US$1 billion to aid river treatment in Xining,including Sanxian County's anti-flooding project,with an added US$1 billion to support infrastructure. Qinghai has invested large amounts in the treatment of Huangshui Main River and Nanchuan River,totalling 24.5 km (15.2 mi). However,a treatment on a 40 km (25 mi) river course and 10 flash flood relief channels remain pending due to lack of equipment. In Sanxian County,a 108.4 m (356 ft) long river course and 80 flash flood relief channels need treatment.
According to a 2011 World Health Organization (based on Chinese statistics),Xining has the second worst air quality (annual mean PM10 ug/m3 of 141) among eleven western China cities,and is worse than Beijing (121). [21]
The GDP per capita was 49,200 RMB (US$7,897) in 2015. Its main industries are wool spinning and textiles,fur,meat,milk,salt,and light processing industries.
Xining Economic &Technological Development Zone XETDZ) was approved as state-level development zone in July 2000. It has a planned area of 4.4 km2 (1.7 sq mi). XETDZ lies in the east of Xining,5 km (3.1 mi) away from downtown. The XETDZ is the first of its kind at the national level on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It is established to fulfill the nation's strategy of developing the west.
XETDZ enjoys a convenient transportation system,connected by the Xining–Lanzhou expressway and run through by two main roads,the broadest roads of the city. It is 4 km (2.5 mi) away from the railway station,[ which? ]15 km (9.3 mi) from Xining Airport.
It focuses on the development of following industries:chemicals based on salt lake resources,nonferrous metals,and petroleum and natural gas processing;special medicine,foods and bio-chemicals using local plateau animals and plants;new products involving ecological and environmental protection,high technology,new materials as well as information technology;and services such as logistics,banking,real estate,tourism,hotel,catering,agency and international trade. [22]
According to the 2020 Chinese census,the prefecture-level city of Xining has a population of 2,467,965 inhabitants (compared to 2,208,708 as of the 2010 Chinese census), [23] [24] of whom 1,954,795 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of 5 urban districts. [25]
At present,four districts,three counties and a national economic and technological development zone are under the administration of the local government. With a population of more than two million,Xining is the first city on the upper reaches of the Yellow River to achieve a population in the millions.
There are about 37 nationalities living here,though only the Han,Hui,Monguor/Tu and Tibetans are numerically significant. Local traditions and customs are influenced by the Tibetans,Monguor,Muslims and Han. In the 2010 Census numbers,Han Chinese represent 74.04 percent of the total population of Xining,while Hui (16.26 percent),Tibetan (5.51 percent) and Tu (2.6 percent) are the main minority groups in the city.
Located in the southwest part of Xining City,the Kumbum Monastery or Ta'er Monastery is one of six famous monasteries in the Gelug (also called Yellow Hat Sect) of Tibetan Buddhism and has hundreds of monks.
Having a history of over 600 years,the Dongguan Mosque,located in the Xining City Zone,is one of the most famous mosques in the northwest region of China. It has splendid and diversiform towers,walls and halls in the mosque.
Another unique religious structure is the Beishan Si (North Mountain Temple),a Taoist facility.
There are more than 300 Christian meeting points in Xining. [26]
The Catholic minority is pastorally served by the (pre-diocesan) Apostolic Prefecture of Xining.
The municipality oversees seven districts and counties. The data here are presented in km²and in population according to 2010 Census:
Map | |||||||
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Name | Simplified Chinese | Hanyu Pinyin | Area (km2) | Population (2010) | Density (/km2) | ||
Urban | |||||||
Chengzhong District | 城中区 | Chéngzhōng Qū | 11 | 296,987 | 26,999 | ||
Chengdong District | 城东区 | Chéngdōng Qū | 115 | 359,688 | 3,128 | ||
Chengxi District | 城西区 | ChéngxīQū | 79 | 242,627 | 3,071 | ||
Chengbei District | 城北区 | Chéngběi Qū | 138 | 299,002 | 2,167 | ||
Suburban | |||||||
Huangzhong District | 湟中区 | Huángzhōng Qū | 2,430 | 437,835 | 180 | ||
Rural | |||||||
Huangyuan County | 湟源县 | Huángyuán Xiàn | 1,609 | 136,632 | 85 | ||
Datong Hui and Tu Autonomous County | 大通回族土族自治县 | Dàtōng HuízúTǔzúZìzhìxiàn | 3,090 | 435,937 | 139 |
Xining International Academy is an English-language international school.
Xining is situated in a fertile mountain basin in the valley of the Huangshui (river),a tributary of the Yellow River,that acts as a river port. The city lies about 200 km (120 mi) west of Lanzhou,the capital of Gansu province,on what was traditionally the main trade route from northern China into Tibet and the Qaidam Basin. These routes are now followed by modern highways.
Since 1959 Xining station has been connected by the Lanzhou–Qinghai Railway to China's railway network. Later,this railway was extended into the Qaidam area via Haiyan near Qinghai Lake to Golmud,and,since 2006,to Lhasa,Tibet. (See the Qinghai–Tibet Railway).
The second major railway serving Xining is the Lanzhou–Xinjiang High-Speed Railway,opened in December 2014. When first opened,it just provided high-speed train service to Lanzhou and Urumqi (and points in between). With the opening of the Baoji–Lanzhou high-speed railway on July 9,2017,it has been connected to the rest of the nation's high-speed rail network.
Unlike many other Chinese cities,where the conventional and high-speed trains stop at different train stations,Xining railway station is served by both types of trains. Thus it can be used as a transfer point for e.g. a passenger traveling from Xinjiang to Tibet.
Xining Caojiapu International Airport serves the area with regularly scheduled passenger flights to major Chinese cities including Beijing,Shanghai,Hong Kong,Chengdu,Kunming,Xi'an,and Wuhan.
Xining's cuisine is distinct from other Chinese cities and mainly uses food products native to the area.
Local specialties include:Feng'er Liji (a round lamb tenderloin),Danbai Chongcao Ji (a medicine cuisine made of chicken,Chinese caterpillar fungus and eggs),and Jinyu Facai (pork wrapped in flagelliform nostoc and shaped as a goldfish).
There are also many small restaurants offering noodles. Gan Ban is a very common noodle dish. Perhaps Mian Pian,which means "noodle leaves" is the most common noodle plate among the Qinghai people. On the streets,many Muslims sell spicy lamb brochettes. Due to the cold climate,residents of Xining are also fond of strong spirits;Xining has the reputation of being one of the regions of heaviest alcohol consumption in China.[ citation needed ]
Gansu is an inland province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
Qinghai is an inland province in Northwestern China. It is the largest province of China by area and has the third smallest population. Its capital and largest city is Xining.
Amdo is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being Ü-Tsang in the west and Dotoe also known as Kham in the east. Ngari in the north-west was incorporated into Ü-Tsang. The formal name of this Tibetan region/province is Domey in literatures. Historically, Amdo and Kham together were also called Do Kham on maps and manuscripts. Amdo encompasses a large area from the Machu to the Drichu (Yangtze). Amdo is mostly coterminous with China's present-day Qinghai province, but also includes small portions of Sichuan and Gansu provinces.
The Hexi Corridor (Chinese: 河西走廊; pinyin: Héxī Zǒuláng; Wade–Giles: Ho2-hsi1 Tsou3-lang2, Xiao'erjing: حْسِ ظِوْلاْ, Mandarin pronunciation:[xɤ˧˥ɕi˥tsoʊ˨˩˦lɑŋ˧˥]), also known as the Gansu Corridor, is an important historical region located in the modern western Gansu province of China. It refers to a narrow stretch of traversable and relatively arable plain west of the Yellow River's Ordos Loop (hence the name Hexi, meaning "west of the river"), flanked between the much more elevated and inhospitable terrains of the Mongolian and Tibetan Plateaus.
Jiuquan, formerly known as Suzhou is a prefecture-level city in the northwesternmost part of Gansu Province in the People's Republic of China. It is more than 600 km (370 mi) wide from east to west, occupying 191,342 km2 (73,878 sq mi), although its built-up area is mostly located in its Suzhou District.
Golmud, also known by various other romanizations, is a county-level city in the Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province, China. It is now the second-largest city in Qinghai and the third largest in the Tibetan Plateau. The population in 2020 is 221,863.
Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, locally also known as Qaidam Prefecture, is an autonomous prefecture occupying much of the northern half of Qinghai Province, China. It has an area of 325,785 square kilometres (125,786 sq mi) and its seat is Delingha. The name of the prefecture literally means "west of (Qinghai) Lake."
Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, also transliterated as Yüxü or Yulshul, is an autonomous prefecture of Southwestern Qinghai Province, China. Largely inhabited by Tibetans, the prefecture has an area of 188,794 square kilometres (72,894 sq mi) and its seat is located in the town of Gyêgu in Yushu County, which is the place of the old Tibetan trade mart of Jyekundo. The official source of the Yellow River lies within the prefecture. Historically, the area belongs to the cultural realm of Kham in Eastern Tibet.
Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, formerly known as Tsolho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, is an autonomous prefecture of Northeastern Qinghai Province in Western China. The prefecture has an area of 45,895 square kilometres (17,720 sq mi) and its seat is located in Gonghe County. Its name literally means "south of (Qinghai) Lake."
Bairi Tibetan Autonomous County, also known as Tianzhu from its Chinese name, is in the prefecture-level city of Wuwei in the central part of Gansu province, China, bordering Qinghai province to the south and west. It has an area of 7,147 km2 (2,759 sq mi) and approximately 230,000 inhabitants (2003). Its administrative seat is Rabgyai Town (Huazangsi).
The Qaidam, Tsaidam, or Chaidamu Basin is a hyperarid basin that occupies a large part of Haixi Prefecture in Qinghai Province, China. The basin covers an area of approximately 120,000 km2 (46,000 sq mi), one-fourth of which is covered by saline lakes and playas. Around one third of the basin, about 35,000 km2 (14,000 sq mi), is desert.
Zhangye, formerly romanized as Changyeh or known as Kanchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Gansu Province in the People's Republic of China. It borders Inner Mongolia on the north and Qinghai on the south. Its central district is Ganzhou, formerly a city of the Western Xia and one of the most important outposts of western China.
Haidong is a prefecture-level city of Qinghai province in Western China. Its name literally means "east of the (Qinghai) Lake." On 8 February 2013 Haidong was upgraded from a prefecture (海东地区) into a prefecture-level city. Haidong is the third most populous administrative division in Qinghai after Xining and Golmud.
Ma Bufang (1903 – 31 July 1975) (traditional Chinese: 馬步芳; simplified Chinese: 马步芳; pinyin: Mǎ Bùfāng; Wade–Giles: Ma3 Pu4-fang1, Xiao'erjing: مَا بُفَانْ) was a prominent Muslim Ma clique warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the province of Qinghai. His rank was lieutenant-general.
Xining railway station is the main railway station serving the city of Xining in Qinghai, China. It is the first station on the Qinghai–Tibet Railway which connects the city with Lhasa in Tibet.
Huangzhong District is a district of Xining, Qinghai Province, China. It is located about 80 km (50 mi) east of Qinghai Lake and about 10 km (6.2 mi) southwest of downtown Xining. In 2020 the district had a population of 463,900, of which 153,000 belonging to minorities. The Kumbum Monastery is located in the district.
Da Qaidam is a county-level administrative zone in Haixi Prefecture in northwestern Qinghai province, China. It borders Gansu province to the north.
Lan–Yin Mandarin (Lanyin) is a branch of Mandarin Chinese traditionally spoken throughout Gansu province and in the northern part of Ningxia. In recent decades it has expanded into northern Xinjiang. It forms part of Northwestern Mandarin. It has also been grouped together with Central Plains Mandarin. The name is a compound of the capitals of the two former provinces where it dominates, Lanzhou and Yinchuan, which are also two of its principal subdialects.
Sichuan–Qinghai railway, formerly known as Chengdu–Lanzhou railway during planning and construction, is a railway line under construction in China. The railway connects Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan with Xining, capital of Qinghai, with a branch connecting Chengdu to Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu.
The Huangshui River, Huang Shui, or Tsong Chu is a river in Qinghai and Gansu, China. It is a left tributary of the Yellow River and its total length is 374 km (232 mi) with a basin area of 3,200 km2 (1,200 sq mi).
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)(Original from the University of Michigan)