Guazhou County

Guazhou County (Chinese: 瓜州县; pinyin: Guāzhōu Xiàn), formerly (until 2006) Anxi County (安西县; Ānxī Xiàn) or Ansichow, is a county in the northwest of Gansu province, the People's Republic of China. It is under the administration of Jiuquan City.

"Guazhou" redirects here. For the town in Yangzhou, see Guazhou, Jiangsu.
Guazhou County
瓜州县
County
Guazhou (pink) within Jiuquan prefecture (yellow) within Gansu (grey)
Guazhou (pink) within Jiuquan prefecture (yellow) within Gansu (grey)
CountryPeople's Republic of China
ProvinceGansu
Prefecture-level cityJiuquan
SeatYuanquan Town
Area
 • Total24,100 km2 (9,300 sq mi)
Population
 (2018)
 • Total128,133
Time zoneUTC+8 (China Standard)
Postal code
736100

History
Ancient city of Suoyang

Emperor Wudi (140-87 BCE) had the Great Wall extended northwestward all the way to the Gate of Jade (Yumen Pass), the westernmost garrison town near Dunhuang. He then set up a system of garrisons all along this part of the Great Wall and put its headquarters in a town called Anxi (“Tranquil West”) and where the northern and southern Silk Routes historically diverged."[1] The name Guazhou (land/prefecture of melons) has a long contentious history; the name first appeared in records from the Warring States period, but Chinese historians have debated (since the 3rd century) whether it referred to a region in modern-day Gansu or Shaanxi. From Northern Wei to Sui dynasty, Guazhou Prefecture contained both modern-day Dunhuang and Guazhou counties; in the Tang dynasty, the western region surrounding Dunhuang was renamed "Western Shazhou" while the region around Anxi was named Guazhou, with both falling under the administrative unit of "Shazhou". Later, Shazhou became the exclusive name of the region around Dunhuang. The naming of these two regions (Shazhou and Guazhou) largely persisted till the Qing dynasty. In the 18th century, the Qing dynasty replaced the regional names "Shazhou" and "Guazhou" with the names of their largest cities, Dunhuang and Anxi. Since the modern era, Dunhuang County continues to be the name for the western county; however, Anxi County decided to revert to the Guazhou name in 2006 due to its greater recognizability in historical texts, with tourism in mind.[2]

Administrative divisions

Guazhou County is divided to 9 towns, 1 ethnic town, 2 townships, 3 ethnic townships and 1 other.[3]

Towns
  • Yuanquan(渊泉镇)
  • Liuyuan(柳园镇)
  • Sandaogou(三道沟镇)
  • Nancha(南岔镇)
  • Suoyang(锁阳城镇)
  • Guazhou(瓜州镇)
  • Xihu(西湖镇)
  • Hedong(河东镇)
  • Shuangta(双塔镇)
Ethnic towns
  • Yaozhanzi Dongxiang Town(腰站子东乡族镇)
Townships
  • Bulongji Township(布隆吉乡)
  • Lianghu Township(梁湖乡)
Ethnic townships
  • Qidun Huizu Dongxiang Township(七墩回族东乡族乡)
  • Guangzhi Tibetan Township(广至藏族乡)
  • Shahe Hui Township (沙河回族乡)
Others
  • State-owned Xiaowan Farm (国营小宛农场)

Climate
Climate data for Guazhou (1991–2020 normals)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) −1.1
(30.0)		 5.7
(42.3)		 13.7
(56.7)		 21.7
(71.1)		 27.2
(81.0)		 31.4
(88.5)		 33.0
(91.4)		 31.6
(88.9)		 26.8
(80.2)		 19.0
(66.2)		 8.8
(47.8)		 0.1
(32.2)		 18.2
(64.7)
Daily mean °C (°F) −9.3
(15.3)		 −3.2
(26.2)		 4.7
(40.5)		 12.9
(55.2)		 18.9
(66.0)		 23.7
(74.7)		 25.3
(77.5)		 23.5
(74.3)		 17.5
(63.5)		 8.8
(47.8)		 −0.1
(31.8)		 −7.8
(18.0)		 9.6
(49.2)
Average low °C (°F) −15.3
(4.5)		 −10.1
(13.8)		 −2.7
(27.1)		 4.9
(40.8)		 10.8
(51.4)		 15.9
(60.6)		 18.2
(64.8)		 16.7
(62.1)		 10.4
(50.7)		 1.8
(35.2)		 −6.1
(21.0)		 −13.4
(7.9)		 2.6
(36.7)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 1.5
(0.06)		 0.8
(0.03)		 2.9
(0.11)		 3.6
(0.14)		 4.6
(0.18)		 8.4
(0.33)		 10.1
(0.40)		 9.8
(0.39)		 3.7
(0.15)		 1.9
(0.07)		 1.3
(0.05)		 2.1
(0.08)		 50.7
(1.99)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 2.1 0.8 1.6 1.6 2.2 3.2 4.2 3.6 1.9 0.9 1.0 2.4 25.5
Average snowy days 3.9 1.2 1.6 0.4 0 0 0 0 0 0.2 1.5 3.5 12.3
Average relative humidity (%) 55 39 32 28 28 36 43 43 41 41 49 57 41
Mean monthly sunshine hours 210.1 216.1 259.1 280.1 311.5 300.9 302.8 297.8 281.6 266.0 216.6 193.7 3,136.3
Percent possible sunshine 70 71 69 70 69 67 67 71 77 79 74 68 71
Source: China Meteorological Administration[4][5]

Economy

The county's location is ideally suited for wind farms, earning the nickname "world's wind warehouse".[6] From the east the wind blows through a high, narrow valley formed by the Qilian and Beishan mountains, reaching 8.3 metres per second and energy density of 703 watts per cubic metre.[6]

A local windfarm.

Transport

The mainline Lanxin Railway and branch line Dunhuang Railway intersect at Liugou Railway Station in the county. Xiaowan and Guazhou are the two other stations on the Dunhuang Railway located in the county.

There are two national highways running through the country, China National Highway 215 (Hongliuyuan) and China National Highway 312 (Hongliuyuan).

See also

Footnotes
  1. Liu (2010), p. 10.
  2. "甘肃省的一个县，2006年改名，使用了一千多年前的叫法".
  3. "统计用区划代码 www.stats.gov.cn" (in Chinese). XZQH. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  4. 中国气象数据网 – WeatherBk Data (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  5. 中国气象数据网 (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  6. "Wind power growth in China's deserts ignored financial risks". The Guardian. May 14, 2010.

References
  • Liu, Xinru (2010). The Silk Road in World History. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-533810-2.

39°50′0″N 97°34′0″E

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