Dingxi Travel Guide

Chinese Name: 定西市 (dìng xī shì)
Population: 2,821,700
Area: 20,330 square kilometers (7,849 square miles)
Location: in the central Gansu Province, northwestern China
Administrative Division: 1 district (Anding); 6 counties (Tongwei, Lintao, Zhangxian, Minxian, Weiyuan, Longxi)
Area Code: 0932
Zip Code: 743000
GDP (2018): CNY 356.26 billion (USD 53.84 billion)
 

Dingxi City is located in central Gansu Province neighboring Lanzhou and Baiyin to the north, Pingliang and Tianshui to the east, Longnan to the south, Gannan and Linxia to the west. Dingxi, an important town on the ancient Silk Road, becomes a must pass of new Eurasian Continental Bridge. As the east gate of Lanzhou, it is only 98 kilometers (61 miles) away from there. With a long history of planting traditional Chinese medicine, Dingxi is one of the important producing areas of excellent traditional Chinese medicine. Besides that, potato is the first leading industry in Dingxi. Thus Dingxi has become one of the three major Chinese potato production areas.

Dingxi has many places of interest and the main scenic spots are Guiqing Mountain Scenic Area, Zheyang Mountain Scenic Area, Li’s Family Dragon Palace, Weiyuan Tower, Baling Bridge and Lotus (Lianhua) Mountain.

 Guiqing Mountain Scenic Area

1. It is only 98 kilometers (61 miles) from the capital city, Lanzhou. Longhai (Lanzhou-Lianyungang) Railway and the secondary line of Baoji-Lanzhou Railway pass through Dingxi and No.310, 312, 212, 316 national highways and other expressways radiating from Lanzhou all run across Dingxi. It makes the city definitely the east gate to the capital city of Gansu.

2. Dingxi Railway Station and the bus station are not far away from each other, both located in Jiaotong Lu of Anding District.

The northern region of Dingxi enjoys a middle temperate semi-arid climate and the south bears a warm temperate semi-humid climate. Strongly affected by its landform and the monsoons, the temperate is higher in the north than that in the south, while the rainfall is quite the opposite. The annual average temperature maintains around 5.6C-7.6C (42.1F-45.7F).

 When to Go: Sandstorms are common in spring, and it is chilly in winter. Summer and autumn are the best times to visit.

 History: Dingxi, located on the upper reaches of the Yellow River, is an important cultural centre exhibiting more than 2,200 years of history. Several cultural relics of the Neolithic Age have been discovered in the city. It was a flourishing place of great importance on the Silk Road. After the establishment of the PRC, Dingxi Special District was set up and changed to Dingxi Region in 1970, then Dingxi City in 2003.

 Physical Features: With the Weihe River as a limit, the city can be divided into the gully area of Loess Plateau in the north and the cold and humid highland area in the south. On the whole, the terrain declines from the south to the north.

 Local Products: potato, herbs (astragalus, codonopsis, angelica), horsebean.

 Local Highlights: This city is a town of folk arts. Carvings, paper cuttings, shadow puppetry, local operas and the most popular style of folk songs, Hua'er, are all attractions of the city.