When it comes to the big cities in Gansu, the first thing that comes to mind is definitely Lanzhou, as the capital of Gansu and one of the important central cities in western China, Lanzhou has a pivotal position in the province. However, there is such a city in Gansu, although its own reputation is not very famous, but is an important birthplace of the Chinese Yellow River civilization, it is the "gateway to Lanzhou, the throat of Gansu" called Dingxi City.
Located in central Gansu Province, the Loess Plateau, the Tibetan Plateau and the West Qinling intersection of Dingxi City, east of Tianshui City, west of Lanzhou City, north of the neighboring Baiyin City, south of Longnan City, taking the "west of stability" and the meaning of the name, commonly known as "Longzhong". From ancient times to the present, Dingxi is the Central Plains to the northwest of the main traffic and the Silk Road on the town, but also tourists to Dunhuang, Lhasa and other places must go through the driving tour.
According to historical records, as early as 4,000 years ago, there are human beings in this land, 279 BC, King Zhaoge of Qin built a city in the west of Longshui, jurisdiction over the entire territory of Dingxi, because its county is located in the west of Longshui, so the name "Longxi". Northern Song Dynasty Yuanfeng four years (1081), Song recovered the Western Xia, Song Shen Zong gave "Longxi" for "Ding Xiangcheng", Dingxi from this name.
For more than 1,900 years, the people of Dingxi have loved painting and calligraphy, and the practice of calligraphy and painting has become popular.
Speaking of Dingxi, many people will think of the "Dingxi has three treasures: potatoes, yams, potatoes" stems. Although located in the Loess Plateau hills and ravines, water resources are scarce, but Dingxi is rich in land resources, is one of China's richest potato production areas. And because of the local high altitude, low temperature, temperature difference, the potatoes produced by the large, good taste, production and quality in the country are in the first-class level, known as "China's potato capital".
From the 1970s, the industrious people of Dingxi began to plant trees and terraces in order to improve their living conditions and protect the ecology of the Yellow River. After several generations of unremitting efforts, the formerly dry loess slopes said goodbye to the embarrassing situation of "water to soil away from food", and regained vitality, the local production of high-quality forage and highland summer vegetables are shipped to all parts of the country, and even exported abroad.
According to statistics, there are national and provincial forest parks such as Guiqing Mountain, Zhaoyang Mountain and Lianfeng Mountain in Dingxi, cultural sites such as Majiayao, Qijia and Siwa from the Neolithic Age, as well as national key cultural relics such as Xinmang Quanheng from the Han Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty burial complexes, which make Dingxi an ideal place for leisure and vacation.
Everyone is familiar with the idiom "Jing and Wei", but many people do not know that the source of the Wei River is in the Bird Rat Mountain in Weiyuan County, Dingxi City. According to legend, Dayu used an axe to split the mountain and dredge the river, allowing the Wei River to pour out from the middle, writing the majestic epic of "Dayu Guiding the Wei".
In Weiyuan County, there is even the only remaining classical horizontal cantilever arch bridge in China, the Ba Ling Bridge. It lies on the Qingyuan River in the south of Weiyuan County, and is named after the Weihui River that runs around Ba Ling to Chang'an, with a history of more than 600 years. Because of its exquisite design, exquisite craftsmanship and beautiful shape, the Ba Ling Bridge has been known as the "Long Rainbow of the Wei River" and the "First Bridge of the Wei River for Thousands of Miles" since ancient times.
In the general impression, mentioning the prairie will usually think of Xinjiang and Qinghai, in fact, Gansu is also one of the six major grassland pastoral provinces in China, the territory is very rich in grassland resources, located in the eastern part of the county of Min County, Dingxi City, is one of the Wolf River wetland grassland. Compared with other grasslands, here not only the sky is blue and clear, the scenery is beautiful, there is a long history and deep cultural heritage.
As early as 5,000 years ago, Woldu Wetland Grassland became a horse herding place for the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Qin and Han tribes, when the Qin people had herded horses here and laid a foundation. Visitors here can not only appreciate the vast and magnificent beauty of the grassland, but also feel the cool and comfortable climate in summer. As National Highway 316 crosses the Wolf River Wetland Grassland, the traffic is very convenient, and it has now become a net red hitting place for Gansu tourism.
