Why Dingxi
Dingxi, additionally recognized as Longyou, is a prefecture-level city situated in the southeastern part of Gansu province in the People's Republic of China. Positioned roughly 98 kilometers east of Lanzhou, the location is commonly known as the eastern gateway to the region. Spanning an expansive area of 20,300 square kilometers, the broader administrative municipality encompasses one urban district—Anding—along with six counties and 119 towns, supporting a population of over 2.5 million inhabitants.
The local terrain features loess hills and ravines across its northern sector, transitioning into higher elevated landforms toward the south. The Wei River, a major tributary of the Yellow River, flows directly through the district and supplies the vast majority of its water. Historically, the area boasted lush forests and green pasturelands; however, following the eighteenth-century reign of the Qianlong Emperor, severe deforestation took hold across the landscape as a consequence of armed conflicts, historic famines, and population pressures.
Dingxi experiences a cool, monsoon-influenced semi-arid climate marked by high-intensity sunlight and generally cool average temperatures. Summers in the region are humid and range from warm to very warm, whereas winters bring freezing conditions with virtually no snowfall. Because the region receives limited precipitation, the dry environment has long influenced local land use and agricultural development.
The area holds significant cultural importance tied to the origins of early Chinese civilizations along the Wei River basin, which harbors numerous Neolithic sites from several ancient cultures. The region also exhibits unique linguistic heritage, as the local dialect of Central Plains Mandarin is distinctively spoken with three tones instead of the standard four.
Agriculture and natural resource industries form the foundation of the local economy. The region produces over 300 types of traditional Chinese medicinal plants alongside major crops such as potatoes, yams, walnuts, wild apricots, and prickly ash fruit. Visitors exploring the local food culture can sample distinct regional dishes, including shouzhuarou bone-in cooked mutton, Dingxi niangpi noodles, donkey tail prepared as Longxi qianrou, and tadpole-shaped Minxian fenyu noodles. The region is reachable via major transport corridors, including the G22 and G30 expressways, National Highway 312, the Longhai railway line, and the Xuzhou-Lanzhou High-Speed Railway.
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