Wuwei

Located in the east part of the Hexi Corridor in the west of Gansu Province, Wuwei has Qilian Mountains to its south, the Tengger Desert to its northeast, the Lianguliang Valley to its east, the Gobi of Yongchang County to its west, and the Beisha River, boundary line with Yongchang County and Minqin County, to its north. It is the earliest developed place with the largest area, largest population and the most prosperous economy in the Hexi Corridor Region.

Wuwei was called Liangzhou in ancient times. Liang means cool in Chinese, and the town got its name because iron armors of the soldiers' became cool the moment they arrived here. Some 4,000 years ago, human beings started to live and conduct agriculture and animal husbandry in the ares of Wuwei. It had been a key town in terms of politics, economy, culture and religion since Wudi in the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) set up four towns in the region of Hexi. With comparatively advanced agriculture and trade exchange, Wuwei was the capital of six dynasties of the Western Regions. It's a stopover point of the ancient Silk Road from east to west, and the pivot for the economic and cultural exchanges between the east coastal cities and other European and Asian countries.

With colorful tourist resources, Wuwei is the largest town from Lanzhou to the Hexi Corridor. The major places of interest are the Leitai Tomb of the Han Dynasty, the Wuwei Confucius Temple, the Haicang Temple, the Tiantishan Grotto, and the Desert Park.

Covering a total area of 1,500 square meters, the Wuwei Confucius Temple lies in the southeast of the city. It is a group of architectures imitating the style of the imperial palaces built in the fourth year (1439) of the Zhengtong reign in the Ming Dynasty (1644-1911). Enlarged in the following dynasties, the temple is now the city museum.

The Leitai Tomb of the Han Dynasty is famous for its large-size brick tomb and the antiques in it. Leitai is the place where people offered sacrifice to the Thunder God, and it got its name because there was a temple for the god on a ten-meter high platform built in the mid-Ming Dynasty. Among the excavations, the Bronze Steed is of the highest fame. It is also called Steed after the Skylark. The steed is of in green bronze color, 34.5cm tall, 45cm long and 17.5 kilos in weight. It is scooting with three hoofs in air and the skylark just under its right hind leg, scaring. This craft changes the traditional way of posing steed, and conforms to the balance principle in mechanics. With rich connotation and excellent technique, the Bronze Steed is one of the best in the bronze art works .

The Haizang Temple is one of the temples preserved intact in the Hexi Region, a cultural reclics site under the provincial level protection. The Tianfoshan Grotto is one of the oldest grottoes of China, and was claimed to be the earliest ancestor of the grottoes.

The Desert Park in Wuwei is a wonderful scenic spot with deserts, prairie and gardens combined. The State Council proclaimed Wuwei as a historical and cultural city on December 8, 1986.