Introduction of Qingyang

1Geogriphical features.

Located in the east of Gansu province,Qingyang city covers a total area of 27000 km2 and a population of 2.6 million,having jurisdiction over 7 counties and 1 district,116 towns,3 neighborhood offices,1257 administrative villages and 43 community residents` committees.With the north side higher than the south,its altitude rise from 885m to 2082m. Its topography can be divided into three parts: loess plateau gullies in the central and southern part, loess hilly gullies in the north and loess hilly areas in the east,consisting of hills,plains,tablelands,ravines and ridges. There are 12 tablelands which in total cover an area of 254670 ha and each of them covers an area of more than 6666.7ha,among which lies the largest in area,thickest in soil and the most complete tableland,Dongzhi tableland,regarded as the first loess tableland in the world. Covered by more than 4 million mu forest,Ziwuling region has developed,the natural reservoir,into the largest and best vegetation water resources protection forest in Loess Plateau. The two south-north main lines,National Road 211 and Provincial Road 202 and another two east-west lines, National Road 309 and Provincial Road 303 make up its # shape highway framework. With the completion of renovation, Qingyang airport has resumed. Today,the three communications including China Telecom,China Mobile and China Unicom have covered the whole land.

2History

Humans have been procreating here for 200 centuries and early farming appeared here 7000 years ago. According to Shih Chi,the "Yellow Emperor", honored as the first ancestor of all Han Chinese,had talked about Medicine here with Qibo,the founder of Traditional Chinese Medicine,thus the HuangDi Neijing came into being and this land was also called the Hometown of QiHuang. BuZhu,ancestor of the Zhou Dynasty,led his people to Qingyang learning farming techniques from Ju Tao and Sun gongliu,starting the early farming of China, thus the prosperous Zhou dynasty began,recorded by history.Located at Wenquan township,Xifeng district of Qingyang,the Laogong Palace was named as “The First Temple of China ”by China Folklore Society. With its magnificent houses,the Zhouzu Mausoleum,lying on the top of the Dong mountain of Qingcheng county,has been regarded as the holy land of Chinese people to held sacrificial rites to ancestors and a good scenic spot for the natives.

3Historical Heritages

The world-famous fossils,Yellow River Ancient Elephant and Huanjiang Pterosaur were both uncovered in the watershed of Malian river and the first piece of paleolith that marked the beginning of Paleolithic archaeology in China was also unearthed in Zhaojia Cha of Huachi county. There are thousands of historical relics:Yangshao and Qijia culture relics in the Neolithic Period, and buildings,stone inscriptions,tombs,fossils of ancient times.Through Huachi,Huanxian and Zhenyuan,three counties of Qingyang, lying the Qin Great Wall of the Warring States Period , and Qin Straight passes Zhengning,Ningxian,Heshui and Huachi,four counties of Qingyang,along the Ziwuling region.Carved in the Northern Wei Period,the North Grotto was one of Gansu`s Four Great Grottos.This land is also the home of many historical figures,for example,some masterpieces like A Treatise on the Latent Man by Wang Fu,thinker in the Eastern Han Dynasty,Fu Zi by Fu Xuan,scholar in the Western Jin Dynasty and Works of Kongdong by Li Mengyang,writer in the Ming Dynasty,have significant influence both in the Chinese history of literature and ideas.

4Unique Culture

Sachet,Embroidered Pouch,Folk Paper-cut,Daoqing Shadow Show and Folk Songs of East Gansu are called “the Five Greats of Qingyang”,among which the folk songs enjoy a good reputation of “spirit of the loess songs”,for example,revolutionary songs like Our Leader Mao Zedong, Embroidering the Golden Banner,Military and Civilian Production created by farmer singers of Qingyang like Sun Wanfu and Wangting had gained nationwide popularity.The movie Liu Qiaoer created by the true story of Feng Zhiqin,a farmer from Huachi county who fought for the freedom of marriage in his youth age is a artistic masterpiece of Pingju.Experiencing a long-term development on the basis of Daoqing culture in Qingyang,Longju has become a new opera in Chinese drama.And it`s ingenious Paper-cut has been regarded as the design patterns to know the long history and ancient culture of Qingyang,for example,its Folk Embroidery represented by the Sachet,renowned both at home and abroad, has a long history and rich in its content.Qingyang was named the home of Farming Culture of Zhou Zu,Sachet and Embroidery,Unarmed Yanko Dance,Folk Paper-cut,Cave-dewelling,Lotus Dance and the Research Base of Chinese Folk Culture by China Folklore Society(CFS),and Huanxian county was named the home of Shadow Play and Daoqing Culture. In 2004,it was rated as The most Artistical Western City in a poll of “choosing the famous west city in China”

6Social Undertakings

In Qingyang,there are 3 state-owed research institutions,including 32000 various professional and technical staffs among which there are 10400 high and mid-level technical personnel;Longdong University, a comprehensive full tome undergraduate university,with 72 specialities and more than 8000 students;2176 primary and secondary schools having 552000 students;134 Radio and Television Stations,2797 medical institutions in different kind.Municipal construction has been changing with each passing day,with the complete infrastructures like stadiums,cultural centers,libraries,museums entertainment performance venues,business halls,hotels and travel services,its developing is still going on.