Guazhou County 瓜州县 | |
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.png) Guazhou (pink) withinJiuquan prefecture (yellow) within Gansu (grey) | |
| Country | China |
| Province | Gansu |
| Prefecture-level city | Jiuquan |
| Seat | Yuanquan Town |
| Area | |
• Total | 24,100 km2 (9,300 sq mi) |
| Population (2018) | |
• Total | 128,133 |
| • Density | 5.32/km2 (13.8/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (China Standard) |
| Postal code | 736100 |
Guazhou County (Chinese:瓜州县;pinyin:Guāzhōu Xiàn), formerlyAnxi County (安西县;Ānxī Xiàn) until 2006, is acounty in the northwest ofGansu province,China. It is under the administration ofJiuquan City.
Emperor Wudi (140-87 BCE) had theGreat Wall extended northwestward all the way to the Gate of Jade (Yumen Pass), the westernmost garrison town nearDunhuang. He then set up a system of garrisons all along this part of the Great Wall and put its headquarters in a town called Anxi (“Tranquil West”) and where the northern and southern Silk Routes historically diverged."[1] The nameGuazhou (land/prefecture of melons) has a long contentious history; the name first appeared in records from theWarring States period, but Chinese historians have debated (since the 3rd century) whether it referred to a region in modern-dayGansu orShaanxi. FromNorthern Wei toSui dynasty, Guazhou Prefecture contained both modern-dayDunhuang andGuazhou counties; in the Tang dynasty, the western region surrounding Dunhuang was renamed "Western Shazhou" while the region around Anxi was named Guazhou, with both falling under the administrative unit of "Shazhou". Later, Shazhou became the exclusive name of the region around Dunhuang. The naming of these two regions (Shazhou and Guazhou) largely persisted till the Qing dynasty. In the 18th century, the Qing dynasty replaced the regional names "Shazhou" and "Guazhou" with the names of their largest cities, Dunhuang and Anxi. Since the modern era, Dunhuang County continues to be the name for the western county; however, Anxi County decided to revert to the Guazhou name in 2006 due to its greater recognizability in historical texts, with tourism in mind.[2]
Guazhou County is divided to 9 towns, 1 ethnic town, 2 townships, 3 ethnic townships and 1 other.[3]
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| Climate data for Guazhou, elevation 1,171 m (3,842 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1991–present) | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 13.8 (56.8) | 19.7 (67.5) | 27.4 (81.3) | 36.9 (98.4) | 38.4 (101.1) | 38.7 (101.7) | 42.1 (107.8) | 38.7 (101.7) | 36.7 (98.1) | 31.3 (88.3) | 21.0 (69.8) | 13.7 (56.7) | 42.1 (107.8) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −1.1 (30.0) | 5.7 (42.3) | 13.7 (56.7) | 21.7 (71.1) | 27.2 (81.0) | 31.4 (88.5) | 33.0 (91.4) | 31.6 (88.9) | 26.8 (80.2) | 19.0 (66.2) | 8.8 (47.8) | 0.1 (32.2) | 18.2 (64.7) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −9.3 (15.3) | −3.2 (26.2) | 4.7 (40.5) | 12.9 (55.2) | 18.9 (66.0) | 23.7 (74.7) | 25.3 (77.5) | 23.5 (74.3) | 17.5 (63.5) | 8.8 (47.8) | −0.1 (31.8) | −7.8 (18.0) | 9.6 (49.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −15.3 (4.5) | −10.1 (13.8) | −2.7 (27.1) | 4.9 (40.8) | 10.8 (51.4) | 15.9 (60.6) | 18.2 (64.8) | 16.7 (62.1) | 10.4 (50.7) | 1.8 (35.2) | −6.1 (21.0) | −13.4 (7.9) | 2.6 (36.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −25.0 (−13.0) | −25.7 (−14.3) | −16.2 (2.8) | −8.6 (16.5) | −2.9 (26.8) | 4.5 (40.1) | 9.6 (49.3) | 5.3 (41.5) | −5.9 (21.4) | −9.4 (15.1) | −22.1 (−7.8) | −29.0 (−20.2) | −29.0 (−20.2) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 1.5 (0.06) | 0.8 (0.03) | 2.9 (0.11) | 3.6 (0.14) | 4.6 (0.18) | 8.4 (0.33) | 10.1 (0.40) | 9.8 (0.39) | 3.7 (0.15) | 1.9 (0.07) | 1.3 (0.05) | 2.1 (0.08) | 50.7 (1.99) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.1 mm) | 2.1 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 3.2 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 2.4 | 25.5 |
| Average snowy days | 3.9 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 3.5 | 12.3 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 55 | 39 | 32 | 28 | 28 | 36 | 43 | 43 | 41 | 41 | 49 | 57 | 41 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 210.1 | 216.1 | 259.1 | 280.1 | 311.5 | 300.9 | 302.8 | 297.8 | 281.6 | 266.0 | 216.6 | 193.7 | 3,136.3 |
| Percentagepossible sunshine | 70 | 71 | 69 | 70 | 69 | 67 | 67 | 71 | 77 | 79 | 74 | 68 | 71 |
| Source:China Meteorological Administration[4][5] | |||||||||||||
The county's location is ideally suited for wind farms, earning the nickname "world's wind warehouse".[6] From the east the wind blows through a high, narrow valley formed by the Qilian and Beishan mountains, reaching 8.3 metres per second and energy density of 703 watts per cubic metre.[6]
The mainlineLanxin Railway and branch lineDunhuang Railway intersect at Liugou Railway Station in the county. Xiaowan and Guazhou are the two other stations on the Dunhuang Railway located in the county.
There are two national highways running through the country,China National Highway 215 (Hongliuyuan) andChina National Highway 312 (Hongliuyuan).
39°50′0″N97°34′0″E / 39.83333°N 97.56667°E /39.83333; 97.56667
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