Tianshui 天水市 | |
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  Tianshui Fuyi pedestrian street (top), Tianshui skyline | |
.png) Location of Tianshui City jurisdiction in Gansu | |
  Tianshui  Tianshui | |
| Coordinates (Tianshui municipal government):34°34′53″N105°43′29″E / 34.5815°N 105.7248°E /34.5815; 105.7248 | |
| Country | People's Republic of China |
| Province | Gansu |
| Municipal seat | Qinzhou District |
| Area | |
| 14,280 km2 (5,510 sq mi) | |
| • Urban | 5,866 km2 (2,265 sq mi) |
| • Metro | 5,866 km2 (2,265 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,171 m (3,842 ft) |
| Population (2020 census)[1] | |
| 2,984,659 | |
| • Density | 210/km2 (540/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 1,212,791 |
| • Urban density | 210/km2 (540/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 1,212,791 |
| • Metro density | 210/km2 (540/sq mi) |
| GDP[2] | |
| • Prefecture-level city | CN¥ 55.4 billion US$ 8.9 billion |
| • Per capita | CN¥ 16,743 US$ 2,688 |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (China Standard) |
| Postal code | 741000 |
| Area code | 0938 |
| ISO 3166 code | CN-GS-05 |
| Licence plate prefixes | 甘E |
| Website | tianshui |
| Tianshui | |||||||||
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 The entrance to theFuxi Temple in Tianshui | |||||||||
| Chinese | 天水市 | ||||||||
| Postal | Tenshui | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | City of Sky and Water | ||||||||
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| Qinzhou | |||||||||
| Chinese | 秦州 | ||||||||
| Postal | Tsinchow | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | QinProvince | ||||||||
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| Tianshui Commandery | |||||||||
| Chinese | 天水郡 | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | Commandery of Heaven and Water | ||||||||
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| Hanyang Commandery | |||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 汉阳郡 | ||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 漢陽郡 | ||||||||
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| Hanyang County | |||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 汉阳县 | ||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 漢陽縣 | ||||||||
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Tianshui is aprefecture-level city inGansuprovince,China, and is the province's second-largest city (behind the provincial capitalLanzhou). Located in the southeast of the province, the city strides along the upper reaches of theWei River and at the boundary of theLoess Plateau and theQinling Mountains. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,984,659 inhabitants, of which 1,212,791 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of the 2 urban districts ofQinzhou andMaiji.[1] The city and its surroundings have played an important role in the early history of China, as still visible in the form of historic sites such as theMaijishan Grottoes.
Qin, whoseHouse of Ying were the ruling family of thefounding dynasty of Imperial China, developed fromQuanqiu (present-dayLixian) to the south. After the invasions of theRong which unseated theWestern Zhou, Qin recovered the territory of Tianshui from the nomads. It became an important region of their duchy and, later, kingdom.[3] Characteristically Qin tombs have been excavated atFangmatan nearby, including one 2200-year-old map ofQin'sGui County.[4]
Under theQin Empire, the area was part ofLongxi Commandery but theEmperor Wu of theHan separated the region as theTianshui Commandery in 114 BC as part of his expansion towards theTarim Basin.[5] The generalLi Guang came from the city. The Han conquests and explorations eventually resulted in the development of theNorthern Silk Road: Tianshui formed its junction with theWei River, after which it followed the road pastMount Long toChang'an (present-dayXi'an).[6] Nearby are theMaijishan Grottoes, filled with thousands ofBuddhist sculptures representing figures such asBuddha and the original male form ofGuanyin, produced between theWei andSongdynasties by monks travelling along the road and by local Buddhists.[7]
During theNorthern Wei, the city was known asHanyang and was the center of the Hanyang Commandery. During theWestern Wei, this name was changed to Hanyang County. During theTang andFive Dynasties, the city of Tianshui was known asShanggui (上邽). It alternated withChengji (present-dayQin'an) as the capital of theprovince ofQinzhou (秦州).[8]Li County was separated from Tianshui's jurisdiction during the ninth year ofChenghua (AD 1473) during theMing dynasty.
According to a legend, the name Tianshui (天水) originates from a lake formed from heaven, which would remain the same size year round.[5]
| Map | ||||||
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| Name | Hanzi | Hanyu Pinyin | Population (2004 est.) | Area (km2) | Density (/km2) | |
| Qinzhou District | 秦州区 | Qínzhōu Qū | 650,000 | 2,442 | 266 | |
| Maiji District | 麦积区 | Màijī Qū | 580,000 | 3,452 | 188 | |
| Qingshui County | 清水县 | Qīngshuǐ Xiàn | 310,000 | 2,003 | 155 | |
| Qin'an County | 秦安县 | Qín'ān Xiàn | 600,000 | 1,601 | 375 | |
| Gangu County | 甘谷县 | Gāngǔ Xiàn | 600,000 | 1,572 | 382 | |
| Wushan County | 武山县 | Wǔshān Xiàn | 440,000 | 2,011 | 219 | |
| Zhangjiachuan Hui Autonomous County | 张家川回族自治县 | Zhāngjiāchuān Huízú Zìzhìxiàn | 320,000 | 1,311 | 244 | |
Tianshui is located in the valley of the Jie River, a major tributary of theWei River, and on the boundary between theLoess Plateau andQinling Mountains.[9][5] The city has amonsoon-influenced,cool semi-arid (KöppenBSk)/humid continental (Dwa) climate, with four distinct seasons of comparatively equal length. Winters are cold but dry, with January 24-hour average temperature of −1.5 °C (29.3 °F), while summers are warm and somewhat humid, with July 24-hour average temperature of 23.2 °C (73.8 °F). Much of the annual rainfall occurs from June to September, and the annual mean temperature is 11.44 °C (52.6 °F). With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 34% in September to 50% in December, the city receives 1,911 hours of bright sunshine annually.
| Climate data for Tianshui, elevation 1,150 m (3,770 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1971–2010) | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 12.1 (53.8) | 20.2 (68.4) | 27.0 (80.6) | 31.8 (89.2) | 33.9 (93.0) | 37.2 (99.0) | 38.2 (100.8) | 36.1 (97.0) | 36.2 (97.2) | 28.5 (83.3) | 21.6 (70.9) | 14.7 (58.5) | 38.2 (100.8) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 4.3 (39.7) | 8.3 (46.9) | 14.3 (57.7) | 20.8 (69.4) | 24.6 (76.3) | 28.1 (82.6) | 29.8 (85.6) | 28.5 (83.3) | 22.8 (73.0) | 17.1 (62.8) | 11.3 (52.3) | 5.6 (42.1) | 18.0 (64.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −1.3 (29.7) | 2.4 (36.3) | 7.8 (46.0) | 13.7 (56.7) | 17.7 (63.9) | 21.5 (70.7) | 23.6 (74.5) | 22.5 (72.5) | 17.4 (63.3) | 11.5 (52.7) | 5.5 (41.9) | −0.2 (31.6) | 11.8 (53.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −5.2 (22.6) | −1.8 (28.8) | 2.9 (37.2) | 8.0 (46.4) | 12.0 (53.6) | 16.1 (61.0) | 18.6 (65.5) | 17.9 (64.2) | 13.7 (56.7) | 7.8 (46.0) | 1.6 (34.9) | −4.0 (24.8) | 7.3 (45.1) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −19.2 (−2.6) | −16.6 (2.1) | −10.0 (14.0) | −6.4 (20.5) | 1.8 (35.2) | 5.5 (41.9) | 10.6 (51.1) | 8.4 (47.1) | 1.2 (34.2) | −5.1 (22.8) | −11.6 (11.1) | −17.4 (0.7) | −19.2 (−2.6) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 4.6 (0.18) | 6.8 (0.27) | 18.2 (0.72) | 35.2 (1.39) | 55.7 (2.19) | 63.3 (2.49) | 90.2 (3.55) | 84.0 (3.31) | 77.0 (3.03) | 43.9 (1.73) | 11.4 (0.45) | 3.3 (0.13) | 493.6 (19.44) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.1 mm) | 5.1 | 4.9 | 6.6 | 7.8 | 9.8 | 10.3 | 11.3 | 10.9 | 12.1 | 10.5 | 5.7 | 2.8 | 97.8 |
| Average snowy days | 8.3 | 6.3 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 2.1 | 5.0 | 24.8 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 61 | 60 | 57 | 55 | 59 | 63 | 67 | 70 | 75 | 76 | 71 | 64 | 65 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 140.1 | 129.0 | 163.2 | 193.3 | 204.7 | 191.3 | 193.7 | 179.4 | 117.6 | 115.3 | 125.4 | 143.7 | 1,896.7 |
| Percentagepossible sunshine | 44 | 41 | 44 | 49 | 47 | 44 | 44 | 44 | 32 | 33 | 41 | 47 | 43 |
| Source:China Meteorological Administration[10][11][12] | |||||||||||||
Due to the mild climate, Tianshui is a large producer of fruits, in particularapples.[13]
It is also a major industrial centre in Gansu province, especially regarding electronics.[13] Some major industries include:
Tianshui Maijishan Airport is located near the built up area.
Tianshui is currently serviced byTianshui railway station on theLonghai Railway. The railway station is connected to downtown by theTianshui Tram.
A new high-speed railway station,Tianshui South railway station, opened in 2017.
TheTianshui–Longnan railway is currently under construction and will add a north–south link to the county.
TheLianyungang–Khorgas Expressway connects Tianshui to Baoji/Xi'an in the east and Dingxi, Lanzhou towards the northwest and supersedeshighway G310. G310 runs as a motorway within the urban centre.
Tianshui's signature dish is Guagua (呱呱), a sticky boiledbuckwheat flour meal, seasoned with chili oil, sesame paste, mustard, oil, salt, vinegar and garlic paste.[17] The dish is normally eaten as a breakfast.[18] According to legends it was the imperial food during Han dynasty general Wei Xiao's rule.[19]
In early 2024 Tianshuimalatang hot pot went viral online in China, attracting many tourists from all over the country to go and taste the dish. The numbing sensation of spiciness forms the "soul flavor" of Tianshui spicy hot pot. This "soul" comes from local specialty ingredients in Tianshui – Maiji peppercorns and Gangu chili peppers.[20] The viral phenomenon has been compared to the 2023 spring festivalZibo BBQ craze.[21]
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