Xining[a] is thecapital and most populous city ofQinghai province inwestern China[4] and the largest city on theTibetan Plateau. As of the 2020 census, it had 2,467,965 inhabitants (2,208,708 as of 2010), of whom 1,954,795 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of 5 urban districts.[5] The city lies in theHuangshui River Valley, also known as Tsongkha (Tibetan: ཙོང་ཁ་), and owing to its high altitude, has a cool climate on the borderline betweencool semi-arid and dry winterhumid continental.
Xining has a history of over 2,100 years[6] and was a chief commercial hub on theHexi Corridor caravan route toTibet, handling especially timber, wool and salt in ancient times. The trade along the Hexi Corridor was part of a larger trade corridor along theNorthern Silk Road, whose use was intensified in the 1st century BC after efforts by theHan dynasty to control this route.[7]
Under the Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), a county called Linqiang was established to control the localQiang tribesmen. It was again a frontier county under theSui (581–618) andTang (618–907) dynasties; during the 7th and early 8th centuries it was a center of constant warfare withTuyuhun andTibet. In 763, it was overrun by the Tibetans and while under Tibetan control was known to the Chinese asQingtang cheng (青唐城). Recovered by theSong dynasty in 1104, it received the name Xining (meaning "peace in the west") and has been the seat of a prefecture or superior prefecture under that name since that time. The founder ofGelugTsongkhapa (Tibetan: ཙོང་ཁ་པ་, meaning: "the man from Tsongkha". c. 1357–1419) was born in the 14th century, and on the site of his birthplace theKumbum Monastery was founded in the late 16th century, establishing Xining as an important religious center for theGelug School of Buddhists.
A majorearthquake occurred May 22, 1927, measuring at amagnitude of 7.6. It was one of the deadliest earthquakes in China with a total count of over 40,000 deaths. It also caused large land fractures.
Xining was the extraterritorial capital of theKoko Nor territory and remained inGansu until 1928, when it became the provincial capital of the newly established independent province of Qinghai.[8][9]
Xining was subjected to aerial bombardment byJapanese warplanes in 1941 during theSecond Sino-Japanese War. The bombing spurred all ethnicities in Qinghai, including the local Qinghai Mongols and Qinghai Tibetans, against the Japanese.[10][11] The Salar Muslim GeneralHan Youwen directed the defense of the city of Xining during air raids by Japanese planes.[12][13]
Xining was given municipal status in 1945.
Under the rule of GovernorMa Bufang, Xining, like the rest of Qinghai, underwentindustrialization and modernization. In 1947 the USA sold Ma Bufang a piped water (sewage) system which was installed in Xining.[14] Ma Bufang also promoted education. He made businessmen methodically clean up Xining by serving as insect exterminators.[15]
Nanliang Hutai Relics Park
Since the late 1950s, when theLiujiaxia Dam andhydroelectric project came into operation in neighboringGansu province, Xining has been linked by a high-tension electrical grid to both Liujia and Lanzhou. It also uses localcoal from mines atDatong County to the north, but however, a modern woollen mill was installed at Xining before 1957. The city also has aleather industry and is a market for salt from theQaidam region. During the late 1950s medium-sized iron and steelworks were built there, supplying metal to Lanzhou.
Construction of a highway to the mineral-richQaidam basin, and completion in 1959 a link to the Chinese rail network viaLanzhou in Gansu province, has spurred industrial development. This effort was part of a plan of the central government to rapidly exploit oil and pasturage in the Xining area beginning in the 1950s.[16]
Xining is located in the eastern part ofQinghai Province and lies on theHuangshui River. The four urban districts have a total area of 343 km2 (132 sq mi).
Xining is located on the eastern edge of theQinghai–Tibet Plateau and the upper reaches of theHuangshui River. It is the political, economic, and cultural center ofQinghai Province with an average altitude of about 2,200 metres (7,200 ft). Human activity in the region can be traced to 2,100 years ago. During theWestern and Eastern Han dynasties, owing to its developingagriculture, Xining was paid notice due to its economic and military significance. As well as being an important hinge between the Central Plains and the western part of China in ancient times, Xining was an important link in theSilk Road. It continues to be an important rail and road link to the hinterlands of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau.
Xining has also been dubbed the Summer Resort Capital of China owing to its cool summer, with a borderlinecold semi-arid climate (KöppenBSk)/dry winterhumid continental climate (Dwb). Conditions are influenced by the aridity and high altitude. Nights are cold or cool throughout the year, and thediurnal temperature variation often reaches or exceeds 15 °C (27 °F). The monthly 24-hour average temperatures ranges from −7.9 °C (17.8 °F) in January to 17.5 °C (63.5 °F) in July; the annual mean is 6.0 °C (42.8 °F), still making it one of the warmest locations in Qinghai due to the low elevation by provincial standards. Rainfall falls mainly from May to September, and the area is often dry and sunny: with monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 49 percent in September to 67 percent in November, the city receives 2,540 hours of bright sunshine per year. Extreme temperatures have ranged from −26.6 °C (−16 °F) to 36.5 °C (98 °F).[17] Snow cover is very sparse due to the dry winters.
Climate data for Xining, elevation 2,295 m (7,530 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1951–present)
In 2007, theWorld Bank lent US$1 billion to aidriver treatment in Xining, includingSanxian County's anti-flooding project, with an added US$1 billion to support infrastructure. Qinghai has invested large amounts in the treatment of Huangshui Main River and Nanchuan River, totalling 24.5 km (15.2 mi). However, a treatment on a 40 km (25 mi) river course and 10 flash flood relief channels remain pending due to lack of equipment. In Sanxian County, a 108.4 m (356 ft) long river course and 80 flash flood relief channels need treatment.
According to a 2011 World Health Organization (based on Chinese statistics), Xining has the second worstair quality (annual mean PM10 ug/m3 of 141) among eleven western China cities, and is worse than Beijing (121).[22]
View of partial Xining skyline from the northPlateau Pearl Sightseeing Tower
TheGDP per capita was 49,200 RMB (US$7,897) in 2015. Its main industries are wool spinning and textiles, fur, meat, milk, salt, and light processing industries.
Xining Economic & Technological Development Zone XETDZ) was approved as state-level development zone in July 2000. It has a planned area of 4.4 km2 (1.7 sq mi). XETDZ lies in the east of Xining, 5 km (3.1 mi) away from downtown. The XETDZ is the first of its kind at the national level on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It is established to fulfill the nation's strategy of developing the west.
XETDZ enjoys a convenient transportation system, connected by the Xining–Lanzhou expressway and run through by two main roads, the broadest roads of the city. It is 4 km (2.5 mi) away from the railway station,[which?] 15 km (9.3 mi) from Xining Airport.
It focuses on the development of following industries: chemicals based on salt lake resources, nonferrous metals, and petroleum and natural gas processing; special medicine, foods and bio-chemicals using local plateau animals and plants; new products involving ecological and environmental protection, high technology, new materials as well as information technology; and services such as logistics, banking, real estate, tourism, hotel, catering, agency and international trade.[23]
According to the2020 Chinese census, the prefecture-level city of Xining has a population of 2,467,965 inhabitants (compared to 2,208,708 as of the2010 Chinese census),[24][25] of whom 1,954,795 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of 5 urban districts.[5]
At present, four districts, three counties and a national economic and technological development zone are under the administration of the local government. With a population of more than two million, Xining is the first city on the upper reaches of theYellow River to achieve a population in the millions.
There are about 37 nationalities living here, though only theHan,Hui,Monguor/Tu andTibetans are numerically significant. Local traditions and customs are influenced by the Tibetans, Monguor, Muslims and Han. In the 2010 Census numbers, Han Chinese represent 74.04 percent of the total population of Xining, while Hui (16.26 percent), Tibetan (5.51 percent) and Tu (2.6 percent) are the mainminority groups in the city.
Located in the southwest part of Xining City, theKumbum Monastery orTa'er Monastery is one of six famous monasteries in theGelug (also calledYellow Hat Sect) of Tibetan Buddhism and has hundreds of monks.
Having a history of over 600 years, theDongguan Mosque, located in the Xining City Zone, is one of the most famousmosques in the northwest region of China. It has splendid and diversiform towers, walls and halls in the mosque.
Another unique religious structure is theBeishan Si (North Mountain Temple), aTaoist facility.
There are more than 300 Christian meeting points in Xining.[26]
Jianguo Avenue in Xining, prior to 2013 reconstruction of the railway station
Xining is situated in a fertile mountain basin in the valley of the Huangshui (river), a tributary of the Yellow River, that acts as a river port. The city lies about 200 km (120 mi) west ofLanzhou, the capital ofGansu province, on what was traditionally the main trade route fromnorthern China intoTibet and theQaidam Basin. These routes are now followed by modernhighways.
The second major railway serving Xining is theLanzhou–Xinjiang High-Speed Railway, opened in December 2014. When first opened, it just provided high-speed train service to Lanzhou andUrumqi (and points in between). With the opening of theBaoji–Lanzhou high-speed railway on July 9, 2017, it has been connected to the rest of the nation's high-speed rail network.
Unlike many other Chinese cities, where the conventional and high-speed trains stop at different train stations,Xining railway station is served by both types of trains. Thus it can be used as a transfer point for e.g. a passenger traveling fromXinjiang toTibet.
Xining Caojiapu International Airport serves the area with regularly scheduled passenger flights to major Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Chengdu, Kunming, Xi'an, and Wuhan.
Xining's cuisine is distinct from other Chinese cities and mainly uses food products native to the area.
Local specialties include: Feng'er Liji (a round lamb tenderloin), Danbai Chongcao Ji (a medicine cuisine made of chicken, Chinesecaterpillar fungus and eggs), and Jinyu Facai (pork wrapped in flagelliformnostoc and shaped as a goldfish).
There are also many small restaurants offering noodles. Gan Ban is a very common noodle dish. Perhaps Mian Pian, which means "noodle leaves" is the most common noodle plate among the Qinghai people. On the streets, many Muslims sell spicylamb brochettes. Due to the cold climate, residents of Xining are also fond of strong spirits; Xining has the reputation of being one of the regions of heaviest alcohol consumption in China.[citation needed]
^西宁市2010年第六次人口普查主要数据公报［1］ (in Simplified Chinese). Xining Municipal Bureau of Statistics. 14 May 2011. Archived fromthe original on 20 July 2015. Retrieved17 July 2015.
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