Tianshui
| Tianshui | |
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| — Prefecture-level city — | |
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 Tianshui
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| Coordinates: 34°35′N 105°44′E / 34.583°N 105.733°ECoordinates: 34°35′N 105°44′E / 34.583°N 105.733°E | |
| Country | China |
| Province | Gansu |
| City seat | Qinzhou District |
| Area | |
| • Total | 5,521.3 sq mi (14,300 km2) |
| Population (2004) | |
| • Total | 3,450,000 |
| • Density | 624.9/sq mi (241.3/km2) |
| Time zone | China standard time (UTC+8) |
| Website | http://www.tianshui.gov.cn/ |
Tianshui (Chinese: 天水; pinyin: Tiānshuǐ) is the second largest city in Gansu province in northwest China. Its population is approximately 3,500,000.
Tianshui lies along the route of the ancient Northern Silk Road at the Wei River, through which much of trade occurred between China and the west.[1] Nearby are the Maijishan Grottoes filled with thousands of Buddhist sculptures, represented by figures as Sakyamuni and Avalokitesvara, produced in as early as the Wei Dynasty and as late as the Song Dynasty by Buddhist monks who first came here via the North Silk Road and, later on, by local Buddhists, for worship purposes.[2]
The Qin state, later to become the founding dynasty of the Chinese empire, grew out from this area, and the Qin name itself is believed to have originated, in part, from there[3] Qin tombs have been excavated from Fangmatan near Tianshui, including one 2200 year old map of Guixian County.[4]
Tianshui is a diocese of the Roman Catholic church, currently vacant.[5]
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[edit] Subdivisions
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| # | Name | Hanzi | Hanyu Pinyin | Population (2004 est.) |
Area (km²) | Density (/km²) |
| 1 | Qinzhou District | 秦州区 | Qínzhōu Qū | 650,000 | 2,442 | 266 |
| 2 | Maiji District | 麦积区 | Màijī Qū | 580,000 | 3,452 | 188 |
| 3 | Qingshui County | 清水县 | Qīngshuǐ Xiàn | 310,000 | 2,003 | 155 |
| 4 | Qin'an County | 秦安县 | Qín'ān Xiàn | 600,000 | 1,601 | 375 |
| 5 | Gangu County | 甘谷县 | Gāngǔ Xiàn | 600,000 | 1,572 | 382 |
| 6 | Wushan County | 武山县 | Wǔshān Xiàn | 440,000 | 2,011 | 219 |
| 7 | Zhangjiachuan Hui Autonomous County | 张家川回族自治县 | Zhāngjiāchuān Huízú Zìzhìxiàn |
320,000 | 1,311 | 244 |
[edit] Geography
Tianshui has a monsoon-influenced, four-season, cool semi-arid climate (Koppen BSk), with seasons of comparatively equal length. Winters are cold but dry, with an average January temperature of −2 °C (28.4 °F), while summers are warm and somewhat humid, with an average July temperature of 22.8 °C (73.0 °F). Much of the annual rainfall occurs from June to September, and the annual mean temperature is 11.0 °C (51.8 °F).
| Climate data for Tianshui (1971−2000) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 3.5 (38.3) |
6.7 (44.1) |
12.2 (54.0) |
19.4 (66.9) |
23.7 (74.7) |
27.1 (80.8) |
28.8 (83.8) |
27.9 (82.2) |
22.3 (72.1) |
16.6 (61.9) |
10.5 (50.9) |
4.9 (40.8) |
17.0 (62.6) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −5.9 (21.4) |
−3 (27) |
1.6 (34.9) |
7.0 (44.6) |
11.3 (52.3) |
15.0 (59.0) |
17.8 (64.0) |
17.1 (62.8) |
12.7 (54.9) |
7.0 (44.6) |
0.7 (33.3) |
−4.6 (23.7) |
6.4 (43.5) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 5.1 (0.201) |
6.0 (0.236) |
18.7 (0.736) |
38.0 (1.496) |
54.5 (2.146) |
68.9 (2.713) |
84.6 (3.331) |
78.8 (3.102) |
74.3 (2.925) |
47.1 (1.854) |
12.1 (0.476) |
3.6 (0.142) |
491.7 (19.358) |
| % humidity | 62 | 60 | 61 | 59 | 62 | 66 | 70 | 71 | 76 | 77 | 71 | 65 | 66.7 |
| Avg. precipitation days | 5.0 | 5.2 | 7.9 | 8.9 | 10.5 | 11.2 | 11.8 | 10.7 | 11.2 | 10.6 | 5.4 | 3.0 | 101.4 |
| Sunshine hours | 144.3 | 128.4 | 142.2 | 182.0 | 201.7 | 190.0 | 195.7 | 193.4 | 125.4 | 123.7 | 133.4 | 151.0 | 1,911.2 |
| Source: China Meteorological Administration | |||||||||||||
[edit] Sister cities
One sister city of Tianshui is:
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Silk Road, North China, C. Michael Hogan, The Megalithic Portal, ed. Andy Burnham
- ^ "Artistic treasures of Maiji Mountain caves" by Alok Shrotriya and Zhou Xue-ying. [1]
- ^ Peoples Daily online, Chinese surname history: Qin.
- ^ Over 2,200-Year-old Map Discovered in NW China.
- ^ Diocese of Tsinchow [Tianshui]
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tianshui |
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