Lanzhou, abbreviated as "Lan" or "Gao", was called Jincheng in ancient times. It is the provincial capital and political, cultural, economic, and scientific and educational center of Gansu Province, and an important central city in the western region. It is the provincial capital of Gansu Province approved by the State Council and an important industrial base in the Northwest region. Comprehensive transportation hub, one of the important central cities in the western region, and an important node city in the Silk Road Economic Belt. As of July 2020, the city has jurisdiction over 5 districts, 3 counties, and 3 national-level development zones, with a total area of ​​13,100 square kilometers and a permanent population of 4.134 million.
Lanzhou is located in northwestern China, the geometric center of the continental territory of China, and the central part of Gansu Province. It is a strategic platform for the country to open to the west, an important engine for the development of the western region, a scientific development demonstration area in the northwest, and a historical city of the Yellow River. , A modern central city with international influence in the western region, a modern and international metropolis facing the "One Belt One Road" and radiating Central Asia, West Asia and South Asia.
Lanzhou has a history of more than 2,200 years since it was established as a county in the Qin Dynasty. Since ancient times, it has been a transportation hub and a military fortress that "connects four regions and ten thousand miles of belts". Lanzhou has benefited from the Silk Road and has become an important transportation artery and a commercial town. Later, it became one of the earliest cities in China to accept modern industrial civilization. After the founding of New China, it was identified as one of the key industrial bases to be constructed by the state, becoming an important national petrochemical base, biopharmaceutical base and equipment manufacturing base. In 2012, the Lanzhou New District, the first state-level new district in the northwest, was approved, and Lanzhou became a frontier position and an important gateway for the country to open to the west.
On August 28, 2012, the State Council approved the establishment of Lanzhou New District, the first in Northwest China and the fifth national-level new district in China. It is clearly stated that the construction of the Lanzhou New District shall be an important measure for the in-depth implementation of the western development strategy, and that Lanzhou will be developed into a modern metropolis in the northwestern region in 2020