The physical geography of China’s tourist icon capital

Wuwei City is located in the central part of Gansu Province and at the eastern end of the Hexi Corridor. It is the eastern gate of the Silk Road from east to west into the Hexi Corridor and Xinjiang. It is located between 36°29′～39°27′ north latitude and 101°49′～104°16′ east longitude. It borders Baiyin City and Lanzhou City to the east, Qinghai Province to the south across the Qilian Mountains, and Zhangye City and Jinchang City to the west. , connected to the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in the north. It is 276 kilometers away from the provincial capital Lanzhou City in the southeast and 74 kilometers away from the nickel capital Jinchang City in the northwest. It is 326 kilometers long from north to south and 204 kilometers wide from east to west, with a total area of ??33,238 square kilometers. The terrain of Wuwei is high in the south and low in the north, with a relative height difference of 3854 meters, forming three obvious geographical zones:

1. Qilian Mountains in the south: about 9,000 square kilometers, with an altitude of 2,000 to 4,872 meters, high, cold and cloudy It is wet, with snow covering all year round above 4000 meters, and covered with forests and grasslands below 4000 meters. The annual precipitation ranges from 310 mm to 522 mm, the average temperature is below zero, and there is no obvious summer. With Wushaoling as the watershed, two water systems are formed: the Yellow River Basin and the Shiyang River Basin. Datong River and Jinqiang River in the Yellow River Basin lack regulation and storage projects, and most of the river water flows out of the country.

The water resources within the territory are mainly utilized from the Xiying River, Nanying River, Zamu River, Huangyang River, Dajing River and Gurang River in the Shiyang River Basin. The annual runoff of these six rivers totals 1.144 billion cubic meters, which is an important guarantee for the survival of Wuwei Oasis.

2. Central Oasis Irrigation Area: nearly 9,000 square kilometers, a temperate arid area. It is windy in winter and spring and hot in summer. Summer temperatures range from 24.2°C to 36°C, with a large temperature difference between day and night. There are 3,000 hours of sunshine throughout the year, precipitation ranges from 102 mm to 200 mm, and evaporation exceeds 2,000 mm.

3. Northern arid area: about 15,000 square kilometers, drought and water shortage, with annual precipitation of 52 mm to 185 mm and evaporation of 3,000 mm. The overall climate performance is: strong solar radiation, sufficient sunshine, short and hot summers, long and cold winters, no obvious performance in spring and autumn, large annual and daily temperature differences, low precipitation, and large evaporation.