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| Introduction |
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Jiayuguan is located in the northwestern part of Gansu province, at the southern foot of Heishan Mountain and at the northern foot of Qilianshan Mountain. It covers an area of 2,935 sq km. Population of the city amounted to 0.2 by the end of 2009.
Jiayuguan has temperate arid climate with few rainfall and large temperature difference between day and night. The average temperature is 6°C, while the average annual precipitation totals only 80 mm.
Jiayuguan is rich in mineral resources such as iron, manganese, copper, gold, limestone, clay and barite. Reserves of iron ore in Jingtieshan Mountain Mine, an important iron ore production base in China, reach 483 million tons.
Transportation of Jiayuguan is very convenient. The State Highway 312 (Shanghai-Yining of Xinjiang Autonomous Region) and the Lanzhou-Urumqi Railway run through the city. In Addition, Jiayuguan Airport, 12 km from city downtown, operates scheduled flights to Dunhuang, Lanzhou, Urumqi, and Xi'an, among other cities.
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| Economic Features |
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Jiayuguan realized GDP of RMB 16 billion in 2009, representing a rise of 10% year on year. The city's GDP accounted for approximately 4.7% of Gansu's total and ranked tenth out of fourteen prefecture-level cities in the province.
The agricultural sector, the smallest contributor to the city’s economy, generated value-added output of RMB 228 million in 2009, accounting for only 1.4% of the city's GDP.
In 2007, secondary industry (industry and construction), the largest contributor to the city’s economy, realized value-added output of RMB 12.6 billion, accounting for 78.9% of the city's total.
During 2009, total value-added industrial output of the city reached RMB 12.2 billion, accounting for 76.3% of the city' GDP. Ferrous metal smelting and rolling is the most important industry in Jiayuguan. In 2009, the city produced 5.2 million tons of steel, 5 million tons of steel products and 4.5 million tons of pig iron.
The Jiayuguan-based Jiuquan Iron & Steel (Group), a large-scale state-owned enterprise group, is the largest enterprise contributor to the city's economy. In 2009, the steel producer manufactured over 7.6 million tons of steel and steel products.
The service sector generated value-added output of RMB 3.2 billion, accounting for 19.7% of the city's total GDP in 2007.
Tourism is an important pillar of the service sector. During 2009, 1.15 tourists visited the city, up 41.84% year on year, while tourism income totaled RMB 497 million, representing a rise of 45.34% compared to the previous year.
The city’s foreign trade amounted to US$407 million in 2009, ranking third after Jinchang and Lanzhou in Gansu province. Exports sank 92.7% to US$27 million, while imports tumbled 54% to US$380 million. Steel and related products are major export goods of the city. Import goods are mainly minerals. South Korea, the United States and Germany are most important trading partners of the city.
In 2009, transportation, storage and postal business generated value-added industrial output of RMB 759 million, increasing by 5.2% year on year.
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| Cultural Highlights |
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Jiayuguan once was a small township engaged in local trading, catering to the demand of the military garrisons stationed at the fort.
As a Han outpost during the Ming Dynasty, a fortress was built to protect the last frontier of the Chinese empire.
Jiayuguan has special products including wheat, corn, millet, buckwheat, jowar, white potato, potato, cotton, benne, beet and tobacco. Its local highlights including Qinqiang Drama, Jiuquan Cup of phosphorescent jade, handcraft carpet.
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| Tourist Attraction |
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Jiayuguan, with a history of more than 600 years, is an important city of tourism on the ancient Silk Road. It used to be an important pass in ancient times. In Ming Dynasty, Jiayuguan Pass was built up and composed of defensive walls, gates and army camps. It was not easy to build such a grand pass.
Now the ancient pass has been expanded into a modern city in China's northwest. Other tourist attractions including the suspended section of the Great Wall, the beacon tower relics, the Museum of the Great Wall, the Xincheng Fresco, the Qiyi Glacier, the Gobi desert and the its landscape, the Wenshu Mountain Grotto, the Heshan Mountain Grotto and the International Gliding Base.
Jiayuguan boasts four delicious snacks, namely, Steamed beef and mutton, Hongzun Fish, which is praised as ginseng in water, Cuoyu (fish-shape) Noodle, and Silk Road Camel Palm, which is made from eggs, flavors, and camel palm.
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