Located in the east part of the
Hexi Corridor in the west of Gansu Province, Wuwei has Qilian Mountains to its
south, the Tengger Desert to its northeast, the Lianguliang Valley to its east,
the Gobi of Yongchang County to its west, and the Beisha River, boundary line
with Yongchang County and Minqin County, to its north. It is the earliest
developed place with the largest area, largest population and the most
prosperous economy in the Hexi Corridor Region.
Wuwei was called Liangzhou in ancient
times. Liang means cool in Chinese, and the town got its name because iron armors
of the soldiers' became cool the moment they arrived here. Some 4,000 years
ago, human beings started to live and conduct agriculture and animal husbandry in
the ares of Wuwei. It had been a key town in terms of politics, economy, culture and
religion since Wudi in the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) set up four towns in the
region of Hexi. With comparatively advanced agriculture and trade exchange,
Wuwei was the capital of six dynasties of the Western Regions. It's a stopover
point of the ancient Silk Road from east to west, and the pivot for the economic
and cultural exchanges between the east coastal cities and other European and
Asian countries.
With colorful tourist resources, Wuwei is
the largest town from Lanzhou to the Hexi Corridor. The major places of interest
are the Leitai Tomb of the Han Dynasty, the Wuwei Confucius Temple, the Haicang
Temple, the Tiantishan Grotto, and the Desert Park.
Covering a total area of 1,500 square
meters, the Wuwei Confucius Temple lies in the southeast of the city. It is a
group of architectures imitating the style of the imperial palaces built in the
fourth year (1439) of the Zhengtong reign in the Ming Dynasty (1644-1911).
Enlarged in the following dynasties, the temple is now the city
museum.
The Leitai Tomb of the Han Dynasty is famous
for its large-size brick tomb and the antiques in it. Leitai is the place where
people offered sacrifice to the Thunder God, and it got its name because there
was a temple for the god on a ten-meter high platform built in the mid-Ming
Dynasty. Among the excavations, the Bronze Steed is of the highest fame. It is
also called Steed after the Skylark. The steed is of in green bronze color,
34.5cm tall, 45cm long and 17.5 kilos in weight. It is scooting with three hoofs
in air and the skylark just under its right hind leg, scaring. This craft
changes the traditional way of posing steed, and conforms to the balance
principle in mechanics. With rich connotation and excellent technique, the
Bronze Steed is one of the best in the bronze art works .
The Haizang Temple is one of the temples
preserved intact in the Hexi Region, a cultural reclics site under the
provincial level protection. The Tianfoshan Grotto is one of the oldest grottoes
of China, and was claimed to be the earliest ancestor of the
grottoes.
The Desert Park in Wuwei is a wonderful
scenic spot with deserts, prairie and gardens combined. The State Council
proclaimed Wuwei as a historical and cultural city on December 8, 1986.