Many netizens have always found that many place names in Gansu Province are particularly poetic and pleasant to listen to, such as Lanzhou, Wuwei, Dunhuang, Tianshui, Jiuquan, Longnan, etc. So what are these very literary place names? How did it come about? Here is a detailed introduction to the origin of these four place names: Lanzhou, Wuwei, Dunhuang and Tianshui.
Lanzhou and Wuwei
Lanzhou was called "Jincheng" in ancient times. One theory is that it was named Jincheng because when the city was first built here, someone dug out Gold; there is another saying based on the allusion of "Jincheng Tangchi", such as its indestructibility. During the period of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, some prefectures and counties were merged into a two-level system after the abolition of the county-level organizational system. Since there is Gaolan Mountain at the south end of Jincheng County, in view of the omission method established by the ancients, the word Gaolan was removed? Gaolan. He stayed in Lanzhou, changed its name to Lanzhou, and established the General Manager's Office. It was not until the Qing Dynasty that it was changed to Lanzhou Prefecture. After the Revolution of 1911, Lanzhou City has since become the capital of Gansu Province.
Wuwei is located in the east of the Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province and on the upper reaches of the Shiyang River. Wuwei was originally the territory of the Yuezhi and was occupied by the Xiongnu in the early Western Han Dynasty. Later, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Huo Qubing to conquer Hexi. After returning in triumph, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty named the area Wuwei to commemorate this victory and established Wuwei County to demonstrate the strong military strength and martial arts of the Western Han Dynasty. After several changes of place name, it was called Guzang in the Western Han Dynasty and changed back to Wuwei in the Eastern Han Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, it was changed to Liangzhou Wei, and in the Qing Dynasty, it was changed back to Wuwei County. It was not officially designated as Wuwei City until 1985. ?
Dunhuang and Tianshui
Dunhuang is located at the westernmost end of the Hexi Corridor. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, with the development of the Silk Road, Zhang Qian passed through "Dunhuang" on his mission to the Western Regions. After returning to Chang'an, he told Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty what he had seen and heard, especially when he mentioned "Dunhuang", He was full of praise for it, which made Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also yearn for this mysterious and charming place. Later, when the Western Han Dynasty acquired this land, Dunhuang County was established. During the Tang Dynasty, Dunhuang was renamed Shazhou. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Dunhuang County was reestablished in 1760. It was not officially changed to Dunhuang City until 1987.
Tianshui is located in the southeast of Gansu Province, in the middle reaches of the Wei River and the upper reaches of the Jialing River. It is the hub of the three provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu and Sichuan. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang heard about the beautiful legend of "Tianhe filling water", so he named a new county by the lake in Shanbei City "Tianshui County". During the reign of Emperor Wu of Jin Dynasty, Qinzhou was established to govern Tianshui County. During the Republic of China, Qinzhou was removed from Qinzhou and Tianshui County was established. It was not until 1985 that Tianshui City was officially upgraded to a prefecture-level city.
The above is the origin of the place names of Lanzhou City, Wuwei City, Dunhuang City and Tianshui City in Gansu Province. They are very historical and story-telling.