Baiyin is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Gansu province, People's Republic of China. Established in the 1950s as a base for mining non-ferrous metals, its mines are becoming exhausted in recent decades, requiring the city to reinvent its economy. Located around 60 km from Gansu's capital Lanzhou, it is part of the Lanzhou-Baiyin Economic Belt.

Geography and climate

Baiyin is part loess plateau, part desert. Elevation ranges from 1275 to 3321 m above sea-level. The prefecture-level city has either a cool arid climate (Köppen BWk) or a cool semi-arid climate (BSk) is very arid with only 110 – of annual precipitation. Annual evaporation is 2101 mm resulting in a net loss of approximately 1800 mm. The Yellow River flows from south to north for 214 km through Baiyin. The area is 20100 km², 3345 km² of that urban.

Administration

Baiyin has 2 urban districts, 3 counties, 64 townships, 18 towns, and 7 sub-districts with a total population of 1,512,110 as of the 2020 Chinese census, of which 538,514 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of the 2 urban districts of Baiyin and Pingchuan.

Economy

The Baiyin Nonferrous operates copper, zinc and selenium mines around Baiyin, although these mines are getting exhausted of ore. Financed by development funds, a high-tech park is being built, which is home to a contact lens factory. Pingchuan District and Huining County are the largest coal production bases in Gansu province. The Yinguang Group, a subsidiary of Norinco, operates a major factory making chemicals for defense and civilian use, the factory was a key project of the first five-year plan.

Transportation

Baiyin is directly served by the Baotou–Lanzhou railway, Honghui railway, China National Highway 109, China National Highway 341 and G6 Beijing–Lhasa Expressway.

Notable people