Lanzhou Jiuzhou Economic Development Zone

There is a valley with an average width of 1.7 kilometers located north of the Yellow River, Lanzhou city, covering a total area of 38 square kilometers. Once desolate, it is now the home of the Jiuzhou Economic Development Zone.

The topography of the valley is relatively placid, with an average elevation of 1,610 meters and an annual relative humidity of 58 percent. Situated in a temperate continental climate semi-arid zone, the area has a mild climate and four distinct seasons.

It has an annual frost-free period of 168 days, an annual average precipitation of 316mm, an evaporation of 1,410.2mm, and an annual mean temperature of 9.1 C (48.4 F).

The land in the valley consists of an upper layer of loess measuring 2 to 30 meters. Beneath that is red sandstone, which is solid enough to support buildings.

The zone enjoys convenient transportation, only 15 minutes from downtown Lanzhou. It has easy access to National Highway 109 and Zhongchuan Highway. The zone, with an area of 7.78 square kilometers, borders Dapogou, Jiuzhoutai, Miaotanzi, Daba and Gaolan counties. Two bus lines cross the zone: No 83 and No 144.

The zone was approved by the Lanzhou government in 1988 and is governed by the Lanzhou management committee. It was promoted to a provincial development zone in 2006 by the Gansu provincial government thanks to its fast progress after environment transformation, land sales and rentals, infrastructure development, and investment attraction.

After more than 20 years of growth, land development has been completed, with 1.3 million square meters of houses. The region has 138 enterprises and 35,000 residents. Its infrastructure is also well-equipped, including roads, water and power supplies, drainage, and natural gas pipelines.

Major industries include food processing, machinery, electronics and biomedicine.