sign in sign up
<<
Home , Jiayuguan City, Jinchang, Minqin County, Yumen City, Zhangye

This article was originally published in a journal published by Elsevier, and the attached copy is provided by Elsevier for the author’s benefit and for the benefit of the author’s institution, for non-commercial research and educational use including without limitation use in instruction at your institution, sending it to specific colleagues that you know, and providing a copy to your institution’s administrator. All other uses, reproduction and distribution, including without limitation commercial reprints, selling or licensing copies or access, or posting on open internet sites, your personal or institution’s website or repository, are prohibited. For exceptions, permission may be sought for such use through Elsevier’s permissions site at:

http://www.elsevier.com/locate/permissionusematerial Cities, Vol. 24, No. 1, p. 60–73, 2007 Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.cities.2006.11.006 All rights reserved. 0264-2751/$ - see front matter www.elsevier.com/locate/cities

Viewpoint The urban system in West : A case study along the mid- section of the ancient – He-Xi Corridor Yichun Xie, Robert Ward Department of Geography and Geology, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI, USA Chuanglin Fang *, Biao Qiao Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100101, China

Received 8 January 2006; revised 5 July 2006; accepted 12 November 2006 Available online 23 January 2007

The evolution of the urban system in the semi-arid and arid West China has a close relationship to the origin, prosperity, and decline of the ancient Silk Road. This urban system bears noticeable inscriptions of the fragile physical environment, complex ethnic mix, and changing political systems and policies. This paper uses the mid-section of the ancient Silk Road – He-Xi Corridor as a case study to examine the challenges of urban development in West China and to propose suggestions for future development from the perspective of comprehensive planning. The research focuses on a series of seven cities and numerous towns which primarily serve the local population by providing different functions, beyond their value to travelers and historians. These cities are rapidly gaining importance to provincial and national authorities. Although current political, social, and economic influences are significant, a con- siderable part of their evolution can be explained by the natural environment, primary resources, eth- nic differences, and their geographical distributions. The investigation examines the relationship between the evolution of these urban centers and internal and external conditions and provides a base for planning policy to enhance their viability as significant nodes for future development. Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords:Author'sChallenges of urban development, arid/semi-aridpersonal environment, Urban system, copy He-Xi corridor, West China

Introduction tion. The urban population rose from 20% of the nation’s population in * The 2000 Census in China clearly iden- Corresponding author. E-mail: fangcl 1982 to 36% in the year 2000, a net gain @igsnrr.ac.cn. tifies a pattern of accelerated urbaniza-

60 Viewpoint: Y Xie et al. of 16% in less than two decades. Much along the feet of mountains and the , called He-Xi (River- of China’s accelerated urbanization has rivers. They rely heavily on melt gla- West) Corridor. The cities in He-Xi taken place in economically advanced cier water and face severe shortages Corridor have similar physical envi- regions of the East Coast, particularly of water resource. They are situated ronments to those cities in West Chi- where the influence of market reforms in minority concentrated areas. The na. In addition, He-Xi is located at and globalization have been most city system there originated with the the transitional zone between West strongly felt. However, less is known thriving silk trade and military instal- and Central/East China. Through its of the urban development in West lations to protect trade and consoli- long history, this area has been a fron- China, part of the nation’s vast hinter- date the Han People’s (Mandarin) tier buffering the Mandarin Chinese land. Due to the limited data and incon- controls. The urban growth was chal- and ethnic minorities. Urban growth spicuous economic achievement, little lenged by a fragile physical environ- in this region reflected complex inter- literature has been found on how the ment, long-standing ethnic conflicts, actions between harsh environments, urban system evolves in this region. and changing politics. The urban recurring ethnic conflicts, and human West China is a geographic term growth has taken a unique path devi- struggles for survival. Another point which is used by ordinary Chinese to ating from what is commonly seen in worth noting is that many cities in this indicate remote parts of China where coastal China. In general, the urbani- region were promoted as important ethnic minorities are concentrated. zation level was low and the living inland industrial bases after the estab- These areas usually include Yunnan, standard was poor. The gaps between lishment of the People’s Republic of Guizhou, Sichuan, Qinhai, , In- cities in West and East China have China and before China’s economic ner Mongolia, Shannxi, Ningxia, Gan- widened, which has been causing reforms, and have been reenergized su, and . The first five political instability and a resurgence as important bridges to relay eco- provinces and autonomous regions of nationalism, and led to a new cam- nomic miracles from the east to the consist of three topographic units. paign for exploiting West China by the west in recent years. Therefore, an Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau is located Chinese central government. understanding and exploration of ur- in southwest China with a subtropical In this paper, we plan to examine ban development in this area will climate and changing landscape. Sich- the challenges West China is facing serve as a good pilot for learning les- uan is a large basin with several huge to modernize its economy, and to pro- sons to provide guidance to the overall river systems flowing through, such as pose future development strategies development of West China. the Yangtze River. Qinhai-Tibet Pla- from the viewpoint of comprehensive An introduction of the urban sys- teau is the largest and highest plateau planning. Since West China covers a tem in He-Xi Corridor will be pre- in China, with an average elevation vast region, this paper analyzes the sented in this section. The challenges above 4000 m. The last five provinces main characteristics of urban develop- of urban growth will be examined in and autonomous regions are located ment along the middle section of the a coherent manner from the region’s in the semi-arid and arid areas in Chi- ancient Silk Road of China as a win- physical environments, ethnic compo- na, called the Great Northwest, which dow to examine urban systems in sitions, historical heritages, political is often taken as West China. West China (Figure 1). The rationale forces, and urban system characteris- Cities in arid/semiarid West China for us to choose this area as the case tics in the second section. The future are largely located in the oases dotted study includes the following points. planning strategy will be proposed in on the diluvian fans and alluvial plains The study area is located west of the the discussion and conclusion section.

Author's personal copy

Figure 1 The route of ancient Silk Road.

61 Viewpoint: Y Xie et al. Cities in China are official establish- also an administrative entity. In addi- Province, including five provincial cit- ments that require administrative des- tion to its host urban (often ies (Table 1 – left-adjusted and in bold ignation and receive fiscal resources called the city proper by Chinese plan- fonts; Figure 2). Jiayuguan is a provin- from the Central State Government ners), it usually administers a number cial city, but does not contain any (Xie and Costa, 1991; Yeh and Wu, of suburban districts, adjacent coun- counties or county-level cities (Table 1999; Lin, 2002); The officially desig- ties, and county-level cities. The city 1). , Wuwei, and nated cities in China consist of three proper (urban district) is the popular all contain one urban district ranks: (1) national municipalities di- definition of the geographic area of a (city proper) and one (Jinchang) to rectly under the administration of the municipality or provincial city. The five counties (Zhangye). Jiuquan also Central State Government, such as city proper is often named after the includes two county-level cities (Yu- Beijing, , , and Chon- city. However there are exceptions men City and City). Inter- gqing, whose governments enjoy (see the next paragraph). Moreover, estingly, all host urban districts administrative power equivalent to in the Chinese definitions of adminis- (cities proper) are named differently the provincial governments; (2) pro- trative and statistical geography, a from these provincial cities (Table 1), vincial cities (often called district-level municipality or provincial city in- which is seldom seen in East China. cities) under the administration of cludes a much large area, the city This may reflect the fact that these cit- provincial governments, and (3) proper and its administered suburban ies’ urban districts do not have domi- county-level cities under the adminis- districts, counties, and county-level nant populations and economies tration of provincial city governments cities. compared with the counties or (Xie and Costa, 1993). A national The study area (He-Xi Corridor) county-level cities (see ‘‘The chal- municipality city or provincial city is consists of the western half of lenges of urban growth’’ section). In

Table 1 The urban systems in the He-Xi Corridor in 2000

Region Total population Non-agricultural Percent of Total land area Developed areas GDP (year-end) population non-agricultural (km2) (km2) (10,000 yuan) (10,000 persons) (10,000 persons) over total population (%)

Jiayuguan City 15.96 13.55 84.90 2935 34.00 179,307 Jinchang Citya 45.25 20.99 46.39 8896 41.00 350,746 Jinchuan Properb 20.49 15.46 75.45 3019 34.90 228,459 Yongchangc 24.70 5.93 24.01 5877 6.10 122,287 Wuwei City 191.10 28.22 14.77 32,517 24.66 636,269 Liangzhou Proper 99.20 19.64 19.80 4874 15.71 427,607 Minqin 30.27 3.31 10.93 15,871 4.05 87,600 Gulang 38.95 2.08 5.34 4975 2.00 64,010 Tianzhu 22.67 3.12 13.76 6797 2.90 41,613 Zhangye City 125.76 21.44 17.05 41,924 41.20 640,889 Ganzhou Proper 48.14 12.24 25.43 4240 20.00 262,000 Sunan 3.54 0.95 26.84 20,456 1.70 22,450 Minle 23.86 1.60 6.71 3678 4.30 91,100 Linze 14.62 1.94 13.27 2727 3.40 77,087 Gaotai 15.85 1.86 11.74 5421 5.00 75,898 Shandan 19.75 2.83 14.33 5402 6.80 105,234 Jiuquan City 95.11 33.56 35.29 194,000 67.15 728,737 Proper 33.66 11.04 32.80 3386 25.00 184,205 Jinta 13.85 2.54 18.34 18,800 4.50 83,067 Anxi 9.16 9.16 100.00 24,100 4.10 55,429 Subei 1.16 0.53 45.69 66,700 2.50 11,972 Akesai 0.77 0.77 100.00 31,400 0.75 11,737 Yumen Cityb 19.40 11.49 59.23 13,500 16.00 253,981 Dunhuang City 17.10 4.55 26.61 31,200 14.30 89,414 a The bold and left-aligned city is a provincial city that is directly under the jurisdiction of the Provincial Government of Gansu. A provincial city often administers a host urban district called city proper (see the next footnote) and several counties or county-level cities (for instance, Jiuquan City). The right-aligned counties are under the jurisdiction of this left-aligned provincial city. b The italicizedAuthor's names have two instances. The term endingpersonal with Proper only indicates the primary copy city area (host urban district) that excludes suburban towns and countryside communities. The term ending with City means a county-level city that is under the jurisdiction of a provincial city government. c The location name without a city or proper suffix is a county name. A county often indicates an administrative unit with a primary function of agriculture and rural economy. A county may contain several towns, but usually does not have a large concentrated urban center that could be designated as a city.

62 Viewpoint: Y Xie et al.

Figure 2 The cities in the He-Xi Corridor, Gansu Province of China. brief, He-Xi has 5 provincial cities Arid/semi-arid climate developed at the base of the mountain (Jiayuguan, Jinchang, Wuwei, Zhan- Urbanization in this region bears on the diluvian fans and alluvial plains, gye and Jiuquan), 2 county-level cities noticeable marks of its physical envi- and along the rivers supplied with the (Yumen and Dunhuang), and 13 ronments (location, climate, land- glacier melt water. For instance, the counties. scape, hydrology, and natural Shiyanghe River flows through Wuwei resources). He-Xi is located in semi- City, and the Heihe River flows arid and arid areas. The annual rain- through Zhangye City. Jiuquan City The challenges of urban growth fall decreases from 158 mm at the east and are adjacent to The challenges of urban growth in this to 35 mm at the west (Gansu Statistic the Beidahe River. is near region can be summarized in a few Bureau, 2002). The importance of the Changmahe River, while Dunhu- sentences. This region is located in a geologic events is attributed to the tec- ang City is located near to the Danghe remote area where the physical envi- tonic activity during the Silurian peri- River. So, the spatial distribution of ronment is harsh in terms of climate od of the Paleozoic era (444–416 the cities is determined by the spatial and water supply, which leads to million years ago) which molded the pattern of river systems. Therefore, sparse population and slow economic (Zhao, 1997). Mil- the fortunes of many these cities are development. Moreover, this region lions of years of glacial activities on affected by the hydrologic changes dis- has been a primary buffer belt be- the Qilian Mountains created a huge cussed in following sections. tween the predominant Han popula- solid reservoir of gravels and sands. tion (Mandarin) and its culture, and The result is a 1120 km level area re- other ethnic groups and their cultures. ferred to as the present day He-Xi A remote region with multiple Recurring ethnic struggles and wars Corridor. Melt water from the moun- ethnic minorities over territorial controls impeded eco- tain glaciers are the primary source The He-Xi Corridor has been a con- nomic developmentAuthor's (Wei, 2001). of water in addition personal to the limited centrated areacopy for many ethnic minor- Environmental severity and political rainfall. ities in its centuries-old history. More instability have been main factors that Being confined by the physical con- than a dozen ethnic groups and dozens determined the socioeconomic fea- ditions of geology, physiognomy and of their tribes were reported to live in tures in this region. water resources, cities and towns were this region in the Qin dynasty (about

63 Viewpoint: Y Xie et al. the 2nd century B.C.). There are more takes priority over economic and so- between East and Central Asia and the than 24 ethnic minorities living in He- cial development (Zhou, 2002). Middle East, trade and related services Xi in modern times (Jiuquan Year- Ethnic conflicts have been an were critical to the original develop- book Editing Committee, 2003). important part of the history of this re- ment of He-Xi. Many early adventur- Administratively, there are four ethnic gion. He-Xi was a frontier in ancient ers made forays into unknown lands autonomous counties, Tianzhu Tibe- China since the first Chinese dynasty to seek the wonders and riches of those tan, Sunan , Subei Mongolian of Qin. Over more than 2000 years, who had interesting material goods to and Akesai Kazak (Table 2). From battles for controlling this vast terri- offer. Thus was the beginning of the Table 2, we know that the population tory were recurrent. He-Xi was actu- trade routes between China, the Mid- densities in these minority counties ally controlled and administered by dle East, India, and as far away as are far lower than the average level more than a dozen minority groups, Italy, which had their origins during of the He-Xi Corridor, but the GDP including the Wusun, Yueshi, , the period of the (206 per capita, the financial revenue per Xianbei, Turki, Tubo, Huihe, Qidan, BC–8 AD). The beginning of the jour- capita and the annual rural net income and Mongols. Fighting for control or ney was Chang’an, currently known as per capita are higher than the average expelling the influences or intrusions Xi’an, and then the caravan route di- levels of He-Xi Corridor, except for of minority groups into the Mandarin vided into the North Road and South Tianzhu County. Obviously, these hinterland was often important to Road as it crossed the West New Ter- less-populated autonomous counties the Chinese emperors and dynasties ritory (called Xinjiang Autonomous have comparative advantages to de- (Fan, 1994), although Mandarin con- Region in Mandarin Chinese; Figure velop animal husbandry due to vast trol over this region was periodic and 1). For approximately 1700 years it of- grasslands and small populations. short-lived. The most significant con- ten flourished as the most important However, the long-term nomadic life trol by Mandarins was from 133 to overland trade route in history. has hindered the speed and depth of around 50 BC under the West Han Although ancient, this route was pro- technical, cultural, education and so- Dynasty (Li, 2000). claimed the ‘road of silk’ (Silk Road) cial development. Consequently, the He-Xi developed under the unique by the Germanic geographer, Ferdi- people’s living standard is very low. interactions of its physical environ- nand von Richthofen, in his 19th cen- The life style is relatively isolated ments and social conditions, flourishing tury book ‘China’ (Dickinson, 1969). and there is little exchange beyond lo- and declining with Silk Road trade, suf- According to Drege and Buhrer cal villages or tribes. Ethnic minority fering from accelerated environmental (1986), the initial route was blocked groups do not have the cultural re- deterioration and desertification, while by the Xiongnu who were antagonistic sources to cooperate with people of severe water shortages hindered eco- nomadic people occupying the arid other ethnic origins. They are reluc- nomic development. Industrial devel- parts of present day Western China tant to accept new ideas of market opment was heavily dependent on and what is now part of the Islamic economics and new thoughts of coor- natural resources. Its political signifi- world that borders China. Trails varied dinated development. Distrust and cance was overemphasized, and urban- in an east–west direction to avoid war- conflicts often exist between various ization levels remained low. These ring people and to take advantage of minorities. In very recent years, some characteristics of He-Xi Corridor dee- water resources. Along these trails level of sympathy toward nationalism, ply reflect the challenges from both moved agricultural products, other separatism and terrorism has been physical and anthropologic factors, material goods, and technology as ur- developed here, which seriously dis- which will be presented below. ban clusters sprouted around oases to tracts the attention of both individuals serve as focal points for tribal people and governments from economic and traveling caravans. development (Zhang et al., 2004). Flourishing and declining with the The ancient Silk Road passes The general directive from the Central Silk Road trade through most cities and towns in He- Government of China is that the polit- Due to its unique location as a corridor Xi Corridor which includes Tianzgu, ical stability in the minority areas between Central and West China, and Gulang, Wuwei, Yongchang, Shandan,

Table 2 Economic development in minority autonomous counties in He-Xi in 2004

Region Population density GDP per capita Financial revenue Annual per capita Proportion of each industry (%) (km2/person) (yuan/person) per capita net income of rural Primary Secondary Tertiary (yuan/person) residents (yuan) industry industry industry

Tianzhu 30.30 3767 135 1523 20.63 45.18 34.19 Sunan 1.76Author's 10,430 personal 927 4299 copy 32.89 42.45 24.66 Subei 0.18 21,493 1529 5003 9.00 62.49 28.51 Akesai 0.25 27,716 1663 5168 6.90 61.93 31.17 He-Xi 17.12 9533 354 3650 22.39 51.14 26.47

Note: The data come from Gansu Statistic Bureau (2002).

64 Viewpoint: Y Xie et al.

Figure 3 The Silk Road and ancient cities in He-Xi Corridor of China.

Minle, Zhangye, Linze, Jiuquan, and towns function as commercial Accelerated environmental deteri- Jiayuguan, Anxi, Dunhuang, and a locations, yet in the broader context, oration and desertification handful of others (Figure 3). The early some of them are now emerging as It has been a constant struggle to build urban clusters passed through cycles tourist attractions along the Silk suitable human residences and eco- of relative prosperity and decline. Road. These are exemplified by the nomic activities in this region due to Originally these cities developed as world renowned Mogao Grotto at the harsh environment. This is espe- long distance posthouses and teahouse Dunhuang, which is drawing interna- cially evident in the case of water re- market sites. As they emerged, their tional attention. sources which are dependent on glacial functions evolved into military and Prosperity and stagnation character- melt and limited rainfall. The desired economic centers as the Han Dynasty ized the development of these cities harmony by the inhabitants has long encouraged western expansion. Dur- during the Tang, Song, and Yuan been fragile since they have been faced ing a period of turbulence, when fight- Dynasties. As China’s maritime trade with a challenging natural environment. ing occurred for control of these sites, expanded, the Silk Road routes de- In many ways the people have been the Hanwu Emperor Liu Che (141–87 creased in significance. During the Ming their own worst enemy. Many physical BC) reoccupied the present day He-Xi and Qing Dynasties the government events are attributed to excessive hu- Corridor and created four counties: adopted a closed-door policy. This re- man activities. These include natural Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan, and Dun- sulted in the existence of isolated urban disasters, river flooding and siltation, huang which remain as part of the clusters and minimal interaction with fluctuations in the quantity and quality current administrative structure. Con- the world outside of Western China. of water resources, soil and groundwa- currently, he created ten towns in Peace was interrupted during the Min- ter salinization, and desertification. Wuwei, ten more in Zhangye, nine in guo (the Republic of China and These catastrophic events had direct Jiuquan, and an additionalAuthor's six in Dun- Nationalist Government) personal era and peri- negative impacts copy on peoples’ economic huang (Ban, 1962). These towns have odically local warlords fought for con- activities and survival and would often been restructured as historical Silk trol. Buddhist enclaves continued force them to migrate. Road urban sites based on the their timeless ways while China and Frequent extreme natural disasters county-town system in the Han Dy- the steppe land region paid little heed caused the prosperity of some urban nasty (Fang, 1991). Today these cities to activities along the Silk Road.

65 Viewpoint: Y Xie et al. places to decline and disappear. As the 17th century), Over time the develop- gated land per capita in He-Xi are environment changed, people moved ment of the urban system in He-Xi 0.126 and 0.104 ha, respectively. How- to adjust new conditions. Zhangye City Corridor experienced an arduous and ever, the corresponding figures in Chi- is a good example to show locational fluctuating path, yet its heritage re- na are 0.100 and 0.049 ha. Therefore, changes of an urban area. Zhangye mains attached to the world renowned it is the irrational utilization which was established in 111 BC and was Magao Grotte. makes the water shortage become called Yande City at that time (Ban, Desertification has accelerated in the biggest challenge to sustainable 1962). This urban area lies on the wes- recent decades in He-Xi Corridor. development in He-Xi. Take Minqin tern edge of an alluvial fan along the The active frontier of the deserts in County as an example, which lies in middle reaches of Heihe River. The He-Xi reaches 1600 km, and nearly the low reaches of . terrain was level and the water re- 30% of villages and farm households The water volume coming from the source was sufficient in the historical are distributed in the affected zones. upper reaches was 546 million m3 in past for urban development. The evo- Although a forest protection belt long- 1950s, but was reduced to 322.6 mil- lution of Zhangye City extended er than 1000 km has been built to pre- lion m3 in 1960s, 221.7 million m3 in through the later Han (25–220 AD), vent sands from moving, the frontiers 1980s, 148.3 million m3 in 1990s, and the Three Kingdoms (220–280 AD), of the deserts are still moving at a 84 million m3 in 2000 (Dai and Fang, and the (265–420 AD). speed of 3–5 m per year. The desertifi- 2002). The average reduction was However residents from the ancient cation area increased 156,000 ha annu- about 100 million m3 per decade. In city of Yande moved to Yongping, ally in 1970s, 210,000 ha in 1980s, and addition, the water resource per capita now known as Zhangye City, and 240,000 ha in 1990s (Dai and Fang, was reduced at a speed of 0.0026 m3 Yande ceased to exist. The change of 2002). every year. Subsequently, the crop- this city’s site was attributed to natural land and irrigated area decreased causes and mismanagement. The vege- quickly (Figure 4). tation cover was modified, which con- Severe water shortage hindering Another point we want to address is tributed to the invasion of the urban development that the people living in the down- Badajilin Desert. This led to torrential Water is the crucial to the develop- stream areas of the three big rivers flows of water and debris from the ment of oases in arid and semi-arid (Shule, Shiyang and Heihe Rivers) mountain channels, and ultimately areas. A finite quantity of water can have been overexploiting the ground- the migration of the Heihe River. only irrigate a limited area of cropland water due to the dramatic reduction During the early and support a certain level of popula- of surface water. The groundwater ta- (1368–1644 AD), there was a halcyon tion and economic activities. Because ble in these areas drops successively period of national economic prosperity the cropland area in He-Xi expanded and sharply. Take Shiyang River as (Yang, 1995). Population dramatically year by year since the Han Dynasty, an example, where the water table of expanded and concentrated in many the water supplies cannot meet the is dropping at the urban areas and over their surrounding increasing demands of irrigation. Sub- speed of 0.5–1.0 m per year at present. irrigated fields along the Silk Road. As sequently, a large amount of farmland The wells have been dug deeper and growth occurred, the need for forest was nibbled by desertification. More- deeper. Many wells, which are used material for construction and fuel led over, the tail lakes of Shule River, for irrigation, are more than 100 m directly to deforestation and increased Shiyang River and Heihe River, which deep and some of them even reach water consumption in the upper rivers. used to be very large, dried up in the 300 m.1 Because of the constant de- A temporary imbalance of population Ming Dynasty (about 1620s), the Qing cline of groundwater table in He-Xi, and resources produced a disharmony. Dynasty (about 1940s), and 1970s, this led to dramatic environmental Soon there was an inadequate amount respectively (Wu, 2000). These areas changes. A large area of narrow- of useable water for irrigation and are now occupied by Kumdager Des- leaved oleaster and desert date trees many areas lost agricultural productiv- ert, Tengri Desert and Badain Jaran died. Ejina Oasis withered sharply. ity. Wind erosion followed, and the Desert, respectively. A large number Hongyashan Reservoir in Minqin desert expanded. Several cities, includ- of ancient cities and towns were aban- County dried up in 2004. Many warn- ing Guzang City, Suoyang City, and doned and their populations migrated ing signals of environmental deterio- Bulongji City, fell into disuse as the because of the desertification (Ma and ration have been seen by local rivers changed directions and the peo- Li, 1992). residents at an accelerated rate (Qiao ple moved away to search for better The water shortage has been wors- and Fang, 2005). residential and agricultural sites. The ened in modern times because of the historical city of Dunhuang is another intensified and unplanned utilization. Industrial development dependent illustration of natural events influenc- At present, the annual average precip- heavily on natural resources ing the evolutionAuthor's of an urban area itation inpersonal He-Xi is about 60–120 mm, Industrial copy development in He-Xi is (Ma and Li, 1992). Dunhuang City which is 1/6 of the average level of primarily raw material based, which was located to the west of the Danghe China. The water resource per capita River. It was moved to the east bank in He-Xi is 0.197 m3 per person, which because floods occurred during the accounts for 1/9000 of the average 1 http://www.gansudaily.com.cn/20031028/ early years of Qing Dynasty (the late level of China. The cropland and irri- 200/2003A28A00046002.htm

66 Viewpoint: Y Xie et al.

0.300

0.250

0.200

0.150

0.100

0.050

0.000 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003

Water resource per capita(m3/person) Cropland area per capita (ha/person) Irrigatted area per capita(ha/person)

Figure 4 Changes of total water volume, cropland and irrigatted area in Minqin County. relies heavily on distributions of min- A third city, Jiayuguan, which is un- equal and balanced social develop- eral resources. Yumen, Jinchang, and der the jurisdiction of the Gansu pro- ment, and national interest of defense. Jiayuguan boast rich mineral re- vincial government, was established Chinese cities are administrative enti- sources and thus developed related as a military camp in the Han Dynasty ties and officially designated according industries. In the seemingly boundless (140–187 AD) and was designated as a to political status, economic develop- , Yumen was a small and city in recent years based on its indus- ment level and total population (Fan, indistinct posthouse town until 1939 trial development due to the nearby 1999). The five provincial cities have when the Laojunmiao oilfield was dis- iron deposits. Jiayuguan is located on been regional political centers since covered at the base of the Qilian the northwest edge of an alluvial fan the People’s Republic of China was Mountains (Du, 1991). At this time, and has evolved into a regional indus- established. Since the late 1970s, Chi- Yumen had its beginning as the earli- trial site. Proximate to Jiayuguan are nese cities have exercised more signif- est petroleum based city in China. Its three primary ingredients necessary icant economic functions through rise to importance was rapid, but by for steel – Jingtieshan assuming more administrative power 1955, the petroleum was showing signs iron ore, nearby Xigou limestone, for leading economic development of depletion. In the fashion of many and coking coal in neighboring Ning- around their hinterlands (Song and ‘‘boom and bust’’ cities dependent on xia province which has excellent rail- Zhang, 2002). A city often administers mineral resources, the city’s popula- road connections to the Jiuquan Steel its host urban district, suburban dis- tion began to migrate to other avail- Company. Although the iron ore has tricts, and surrounding counties or able job opportunities as Yumen’s only a 37% iron content, the reserves county-level cities. This top-down significance declined. Currently, Yu- are very large (Mao and Zhang, administrative structure has a pro- men is annexed by Jiuquan City and 1999). This has led to consideration found impact on urban expansion of has evolved to a service center for of developing a smelting plant at the the Silk Road urban centers. As we the agricultural population. site of the ore to lower the transporta- will see later, obtaining the status as Jinchang illustrates another urban tion costs by reducing the volume of a city in He-Xi is largely attributed center developed as a result of mineral the raw iron. Among Jiayuguan’s loca- to its administrative function rather resources. The Baijiazuizi site in Jin- tional advantages is the Shule River its sheer population size or economic chang contains China’s largest concen- which flows through the Binggoukou strength. However, Chinese cities of tration of nickel (The chorography region of the Qilian Mountains. Many different categories enjoy dissimilar compilation committee, 1995). This of the employees, who were formerly scales of governmental resources and high quality resource contains 1.16% petroleum workers at Yumen, mi- state investments for infrastructure nickel, which is rare in the country. grated to Jiayuguan. construction and economic develop- In addition, Jinchang has become ment. Therefore cities in He-Xi have one of three major nonferrous metal received tremendous advantages from producing cities in China, and is the Over-emphasized political this political system. largest center for platinum metal significance For instance, in order to implement refining. This city has aAuthor's bright future. Strong political personal impacts on urban the city led economycopy policy, four coun- At this time more than 90% of GDP development in the He-Xi Corridor ties, Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan, and in Jinchang is generated by industries can be analyzed from three angles – Dunhuang, each with less than that are engaged in the extraction administrative structure and govern- 100,000 non-agricultural populations, and processing of the nickel ore. mental function, socialist ideology of have been promoted to county-level

67 Viewpoint: Y Xie et al. cities by administrative decree. This ciency were emphasized and low, and there are no primate cities political incentive, as well as economic economic reforms were launched, the on the basis of urban non-agriculture benefits, accelerated urban growth national leadership enacted a dual population. We are going to examine from villages, to towns and eventually policy to equalize national develop- these urban demographic characteris- to cities. When growth is deemed ment yet the emphasis was on high tics from the city’s administrative desirable, planners determined the ur- speed economic growth in the eastern and statistical definition first and from ban design, the scale of growth, and the region. As a matter of fact, this region the urban proper (district) norm next. function of each community. In addi- got a low priority for the development Using the total population over the tion to these responsibilities, adminis- by comparison with the east. As a re- administrative boundary of a city, trators plan sites of various land uses, sult, the economic and social gaps be- the provincial city, Wuwei, has the the amount of investment, and the rate tween this region and East China largest population, close to 2 million. of economic expansion. Every city as- dramatically widened, which led a re- However, if we only look at the urban sumes some degree of administrative declaration of ‘‘Great Exploration of non-agricultural population as the function in addition to political, eco- West’’ in 2000 (Cai, 2000). Beijing functional index, only 15% of Wuwei nomic, scientific and technological was refocusing on the pockets of City’s population comprises the non- activities. Moreover, in recent years development (the existing cities) in agricultural population. Though the of economic reforms, market economy Gansu Province and the Xinjiang absolute figure of 282,200 non-agri- and industrial development became an Autonomous Region. The motive is culture population is the largest important impetus to urban growth. largely driven by political forces and among the Corridor’s cities, its urban- Household industries, township enter- the desire to develop natural re- ization level is the lowest (Table 1). prises, and country trade markets are sources. Moreover, the ethnic compo- Continuing to use the non-agricul- active and impetuous agents stimulat- sition has been a factor of attention in tural population over the urbanized ing rural urbanization in He-Xi Corri- recent years. The majority of the pop- area (a city’s host urban district, or dor just as they are over the entire ulation are other than Han (Manda- city proper) as the function index, nation (Xie et al., 2005). rin) Chinese. People and enterprises Liangzhou Proper (Urban District) The goal of balanced regional devel- as well as investment in the coastal of Wuwei City has the largest non- opment has long attracted the socialist areas are encouraged to go west and agricultural population, 196,400 (Ta- government in China partially because establish collaborative ventures in this ble 1). However, Liangzhou Proper of a real need (Xie and Dutt, 1991). A area to reduce regional disparity and still has a large percentage of agricul- spatial imbalance exists in the People’s alleviate the vulnerability to territorial tural population, i.e., 80% of its total Republic of China as measured by insurgency. Much of this investment population (Table 1). Following the urban development, monetary invest- and resources end up at the former same calculations in Table 1, it is ob- ment, job creation, housing, educational post-towns which have evolved into served that all urbanization rates are opportunities and other indicators of centers for administration, economics low except for Jiayuguan and Yumen. prosperity. During the post-revolu- and production, military camps, mar- Therefore, the identification of pri- tionary period, Chairman Mao was keting and tourism. Today, these mul- macy is not obvious. None of the confronted with widespread poverty tifunctional urban sites form the He-Xi Corridor’s seven cities’ non- and a need to address a nation in largest and most interactive urban sys- agricultural population in the urban- desperate need for reconstruction. He tem in He-Xi. ized area (the city proper) exceeds recognized the disparity between the Nevertheless, an inequity remains 200,000 (Table 1). All these seven cit- coastal area and the central and wes- through the beginning of the 21st cen- ies are considered by the Chinese tern interior and strongly encouraged tury which is measured by statistical standards as small cities, no matter coordinated and balanced develop- analyses using the Moran I test (Yu what administrative role they are ment (Xie and Dutt, 1990). and Wei, 2003). Yu and Wei con- acting. National defense is another impor- cluded that eastern regional growth The longitudinal data since the tant factor stimulating urban develop- is continuing to occur but at a decreas- People’s Republic of China (1949) ment in this region. Socialist China ing rate. Currently, there is rising con- confirmed this finding. Except for used the isolation of the western area cern about the future of the Jiayuguan and Yumen, the other five as a positive locational factor. Govern- impoverished western provinces and cities witnessed slow increasing ment ownership of the land allowed it the aggressive behavior of radical Isla- urbanization rates (Figure 5). Jiayu- to build a center for nuclear develop- mic elements who aspire to create a guan was designed as a city in the ment deep in the interior at Lop Nor new political unit called East Turki- mid 1960s due to its rich resources and industrial bases for national de- stan. This has precipitated a renewed of iron ore and its steel industry. fense as well as trying to balance social interest in balancing regional develop- The prospering and change of Yumen development (Xie and Dutt, 1991;Yu ment and reducing regional disparity. was fully driven by the petroleum and Wei, 2003).Author's More recently, this personal industry. copy The He-Xi Corridor has an interior was selected as the home for overall low urbanization level, but China’s space exploration research. Low urbanization level its changes reflect the national politi- By the early 1980s, when the mar- The cities in the He-Xi Corridor are cal and economic transformations. ket economy and economic profi- small, their urbanization levels are The urbanization level was very low

68 Viewpoint: Y Xie et al.

100.00 90.00 80.00 70.00 60.00 50.00 40.00 30.00 Urbanization level (%) 20.00 10.00 0.00 1949 1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2001 Year

Jiayuguan City Jinchang City Jiuquan City Zhangye City Wuwei City Yumen City Dunhuang City

Figure 5 The half-century urbanization in He-Xi Corridor. in the 1950s, but observed the first Lessons, discussions, and con- Third, the urban system in the mid- jump in the end of 1950s and the clusions section of the Silk Road (the He-Xi beginning of 1960s due to the so-called Corridor) originated with the thriving We have learned a few lessons and Great Leap Forward movement (Xie of silk trade and the military installa- identified several findings through this and Dutt, 1990). Afterwards, the tions for protecting the trade. These research. First, geographic location urbanization level was leveled due to cities and towns (the ancient way-sta- and natural environment are critical the economic rehabilitation. The eco- tions) are dotted on the diluvian fans physical factors that have prevailing nomic reforms since the 1980s have and alluvial plains irrigated by the impacts on growth directions of a re- brought another period of rapid urban melting mountain glaciers. Major ur- gion. Situated at the transitional zone development. ban centers are located at the conjunc- between the Mandarin Chinese and Moreover, among 85 towns in the tions of this east–west transportation ethnic minorities and between Central Corridor, only 19 (or 22%) of them artery and the south-north river sys- and West China, the growth path in have non-agricultural populations tems. Small cities and towns have He-Xi has been leveraged by its signif- exceeding 10,000 people (Gansu Sta- been developed along these transpor- icance as an important transportation tistic Bureau, 2002). Moreover, many tation routes and rivers. The spatial link. The development of the Silk towns are too small to meet the na- pattern of these urban centers com- Road has facilitated exchanges of both tional standard to be called towns. prises a shape of ‘‘ ’’, a Chinese char- materials and cultures between Man- For instance, in the year 2001, Jiantan acter meaning ‘‘the water streams,’’ darin Chinese and other ethnic groups town in the Zhangye District has a which actually tells the critical envi- and other nationalities further west. non-agricultural population of 20, ronmental component on which these However, on the other hand, the eth- Liaoquan and Banqiao towns in Linze cities in He-Xi rely (Figure 6). More- nic differences and conflicts have been County only have 40 non-agricultural over, though many of these cities in a challenge to economic development people each (Gansu Statistic Bureau, recent decades were often favorably and a priority for political stability in 2002). According to the urban grade supported by the rich raw mining re- this region in history and in modern scales standard in China, and the Na- sources and the socialist policies of times as well. tional Ministry of Civil Affairs Stan- balanced regional development, eth- Second, the environment in He-Xi dard, it is not possible to establish a nic unity, and national defense, they is easily prone to excessive human town until the non-agricultural popu- are in general left behind compared activities and desertification due to lation of the station, where the town- with their counterparts in East China the limited water sources, the plentiful ship government situates, exceeds due to their remote location, shortage supply of gravels and sands, irrational 2000 (Zuo, 1990). The cities’ and of water, and harsh environment. The exploitation, and political instability. towns’ scales in He-Xi are so small industrialization focuses on mining The ecological productivity and sus- that their urban radiation and attrac- and crude processing, but agriculture tainability has been disturbed at an tion ranges are small and conse- is still dominant, and the urbanization accelerated rate from the history to quently these cities are unable to level is low. Urban development is the present. The surface water supply attract adequate resources and inter- facing many challenges. Therefore, has been diminishing, the groundwa- ests for healthy urbanAuthor's development. personalwe strongly claimcopy that the future of ur- ter table dropping, the soil nutrient This delays the rural urbanization pro- ban development in He-Xi relies depleting, the siltation and saliniza- cess of He-Xi Corridor, and may even heavily on comprehensive planning tion intensifying, and the frontier of lead to decline of existing towns and and strategic consideration of ecologi- the desert intruding. cities. cal and economic sustainability.

69 Viewpoint: Y Xie et al.

Figure 6 The spatial structure of urban system in He-Xi Corridor (‘‘ ’’).

We propose that the strategic goals cities (Jiayuguan Construction Com- of iron, the over-production of low- of this comprehensive planning com- mittee, 1999; Jiuquan Government, grade steel, and the market needs for prise, ‘‘One Center and Four Poles’’, 2000). This new top-level urban center high-quality steel. Jiuquan should ex- ‘‘One Axis and Three Zones’’, and in the He-Xi Corridor would also be- pand its defense industries as a regional ‘‘Coordinated Development of Urban come a second-tier central city in wes- or even that prior- Centers and Towns’’. This compre- tern China.3 itizes its spaceflight launch stations, hensive planning takes consideration The region around Jiuquan, Jiayu- which may in turn attract tourism. of the development history, physical guan, and Yumen has the highest urban Moreover, the discovery of new oil- environment, ethnic composition, lo- density and economic prominence in fields will allow Yumen to increase its cal advantages and resources, and He-Xi Corridor (Gansu Develop and significance as an important industrial sustainable development. This frame- Plan Committee, 2002; Institute of city of oil field and petroleum refinery work of urban development resem- Gansu Urban and Rural Planning & in West China. These urban specializa- bles to the Chinese font character, Designing Research, 2001). The three tions suggest positive economic and ‘‘ ’’ (Figure 6), which impacts the fu- cities are located very close, only 30– cultural complementarities. ture spatial pattern of urban growth. 50 km distances apart (there is only a These cities have locational advan- ‘‘One center’’ would be a newly com- distance of 30 km between Jiuquan tages because they would serve as bined urban cluster consisting of Jiayu- and Jiayuguan). Consequently, the transportation hubs for the large hin- guan City, and Yumen City, which we economic and cultural ties are very terland areas of four provinces and name ‘‘Jiu-Jia-Yu.’’ The government strong. It is reasonable to suggest fur- autonomous regions: viz., Gansu, should consider combining Jiuquan ther integration of the three cities into Xinjiang, , and Inner Mongo- City, Jiayuguan City, and Yumen City a type of West China ‘‘megapolis’’ lia. The Mazongshan Commercial into a single city to create a new urban which could become a third tier city Port in Jiayuguan City has already growth center. This would result in a on the second Euro-Asia Continent acted as a magnet to attract enough primary (or top-level) urban center in Bridge between the cities of economic activity to generate 300,000 He-Xi that would have a non-agricul- and Urumqi. Each current city would ton of mineral products annually, tural population exceeding 500,000 in be expected to maintain its own iden- including asbestos from Qinghai, to the combined urbanized areas (includ- tity. Jiayuguan would continue to at- be distributed nationwide (Fang, ing, Suzhou Proper, the host urban dis- tract tourists by emphasizing its 2004). An additional 100,000 ton of trict of Jiuquan City, Jiayuguan City, history as a cultural center which was agricultural and processed goods from and Yumen City combined). The city originally developed during the times Dunhuang and Anxi are shipped should be regarded as the strategic when the Silk Road was highly active annually to Qinghai. Interaction is fur- hub in the eco-economic corridor of while it continues to remain a commer- ther facilitated by the railroad line be- western China and the third tier city cial center. Moreover, Jiayuguan may tween Lanzhou and Xinjiang, the on the Second Euro-Asian Continental evolve into a conference center be- national road 312 which passes Bridge2 between Lanzhou and Urumqi cause it is a tourist attraction, yet it through the region in an east–west may also become a ‘‘stainless steel direction, and the national road city’’ due to its rich mineral resources 215 going north–south. These trans- 2 The Second Euro-Asian Continental portation modes are supplemented Bridge connects many national capital cities, by airports at Jiayuguan, Dingxin, provincial capitalAuthor's cities, and primary regional personal Dunhuang, copy and Xiaqinghe that con- 3 cities. We categorize the national capital cities We treated provincial capital cities as the nect with Beijing, Xi’an, Lanzhou, as the first tier, the provincial capital cities as first tier, primary regional cities as the Urumqi, and many other cities. the second tier and the primary regional cities second tier, and local urban centers (county as the third tier when we study the urban level cities) as the third tier when we However, an imbalance in well- systems along the Continental Bridge. describe the urban systems for West China. rounded development currently exists

70 Viewpoint: Y Xie et al. and therefore closer integration would In the future, Zhangye should utilize way and the implementation of the have a positive impact. Although its advantages in water resource, elec- double tracks and railroad electrifica- Jiayuguan is single purposed and the tricity resource, and tungsten resource tion have revitalized the growth of hinterland is small, its infrastructure and develop energy industry, tungsten the cities and towns. Moreover, the is better than Jiuquan. Conversely, exploiting and processing industry, construction of the national, regional, the general service function of Jiu- water-saving apparatus industry, agri- and local highway networks has quan is well developed but the urban cultural machinery industry, and food formed the regional framework of infrastructure is poor. Administrative industry. The future objective is to the He-Xi Corridor. The combination restrictions have caused the service build Zhangye City into a national of a railway and the new construction areas to spread in different directions water-saving demonstration city, the of highways have accelerated the rural (Center of Soft Science Research, second national agricultural hi-tech urbanization process and improved Northwest Normal University, 2001). industrial base, a new ‘‘tungsten capi- the quality of life in the arid area. Whereas Jiuquan has a spatial expan- tal’’ of China (Zhangye City Govern- Therefore, this axis is the most impor- sion east and south, Jiayuguan has ment, 2002), and the cultural and tant transportation artery in He-Xi, grown west and south. Recently, the education centre in the He-Xi Corri- which connects ‘‘One Center (Jiu-Jia- population has begun to move west dor, becoming a central city in the Yu City)’’ and ‘‘Four Poles (Wuwei, of Jiuquan. mid-section of the He-Xi Corridor Zhangye, Jinchang and Dunhuang)’’. Further cohesion of the three cities (Zhangye Construction Committee, This artery also serves as the eco- should strengthen the social and eco- 2001). nomic inspiration zone for promoting nomic base, which would create the Wuwei is also one of the national fa- the ‘‘point-axis’’ development in He- largest urban center and a prosperous mous historical and cultural cities Xi. growth pole of the He-Xi Corridor. in China and a regional central city in ‘‘Three Zones’’ denote to three eco- Without a comprehensive plan it is un- the He-Xi Corridor. Wuwei City, in economic zones along three river likely that any of the cities will achieve the future, should mainly develop its belts, the Shiyanghe River, the Heihe significance as urban centers. This is brewing industry (grape wine), the River, and the Shulehe River. These predicated on numerous factors that agricultural processing and food indus- three eco-economic zones are almost contribute to this urban goal. Besides try (cornstarch) and tourism. The fu- perpendicular to ‘‘one axis’’ and the the transportation ties, natural gas ture objective is to construct Wuwei intersection points are Wuwei City, and electrical lines and optical facili- City into the green food processing Zhangye City and Jiujiayu City. These ties exist to support population growth base, and the commercial and trade three zones connect a lot of county cit- and regional economic development. city along the Silk Road (Wuwei Con- ies and important towns and become These would contribute to further struction Committee, 2002). very important radiating throughways development of tourism and the Jinchang is the largest nickel and to spread and promote economic petroleum industries at Yumen and cobalt production base and the plati- development from ‘‘One Axis’’, farther away in Qinghai. num metal refine center in China. It ‘‘One Center’’, and ‘‘Four Poles’’ to The ‘‘Four Poles’’ are Zhangye is the ‘‘nickel capital’’ of China. The wide hinterland areas. ‘‘Three Zones’’ City, Wuwei City, Jinchang City and future objective of Jinchang City is together with the ‘‘One Axis’’ com- Dunhuang City. Zhangye is one of to build into a modern industrial city pose the ‘‘ ’’ spatial economic pattern the national famous historical and cul- with specialities in heavy chemical and urban system in West China tural cities in China. Throughout a industry and building materials indus- (Fang, 2000). long history,4 it was the administrative try (Jinchang Construction Commit- Another unique feature of land use capital and the commercial center in tee, 2001). Dunhuang is a world- in the He-Xi Corridor is that urban the He-Xi Corridor during the past famous tourist city. In the future, centers and towns are built on oases, dynasties. Because of its strategic Dunhuang city should give priority to which usually have wide hinterlands. location5 and high agricultural pro- the development of eco-tourism, des- The analyses of aerial photographs, duction, Zhangye has been known to ert, cultural and ethnic tourism. The satellite imagery, and fieldwork con- the locals as the ‘‘Golden Zhangye’’. future objective of Dunhuang City is firm this statement. Good examples to build an international eco-tourist of these urban centers and towns in- and cultural city. clude Suoyang, Luotuo, Shouchang, ‘‘One Axis’’ refers to the second Minghaizi, Yumenguan, Heishuiguo, 4 More than 900 years in the four dynasties Euro-Asia Continent Bridge in the and many others. The hinterlands are of Han, Tang, Yuan and Ming. section of He-Xi Corridor. It is com- not only extensive, but possess large 5 Zhangye was located at the middle section posed of the railway from Lanzhou carrying capacities (Zhao, 1997). of the He-Xi corridor and the crossroads between east and west and between north to Xinjiang (called Lan-Xin Railway) Among the existing 85 towns in He- and south. Zhangye, along the ancient Silk and the ‘‘312’’ National Road. At the Xi, many could be developed into Road, linked Central ChinaAuthor's with West beginning of the personal 1990s, the construc- county-level copy cities based on land re- China and Central Asia and Europe. tion of the Euro-Asia land bridge cre- sources. Planners are being directed Zhangye also connected to Mongolia ated excellent opportunities for urban to determine the functions, scale, and through Ancient Juyan Road, and with Qinghai and Tibet through Ancient Tangp- redevelopment in this region. The direction of towns’ development, yet ang Road. extension of the Lan-Xin trunk rail- provide a limited flexibility for natural

71 Viewpoint: Y Xie et al. change. The goal is to plan and build Acknowledgment Jiayuguan Construction Committee (1999). each city based on its relationship to The Master Planning of Jiayuguan City, The authors thank The National Natu- other towns and urban centers so that 27–35 (in Chinese). ral Science Foundation of China for Jinchang Construction Committee (2001). a comprehensive and coordinated ur- supporting this research through a The Master Planning of Jinchang City, ban system could be built as deter- 26–34 (in Chinese). key project grant, Foundation Project: mined by the regional plan (Yang Jiuquan Government (2000). The Master 40335049. and Zhao, 2001). Planning of Jiuquan City 2000–2020, 45–49 (in Chinese). This region is in severe shortage of Jiuquan Yearbook Editing Committee water resources, but has extensively References (2003) The Statistical Yearbook of Jiu- open land resource and low urban lev- quan 2003. Statistical Bureau of Jiu- els and population density. Overheat- Ban, G (1962) The history of Han Dynasty, quan Administrative District, Jiuquan ing growth or excessive development first ed. Chinese Publishing House, (in Chinese). Beijing (in Chinese). Li, F M (2000) Studying the history of Hexi could be easily generated under cur- Center of Soft Science Research, North- from the ancient location names in Hexi rent opening-up and stimulation of west Normal University (2001) Study Corridor. Gansu Social Sciences 2, 47– market economy and ‘‘Great Exploi- on Gansu Urban System. Northwest 48 (in Chinese). tation of the West’’. This could repeat Normal University Press, Lanzhou, pp. Lin, C S (2002) The growth and structural change of Chinese cities: a contextual the mistakes made in history because 46–51 (in Chinese). Cai, S F (2000) The development of and geographic analysis. Cities 19(5), of the fragile environment. Therefore western China and efficient and coor- 299–316. it is critical to educate local govern- dinated development of regional econ- Ma, H L and Li, G F (1992). The Ancient ment officers, planners and developer omy. Journal of Zhong Nan University Famous Cities and Towns in He-Xi Cor- ridor and remind them of the challenges this of Finance and Economics 4, 33–36 (in . Sichuan Science and Technology Chinese). Press, , China, pp. 18–28 (in region is facing in socioeconomic Dai, E and Fang, C (2002) Ecological Chinese). development. A thorough study and problems and eco-environment con- Mao, J W and Zhang, Z C (1999) Temporal research of the constraints, as well as struction in Hexi Corridor Gansu Prov- and spatial distribution and evolution of the advantages, should be a top prior- ince. Journal of Arid Land Resources ore deposits in the West Sector of the Northern Qilian Mountains. Acta Geo- ity. We should attempt to explore and Environment 16(2), 1–5 (in Chinese). logica Sinica 73(1), 73–82. what is the optimal urbanization level Dickinson, Robert E (1969) The Makers of Qiao, B and Fang, C (2005) The dynamic in the He-Xi Corridor under the chal- Modern Geography. Frederick A. Prae- coupling model and its application of lenges of limited water resources and ger Publishing, New York, pp. 77. the urbanization and eco-environment in Hexi Corridor. Journal of Geo- diversified ethnic compositions from Du, Z T (1991) Yumen Chorography. Xinhua Publishing House, Beijing (in graphical Science 15(4), 491–500 (in the perspective of sustainable ecologi- Chinese). Chinese). cal economics and equitable social Drege, Jean-Pierr and Buhrer, Emil M Song, S and Zhang, K H (2002) Urbaniza- development. (1986) Silk Road Saga. Motovum Co- tion and city-size distribution in China. Moreover, there are many chal- Publishing Co, Lucerne, Ltd, Urban Studies 39, 2317–2327 (in Chinese). lenges in research itself. The data Switzerland. Fan, B L (1994) Discussions of the ancient The chorography compilation committee availability, comparability, and com- silk road and ethnic minorities. Journal (1995) Jinchang Chorography. China pleteness are serious concerns. Its lack of (Edition of City Press, Beijing (in Chinese). or a lack of enforcement in standards Social Science) 22(2), 59–65 (in Wei, J (2001) Social and economic devel- opment of Hexi Corridor before Tang of collecting the data was common Chinese). Fan, C C (1999) The vertical and horizontal Dynasty. Research on Development 4, among the local statistical offices. expansions of China’s city system. 61–63 (in Chinese). Many data items were missing from Urban Geography 20, 493–515 (in Wu, X (2000) Historical variance of the the reports due to the lack of trained Chinese). ecological environment in the Inland personnel, the negligence of the signif- Fang, C L (1991) Study on the mechanism River Area along the Hexi Corridor. Journal of Lanzhou University (Edition icance of information in socioeco- of oasis-type urban system in Gansu Province. Arid Area Geography 12(4), of Social Science) 28(4), 46–49 (in nomic decision making, and the 34–39 (in Chinese). Chinese). distrust that resulted from deficient Fang, C L (2000) Planning Theory for Wuwei Construction Committee (2002). economic laws and ethnic differences. Regional Development. Science Press, The Master Planning of Wuwei City, Field surveys and social investigations Beijing, pp. 85–89 (in Chinese). 32–36 (in Chinese). Fang, C L (2004) The Eco-economic Cor- Xie, Y and Costa, F (1991) Urban design were the primary methods we de- ridor of West China. The Commercial practice in socialist China. Third World ployed in this research, which were Press, Beijing, pp. 263–271 (in Chinese). Planning Review 13, 277–296. prone to many uncertainties. We have Gansu Develop and Plan Committee Xie, Y and Costa, F (1993) Theory and been continuously working in this re- (2002) Developing Planning for Gansu practice of urban planning in socialist China. Cities 10, 103–114. gion and getting more complete and section of Western Longhai-Lanxin Economic zone, pp. 18–19 (in Xie, Y, Yu, M, Tian, G and Xing, X (2005) reliable data. We are conducting re- Chinese). Socio-economic driving forces of arable search as a follow-up to this paper, Gansu Statistic Bureau (2002) Gansu Sta- land conversion: a case study of Wuxian analyzing optimalAuthor's urban development tistics Yearbookpersonal 2004. Chinese Statistic City,copy China. Global Environmental Change and corresponding thresholds of Press, Beijing (in Chinese). 15, 238–252. Institute of Gansu Urban and Rural Plan- Xie, Y and Dutt, A (1991) Spatial dispar- urbanization level while ensuring cer- ning & Designing Research (2001). ities of urban socio-economic develop- tain speeds of growth and sustainable Compendium for Gansu Urban System ment in the People’s Republic of China. environmental carrying capacity. Planning, 34–46 (in Chinese). Geoforum 22(1), 55–67.

72 Viewpoint: Y Xie et al.

Xie, Y and Dutt, A (1990) Regional sitional economy. Progress in Planning Zhangye Construction Committee (2001). investment effectiveness and develop- 51, 167–252. The Master Planning of Zhangye City, ment levels in China. GeoJournal Yu, D L and Wei, Y H (2003) Analyzing 16–24 (in Chinese). 20(4), 393–407. regional inequality in post-Mao China Zhao, J M (1997) The enlightenment for Yang, J X (1995) The origin, development in a GIS Environment. Eurasian Geog- modern urban planning gained from the and run mechanism of the ancient Silk raphy and Economics 44, 514–534. study of the ancient towns in Hexi area, Road. Historical and Geographical Zhang, J Z, Zhu, Y X and Li, Z G (2004) Gansu Province. City Planning 1, 17–23 Review of Northwest China 2, 1–11. The conditions and measures about (in Chinese). Yang, Y C and Zhao, P J (2001) A study on social-economic developmental level of Zhou, P (2002) Several political problems of the urban system in the oasis: a case four minority counties in Gansu Prov- the ethnic minority areas in China dur- study of Hexi Corridor, Gansu province. ince. Northwest Population 6, 50–53 (in ing the developmental process. Cass Human Geography 16(3), 6–10 (in Chinese). Journal of Political Science 1, 82–89 Chinese). Zhangye City Government (2002) Report (in Chinese). Yeh, A and Wu, F (1999) The transforma- of asking for Zhangye to be a strategetic Zuo, D K (1990) A Dictionary of Modern tion of the urban planning system in point in western Longhai-Lanxin eco- Geography. The Commercial Press, Bei- China from a centrally-planned to tran- nomic zone, pp. 7–8 (in Chinese). jing, p. 690 (in Chinese).

Author's personal copy

73