or Lan-chou
City (pop., 1999 est.: 1,429,673), capital of Gansu province, north-central China.
Situated on the upper Huang He (Yellow River), it became part of the territory of Qin in the 6th century BC and later developed as a major trade centre on the Silk Road . It became the seat of Lanzhou prefecture under the Sui dynasty (581–618 AD) and the capital of Gansu province in 1666. It was badly damaged during the Muslim uprisings in 1864–75. A centre of Soviet influence in northwestern China in the early 20th century, it was the terminus of the 2,000-mi (3,200-km) Chinese-Soviet highway that was used during the Sino-Japanese War (1937–45) for the transport of Soviet supplies. It developed as an industrial and cultural centre after World War II. It is the seat of Lanzhou University.