Xiahe, Gansu Province
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Location: located in the southwest of Gansu province and northwest of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous prefecture; in northeast edge of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
Neighboring Area: Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Qinghai provinces, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia Hui and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regions
Physical Features: slopes down from northwest to southeast; average elevation of 2900-3100m with the highest of 4636m and lowest 2160m
Population: 150,000
Urban Population:
Area: 8687 sq km
Nationalities: Tibetan, Han and Hui
History: used to be the ley of Qiang in the spring and autumn period; once occupied by Xianbei, Tubo and Mongolian nationalities; named as Xiahe in 1928
Climatic Feature: temperate, semiarid climate in the north and cold, humid in the south; windy in spring and winter and rainy in summer and autumn; long frost period with the frost-free period only 56 days annually; total sunshine of 2296 hours
Average Temperature: annually average temperature of 2.6 centigrade degree with the highest of 28.4 and lowest of -26.7
Rainfall: 444mm annually
Mountains:
Rivers: Daxia River and Zhao River
Specialties: yak, Ganjia Sheep, Juema Pig, bezoar and aweto