Lanzhou also has a name called Jincheng, which was gradually formed during the Eastern Han Dynasty. Since the opening of the Silk Road in the Western Han Dynasty, the economies along the route have been developed, including Lanzhou. Lanzhou is not only a transit point of the Silk Road, but also a military stronghold of the Central Plains Dynasty, mainly passing through the northwest region. This has always been the case from the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, but Lanzhou's position in the northwest is second only to Chang 'an, and its economic level is not bad. In fact, the decline of Lanzhou began as early as the end of the Tang Dynasty. When the Tubo conquered Lanzhou, the dominance of the Silk Road was lost.
During the Song Dynasty, Lanzhou was just a purely military fortress with a population of only tens of thousands. Facing the rising Xixia, Lanzhou has already belonged to the front line. In the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Lanzhou's military significance was greater than economic development, and it still belonged to the category of military fortress. It was not until the Qing Dynasty that Lanzhou was restored to a certain extent. Lanzhou has a very good geographical position and can effectively control the northwest region. At this point, both Xi and Xining have shortcomings. At that time, Lanzhou was the transshipment place of goods in the northwest region, and its economic status was second only to Xi 'an. But after entering modern times, Lanzhou began to decline gradually?
There are many reasons for the decline of Lanzhou. The first is the change of economic development strategy. In ancient dynasties, everyone paid attention to the development of the Silk Road, and Lanzhou was an important town on the Silk Road. However, since the late Qing Dynasty, maritime trade has become the mainstream, and coastal cities such as Shanghai have risen rapidly. In contrast, the big cities in inland areas have declined more or less. In addition to the direction of economic development, there are also traffic problems. In the late Qing Dynasty, the railway only reached Xi 'an. From Xi to the west, we still need to rely on carriages, which greatly reduces the transportation capacity. The Silk Road was no longer smooth, and the quantity of goods shipped by sea was not as good as that by sea.
In addition to these reasons, there is also the terrain environment. Gansu is mountainous and hilly, and these lands are not suitable for farming. A friend of Bian Xiao is from Gansu. He once said that he never wanted to go back because he lived in a mountainous area. Because the land is barren, people can't stay at all. Many people choose to stay in Xi or other cities after going out. The last point is population. A large population can naturally stimulate consumption. The total population of Gansu is only over 27 million, which is obviously smaller than that of the central provinces. A small population naturally cannot stimulate consumption more, and comparing population is the first factor.
Compared with the provincial capital cities in central China, Lanzhou has an obvious gap. But Lanzhou is not without opportunities. With the planning of the new Silk Road, Lanzhou has once again become the only way. With the stimulation of railway transportation, it will inject new vitality into Lanzhou. For example, Shijiazhuang, Zhengzhou and Hefei in central China have gradually replaced the original provincial capital cities by railways. From this perspective, Lanzhou has its own special advantages. Tomorrow, Bian Xiao will tell you about Baoding, the former capital of Hebei.