Lanzhou is the capital of Gansu Province, one of the important central cities in western China, an important industrial base in northwest China, a comprehensive transportation hub, and an important node city in the Silk Road Economic Belt approved by the State Council.

Lanzhou is located in the northwest of China and the middle of Gansu Province, and is located in the geometric center of Chinese mainland's land map. It is a comprehensive transportation hub for railways, highways and aviation in the northwest of China, the headquarters of the army organs in the western theater of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, one of the five central cities in the China section of the New Eurasian Continental Bridge, an important regional trade center and modern logistics base in the west, and enjoys the reputation of "the Silk Road", "the Pearl of the Yellow River", "the Summer Palace in the west" and "the capital of waterwheels".