Zhangye

Zhangye (simplified Chinese: 张掖; pinyin: Zhāngyì) is a prefecture-level city in China's Gansu province. Zhangye is in the center of the Hexi Corridor. The area was the frontier for much of China's history, forming a corridor to the Central Asian portion of the empire; in fact the name Zhangye (lit. "to extend the arm") is an abbreviation of 张国臂掖，以通西域 (lit. To extend the arm of the country, through to the Western Realm . During the Western Han dynasty, Chinese armies were often engaged against the Huns in this area. It was also an important section of the Silk Road. Zhangye has a total population of 1,260,000, only 260,000 being urban residents. There are 26 ethnic minorities other than Han represented including many Hui, Yugur and Tibetans.The 2002 GDP was 7.566 billion RMB, almost 9% growth over the previous year. Annual urban income was 5960 RMB,10.4% growth from the previous year and rural income was 3092 RMB, up 5%. area code: 936