Minqin County
民勤县
County
Minqin is located in Gansu
Minqin
Minqin
Location of the seat in Gansu
Coordinates: 38°37′26″N 103°05′38″E / 38.624°N 103.094°E / 38.624; 103.094
CountryPeople's Republic of China
ProvinceGansu
Prefecture-level cityWuwei
Area
 • Total15,900 km2 (6,100 sq mi)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total241,400
 • Density15/km2 (39/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+8 (China Standard)
Postal code
733300

Minqin County (Chinese: 民勤县; pinyin: Mínqín Xiàn) is a county of Gansu province, the People's Republic of China. It is under the jurisdiction of Wuwei City. Its postal code is 733300, and its population in 1999 was 281,826 people.

In older literature, today's Minqin is referred to as Zhenfan (Chinese: 镇番; Wade–Giles: Chen-fan).[1] According to Pyotr Kozlov, the Mongol name for the city was Sogo Khoto.[2]

Geographically, Minqin county occupies one of Gansu's panhandles, bordering in the north, east, and southeast on the Alashan League of Inner Mongolia.

History

Historically, Chinese agricultural settlement in the area was made possible by the Shiyang River, flowing from the Qilian Mountains.[3] However, the livelihood of Chinese farmers here was often precarious; in the 1920s it was considered as somewhat of a regular famine district.[1] Large number of Zhenfan people, nicknamed "Sand-hollow Mice", worked as "camel-pullers" with caravans owned by Mongols from the adjacent Alashan, or moved—temporarily or permanently—to Xinjiang. For example, as of 1926, the main population of the small oasis of Santanghu (now, officially, Santanghu (三塘湖乡) in what's today Barkol Kazakh Autonomous County of Xinjiang were migrants from Minqin (Zhenfan) and their descendants.[4]

By the late 20th century, the environmental situation in the Minqin area deteriorated, as smaller amounts of the Shiyang River water reached the area, due to the increased irrigation of use of it upstream. Ground water levels fell, and desertification became a serious threat.[3] Minqin is now identified as one of the major sources of sandstorms in China.[3][5]

Climate

Climate data for Minqin (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1971–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 14.0
(57.2) 		22.9
(73.2) 		26.5
(79.7) 		33.9
(93.0) 		34.8
(94.6) 		37.1
(98.8) 		41.7
(107.1) 		38.0
(100.4) 		35.4
(95.7) 		27.5
(81.5) 		22.0
(71.6) 		17.3
(63.1) 		41.7
(107.1)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) −0.5
(31.1) 		4.6
(40.3) 		11.7
(53.1) 		19.4
(66.9) 		24.9
(76.8) 		29.4
(84.9) 		31.2
(88.2) 		29.4
(84.9) 		23.9
(75.0) 		16.9
(62.4) 		8.6
(47.5) 		1.2
(34.2) 		16.7
(62.1)
Daily mean °C (°F) −8.0
(17.6) 		−3.1
(26.4) 		4.1
(39.4) 		11.8
(53.2) 		17.7
(63.9) 		22.4
(72.3) 		24.1
(75.4) 		22.4
(72.3) 		16.7
(62.1) 		9.0
(48.2) 		1.0
(33.8) 		−6.0
(21.2) 		9.3
(48.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −14.3
(6.3) 		−9.8
(14.4) 		−2.7
(27.1) 		4.5
(40.1) 		10.3
(50.5) 		15.3
(59.5) 		17.4
(63.3) 		16.1
(61.0) 		10.5
(50.9) 		2.6
(36.7) 		−4.9
(23.2) 		−11.8
(10.8) 		2.8
(37.0)
Record low °C (°F) −29.4
(−20.9) 		−29.5
(−21.1) 		−20.9
(−5.6) 		−9.4
(15.1) 		−4.1
(24.6) 		4.8
(40.6) 		8.1
(46.6) 		6.3
(43.3) 		−2.3
(27.9) 		−12.9
(8.8) 		−19.7
(−3.5) 		−26.9
(−16.4) 		−29.5
(−21.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 1.4
(0.06) 		0.8
(0.03) 		2.7
(0.11) 		6.1
(0.24) 		13.1
(0.52) 		14.6
(0.57) 		26.6
(1.05) 		25.2
(0.99) 		21.6
(0.85) 		7.0
(0.28) 		1.3
(0.05) 		0.5
(0.02) 		120.9
(4.77)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 1.5 1.0 1.5 2.3 4.2 5.1 6.9 6.6 6.1 2.9 1.4 0.9 40.4
Average snowy days 3.2 2.3 2.0 0.9 0.1 0 0 0 0 0.7 2.2 1.9 13.3
Average relative humidity (%) 48 40 34 30 33 39 48 51 53 48 47 49 43
Mean monthly sunshine hours 237.1 230.9 267.6 279.2 310.9 302.3 301.7 284.8 244.2 258.7 238.1 233.8 3,189.3
Percent possible sunshine 78 75 72 70 70 68 67 68 66 76 80 80 73
Source: China Meteorological Administration[6][7][8]

Administrative divisions

Minqin County is divided to 18 towns.[9]

Towns
  • Sanlei (三雷镇)
  • Dongba (东坝镇)
  • Quanshan (泉山镇)
  • Xiqu (西渠镇)
  • Donghu (东湖镇)
  • Hongshagang (红砂岗镇)
  • Changning (昌宁镇)
  • Chongxing (重兴镇)
  • Xuebai (薛百镇)
  • Daba (大坝镇)
  • Suwu (苏武镇)
  • Datan (大滩镇)
  • Shuangcike (双茨科镇)
  • Hongshaliang (红沙梁镇)
  • Caiqi (蔡旗镇)
  • Jiahe (夹河镇)
  • Shoucheng (收成镇)
  • Nanhu (南湖镇)

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Owen Lattimore, The Desert Road to Turkestan. London, Methuen, 1928.
  2. ^ P.K.Kozlov, "Монголия и Кам. Трехлетнее путешествие по Монголии и Тибету (1899—1901 гг.) (Mongolia and Kham. Three years' travel in Mongolia and Tibet (1899–1901). (in Russian)
  3. ^ a b c Will the Desert Claim Minqin?
  4. ^ Lattimore (1928), p. 274
  5. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-15. Retrieved 2011-05-28.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^ 中国气象数据网 – WeatherBk Data (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  7. ^ 中国气象数据网 (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  8. ^ 中国地面国际交换站气候标准值月值数据集（1971－2000年）. China Meteorological Administration. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
  9. ^ "统计用区划代码 www.stats.gov.cn" (in Chinese). XZQH. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
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