Zhenyuan County, Gansu

Zhenyuan County (simplified Chinese: 镇原县; traditional Chinese: 鎮原縣; pinyin: Zhènyuán Xiàn) is a county in the east of Gansu province, China, bordering Ningxia to the west. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Qingyang. Its postal code is 744500, and its population in 2018 was 528,076 people.

Zhenyuan County 镇原县 Chenyuan
County
Zhenyuan in Qingyang
Qingyang in Gansu
Coordinates: 35°40′39″N 107°12′03″E
Country	China
Province	Gansu
Prefecture-level city	Qingyang
County seat	Chengguan
Area
• Total	3,500 km2 (1,400 sq mi)
Elevation	1,500 m (4,900 ft)
Highest elevation	1,767 m (5,797 ft)
Lowest elevation	1,011 m (3,317 ft)
Population  (2018)
• Total	528,076
• Density	150/km2 (390/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+8 (China Standard)
Postal code	744500

One of the earliest Paleolithic sites in China, Dongdonggou, was found in Zhenyuan.^[1] In the Han dynasty it was established as Linjing County, during the Yuan dynasty it was named Yuanzhou, and during the Ming dynasty it became Zhenyuan County.

Zhenyuan is mostly dependent on cultivation of grains, vegetable oils, melons and vegetables.^[2] It also has oil reserves.^[3]

In October 2019, the Zhenyuan County Library posted images of book burning of 65 books from the library. The post attracted significant controversy on Chinese social media.^[4][5]

Administrative divisions

Zhenyuan County is divided to 13 towns and 6 townships.^[6]

Towns

Chengguan (城关镇) Tunzi (屯字镇) Mengba (孟坝镇) Sancha (三岔镇) Pingquan (平泉镇) Kaibian (开边镇) Taiping (太平镇)

Linjing (临泾镇) Xincheng (新城镇) Shangxiao (上肖镇) Xinji (新集镇) Maqu (马渠镇) Miaoqu (庙渠镇)

Townships

Nanchuan Township (南川乡) Fangshan Township (方山乡) Yinjiacheng Township (殷家城乡)

Wugou Township (武沟乡) Guoyuan Township (郭原乡) Zhongyuan Township (中原乡)

Climate

Climate data for Zhenyuan, elevation 1,173 m (3,848 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1981–2010)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	15.0 (59.0)	22.9 (73.2)	28.5 (83.3)	33.4 (92.1)	34.6 (94.3)	37.4 (99.3)	38.3 (100.9)	35.5 (95.9)	36.0 (96.8)	29.0 (84.2)	22.0 (71.6)	18.0 (64.4)	38.3 (100.9)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	3.0 (37.4)	6.7 (44.1)	12.9 (55.2)	19.8 (67.6)	24.1 (75.4)	28.1 (82.6)	29.3 (84.7)	27.4 (81.3)	22.2 (72.0)	16.4 (61.5)	10.5 (50.9)	4.7 (40.5)	17.1 (62.8)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−4.2 (24.4)	−0.2 (31.6)	5.8 (42.4)	12.4 (54.3)	16.9 (62.4)	21.2 (70.2)	23.2 (73.8)	21.6 (70.9)	16.4 (61.5)	10.0 (50.0)	3.3 (37.9)	−2.5 (27.5)	10.3 (50.6)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−9.0 (15.8)	−5.1 (22.8)	0.3 (32.5)	5.9 (42.6)	10.4 (50.7)	14.9 (58.8)	18.0 (64.4)	17.0 (62.6)	12.2 (54.0)	5.6 (42.1)	−1.4 (29.5)	−7.1 (19.2)	5.1 (41.3)
Record low °C (°F)	−19.7 (−3.5)	−18.5 (−1.3)	−12.4 (9.7)	−5.3 (22.5)	−1.2 (29.8)	6.8 (44.2)	10.4 (50.7)	6.9 (44.4)	1.8 (35.2)	−7.5 (18.5)	−15.1 (4.8)	−23.3 (−9.9)	−23.3 (−9.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	4.5 (0.18)	6.6 (0.26)	14.7 (0.58)	28.8 (1.13)	43.5 (1.71)	60.0 (2.36)	93.6 (3.69)	96.6 (3.80)	75.1 (2.96)	40.1 (1.58)	12.1 (0.48)	2.2 (0.09)	477.8 (18.82)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm)	3.4	4.4	6.0	6.5	8.0	9.6	11.4	11.1	11.6	8.5	4.6	2.1	87.2
Average snowy days	5.8	5.6	3.7	0.7	0	0	0	0	0	0.5	3.0	4.0	23.3
Average relative humidity (%)	56	57	55	52	56	60	68	73	77	75	67	59	63
Mean monthly sunshine hours	193.3	171.0	200.4	224.9	241.2	236.6	227.0	203.8	153.4	168.4	182.3	198.5	2,400.8
Percentage possible sunshine	62	55	54	57	55	55	52	49	42	49	60	66	55
Source: China Meteorological Administration[7][8]

See also

• List of administrative divisions of Gansu