Linxia City
Linxia City is a county‑level city in Gansu Province, China. It is the capital of the Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture and sits in the Daxia River valley, about 150 kilometers southwest of Lanzhou. The city covers 88.6 square kilometers and has around 356,000 people (2020).
Most residents are Hui Muslims, with other minority groups such as Bonan, Dongxiang and Salar also living here. Linxia has long been a center of Chinese Muslim culture, learning and trade, earning it the nickname “the little Mecca of China.” The area is known for its many mosques and gongbei shrines, which are important places of worship and study for Hui Muslims and other communities.
A notable local landmark is the Wanshou Guan Taoist temple, whose pagoda sits on a loess bluff that provides great views of the city. The city is in a fertile river valley surrounded by cliffs, and it experiences a humid continental climate: warm, humid summers and cold winters.
Administratively, Linxia City is made up of 10 township‑level units: 6 urban subdistricts and 4 towns in surrounding rural areas. The central business district lies mainly north of the Daxia River, while the Muslim communities and many mosques are in the western and southwestern suburbs.
Linxia has a long history as a trade hub on important routes that linked China with Central Asia. Traditional local products include a style of round Qing dynasty glasses still made here today.
Transportation links include China National Highway 213 (G213) and Provincial Route 309 (S309). There is currently no railway or airport in Linxia, though a Lanzhou–Hezuo railway is under construction. The city is served by three bus stations, with connections to Lanzhou, Hezuo and other towns, and the Liujiaxia Reservoir nearby offers a ferry link known as Lianhua Old Ferry. The Linxia Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, a 20,000‑seat football stadium, opened in 2016.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 19:49 (CET).