Climate Change and Dryland Agricultural Ecosystem Management

landscape and precision agriculture.
Introduction to Wuwei of Gansu (Minqin County is an administrative county of Wuwei City)
Wuwei (Chinese: 武威; pinyin: Wŭwēi) is located in northwest central Gansu province. In the north it borders Inner Mongolia, in the southwest, Qinghai. Its
central location between three western capitals, Lanzhou, Xining, and Yinchuan makes it an important business and transportation hub for the area. Because of its
position along the Hexi Corridor, historically the only route from central China to western China and the rest of Central Asia, many major railroads and national
highways pass through Wuwei.
Wuwei's geography is dominated by three plateaus, the Loess, Tibetan, and Mongolian. Elevation can be generalized as, the south is high and the north is low,
with elevations ranging from 1,020 to 4,874 meters (3,350 to 15,991 ft) above sea-level. Its area is 33,000 km2 (13,000 sq mi). Average annual temperature is 7.8
°C (46.0 °F). The climate is arid or semi-arid with rainfall between 60 to 610 mm (2.4 to 24 in). Evaporation is from 1,400 to 3,000 mm (55 to 120 in), creating a
net loss of water each year. There are 2200–3000 sunlight hours each year and from 85–165 frost free days. Temperatures during summer in excess of 45.0 °C
(113.0 °F) in the shade are by no means unheard of. In ancient times, Wuwei was called Liangzhou (凉州) and is the eastern terminus of the Hexi Corridor. People
began settling here 5000 years ago. It was a key link for the Northern Silk Road, and a number of important archaeological finds were uncovered from Wuwei,
including ancient copper carts with stone animals. It became an important provincial capital during the Former Han Dynasty. Famous cultural relics from Wuwei
include the Galloping Bronze Horse (铜奔马), Western Xia stele (西夏碑), White Tower Temple (白塔寺), Tianti Mountain Grotto (天梯山石窟), Luoshi Temple
Tower (罗什寺塔), and the Wen Miao Confucian temple.(文庙). Wuwei enjoys an enduring history, rich cultural heritages, particular natural sceneries and
multiform ethnologic features. There are 543 relics and historical sites in the city. There are about 40,000 items (volumes) of relics stored in the museums. Among
the relics, in the Han Tomb of Leitai, there is the Bronze Galloping Horse, the Symbol of China’s Tourism; the Xixia Monument is regarded as “a living
dictionary” by scholars from home and abroad; the Wuwei Confucian Temple is well know as “the top Academy of learning”, the Tiantishan Grottoes is
considered “the senior ancestor of the Chinese ancient grottoes”; the Baitashi Temple (White Pagodas) is the historical evidence, proving that Tibet has been part of
China since ancient times; the Luoshisi Tower is the Holy land of the Buddhism; the Dayongsi Bell is the ancient site of the Great Wall. Others include Wuwei
Desert Park, the Endangered-wild Animals Breeding Center, Minqin Desert Reservoir, which is the largest one in the Asia.
Minqin County (Chinese: 民勤县; pinyin: Mínqín Xiàn) is an administrative district in Gansu, the People's Republic of China. It is one of 58 counties of
Gansu. It is part of the Wuwei prefecture, with the city of the same name being the prefecture seat. Its postal code is 733300, and its population in 1999 was 281,826
people. Geographically, Minqin County occupies one of Gansu's panhandles, bordering in the north, east, and southeast on the Alashan League of Inner Mongolia.
In older literature, the area is referred to as Zhenfan (Chen-fan); in the 1920s it was considered as somewhat of a regular famine district. Large number of Zhenfan
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