Zhangye

About Zhangye

Zhangye, formerly romanized as Changyeh and also formerly known as Kanchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Gansu Province in the People's Republic of China. It borders Inner Mongolia on the north and Qinghai on the south. Its central district is Ganzhou, formerly a city of the Western Xia and one of the most important outposts of western China.

Although Zhangye is the oldest recorded name, the city was also formerly also known as Ganzhou, named after the sweet waters of its oasis. An alternative theory states that "Gan" was from the Ganjun Hill (绀峻山) near the city. The name of province came from a contraction of Ganzhou and Suzhou (modern Jiuquan). The name appears in Marco Polo's Travels under the name Campichu.

Zhangye Commandery was established by Western Han in 111 BC, with the seat at the site of modern Wuwei, Gansu. The etymology of Zhangye is unclear. A popular theory interprets the name Zhangye as "Extending Arm", excerpted from a phrase "to extend the arm of the country through to the Western Realm" (张国臂掖，以通西域) documented in Han Shu.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.