Baiyin, Gansu Province, China

🇨🇳 Baiyin is a prefecture-level city in north-eastern Gansu province, People's Republic of China. Established in the 1950s as a base for mining non-ferrous metals, its mines are becoming exhausted in recent decades, requiring the city to reinvent its economy. Located around 60 km from Gansu's capital Lanzhou, it is part of the Lanzhou-Baiyin Economic Belt.

Baiyin has 2 urban districts, 3 counties, 64 townships, 18 towns, and 7 sub-districts.

Baiyin District (白银区) is the main urban district of and the economic, cultural and political centre of the prefecture-level city.

Geography Baiyin is part loess plateau, part desert. Elevation ranges from 1,275 to 3,321 meters (4,183 to 10,896 feet) above sea-level. The climate is very arid with only 110–352 mm (4.3–13.9 in) of annual precipitation. Annual evaporation is 2,101 mm (82.7 in) resulting in a net loss of approximately 1,800 mm (71 in). The Yellow River flows from south to north for 214 km (133 mi) through Baiyin.

The area is 20,100 km² (7,800 sq mi), 3,345 km² (1,292 sq mi) of that urban.

Administration Baiyin has 2 urban districts, 3 counties, 64 townships, 18 towns, and 7 sub-districts with a total population of 1,512,110 as of the 2020 Chinese census, of which 538,514 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of the 2 urban districts of Baiyin and Pingchuan: Baiyin District, 白银区 Báiyín Qū; Pingchuan District, 平川区 Píngchuān Qū; Jingyuan County, 靖远县 Jìngyuǎn Xiàn; Huining County, 会宁县 Huìníng Xiàn; Jingtai County, 景泰县 Jǐngtài Xiàn.

Economy The Baiyin Nonferrous operates copper, zinc and selenium mines around Baiyin, although these mines are getting exhausted of ore. Financed by development funds, a high-tech park is being built, which is home to a contact lens factory. Pingchuan District and Huining County are the largest coal production bases in Gansu province.

The Yinguang Group, a subsidiary of Norinco, operates a major factory making chemicals for defence and civilian use, the factory was a key project of the first five-year plan.

Transport Baiyin is directly served by the Baotou–Lanzhou railway, Honghui railway, China National Highway 109, China National Highway 341 and G6 Beijing–Lhasa Expressway.