Lintao County

Until the 20th century, Lintao was known as Didao (狄道).

The Battle of Didao was fought in the area in 255 CE, during the Three Kingdoms era.

In the 8th century, an anonymous poet of the Tang Dynasty places General Geshu Han and the Chinese army in Lintao, battling the Tibetans.[1] Poet Li Bai reference Lintao in his poem, "Ballads of Four Seasons: Winter."[2]

Located at an important Tao River crossing, Didao City (i.e., today's Taoyang Town[3]) was an important trade center during the Northern Song Dynasty (ca. 11-12th century), when the more northern route of the Silk Route was blocked by the Xi Xia state. It is known to have been home to hundreds of foreign merchants at the time, some of whom may have been the ancestors of today's Hui people of Gansu.[4]

The county is located mostly on the right (eastern) bank of the Tao River, a right tributary of the Yellow River. It borders with Lanzhou in the northeast, with Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture in the west, and with other parts of Dingxi Prefecture-level City in the east and south.

The county seat of Lintao County is in Taoyang Town (洮阳镇; 洮陽鎮; Táoyáng Zhèn); as it is usually the case with Chinese county seats, this is the location that most less-detailed maps label as "Lintao County" or simply "Lintao".

Lintao County is divided to 5 towns and 6 townships.[5]

Towns

Townships

China National Highway 212 crosses the county from the north to the south, on its way from Lanzhou to south-eastern Gansu. Most of the section of this highway within Lintao County has now been superseded by the Lanhai Expressway (G75).

A military airfield, Lintao Air Base, is located south of the county seat.