Resource endowment

Gansu, one of the important birthplaces of the Chinese nation and civilization, is known as "Home to Fuxi and the Yellow Emperor". According to legend, Fuxi, Nvwa and the Yellow Emperor, who are known as the Chinese ancestors, were all born in Gansu. People in the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BC) grew up in Qingyang, and people in the Qin Dynasty(221-206 BC) laid the groundwork in Tianshui and Longnan. Gansu province is blessed with abundant resources in terms of historical heritage, classic culture, national folklore and tourism, and ranks fifth in China in that regard. Results of the first survey of portable cultural relics in Gansu province were announced in 2018. The number of its registered cultural relics was 423,444 pieces/sets, and the actual number of cultural relics was 1,958,351, ranking 17th and the 10th in the country respectively. The total number of registered precious relics ranks fifth nationally and the actual number ranks third. Its rich cultural tourism resources make Gansu an internationally well-known tourist destination. In 2017, it ranked first on a Lonely Planet "2017 Best in Asia" list. In 2018, it ranked 17th on a list of 52 places to go in the world by the New York Times, and was the only place selected in China.

Gansu is also one of the birthplaces of traditional Chinese medicine. The Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine, written by Qibo, the forefather of the traditional Chinese medicine, and the Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion by Huangfu Mi, the ancestor of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, are unique in ancient traditional Chinese medicine. One of the main producing areas of Chinese medicinal materials, Gansu has more than 9500 kinds of medicinal materials, ranking second in China. Its planting area and comprehensive output rank first in the country. In 2017, a National Comprehensive Experimental Area of Traditional Chinese Medicine Industry was approved for Gansu province, and became the only one in China.

Gansu is rich in minerals, water conservancy, biology, and light and heat resources. It boasts superior ore-forming geological conditions and consequent rich mineral resources. One hundred and eighty kinds of useful minerals have been found, of which 11 minerals, such as nickel, cobalt and platinum have the highest reserves in the country; gold reserves are also tops nationally. Gansu also has various types of energy. In addition to coal, oil and natural gas, it has new energy sources such as solar and wind power. Specifically, the reserves of coal, oil and natural gas rank at the top in the country, and Guazhou city is known as the "World Wind Bank". Gansu is also one of the three regions with the most abundant solar energy in China.

The forestland resources in Gansu cover an area of 39,700 km2, with primeval forests located in Bailong River, Tao River, Qilian Mountains, Daxia River and other places. There are more than 4,000 species of wild plants in the forest, and 54 species or subspecies of wild animals are listed as national rare and precious animals, including giant pandas, golden monkeys, musk deer, lynx, mink and others of the world’s precious animals. Gansu is one of the seven provinces with an area of more than 150,000 km2 of natural grassland in China, as well as an important base of stockbreeding.