# Baiyin

Baiyin (simplified Chinese: 白银; traditional Chinese: 白銀; pinyin: Báiyín; lit. 'White-Silver') is a prefecture-level city in northeastern 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 (37 mi) from Gansu's capital Lanzhou, it is part of the Lanzhou-Baiyin Economic Belt.

## Geography and climate

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 prefecture-level city has either a cool arid climate (Köppen BWk) or a cool semi-arid climate (BSk) 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 km$^2$ (7,800 sq mi), 3,345 km$^2$ (1,292 sq mi) of that urban.
Climate data for Baiyin, elevation 1,737 m (5,699 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1981–2010) :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 11.8 (53.2) | 18.8 (65.8) | 26.3 (79.3) | 32.8 (91.0) | 33.5 (92.3) | 34.5 (94.1) | 39.1 (102.4) | 35.7 (96.3) | 32.7 (90.9) | 26.5 (79.7) | 18.9 (66.0) | 14.2 (57.6) | 39.1 (102.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 0.7 (33.3) | 5.0 (41.0) | 12.2 (54.0) | 18.5 (65.3) | 22.6 (72.7) | 26.5 (79.7) | 28.3 (82.9) | 26.9 (80.4) | 21.3 (70.3) | 15.8 (60.4) | 8.7 (47.7) | 1.7 (35.1) | 15.7 (60.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −6.0 (21.2) | −2.0 (28.4) | 5.0 (41.0) | 11.3 (52.3) | 15.7 (60.3) | 20.2 (68.4) | 21.9 (71.4) | 20.7 (69.3) | 15.2 (59.4) | 9.3 (48.7) | 2.1 (35.8) | −5.1 (22.8) | 9.0 (48.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −10.9 (12.4) | −7.1 (19.2) | −0.6 (30.9) | 5.0 (41.0) | 9.5 (49.1) | 14.3 (57.7) | 16.2 (61.2) | 15.5 (59.9) | 10.6 (51.1) | 4.5 (40.1) | −2.6 (27.3) | −9.8 (14.4) | 3.7 (38.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −21.2 (−6.2) | −18.5 (−1.3) | −15.9 (3.4) | −7.5 (18.5) | −2.5 (27.5) | 4.7 (40.5) | 7.3 (45.1) | 6.5 (43.7) | 0.2 (32.4) | −11.1 (12.0) | −14.9 (5.2) | −22.1 (−7.8) | −22.1 (−7.8) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 1.7 (0.07) | 1.3 (0.05) | 3.7 (0.15) | 9.1 (0.36) | 22.3 (0.88) | 30.7 (1.21) | 48.4 (1.91) | 45.4 (1.79) | 31.6 (1.24) | 14.0 (0.55) | 1.7 (0.07) | 0.5 (0.02) | 210.4 (8.3) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 2.4 | 1.6 | 2.7 | 4.3 | 6.8 | 8.6 | 10.2 | 9.7 | 9.6 | 6.0 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 64.6 |
| Average snowy days | 4.7 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 20.5 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 51 | 45 | 41 | 39 | 42 | 47 | 55 | 59 | 63 | 59 | 53 | 52 | 51 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 186.5 | 191.7 | 216.3 | 235.8 | 252.2 | 240.2 | 242.3 | 227.7 | 184.8 | 188.8 | 188.5 | 189.0 | 2,543.8 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 60 | 62 | 58 | 59 | 57 | 55 | 55 | 55 | 50 | 55 | 62 | 63 | 58 |
| Source: China Meteorological Administration ||||||||||||||

## 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.
Map :
| Baiyin Pingchuan Jingyuan County ※ ※ Huining County Jingtai County |||||||
| Name | Simplified Chinese | Hanyu Pinyin | Population (2010) | Area (km$^2$) | Density (/km$^2$) |
| Baiyin District | 白银区 | Báiyín Qū | 294,400 | 1,372 | 215 |
| Pingchuan District | 平川区 | Píngchuān Qū | 192,398 | 2,106 | 91 |
| Jingyuan County | 靖远县 | Jìngyuǎn Xiàn | 454,925 | 5,809 | 78 |
| Huining County | 会宁县 | Huìníng Xiàn | 541,273 | 6,439 | 84 |
| Jingtai County | 景泰县 | Jǐngtài Xiàn | 225,755 | 5,483 | 41 |

## 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 defense and civilian use, the factory was a key project of the first five-year plan.

## Transportation

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

## Notable people

* Chen Hualan – veterinary virologist