page_title: Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture
section_title: Geography and climate
hierarchical_section_title: Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture / Geography and climate
caption_attribution_description: English: Qianheyan Mosque in Xin Xi Lu (New Western Street) in Linxia City, west of downtown. This is probably the heart of the old Muslim neighborhood, where the Hui people had to reside after they were prohibited to live within the city wall in 1873. There are 4 large mosques - Lao Hua, Xin Hua, Tie Jia, and Qianheyan - in that street.
context_page_description: Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, formerly known as Hezhou, is located in Gansu Province, south of the provincial capital Lanzhou, bordering Qinghai to the west. It is an autonomous prefecture for the Muslim Hui people, a large Chinese ethnic group. It also includes two autonomous counties for other Muslim groups, namely Bonan, Dongxiang and Salar.
context_section_description: Linxia Prefecture is located in southwestern central Gansu. It is just south of Lanzhou and borders Qinghai Province in the west, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in the south and the Dingxi prefecture-level city in the east.
  The terrain is highlands, mountains and loess hills.  Elevation averages 2000 meters above sea-level.
  The Yellow River, which gets its muddy yellow color from the loess, runs through the northwestern part of the prefecture. Dammed at Liujiaxia (Yongjing County), it forms the large Liujiaxia Reservoir in the north-central part of the county. There is also a smaller Yanguoxia Dam (盐锅峡水电站; Yánguōxiá Shuǐdiànzhàn) further downstream, also within Yongjing County.
  The Yellow River's main tributaries within the prefecture are  the Daxia River and the Tao River. They flow from the neighboring Gannan Prefecture and fall into the Liujiaxia Reservoir from the southeast. The Tao River also serves as the border with the Dingxi prefecture-level city over some of its length.
  The year's average temperature is 8 °C and the annual frost-free period is only 155 frost-free days. The area is semi-arid with annual precipitation of only 442 mm (17.4 in). Total area is 8,169 km² (3,154 sq mi).
caption: Qianheyan Mosque, Linxia City
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