Zhangye

Zhangye 张掖市
Prefecture-level city
Near Aviko french fry factory in Liuba Town, Minle County, Zhangye
Location of Zhangye City jurisdiction in Gansu
Coordinates: 38°36′N 100°27′E / 38.600°N 100.450°E / 38.600; 100.450
Country	China
Province	Gansu
Area
• Total	42,000 km2 (16,000 sq mi)
Population (2010)
• Total	1,199,515
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)
Postal code	734000
Website	zhangye.gov.cn

Zhangye
The Dafo Temple, site of the largest reclining Buddha in China.
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese
Postal	Changyeh
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhāngyè Wade–Giles Chang1-yeh4

Zhangye, formerly romanized as Changyeh or known as Kanchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Gansu Province in the People's Republic of China. It borders Inner Mongolia on the north and Qinghai on the south. Its central district is Ganzhou, formerly a city of the Western Xia and one of the most important outposts of western China.

The city was formerly known as Ganzhou, named after the sweet waters of its oasis. The name is retained by both Zhangye's central district and province. The name appears in Marco Polo's Travels under the name Campichu.

Zhangye was used as the name of the area's commandery and then for the city itself. The name Zhangye ("Extending Arm") is excerpted from the phrase "To extend the arm of the country through to the Western Realm" (张国臂掖，以通西域).

Zhangye lies in the center of the Hexi Corridor. The area is on the frontier of China Proper, protecting it from the nomads of the northwest and permitting its armies access to the Tarim Basin. During the Han Dynasty, Chinese armies were often engaged against the Xiongnu in this area. It was also an important outpost on the Silk Road. Before being overrun by the Mongols, it was dominated by the Uyghurs from at least the early 10th century. Its relation to the larger Uyghur state of Qocho is obscure, but it may have been a vassal.