Jiuquan - Shusen

A prefecture-level city in the northwest of Gansu Province, China. It governs Suzhou District, two counties including Guazhou, and two autonomous counties, and acts as the administrative agent for the county-level cities of Dunhuang and Yumen (as of 2016). Its permanent population is 1,115,400 (2015). It began around the end of the 2nd century BC, when Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, who had driven out the Xiongnu, established Jiuquan County here. In the early 7th century, during the Sui Dynasty, Jiuquan County was renamed Suzhou. Blessed with the spring water that gave the place its name, it has been a strategic point on the Hexi Corridor since ancient times, and during the Sixteen Kingdoms period it was the capital of Xiliang for two generations, under Li Hao (351-417) and Li Xin (?-420).

The oil industry is the mainstay of the city, and it is also home to machinery, metallurgy, and food processing industries, with the wind power industry developing since the 2000s. The city is famous for its traditional handicrafts, such as the jade cup "night-glow cup." 250 kilometers northeast of the city is the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, one of the largest in China, from which rockets, satellites, and manned spacecraft are launched. The city is connected by the Lanxin-Xin Line and expressways to Beijing and Lianyungang. Wenshu Mountain, located in the southwest suburbs, is famous for the ruins of an ancient rock-cut temple.

[Shiro Sekio, Editorial Department, June 20, 2017]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、甘粛(かんしゅく)省北西部の地級市。粛州(しゅくしゅう)区と、瓜州(かしゅう)など2県、2自治県を管轄し、敦煌(とんこう)、玉門(ぎょくもん)の2県級市の管轄代行を行う（2016年時点）。常住人口111万5400（2015）。紀元前2世紀末ごろ、匈奴(きょうど)を駆逐した前漢の武帝がこの地に酒泉郡を置いたのに始まる。7世紀初頭の隋(ずい)の時代に酒泉郡は粛州と改められた。地名の由来にもなった湧水に恵まれ、古くから河西(かせい)回廊の要衝であり、五胡(ごこ)十六国時代には、李暠(りこう)（351―417）、李歆(りきん)（？―420）の2代にわたって西涼(せいりょう)の都が置かれていた。

　石油産業を柱に、機械工業、冶金、食品加工業などが立地するほか、2000年代以降は風力発電産業も発展している。伝統工芸品では玉杯の「夜光杯(やこうはい)」が有名。市の北東250キロメートルには国内最大級の酒泉衛星発射センターがあり、ロケットや人工衛星、有人宇宙船が打ち上げられている。蘭新線、北京(ペキン)や連雲港(れんうんこう)への自動車道が通じる。郊外南西に位置する文殊山は、古代の石窟(せっくつ)寺院の遺跡として名高い。

［關尾史郎・編集部　2017年6月20日］

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