There is a very important geographical plate in the east of Qinghai Lake-Hehuang Valley (or Huangshui Valley or Huangshui Valley). Starting from Qinghai Lake, walk eastward along Hehuang Valley 100 kilometers, and you will arrive at Xining, the capital of Qinghai Province. Xining is relatively low-key and not well-known in China, but it has a history of more than 2,000 years and its geographical location is extremely important. It is connected to the western regions in the west, Qin and Gansu in the east, Gansu and Gansu in the north and Sichuan and Tibet in the south, guarding the traffic arteries leading from the Central Plains to the western regions. It is called "the throat of Tibet at sea".
Xining is adjacent to Daban Mountain in the north, Laji Mountain in the south and Sun Moon Mountain in the west. Huangshui, an important tributary of the upper reaches of the Yellow River, passes through the city, and Xining is located in Hehuang Valley. Although it is a valley, the altitude is not low. Xining city is about 226 1 m above sea level, more than 700 meters higher than Mount Tai. In addition to Xining, the provincial capital, there is also an important city in Hehuang Valley-Haidong City, with a population of about 63% in the province. It can be said that the essence of Qinghai Province is concentrated in Hehuang Valley.
The reason why Xining is so important is actually closely related to Hehuang Valley. We all know that Hexi Corridor has a very important position in the history of our country. Geographically, Hehuang Valley, located in the south of Hexi Corridor, is not much less important than Hexi Corridor. During the period of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, Hexi Corridor was opened, but brave Qiang people lived in Hehuang Valley near Xining, which posed a great threat to Hexi.
Hehuang area extends in all directions, leading to all parts of the Han Dynasty, east to Longyou Guanzhong, south to Sichuan Songpan and north to Hexi Corridor. Once the enemy forces control Hehuang Valley, Xining and Hexi counties, the connection between the Central Plains and the Western Regions will be cut off. The Weihe River basin along the Hehuang River to the east will threaten the ancient capital Chang 'an. Hehuang was highly valued during the Han and Tang Dynasties, and Xining was the military center.
In the sixth year of Ding Yuan in the Western Han Dynasty (BC 165438+ BC 0 1), the Han army attacked westward along Huangshui Valley and defeated the Qiang people, who were forced to retreat to the area near Qinghai Lake. Xiping Pavilion is a military fortress built in Huangshui River Basin in Han Dynasty. Xiping is the earliest place name in Xining. During the Jian 'an period at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Cao set up xiping county, which is located in the urban area of Xining today. 1 104, Xining (called Qing Tang Cheng) was captured in the Northern Song Dynasty. In order to show peace in the west, Xining Prefecture was established here, which is the origin of Xining place name.
In the Tang Dynasty, Hehuang Valley and Xining were very important because of the strong enemy Tubo on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Of course, the fighting between the two sides is bound to be extremely fierce. According to statistics, there were more than 30 battles between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo in Hehuang area, and there were no fewer than five battles in which the forces of both sides exceeded100000. The two sides have won and lost each other, and the front is quite deadlocked. For example, Xue was defeated by Tubo in the famous battles of Great Africa and Sichuan.
After the Anshi Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty had no time to care about Hexi, and Tubo took the opportunity to counterattack and took away the whole Hehuang area. After Hehuang fell, Hexi was also captured by Tubo, and the whole western region was isolated from the Central Plains. The Tubo army even marched all the way into Chang 'an, which shocked the Central Plains. This shows the importance of Hehuang Valley.
Hehuang Valley is still very important today, and it is a transportation hub connecting the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The Qinghai-Tibet Railway starts from Xining and passes through Golmud to Lhasa, closely linking the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Central Plains. As the largest city on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Xining is very important in terms of geographical location, economy and military affairs.