Baiyin

Named "White-Silver" after a Ming-dynasty government mining office established here, Baiyin is a mid-sized city in northeastern Gansu province whose identity has long been shaped by non-ferrous metal extraction — earning it the nickname "Copper City" for its significant copper reserves and output. Founded as a modern industrial base in the 1950s, the city sits along the upper Yellow River, which cuts through the area in an S-curve, and is a short drive from the provincial capital Lanzhou.

• Population294,400
• Nearest water from center1.4 km