兰州，黄河穿城而过，是中国的几何中心，丝绸之路的重镇，亦是旅游博主口中的美食城市。那么，在外国人眼中，兰州究竟是什么样的一座城市？

学者观察

Lanzhou, It is situated in the southeastern portion of the province on the upper course of the Huang He (Yellow River), where the river emerges from the mountains. Lanzhou has been a center since early times, being at the southern end of the route leading via the Gansu (Hexi) Corridor across Central Asia; it also commands the approaches to the ancient capital area of Chang’an (what is now Xi’an) in Shaanxi province from both the west and the northwest, as well as from the area of Koko Nor (Qinghai Hu) via the upper waters of the Huang He and its tributaries. Pop.

兰州，它位于该省东南部，黄河上游，黄河穿城而过。兰州早期以来一直是一个中心，是甘肃（河西）走廊通往中亚的路线的南端；它还控制着从西部和西部通往陕西省古都长安（现在的西安）地区的道路，途径西北以及从可可诺尔（青海湖）地区。

During the Sino-Japanese War (1937–45) Lanzhou, linked with Xi’an by highway in 1935, became the terminus of the 2,000-mile (3,200-km) Chinese-Soviet highway, used as a route for Soviet supplies destined for the Xi’an area. This highway remained the chief traffic artery of northwestern China until the completion of a railway from Lanzhou to Ürümqi in the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang. During the war Lanzhou was heavily bombed by the Japanese.

在中国抗日战争期间（1937-1945），兰州在1935年通过高速公路与西安相连，成为2000英里（3200公里）的中苏高速公路的终点，用作苏联向西安地区供应物资的路线。这条高速公路一直是中国西北地区的主要交通动脉，直到兰州至新疆维吾尔自治区乌鲁木旗的铁路建成。而且在战争期间，兰州遭到了日军的猛烈轰炸，付出了大的牺牲。

Since 1949 Lanzhou has been transformed from the capital of a poverty-stricken province into the center of a major industrial area. It has become a center of the country’s petrochemical industry and has a large refinery linked by pipeline to the oil fields at Yumen in western Gansu; it also manufactures equipment for the oil industry. In addition the city produces locomotives and rolling stock for the northwestern railways, as well as machine tools and mining equipment. Aluminum products, industrial chemicals, and fertilizers are produced on a large scale, as are rubber products. Copper is mined in nearby Gaolan.

自1949年新中国以来，兰州已经从一个贫困省份的省会转变为一个主要的工业区的中心。它已成为全国石化工业的中心，并有一个大型炼油厂通过管道连接到甘肃西部的玉门油田；它还为石油工业制造设备。此外，该市还为西北铁路生产机车和机车车辆，以及机床和采矿设备。铝产品、工业化学品和肥料以及橡胶产品都在大规模生产，铜矿也在附近的皋兰开采。

Lanzhou remains the collecting center and market for agricultural produce and livestock from a wide area. It has a textile industry, particularly noted for the production of woolens. Leather goods are also produced. In addition since the 1960s Lanzhou has been the center of China’s nuclear power industry.

兰州仍然是广泛的农产品和牲畜的收集中心和市场。它有一个纺织工业，特别以生产羊毛闻名。还生产皮革制品。此外，自20世纪60年代以来，兰州一直是中国核电工业的中心。