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World Measure
The population almanac240 countries · 31,365 cities · UN WPP 2024
City profile · China · Asia

Lanzhou

Gansu · China
City population
3,000,000
#45
in China
#1
in Gansu
#119
worldwide
BeijingLanzhou
36.057, 103.840 · 1,180 km from Beijing
City population
3,000,000
Within the city boundary, not a metro area
Rank in China
#45
of 2,091 cities of 15,000+
World rank
#119
of 31,365 cities listed
Share of China
0.2%
of the national population

About Lanzhou

At 1,521 m elevation, this city of 3 million is the largest in Gansu and ranks 45th among China's 2,091 listed cities. It sits 1,180 km from Beijing. Four cities with populations between 260,000 and 420,000 lie within 146 km.

This summary is AI-generated from the figures on this page. The figures themselves come from the sources cited beside each value.

Position in China
#45of 2,091
LargestSmallest
Position in Gansu
#1of 127
LargestSmallest

Key Facts

Country
China
Region
Gansu
Rank in region
#1of 127
Distance to capital
1,180 km
to Beijing
Elevation
1,521 m
Approximate — modelled, not surveyed
Time zone
Asia/Shanghai
Coordinates
36.057, 103.840
Record updated
2026-04-13
Entry edited, not measured

City population, GeoNames. GeoNames publishes no year for its population figures, so “record updated” is when the entry was last edited — not the date the population was measured. Elevation is modelled from a digital elevation model rather than surveyed, so it is approximate.

Nearby Cities

All 2,091 in China

Closest listed cities by great-circle distance from the city centre.

62KMBaiyin294K people76KMLinxia Chengguanzhen274K people89KMDingxi421K people136KMNianbo260K people146KMHezuo59K people

Compared with the World's Largest Cities

City-proper population against the fifteen largest cities in the dataset.

  1. Shanghai24.9M
  2. Beijing19M
  3. Shenzhen17.5M
  4. Guangzhou16.1M
  5. Kinshasa16M
  6. Istanbul15.7M
  7. Lagos15.4M
  8. Ho Chi Minh City14M
  9. Chengdu13.6M
  10. Lahore13M
  11. Mumbai12.7M
  12. São Paulo12.4M
  13. Mexico City12.3M
  14. Karachi11.6M
  15. Tianjin11.1M
  16. Lanzhou3M
City-proper figures only. Administrative boundaries differ between countries, so these are not directly comparable to metropolitan-area estimates.
Lanzhou compared with the fifteen largest cities
NameCity population
Shanghai24.9M
Beijing19M
Shenzhen17.5M
Guangzhou16.1M
Kinshasa16M
Istanbul15.7M
Lagos15.4M
Ho Chi Minh City14M
Chengdu13.6M
Lahore13M
Mumbai12.7M
São Paulo12.4M
Mexico City12.3M
Karachi11.6M
Tianjin11.1M
Lanzhou3M

Lanzhou Population FAQ

What is the population of Lanzhou?

Lanzhou has a city population of 3,000,000. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.

Where is Lanzhou?

Lanzhou is in Gansu, China, 1,180 km from the capital, Beijing. Its coordinates are 36.057, 103.840.

How big is Lanzhou compared with other cities in China?

It is the 45th largest of the 2,091 cities of 15,000 or more listed in China, holding 0.2% of the national population.

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