Tianshui () is the second largest city in
Gansu province in northwest
China. Its population is approximately 3,500,000.
Tianshui lies along the route of the ancient
Northern Silk Road, through which much of trade occurred between China and the west. Nearby are the
Maijishan Grottoes filled with thousands of Buddhist sculptures, represented by figures as Sakyamuni and Avalokitesvara, produced in as early as the Wei Dynasty and as late as the Song Dynasty by Buddhist monks who first came here via the North Silk Road and, later on, by local Buddhists, for worship purposes.
The
Qin state, later to become the
founding dynasty of the
Chinese empire, grew out from this area, and the
Qin name itself is believed to have originated, in part, from there Qin tombs have been excavated from
Fangmatan near Tianshui, including one 2200 year old map of
Guixian County.
Tianshui is a
diocese of the
Roman Catholic church, currently vacant.
Footnotes
Sister cities
One
sister city of Tianshui is:
Category:Prefecture-level divisions of GansuCategory:Cities in Gansude:Tianshuieu:Tianshuifr:Tianshuiko:톈수이 시it:Tianshuinl:Tianshuija:天水市no:Tianshuipt:Tianshuivi:Thiên Thủyzh:天水市
