Guangyuan

Guangyuan

Guangyuan (simplified Chinese: 广元; traditional Chinese: 廣元; pinyin: Guǎngyuán; Wade–Giles: Kuang-yüan) is a prefecture-level city in Sichuan Province, China, bordering the provinces of Shaanxi to the northeast and Gansu to the northwest. The city has a population of 2,305,657 as of the 2020 census.[2] Located roughly between the provincial capitals Chengdu, Lanzhou, Xi'an and Chongqing municipality, it is considered the northern gateway to Sichuan.[3] It is an ancient city, notable for its relics and tombs. Formerly known as Lizhou (利州, or Li prefecture), Guangyuan was the birthplace of Wu Zetian, the only woman in Chinese history to rule directly as emperor.[4]