Tianshui, city, southeastern Gansu sheng (province), north-central China. It is situated along the Wei River and was historically an important place along the Silk Road, the great route westward from Chang’an (present-day Xi’an, Shaanxi province) to Central Asia and Europe. This route is today followed by a highway and by the Longhai Railway, which was extended to Tianshui in 1947 and to Lanzhou (the provincial capital) and the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang in far northwestern China during the 1950s.
The area, the cradle of Chinese civilization, has been settled since Neolithic times. In ancient times it was known as Gui, and under the Han dynasty (206 bce–220 ce) the town was known as Gui Xian, or Shanggui Xian. In Song times (960–1279) it was renamed Chengji Xian. Shanggui was the administrative seat of Qin prefecture from the late 3rd century onward, and this became the official name of the place under the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911/12) dynasties. The name of Tianshui was given to a county established there in 1913, and the county town was separated from the county to create the city of Tianshui in 1950.
Throughout history, Tianshui has been both an important transportation centre and a vital strategic position, commanding the western approach to Xi’an, for centuries the location of capitals of China, via the Wei River valley. Fought over repeatedly, it later fell into the hands of the Tibetans (763–845), the Tanguts and the Juchen (after 1127), and finally the Mongols (1215–1368).
In the period following the mid-5th century, it was on the main route by which Buddhism was introduced into China. The great complex of cave temples at Mount Maiji, about 15 miles (25 km) to the southeast, became a major Buddhist centre during the Sui (581–618) and Tang dynasties. Mount Maiji is now a popular tourist destination.
The city stands in a small fertile basin, watered by a long-established irrigation system. Millet, corn (maize), winter wheat, kaoliang (sorghum), some cotton, and tobacco are grown in the area. To the west of the city along the railway lie large, unexploited coal deposits near the surface.
Tianshui is now the centre of various industries in the area, including the manufacture of machinery, textiles, electrical appliances, and tractors; other products are wine, furniture, and fine lacquerware. The city itself was once a centre of the Muslim (Hui) community in Gansu, which was decimated after the rebellions of 1864–75. A large Muslim minority remains in the area to the northeast. The urban layout was complex, being formed of five separate walled cities—the Great City (Da Cheng), the Middle City (Zhong Cheng), the Western and Eastern Customs Barriers (Xiguan; Dongguan), and Fuxi’s city. Some of the remains for those five cities are now under protection. Pop. (2002 est.) city, 480,638; (2007 est.) urban agglom., 1,225,000.