The Helan Mountains is an arid mountain range that borders Ningxia and Inner Mongolia in China’s dry north. Ningxia is among the regions targeted by China’s Great Western Development Campaign.

A bridge straddles mountains on the expanding outskirts of Lanzhou.

A road winds through Lanzhou New Area.

A view of the edge of Lanzhou in Gansu province. The government is expanding the city.

Skyscrapers rise in a new residential area in Lanzhou, the rapidly expanding capital of Gansu province in central China.

Chinese characters tower above a tunnel that runs through a mountain in Gansu province.

A canal runs through Lanzhou New Area in Gansu.

A highway stretches between Lanzhou and the site of Lanzhou New Area.

Cranes loom above a statue of Buddha being renovated on a mountainside near southern Lanzhou.

The city of Lanzhou is crossed by the Yellow River, the second largest in China after the Yangtze River.

The Yellow River runs through Lanzhou and provides water to Gansu province. Exploitation has taxed the river and caused it to dry up.

A view of Lanzhou from a nearby mountain reveals the city’s smog-choked skyline.

Lanzhou lies in a steep valley crossed by the yellow river. It was once an important stop on the Silk Road, and the government hopes to make it so again.

Locals fly kites on the banks of the Yellow River.

A woman and two children stand on a bridge in a public garden in Lanzhou, on the banks of Yellow River

A view of a temple in Ningxia province, with mountains just beyond.

A man sits in a field with his child in Ningxia province, China.