Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since 2010. Colorado Springs is the second-most populous city and the most extensive city in the state of Colorado, and the 40th-most populous city in the United States. It is the principal city of the Colorado Springs metropolitan area and the second-most prominent city of the Front Range Urban Corridor. It is located in east-central Colorado, on Fountain Creek, 70 miles (113 km) south of Denver.
Xining, known as Qingtang City, Xiping County and Shanzhou in ancient times, is the capital of Qinghai Province, the political, economic, scientific and educational, cultural, transportation and communication center of Qinghai Province, and an important central city in the northwest region approved by the State Council. By 2019, the city had jurisdiction over five districts and two counties, with a total area of 7660 square kilometers, a built-up area of 129 square kilometers, a resident population of 2.3711 million, an urban population of 1.7098 million, and a urbanization rate of 72.1 percent. Xining is located in the eastern part of Qinghai Province, swimming in the river valley basin in the Huangshui River. It is the eastern gateway of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the necessary place for the ancient "Silk Road" South Road and "Tangbo Ancient Road". It has been the northwest traffic road and military important place since ancient times. Known as the "key to the West Sea" and the throat of the sea, it is one of the high-altitude cities in the world and is also the State Council.