• Washington
  • Pingliang

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia, also known as Washington or D.C. or locally simply as the District, is the capital city and federal district of the United States. It is located on the east bank of the Potomac River, which forms its southwestern and southern border with the U.S. state of Virginia, and it shares a land border with the U.S. state of Maryland on its other sides. The city was named for George Washington, a Founding Father and the first president of the United States, and the federal district is named after Columbia, the female personification of the nation. As the seat of the U.S. federal government and several international organizations, the city is an important world political capital. It is one of the most visited cities in the U.S., with over 20 million annual visitors as of 2016.

The U.S. Constitution provides for a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of Congress; the district is not a part of any U.S. state (nor is it one itself). The signing of the Residence Act on July 16, 1790, approved the creation of the capital district located along the Potomac River near the country's East Coast. The City of Washington was founded in 1791, and Congress held its first session there in 1800. In 1801, the territory, formerly part of Maryland and Virginia (including the settlements of Georgetown and Alexandria), officially became recognized as the federal district. In 1846, Congress returned the land originally ceded by Virginia, including the city of Alexandria; in 1871, it created a single municipal government for the remaining portion of the district. There have been efforts to make the city into a state since the 1880s, a movement that has gained momentum in recent years, and a statehood bill passed the House of Representatives in 2021.

Pingliang, prefecture-level city of Gansu province. Located in the east of Gansu Province, the eastern foot of Liupan Mountain and the upper reaches of Jinghe River, it is the geometric center of Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia "Golden Triangle", across Longshan (Guanshan), east of Xianyang, Shaanxi, west of Dingxi and Baiyin of Gansu, south of Baoji of Shaanxi and Tianshui of Gansu, and adjacent to Guyuan of Ningxia and Qingyang of Gansu to the north. Pingliang is an important animal husbandry base and fur distribution center in northwest China, and the main agricultural and forestry product production base and animal husbandry in Gansu Province. Pingliang, known as "Longshang dry Wharf", is an important city that must pass through the ancient "Silk Road". It is historically known as "the first city of Chang'an in the west". Since ancient times, Pingliang has been an important town for the barrier of the three Qin dynasties and the control of Wuyuan. It is a "must-contend place for soldiers" and a traditional commodity distribution center in Longdong. The traffic and military focal point of the Central Plains leading to the western region and the eastern end of the ancient Silk Road, not only in the northwest region.
Travel Notes In Pingliang