even the whole northwestern region. Not long after, on August 3, 2010, the Lanzhou Municipal Government, by the 7th Session of the 11th convention of Lanzhou Municipal Council, announced the strategy of building a new city in Qinwangchuan plain, which now called Lanzhou New Area. Later, the Gansu Provincial Government issued the Consulting Advice about Promoting Constructions in Lanzhou New Area in order to support the development of LNA. Lanzhou and Gansu province are part of China's strategic platform for opening up to the West, to improve manufacturing industry and economy in the western regions. Within western China, Lanzhou's role as a center of development should be strengthened by Lanzhou New Area. History and geography Lanzhou New Area is located in the Qinwangchuan plain, the largest plateau basin near Lanzhou, measuring roughly 40 km from north to south and 16 km from east to west. The area of the plain is and it is elevated between 1800 and 2300 meters. The plain was formed 70 million years ago with the formation of the Himalaya. Around 200 BC, the plain was still humid, but during the Han dynasty the plain became very arid. Thanks to irrigation and new farming methods, it became a fertile agricultural area again. Until Lanzhou's new Zhongchuan Airport was built in the 1960s, the area remained of little importance. In the 1970s and 1980s, a water diversion project leading water from the Datong River improved the availability of irrigation water in the plain. Administrative divisions In 2019, Lanzhou New Area was formally established as a county-level division of Lanzhou, and given government over three towns that were split off from Yongdeng and Gaolan counties: Zhongchuan (中川镇) Qinchuan (秦川镇) Xicha (西岔镇) Development On June 22, 2011, the first press conference was held by the Administration Council of Lanzhou New Area (ACLNA). The ACLNA issued the General Planning of Lanzhou New Area (2011-2030), confirming the objectives of LNA: Strong Industrial City, Ecological Green City, Multiple Lakes City, Modern New City. The ACLNA aims to achieve a GDP of 50 billion RMB, 100 billion RMB and 270 billion RMB by years 2015, 2020 and 2030 respectively in LNA. The objective rendered the economic and geographical scale of LNA to be equivalent to that of Lanzhou main city within 20 years. On August 20, 2012 Lanzhou New Area was approved by the State Council of China's Central Government as the fifth