Casting Instruments on the Longyuan Plateau: A Century-long Pioneering History of Gansu’s Machine Tool Industry

Machine tools are honored as the “mother of industry” and serve as the core equipment for building a modern industrial system. Originating from the Lanzhou Arsenal founded by Zuo Zong tang in the late Qing Dynasty, Gansu’s machine tool industry has evolved over a century and become an important pillar of the equipment manufacturing industry in Northwest China. Along with the evolution of Gansu’s machine tool industry from its modern inception, foundation laying through national industrial layout of the People’s Republic of China, expansion during the Third Front Construction to restructuring and upgrading, key enterprises including Lanzhou Machine Tool Factory, Tianshui Spark Machine Tool Factory and Tianshui 213 Electrical Apparatus have gradually achieved technological breakthroughs in precision and intelligence on the basis of conventional and heavy-duty equipment. This reflects the century-long development of Gansu’s machine tool industry in step with national strategies, and stands as a typical epitome of the growth of Northwest China's industry from scratch and from weakness to strength. At present, Gansu’s machine tool industry has ranked among the top tier of the global machine tool sector and been included in the national advanced manufacturing clusters, providing a northwest practice paradigm for the high-end and intelligent development of Made in China.