Gansu (Chinese: 甘肃) is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northwest of the country.It lies between the Tibetan and Loess plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east. The Yellow River passes through the southern part of the province.Gansu has a population of 26 million (as of 2009) and covers an area of 425,800 square kilometres (164,400 sq mi). The capital is Lanzhou, located in the southeast part of the province.The State of Qin originated in what is now southeastern Gansu, and went on to form the first dynasty of Imperial China. The Northern Silk Road ran through the Hexi Corridor, which passes through Gansu.