Wuwei has a population of around 500;000; mainly Han Chinese; but with visible numbers of Hui as well as Mongols and Tibetans. In earlier times it was called Liangzhou. Dominating the eastern end of the Hexi Corridor; it has long played a significant role on this major trade route.

Wuwei's most famous historic artefact; the celebrated Han Dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE) bronze horse known as the Flying Horse of Gansu; was discovered here in a tomb beneath Leitai Temple (Leitai Si) in the north part of town. Although the original is now on display in the Gansu Provincial Museum at Lanzhou; the horse's likeness - depicted at an elegant; flying gallop; with one hoof briefly resting on the head of a flying swallow - is everywhere to be seen; most notably at the centre of Wuwei's downtown Wenhua Square. Pictures From Asia David Henley