Map of Zhangye

Zhāngyè (simplified Chinese: 张掖; traditional Chinese: 張掖) is a prefecture-level city in China's Gansu province.

Zhangye is in the center of the Hexi Corridor. The area was the frontier for much of China's history, forming a natural passage to the Central Asian portion of the empire. In fact, the name Zhangye (lit. "to extend the arm") is an abbreviation of 张国臂掖，以通西域 (lit. To extend the arm of the country, through to the Western Realm. During the Western Han dynasty, Chinese armies were often engaged against the Xiongnu in this area. It was also an important section of the Silk Road. The fearsome Mongol Emperor Kublai Khan is said to have been born in the Dafo temple, also the site of the longest reclining wooden Buddha in China.