Jiuquan, formerly known as Suzhou[4][5] is a prefecture-level city in the northwesternmost part of Gansu Province in the People's Republic of China.

The name Jiuquan —"wine spring(s)" — derives from a legendary story of the young Han general Huo Qubing, who was said to have poured a vat of precious wine into a local creek to share its taste with his troops after a victory over the Xiongnu nomads.

[7] Fulu was founded in 111 BC as an outpost in the Hexi Corridor near the Jade Gate[5] along the overland Silk Road.

[5] Under the Ming, Suzhou was the site where the Portuguese Jesuit missionary Bento de Góis was robbed and died in 1607[8] during the exploration that finally established that Cathay and China were a single country.

It was completely destroyed by the time it was recovered[5] by the Qing general Zuo Zongtang in 1873 but it was swiftly rebuilt.

With sunny weather and low humidity dominating year-round, the area hosts one of the launch sites for the PRC's space programme.

Still, the space launch center is more than 100 km (62 mi) away from the city, and is actually located not in Gansu province, but in the neighboring Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

It was built in 1958; the first Chinese human spaceflight, Shenzhou 5 was launched there on 15 October 2003, making Yang Liwei China's first astronaut and a national hero.