Lanyin Mandarin

Lanyin Mandarin is a special way of speaking Chinese. It is mainly used in the Gansu province and the northern part of Ningxia. In recent years, more people in northern Xinjiang have also started using it.

The name Lanyin comes from the cities Lanzhou and Yinchuan. These two cities help give Lanyin Mandarin its special sound and words.

Some Chinese Muslims used to write this kind of Mandarin with the Arabic alphabet instead of regular Chinese characters.

Even the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, grew up speaking a version of Mandarin called the Xining dialect. His family used this Mandarin dialect instead of Amdo Tibetan or Lhasa Tibetan.

Major Subdialects

Lanyin Mandarin has several main types, or subdialects. One is the Lanzhou dialect, spoken in the city of Lanzhou. Another is the Urumqi dialect, used in Urumqi. And there is also the Yinchuan dialect, spoken in Yinchuan. Each of these dialects has its own special features but all belong to the Lanyin Mandarin family.