As an important indicator of climate change, precipitation variability is critical to the ecological environment in arid and semi-arid mountains. This study examined the variability and trends of precipitation and rain days in the Qilian Mountains based on meteorological station data during the rainy seasons of 1960–2017 using a non-parametric method. The results revealed the following. (1) Many major precipitation events occurred during the rainy season (precipitation amount and number of rain days accounted for > 80% and > 70% of the annual total, respectively) and the proportion of precipitation increased significantly with altitude. (2) The distribution of different intensity classes of precipitation was complex in different months and at different altitudes. The distribution of rain days of different intensity classes was similar to that of precipitation. Variation of precipitation and rain days was significant (not significant) in central and eastern parts (western parts and in the Hexi Corridor on the northern slopes) of the Qilian Mountains. Regions with significant (non-significant) increasing trends for both light and moderate rain were distributed above the upper portion, i.e., 2600–3200 m (in the Hexi Corridor on the northern slopes) of the Qilian Mountains. (3) Mutations of light rain and rain days occurred before the mid-1980s above the upper portion but late in the first decade of the twenty-first century in the lower portion (2000–2600 m). Mutations of moderate rain and moderate rain days occurred earlier than for light rain and light rain days; the abrupt change points occurred later with decreasing altitude.

作为气候变化的重要指标，降水变化对干旱和半干旱山区的生态环境至关重要。本研究使用非参数方法，基于1960-2017年雨季的气象站数据，对祁连山降水和雨天的变化和趋势进行了研究。结果揭示了以下内容。（1）在雨季发生了许多主要的降水事件（降水量和雨天数分别占年降水量的80％和70％以上），并且降水的比例随着海拔的升高而显着增加。（2）不同强度等级的降水在不同月份，不同海拔高度的分布较为复杂。不同强度等级的雨天分布与降水相似。祁连山中部和东部（西部和北坡河西走廊）的降水和降雨天数变化显着（不显着）。祁连山的上部，即2600–3200 m（在北坡的河西走廊）上方分布着轻雨和中雨都有显着（非显着）增长趋势的区域。（3）小雨和雨天的变化发生在1980年代中期的上部上方，但在20世纪下半叶的下部（2000-2600 m）发生。中雨天和中雨天的突变比小雨天和小雨天的突变更早发生；