Lanzhou - 兰州

Pictures of Lanzhou

Lanzhou

Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province, was founded more than 2000 years ago and was a milestone on the Silk Road. She was nicknamed the Golden City. It is a very modern city with a population of 1.5 million, including Han, Hui, Tibetan, Bonan, Dong xiang, Uighur and Salar ethnic groups.

The Park of the Five Spring Hills

South of the city, the Five Spring Hills Park is connected to Lanshan Park by a cable car. There is a backdrop of Mount Gaolan. In these parks, we can discover ancient temples, palaces, pavilions and also historical relics like the Chongqing temple among others. In the latter, is a bronze Buddha high over 5m, dating from 1370, and a huge iron bell weighing nearly 5 tons, dating from 1202.

Buddhist caves of Bing Ling Si

At 70 km from Lanzhou are the Buddhist caves of Bing Ling. They are among the oldest in China. The Loess, North China’s Yellow Land, has created a lunar landscape. The Bing Ling Caves has become the only Buddhist shrine in China where you go by boat. The ride lasts several hours in the middle of yellow caves marbled with blue and black.The work to carve the Buddhas in the rock began during the Wei dynasty (4th – 5th century). The sculptors were working on ropes. It took more than a thousand years to complete this masterpiece. The result is beautiful: the Buddha Maitreya is 28 meters high.