Travel Destinations: Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China

Lanzhou is the capital of Gansu and the first big city along the Yellow River. The city is home to 2.8 million people and centuries of rich history. Since early on, Lanzhou has been an important garrison town, especially as this region saw turbulent times for imperial China with the different ethnic groups in the area.

In the 20^th century, Lanzhou became famous for being the world’s most polluted city, after it was quickly, too quickly, developed since China became a communist country. Today, it is much better than what it used to be and offers you the chance to start your epic journeys into Xinjiang, Sichuan and Tibet.

So what can you see and do here? A trip to Gansu Provincial Museum (Gansu Sheng Bowuguan) is generally the first point of call for travellers here. There are some incredible displays here including a 10,000 year old piece of pottery that had been excavated from Dadiwan, 300km southeast of the province.

There are some other wonderful displays here from the Han Dynasty. These consist of some engraved wooden tablets that were used to relay messages along the famous Silk Road. Others include a beautiful bronze horse gracefully running on the back of a swallow. This is the famous ‘Flying Horse of Wuwei’ which has become a popular symbol in this part of China.

Another great artefact here is a silver plate dating from the 2^nd century BCE which depicts the Roman-Greco god of wine Bacchus discovered 120km northeast of the city.

White Cloud Temple is a beautiful Daoist temple which was restored during the Qing dynasty. It has an opera stage that is no longer in use, and several fortune tellers here can tell you what will happen in the future. Go east from here and you will come to a beach are which is very popular at the weekends.

White Pagoda Hill (Baita Shan) can be found on the north bank of the Yellow River where you will also find White Pagoda Temple. This temple was originally built during the Yuan Dynasty. It can offer you some beautiful views, especially when you take the chairlift straddling the river.

Lanshan Park can be found in the south; the parks will reward you with some amazing views of the Lanshan mountains and a chance to cool down when the sun scorches down. The easiest way to get up here is by taking the chairlift.