Lanzhou
Lanzhou, capital of Gansu Province, is a major stop on the ancient "Silk Road" west of Xi'an. Situated on the upper reaches of the Yellow River, Lanzhou has been important for thousands of years because of the Hexi Corridor, or “Corridor West of the Yellow River,” in which early Chinese civilization began. About 3,000 years ago, in the Zhou Dynasty, agriculture began to take shape in the basins of the Jin and Wei Rivers that formed the corridor, marking the beginning of the great Yellow River basin civilization.
Starting in the Qin Dynasty, merchants and traders traveling from Xi'an to central Asia and then on to the Roman Empire, or the other way round, broke their long journey at Lanzhou. To protect this corridor and important communications hub, the Great Wall was extended under the Han as far as Yumen, in the far northwest of present-day Gansu Province.
Lanzhou became capital of a succession of tribal states during the turbulent ventures that followed the decline of the Han Dynasty. During this time of turmoil, people began to turn to ideologies that satisfied their need for hope. Taoism developed into a religion, and Buddhism became the official religion in some of the northern states. Buddhist art also flourished, and shrines were built in temples, caves, and on cliffs. From the fifth to the 11th centuries, Dunhuang, beyond the Yumen Pass of the Great Wall, became a center for Buddhist study, drawing scholars and pilgrims from afar. It was a period in which magnificent works of art were created.
Attractions:
Baiyun Taoist Temple
The Baiyun Taoist Temple was ordered built by the magistrate of Gansu Province in 1837 (Qing Dynasty) to commemorate the legendary immortal Lu Dongbin, one of the eight Taoist immortals. Nowadays the temple remains a place of active worship and the monks here still mill about in their Taoist clothing and styled hairstyles.
On arriving at the temple you will be confronted by an archway, in front of the main gate, Entering the main gate you will be confronted by a statue of Lu and another of the Jade Emperor (the highest ruler in the Taoist hierarchy).
Bingling temple caves
The Bingling Grottoes, also known as the Bingling Temple, are a series of Buddhist caves that are situated on a not easily accessible cliff face, some 80km from Lanzhou.
Bingling is a transliteration of Tibetan, which means Ten Thousand Buddha. At present, there are 183 caves, 694 stone statues, 82 clay sculptures, and 900 square meters of murals. All the statues, sculptures and murals exhibit superb craftsmanship, and have great artistic appeal. These caves, which stretch for 200 meters, include the caves of Western Qin, North Wei, Sui, Tang, and Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing dynasties. The first cave was built here in 420 AD, by daring Buddhists who descended from the cliff on ropes to carve their masterpieces. Although the cave complex was enlarged gradually over many centuries, it is the work of both the Song (960-1279 AD) and the Ming (1368-1644 AD) Dynasties that remains most impressive. The temple was, in-between these golden years, to become a Tibetan Monastery (in the Yuan Dynasty, 1271-1368 AD).
Within and on the cliff are a series of winding walkways and stairs that will lead you around the site. The caves, carved out of the cliff's porous stone, contain over 700 statues, of both clay and porous rock, and hundreds of frescoes. Of the statues, the largest is a giant 27 meter-high seated Maitreya, the future Buddha, and the smallest is a miniscule 25 centimeters. It is the lower caves that are the most impressive. Cave 169 is considered to be one of China's oldest grottoes, housing a faded Buddha and 2 Boddhisattvas. This cave, in an area of 200 square meters, also holds the earliest epigraph of any of China's caves.
Besides the temple, the journey itself is impressive, especially within close proximity to the caves. The cliff face, 60 meters high, is part of the northern side of a gorge formed by the Yellow River. Below the caves themselves is the Liujiaxia Reservoir, that will take a good three hours to cross, allowing you to enjoy at your leisure the stunning scenes before you!
Between June (sometimes as late as July) and October, tourist boats depart daily from the dam to Bingling Si, while during the winter months the water level is too low for boats, and there is no access by road. Staircases have been built onto the rock-face to make your visit more convenient.
Five Springs Mountain Park
The park lies at the foot of the Gaolan Mountain in the southern part of the city proper. Its name is originated from the 5 springs there, namely the Ganlu, Juyue, Mozi, Hui and Meng. It became a famous scenic spot back to more than 2,000 years ago. There are over 10 places in the park crowded with ancient temples, palaces, pavilions as well as some historic relics, such as the Chongqingsi Temple, the Thousand-Buddha Pavilion, the Manisi Temple, the Dizangsi Temple, the Three-religion Temple, the Crescent Pavilion, the Sword Bridge and the Zhongshan Memorial Hall. Inside the Chongqingsi Temple, there is an iron bell made in the period of Taihe (a title of an emperor's reign) in the Jin Dynasty (1202 AD), which is 3 meters in height, 2 meters in diameter and 5,000 kg in weight. There stands a copper statue of Introducing Buddha inside the Jingang (Buddha's warrior attendant) Palace, which is 5.3 m high, 2.7 m around the body and over 10,000 kg in weight. The park covers an area of 10, 500 sq, m.
Labrang lamasery And Its Festivals
Since 1709 in Qing Dynasty ,the Labrang Lamasery has been one of the six leading Lamaseries of the Tibetan Buddhism (Yellow Sect).It is located at Xiahe County (regarded as Little Shangri-la) in Gansu Province of China.
The layout of labuleng exhibits the traditional
architecture complex of Tibetan style .Redishbrown and white colour is dominant with a vast tract of golden roofs flashing brilliantly in the sun .What strike one most is to have a bird's-eye view of the magnificent Labrang at the top of a hill facing it.
This giant Lamasery covers an area of 80 hectares ,next to Potala Palace of Tibet in scale ,There are thousands of buildings to accommodate enormous collection of religious and cultural heritage of the local Tibetan people as well as more the 100 lamas nowadays A number of grand ceremonies of Tibetan religion and festivals are held annually in Labrang Lamasery .Among them the Molem Festival is most famous .The entire celebration lasts for two weeks during the first lunar month.
Sunning Buddha is the climax of the festival .It falls on the 13th day of the lunar month .A huge portrait of Buddha(over 60 meters in length and over 30 meters in width)is carried by a crowd of monks and opened up on the hillside opposite the Lamasery. Other major ceremonies include Fa Wang Dancing ,a Tibetan opera with mask ,on the 14th day of the first lunar month and Butter Sculpture Show in the following day ,etc.
Gansu Provincial Museum
The Gansu Provincial Museum ,covering a total area of 16.5 acres, is the most impressive museum in the province. This is one of the best sights in the city, and for those who are in the western section of Lanzhou, a visit is well worthwhile. The museum complex is made up of three separate buildings linked by corridors, and further divided into two sections, a natural resources section downstairs and historical exhibits upstairs.
The museum houses a variety of collections including color-painted pottery from the Neolithic Period, murals from the Wei and Jin periods, bamboo slips for writing from the Han time, and bronze artifacts. Most archeological finds in the region of Hexi Corridor are kept here. It is well worth a visit.
Lanshan Park
Lanshan park is located on the Gaolanshan Mountain at the southern edge of the city proper. It is a newly built afforested mountain park, with an area of 5,200 mu (346.67 hectares) stretching for over 10 km. The park is the first artificial park in the city. The communists themselves are proud in their conversion of this previously mostly bare mountain into the green park that you can see today. Today, several ten millions of tree are luxuriantly growing on the mountain. The park, perching on the mountain at an elevation of almost 500m above sea level, contains pavilions, halls and a profusion of trees.
The temperature of the park is generally speaking around 5 degrees C. cooler than the city below. This makes it the ideal summer resort for those roasting in the city proper. A trip here should take up most of your day, if you enjoy fairly good scenery, fresh air, walking or getting away from the crowds. Spring and autumn can get a little cold, so take additional clothing.
White Pagoda Hill Park
The mountain stands at the northern bank of the Yellow River and has its name after the white pagoda on top of it, the White Pagoda Hill Park is a large, It is a nice place for strolling, with green forests, scattered pavilions, teahouses and, from its heights, some good views of both the churning river and the city beyond. The nearby bridge, Zhongshan Bridge, was the old crossing point for travelers and merchants who were then to head north on the Silk Road.
The park was named after the White Pagoda Temple that crowns the summit of it's steeply terraced slopes. This temple was first constructed in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368 AD), allegedly under orders from the despot Genghis Khan to commemorate a Tibetan lama. The temple was then rebuilt and expanded in the Ming (1368-1644 AD) and Qing (1644-1911 AD) Dynasties. Nowadays the center point of the temple is an octangular, The pagoda is structured in 7 terraces with an octagonal body in a height of 17 m. There are a few more sights that are worth visiting here.
