Jiāolóng Sì (蛟龙寺) is on a hillside overlooking the village of Qīnggăng (青岗), about 20km south of Lanzhou on the old road to Línxià (临夏).
Getting there: Bus #307 from the southside of the overpass, to the west of Xiăo Xīhú (小西湖). 2 yuan.
At the temple
It was busy, as there were people celebrating the holy day of Ksitigarbha (Dìzàng 地藏), a Bodhisattva Buddhist idol (Púsà 菩萨), the guardian of the Earth, who vowed "Not until the hells are emptied will I become a Buddha."
Halfway up the hill, the area outside the Chinese-style buddhist temple was being used by worshippers to burn symbolic paper. They were leaving small gifts of fruit, nuts, and steamed bread on tables aboutside the door, and inside, prayers were being sung:
Pre-recorded buddhist chanting, playing on a loop in a quieter temple:
Tibetan influence
Given that this is the gateway to the Tibetan autonomous counties in South Gansu, the small Tibetan temple and stupor, high up on the hill, and prayerflags on the summit, seem appropriate.
The old and new roads to Linxia:
Looking back over Qingcha towards Lanzhou:
The wildlife:
Us:
There was a nice atmosphere around the pavilion. People chatting, eating walnuts, playing cards, and enjoying the music. The musicians were having a lot of fun - just messing around until they all found themselves in the same melody and rhythm.
Click the arrows to listen:
I walked through Jiàndào Xiàng (箭道巷) market just before lunchtime, while everyone was buying their vegetables on their way home.
Click the arrow to listen:
The Shānzìshí church (山字石教堂) is at the south exit of the market, opposite the foreign language bookstore on Tài'ān Lù (泰安路).
There doesn't seem to be much graffiti in Lanzhou. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places. Anyway, here is a taste of the little I have come across:
Fúlóng Píng (伏龙坪) is a poor Hui area, perched on the clay hills to the south of Xiguan Shizi.
Píng (坪) doesn't have a concise translation. The definition in the dictionary says it is a "mountainous or hilly area" (山区或丘陵地区).
You get glimpses of the ramshackled sprawl from Jiěfàng Mén (解放门) and also from the trains heading out of the city towards Xining, but you only realise the scale when you follow one of the winding paths up, and lose yourself in the narrow alleys.
On this walk I only touched the surface.
I started out from the southwest corner of the Xiguan Mosque, crossing under the flyovers (still heading southwest) and up under a sign to the 金岛旧车市场.
UPDATE (27 AUG)
There is an alternative (probably better) start to this walk, from the Taiqing Gong (太清宫) Daoist temple at Jiěfàng Mén.
Get here by walking 100m west from Xiguan Mosque.
Take the market street to the right of the temple, then look out for the steps winding up on your left, about 50m along.
Back to my original route...
I followed some steep stairs leading up past some precarious houses, which levelled off next to a kindergarten:
This was my first chance to get a good view up into the area:
I followed the alley along, until I came to an opening, which looked down towards Jiěfàng Mén:
Finally, I worked my way to the centre of Fúlóng Píng. Traffic can drive up via a road from Āndìng Mén (安定门), at the south end of Zhōngshān Lù (中山路). It felt like a small country village up there.
Now on the 'main' road, I was able to continue upwards, heading sometimes south and sometimes east, along the hillside that eventually arrives at Lanshan.
The sign reads: "Raising people's morals, building a harmonious Chengguan."
Chengguan is the main district of Lanzhou's city centre, directly below Fúlóng Píng.
Towels and a mop, drying outside a small hairdresser's:
Here was the view from Fúlóng Píng, looking west over towards Huálín Píng (华林坪), another Hui area, which can be reached by heading southwest from Jiěfàng Mén:
By this stage I was back on familiar territory, having used this road to cycle up Lanshan several times in the past. I stopped off at a small mosque, and then a few hairpins later, reached a lookout terrace.
From here, a tree-shaded path continued up, and would lead you along the ridge overlooking Wuquan Shan, and eventually to Lanshan.
I called it a day, and took the steps down the hillside, directly to the west gate of the Minorities University. A shortcut through a market, an underpass under the railway line, and I found myself back in the city on Báiyín Lù (白银路), at the south end of Yŏngchāng Lù (永昌路).
DUNHUANG
From Xining we returned to Lanzhou, and took the N857 overnight train to Dunhuang.
Chinese: 栖云山 (Qīyún Shān)
Location: Across the road from Xinglong Shan. See here for more information.
For Qiyun Shan (lit. 'roosting in the clouds' mountain), continue another 300m past the entrance to Xinglong Shan. It's on the right.
This is the harder climb of the two mountains, but is probably more satisfying, as you reach an obvious mountaintop. It takes around 2 hours, with a very steep flight of stairs on the final section (the "Ladder to Heaven"). You can also visit Chiang Kaishek's 'mansion', built by the Gansu KMT to accommodate him during a visit in 1941.
On-road
It is possible to ride up the two biggest hills overlooking Lanzhou. With the help of a city map, these rides should be quite easy to plan. On a clear day, the views are spectacular.
Jiŭzhōu Tái (九州台)
This is easily the highest mountain on the north side of the city. Look out for the TV/mobile masts on the summit.
There are both on-road and off-road routes up to the top. It's probably easier to describe the on-road routes. When you are close to the summit, look out for the off-road descent (which ends in Anning District).
Cross the Yellow River at the Qīlĭhé Dàqiáo (七里河大桥) into Ānníng Qū (安宁区). Head north for around 200m, and turn right at the fork. Ride east for about 1km until you reach the Forestry Commission building. Jiuzhou Tai is signposted here. Halfway up the mountain, there is a junction. Go straight on for the summit (the ride gets tough from this point - unrelenting winding steepness for 3-4km), or turn right (east) for a pleasant hillside ride to the White Pagoda (白塔山公园, báităshān gōngyuán, north of Zhōngshān Qiáo (中山桥). Likewise, you can start from the White Pagoda (take the road about 100m east of the park entrance, on the north bank of the river), and do this route in reverse.
Here is a view of Jiŭzhōu Tái from the top of Lánshān
Lánshān
Chinese name: 兰山森林公园 (Lánshān Sēnlín Gōngyuán)
Location: On the south side of the city, directly over the train station
Cost: 6 RMB park entrance at the top
This takes about an hour, on good roads. The route actually begins quite a way west of the hilltop. 500m south of Xīguān Shízì (西关什字), where Zhōngshān Lù (中山路) meets Báiyín Lù (白银路), there is a road that crosses the railway tracks, and then starts to climb. Look out for the signpost. It would be useful to have a map with you, but basically head upwards and eastwards. Locals will point the way. Once you're higher up (having passed through a couple of small hillside residential areas, the route becomes obvious. Near the summit, the road forks, giving you a choice of continuing on the north side or south side of the mountain. The route is marked on this map.
Off-road
There is great exploring to be had in the surrounding hills, especially in the hills north of Anning District. There are some very technical single-tracks, but also some dirt roads for vehicle access to the villages. The best thing is to just get a map, and get out there.
There is access into the hills from the following places:
Péilí Guăngchăng (培黎广场)
East side of the Political and Law University (Zhèngfă Xuéyuàn, 政法学院)
Back gate of the Jiāotōng Dàxué (交通大学)
Here is one route we used to do. Rather than describe in detail, have a look on Google Earth, which has a pretty clear view of the whole route. It is all wide-track, with various single-tracks leading off that you could explore along the way.
1) Ride north from the back gate of Zhèngfă Xuéyuàn:
36° 6'7.72"N 103°43'46.61"E
2) Arrive in small village (apologies, lost the name):
36° 8'3.89"N 103°44'48.87"E
3) Ride back out of the village south, to Péilí Guăngchăng:
36° 5'58.59"N 103°44'39.44"E
Here is a Google Earth image of this ride:
Planning
If you want better local knowledge, or riding partners, go to the Bolun bike shop (map), and look for Ma Jun (tel: 09318820021, 13919882268, no English). To get to his shop, go south from Xīkŏu (西口, the west entrance of the Square), along Jīnchāng Nánlù (金昌南路) on the west side of the road. Cross over Gānnán Lù (甘南路), and the shop is about 100m further along.
On the way, you'll pass a Giant shop on the east side of Jinchang Nanlu (before the Gannan Lu crossing). There is also another well-stocked bike shop, a few minutes walk to the south of Bolun, also on the east side of the road.
He was playing a mic-ed erhu, soloing along to the accompaniment, which fed into the speaker via an MP3 player...
Click the play buttons to listen.
Chinese: 兰州水车博览园 (Lánzhōu Shuĭchē Bólăn Yuán)
Location: On the southbank of the Yellow River, 1 km east of the Huáng Hé Dàqiáo bridge (黄河大桥). Map here.
Bus: #135 from the Xiguan Crossing (西关什字, Xīguān Shízì)
Cost: 10 yuan
The display of water wheels here is much more extensive then the ones near the White Cloud Temple (白云观 Báiyún Guān). As well as several pairs of riverside wheels, there are also working models of various water-powered devices that farmers used for milling, and a culture park.
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