<![CDATA[Redefining Lanzhou - Sights & Sounds]]>Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:28:02 +0700Weebly<![CDATA[WESTERN JOY PARADISE]]>Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:17:20 +0700http://lanzhou.weebly.com/1/post/2009/11/western-joy-paradise.htmlXībù Huānlèyuán (西部欢乐园) is a mini theme park in Xīgù District (西固区), west Lanzhou. There are fairground rides (carousel, pirate ship, and so on), a roller-coaster, swimming pool, golf driving range, and a 'panorama tower'. It's pretty-much closed down in the winter months, so head there on a summer weekend.

Location: Map
Getting there: From Anning, take buses #3, then #80 (route). From the city centre, take buses #26 or #127 (which departs from the train station, route)
Cost: Entrance to the park is free. There is a ticket office where you can buy books of tickets for the rides, or you can pay at the rides individually (Y5-30) 

More on Lanzhou's parks here and here.
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]]><![CDATA[NEW PARKSON DEPARTMENT STORE IN LANZHOU]]>Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:25:00 +0700http://lanzhou.weebly.com/1/post/2009/11/new-parkson-department-store-in-lanzhou.htmlA new Parkson Department Store 百盛 (Bǎishèng) has opened on Qìngyáng Lù (庆阳路), a few hundred metres east of Nánguān Shízì (南关什字). Map. It's got 5 floors of all the usual department store sections, but the 3rd floor supermarket is quite high-end for Lanzhou: easily the best selection of imported wines, spirits, beers, ground coffee, tea and snacks in the city. It's not cheap (who's going to spend Y20 on a small bottle of mineral water?), but on the whole the prices are typical for these brands. No fresh produce or dairy. If you are into cooking western food, Bai'an is still the place to go. See here for more imported food and drinks.
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]]><![CDATA[LANZHOU PHOTO GALLERY BY STEPHEN JB KELLY]]>Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:04:08 +0700http://lanzhou.weebly.com/1/post/2009/10/lanzhou-photo-gallery-by-stephen-jb-kelly.htmlHave a look at this incredible series of photos "Qi Lihe" by Stephen JB Kelly (also published on the FOTO8 website, as a photodocumentary). He explores the area that I have covered in the "Walk to Hualin Ping", if you want to see the place for yourself.]]><![CDATA[GANSU WEBSITES AND BLOGS]]>Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:08:53 +0700http://lanzhou.weebly.com/1/post/2009/10/gansu-websites-and-blogs.htmlAs I'll be leaving Lanzhou soon, I thought I'd post some links to websites and blogs that might be of interest for travellers passing through Gansu, or thinking of working here. 

Hope you enjoy these, and feel free to pass some more recommendations back to me.
]]><![CDATA[YELLOW RIVER STONE FOREST]]>Wed, 16 Sep 2009 05:04:35 +0700http://lanzhou.weebly.com/1/post/2009/09/yellow-river-stone-forest.htmlThe Yellow River 'Stone Forest' (黄河石林 Huánghé Shílín) is 145km north of Lanzhou (map). Take a bus to Báiyín (白银) from the East Bus Station, then change to a local bus, or negotiate a taxi (we paid Y120). Local farmers have rooms available for overnight stays. Trivia: Some scenes from the soon-to-be-released Mulan (花木兰) were filmed there (trailer). We were there on a very overcast weekend, so I put some black and white film in my camera. Here are some more colourful pictures. 
]]><![CDATA[LINXIA SLIDESHOW]]>Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:32:57 +0700http://lanzhou.weebly.com/1/post/2009/09/linxia-slideshow.htmlLínxià (临夏) is around 2 hours south of Lanzhou, on the way to Xiàhé (夏河). Buses from the South Bus Station, see map. 
]]><![CDATA[BINGLING SI SLIDESHOW]]>Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:32:43 +0700http://lanzhou.weebly.com/1/post/2009/09/bingling-si-slideshow.htmlBǐnglíng Sì (炳灵寺) is quite an adventurous stop-off on the route to or from Linxia and Xiahe. See map. It's a bit of a hassle to reach from Lanzhou (the west bus station only allows foreigners on the midday bus to Liújiāxiá 刘家峡), so you  better off doing it when traveling from Linxia to Lanzhou.
]]><![CDATA[PINGLIANG SLIDESHOW]]>Sun, 13 Sep 2009 19:51:16 +0700http://lanzhou.weebly.com/1/post/2009/09/pingliang-slideshow.htmlPíngliáng (平凉) is 5-6 hours east of Lanzhou (see map). Well-known in Gansu as a Hui muslim town, it is most famous for the Kōngtóng Shān (崆峒山) mountain. Buses depart from Lanzhou's East Bus Station. 
]]><![CDATA[TIANSHUI SLIDESHOW]]>Fri, 11 Sep 2009 08:45:57 +0700http://lanzhou.weebly.com/1/post/2009/09/tianshui-slideshow.htmlTiānshuǐ (天水) is 3-4 hours southeast of Lanzhou by train, towards Xi'an.  You can see the locations of the following pictures on this map.

The slideshow includes: 
  1. Fúxī Miào Temple (伏羲庙)
  2. Xiānrén'àn Nature Spot (仙人岸), which is close by to Maijishan. There are some nice walks through the hills, which take you by some interesting temples under the overhanging sandstone cliffs. 
  3. Màijīshān Shíkū Buddhist Grottoes (麦积山石窟)
]]><![CDATA[ANNING DISTRICT BOOK TIP]]>Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:22:26 +0700http://lanzhou.weebly.com/1/post/2009/09/anning-district-book-tip.htmlThere is a small selection of imported foreign novels in the newly-opened 'Cubism' bookshop (书立方 shū lìfāng) in Anning District. 5 mins walk south of Jiaotong University, going towards the river, on the NW corner of the crossroads. See map. 2nd floor, Y40-80. For more bookshops, see here.

Anning District slideshow:
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