Chinese: 泰兰泰国酒店 Tàilán Tàiguó Jiǔdiàn
Address: 南滨河路541号（教育大厦东侧）541 Nánbīnhélù (Jiàoyù Dàshà dōngcè, east of the Education Bureau). Opposite the Waterwheel Garden
Map: here
Cost: Dishes start from around Y30. 

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Tailan Thai Restaurant
 
 

The bridges in Lanzhou have been undergoing inspections, and the Qīlǐhé Dàqiáo Bridge (七里河大桥) has been closed for repairs. Luckily there are two new bridges a few km upstream and downstream of the bridge, otherwise Anning District (on the north side of the Yellow River) would start to feel pretty cut off from the city (on the south side).

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Qilihe Daqiao Bridge, closed to traffic
 
 

If Lanzhou is your start-end point for journeys along the Hexi Corridor stretch of the Silk Road (including Jiayuguan, Dunhuang and Turpan), you might find these train timetables useful:

Lanzhou-Urumqi-Lanzhou (6 routes, via the 'old' Dunhuang station in Liuyuan)
Lanzhou-Dunhuang-Lanzhou (2 routes, using the new Dunhuang station, just outside the town)

lanzhou_trains_hexi_corridor.pdf
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Lanzhou Train Station
 
1994 vs 2009 06/10/2009
 

Thanks to simatani for letting me use this photo of Lanzhou city centre, taken in 1994. I've tried to recreate it below.

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1994
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2009
 
SITE UPDATES 06/09/2009
 

All the pages listed above have been updated to some extent over the past week, especially 'Things to do'. I've also added a page for 'Parks'. If you have ideas for more additions to the listings, contact me. 

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Xiguan Sunset
 
 

To get started, open this map of the walk.

There are two good starting points for this walk: 

Option 1: Head east from the West Bus Station (西车站 Xī Chēzhàn), then south at the big flyover (road G212 on the map). You’ll go first under a railway bridge (shared taxis for Linxia start here), and then reach a railway level crossing, passing 4 or 5 mosques along the way.

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Walking south from the West Bus Station
 
 
If you are particularly interested in seeing some outdoor performances, you should head 1.5 km downstream of Zhongshan Bridge to the Retired Officials Park (老干部公园 Lǎogànbù Gōngyuǎn) west of the Huánghé Dàqiáo Bridge (黄河大桥). Click the photos to open up a map.

This isn't the real name of the park (no one I asked seems to know it), but I've named it after the 'Retired Officials Activity Centre' (老干部活动中心 lǎogànbù huódòng zhōngxīn) next door. 
 

In the afternoons it is usually buzzing with music performances of traditional local opera, ballroom dancing lessons, and games of Chinese chess or cards. There are masseuses, boiled egg sellers, newspaper vendors, as well as plenty of tables and chairs where you can sit, drink tea, and take it all in.  

Here is a recording of some of the musicians performing in the park:

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Sculpture at the east gate
 
 

1914 - FRANK MEYER

Frank Nicholas Meyer (1875-1918) was an explorer for the United States Department of Agriculture. He went on several expeditions to Europe, Russia and East Asia collecting specimens (this lemon was named after him, for example).

He was in Lanzhou in December 1914, and took this photo of Zhongshan Bridge (the arches were added in 1954, see page 6): 

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“Iron bridge over a ice choked river with buildings on the hills in the background”
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The scene in 2009
Meyer noted that “the water from this river is drunk unfiltered and the waste of the city is deposited into this river again, thus making the people immune from intestinal diseases unless they should die before.”  
 
 

Introduction: 灵明堂拱北 (Ling Ming Tang Gongbei) is a huge mosque complex in the hills in the south of Lanzhou. According to this article, 拱北 (Gongbei) is a transliteration of the Arabic word Gubba, meaning tomb. The hillsides around Ling Ming Tang are scattered with earth mounds - the grave sites of the Lanzhou (and surrounding areas) Hui community. Construction started in 1985, and now the complex covers 40,000 square metres, across 3 large courtyards, with enormous 30m high gate buildings and a prayer hall for 1000 people. There are lots of hidden-away courtyards and gardens to either side of the main areas.  

Location: 五星坪 (Wuxing Ping) in 七里河区 (Qi Li He District). Map.

Getting there: See the map. If you are travelling south from the West Bus Station (西车站) towards the South Bus Station (南车站), you need to take a left immediately after railway level crossing (don't confuse this with the railway underpass on the same road). Then take the second right, up into a maze of narrow streets in this Hui muslim area on the hillside. From here, it's another 3 km, but best to ask for directions. Our taxi driver knew Wuxing Ping, and got us almost there before we needed to ask. 

 
 
Map here