I came across this Friendship Tree (友谊树 yǒuyī shù) in the Children's Park (儿童公园 értóng gōngyuán), on the south side of the Huáng Hé Dàqiáo bridge (黄河大桥). Map. It was planted to commemorate the twinning of Lanzhou and Chorley (in Lancashire, UK).
Chinese: 成语公园 Chéngyǔ Gōngyuán Chéngyǔ (成语) are Chinese idioms, often made up of 4 characters, usually the moral of an old story. This park, on the north bank of the Yellow River, in Anning District, has a set of statues on display that depict these stories.
Chinese: 泰兰泰国酒店 Tàilán Tàiguó Jiǔdiàn 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). 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:
Thanks to simatani for letting me use this photo of Lanzhou city centre, taken in 1994. I've tried to recreate it below. 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. To get started, open this map of the walk. 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. 1914 - FRANK MEYER 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.”
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