Redefining Lanzhou
  • Welcome
    • History
    • Air Quality
  • Blog
  • Sightseeing
    • City Walks >
      • Half-Day Walk
      • Walk to Hualin Ping
      • Air Battle Memorial
      • Chaoyang Cun
      • Fulong Ping
      • Walk through Xujia Wancun
    • Mosques >
      • Xiguan Mosque
      • Lingmingtang Mosque
      • Nanguan Mosque
      • Waterside Mosque
      • Walk to Hualin Ping
      • Walk through Xujia Wancun
    • Temples >
      • White Pagoda Hill Park
      • Five Springs Hill Park
      • White Cloud Temple
      • Baolong Shan
      • Confucian Temple
      • Jiaolong Temple
      • Huang Miao
      • Xujia Shan
    • Parks >
      • White Pagoda Hill Park
      • Five Springs Hill Park
      • Lanshan Forest Park
      • Xinglong Shan
      • Xihu Park
      • Waterwheel Garden
      • Retired Officials Park
      • Bonsai Park and Flower-Fish Market
      • Wetland Park
      • Xujia Shan
    • Museums >
      • Gansu Provincial Museum
      • Lanzhou City Museum
      • Steles Forest
      • 8th Route Army Office
      • China Qinqiang Opera Museum
      • Lanzhou Painted Pottery Museum
    • Activities
    • 1 to 3+ Days
  • Getting around
  • Listings
    • Hotels
    • Restaurants and Bars
    • Imported food and drinks
    • Antiques, arts & crafts
    • CDs DVDs Books
    • Electronics & Mobile Phones
    • Teaching and Studying
    • Wi-Fi
  • Map
  • Slideshow
  • Further afield
    • Gansu >
      • Pingliang
      • Tianshui
      • Linxia
      • Bingling Si
      • Xiahe
      • Yellow River Stone Forest
      • Dunhuang
    • Qinghai >
      • Ta'er Si
      • Qinghai Lake
      • Yushu
    • Shaanxi
    • Sichuan >
      • Danba
      • Tagong and Bamei
      • Daofu
      • Lake Kashacuo
      • Lake Xinluhai
      • Manigange
      • Songgemani
      • Shiqu
    • Yunnan >
      • Lijiang
      • Lugu Hu
      • Xishuangbanna
  • About / Contact

JIAOLONG TEMPLE

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.


View Lanzhou 兰州 in a larger map

At the temple
It was busy, as there were people celebrating the holy day of Ksitigarbha (Dìzàng 地藏), aBodhisattva 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.


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.