Once an important trade hub thanks to its location on the Silk Road, Lanzhou, once dubbed the "Golden City," has seen its formerly brilliant patina dulled by pollution. Still, Gansu Province's capital city remains a destination of great value and interest for the serious traveler, if only as a jumpoff point for the nearby Labrang Monastery and Bingling Thousand Buddha Caves, two top-grade historical attractions that have largely been spared the attention of the group-touring masses thanks to their isolation.
Now an industrial and transporation hub of some three million, Lanzhou is home to mix of ethnic Han, Hui, Bao'an, Dongxiang, Tibetan, Yugur and Salar peoples. This diversity is one reason that travelers should consider peeking beneath the blanket of smog or basing themselves in the city for few days. The ease of making regional transportation connections is another. Finally, the city's lack of guidebook-ready luster keeps it cheap. Travelers en route to Tibet, Xingjiang, Chengdu and other popular destinations would do well to consider basing themselves Lanzhou for a day or two rather than simply changing trains and moving on.
The best of Lanzhou's attractions are actually in the nearby countryside. The town of Xiahe, home to Labrang Monestary, one of the most important Tibetan Buddhist lamaseries in the world, is within daytrip range, as are the Bingling Thousand Buddha Caves with their hundreds of Buddhist statues and murals, some dating back to the 4th Century AD. Both provide excellent window's into the region's rich and complex history, one that contrasts sharply with modern Lanzhou's industrial sprawl.
But even in town it's not all grime and smog. Far from it. The Gansu Provincial Museum has everything from exhibits on the prehistoric megafauna that used to roam the area to 2,000 year-old bronzes. Often-hazy views from the top of the cable car in White Pagoda Park play second fiddle to the pagoda itself, while Five Springs Park, the city's largest, features pavilions and pleasant greenery. The White Cloud Temple overlooks the Yellow River, a reminder as a Taoist temple in a primarily Buddhist region of China's rich cultural diversity and branching religious roots. And speaking of religion, the nearby small city of Linxia is notable both as for its Muslim Hui Chinese population but also for Wanshou Temple, a beautiful Taoist temple situated in the hills above the town.
History
Once known as the Golden City" thanks to the Northern Silk Road riches filling local coffers, Lanzhou was also of great strategic military value as an important Yellow River crossing. Eventually, the region's importance eventually warranted the extension of the Great Wall's protective embrace to its far western terminal point
Jiayuguan Pass
From the 5th to the 11th century, Lanzhou became a center for Buddhist study. The area was conquered, for a time, by the Tibetans, but the Tang managed to wrest control in 843.
Lanzhou became the capital of newly-formed Gansu in 1656, during the Qing Dynasty, but its glamour would be tarnished by the tumult of the Muslim Rebellion. Lanzhou was badly damaged, but not as badly as the Chinese Muslim population, which fell by 12 million.
Lanzhou was a locus of Soviet/Chinese cooperation in the 1920s, becoming the terminus of the 3,200 km Chinese-Soviet-Highway, used as a route funnel Soviet supplies into China during the First Sino-Japanese War. Needless to say, Lanzhou was heavily bombed by the Japanese.
Lanzhou's woes didn't end with the expulsion of Imperial Japan. During the Chinese Civil War, Lanzhou, a strategic linchpin in the military umbrella encompassing western China, was a bitterly contested possession. The Chinese Nationalists would lose more than 42,000 troops defending the city, but the Communists eventually prevailed.
The loss of Lanzhou completely demoralized the nationalists triggering a disastrous domino effect that would see all of Qinghai province fall into communist hands by mid-September, 1949.
Despite having endured such tumult, Lanzhou never received the glamorous makeover other cities enjoyed. Soviet-era infrastructure decayed, producing a city The New Yorker described as an assemblage of "slag heaps" and tenements held together by cellophane and newspaper.
Recent efforts at environmental remediation have focused on clean coal technologies, closure of the worst offending industries, switching from coal to electric heating and replacing gasoline and diesel engines with those powered by natural gas.
Climate
Lanzhou is subject to a temperate, semi-dry climate and frequent dust stoms coming out of the Gobi Desert. Winters are cold, January temperatures fluctuate between 2 to -11ºC, while summers warm up considerably, July averages range from highs of 29ºC to lows of 16ºC.
Lanzhou's hotel scene, what with the city being an industrial hub rather than a tourist hotspot, caters mostly to business execs and industrial tycoons, so the emphasis is a little less on leisure activities and more on business amenities. That being said, the population here is over 3 million and there is a pretty good selection.
Travelers looking to get through while incurring the least expense may want to have a look at the Hualien Bingguan (7-9 Tianshui Lu, RMB 30-90), which is conveniently situated across from the train station. Unfortunately, noise from the karaoke bar nearby does get through. Light sleepers may want to pack ear plugs.
Budget hotels include the Yingbin Hotel (Lanzhou Yingbin Fandian) about 400 meters north of the train station at 35 Tianshui South Road (Tianshui Nan Lu). Standard rooms start at around RMB 125. Standard rooms at the Gansu International Hotel start out a little pricer at RMB 270, but come with satellite TVs in-room and access to a sauna. It's downtown, about ten minutes from the train station at 324 Qingyang Road (Qingyang Lu).
The 4-star Xilan Hotel (39 Dingxi Road) features a large swimming pool, fitness center, billiards and a sauna, as well as a revolving restaurant on the top floor where you can good vantages of Lanzhou. Standard King rooms start out at a reasonable RMB 290.
5-star comforts, or reasonable approximations thereof, can be found at the Sunshine Plaza (Yangguang Dasha), centrally located at 428 Qingyang Road (Qingyang Lu), but you'll certainly pay a premium for it, Business Single rooms start out at RMB 555.
Lanzhou is best known for its hand-pulled noodles, lamien, which come in both beef (nuruo) and mutton (yanruo) varieties. You'll find this dish on the menu for as little as RMB 4 in streetside restaurants pretty much everywhere in the city. For a quick, easy bite, just order nuruo lamien and you're set.
Lanzhou is also well-known in China for its unique tea blends. Sanpaotai is one of the best known tinctures here and is packed with antioxidants, minerals and even a litlle protein as it is steeped at length with a combination of longan, dates, apricots, preserved fruit, wolfberries, walnuts, sesame seeds and dried raisins.
However, if you happen to feel under the weather you might want to try hot boiled pear (Re Dong Guo) a tea fortified with bitter herbal medicines sweetened with pear fruit, tasty and it gets you back on your feet in no time.
Getting Around
Lanzhou City is clearly divided into eastern and western two parts. Although the public buses are not too crowded and cheap with good service, it's not convenient to a foreigner who knows no Chinese language at all. Taking a taxi can be a better choice. The base rate for taxis is 7 RMB for the first 3 kilometers and then 0.8 RMB per additional kilometer.
To and From Lanzhou
Air
Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport is an air transportation hub in northwestern China with flights to nearly all the major cities in China, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Hong Kong. Flights are often adjusted according to the actual needs in different seasons. The airport is located 70 km north to downtown Lanzhou, about two hours' drive on the expressway. There is an airline ticket office inside Airline Grand Hotel (Hangkong Da Jiudian) located downtown. Airport buses are also available in front of the hotel, very convenient.
Railway
Located in the south of downtown, Lanzhou Railway Station is the biggest one in northwestern China. There are more than 60 trains passing by this station everyday and then go on to the cities all over China. You can go directly to Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Qingdao, Jinan, Changsha, Chengdu, Xian and Urumqi etc. by train from here.
Bus
The main long-distance bus stations in Lanzhou include Eastern Station, Western Station and Northern Station. Buses to Baiyin or Tianshui nearby Lanzhou usually set off from Eastern Station while buses to Hexi Corridor region often set off from Western Station.
Lanzhou does have its own set of traditional crafts, such as paper-thin jade yeguang cups that are transluscent enough to take on the glow of light sources behind them (preferably the moon), but as tourism isn't exactly an economic mainstay in this city, don't expect to find a myriad of interesting markets.
To browse a solid selection of antiques, paintings, calligraphy and other curios, Guwan Zihua Cheng (The City of Antique and Calligraphy and Paintings), located in Lanzhou's Yantan district, houses about 80 shops.
For more practical considerations, there is the Shiji Chuntian Department Store located at Century Square (Shiji Guangchang).