Lanzhou is situated on the ancient Silk Road. It is a historical city which emerged simultaneously with the Silk Road and is considered a pearl upstream of Yellow River. In over 2000 years of history, it has always been the important commercial center and cultural exchange center between China and Western countries.
Lanzhou is a city that is rich in history where rare ceramic drums and Chinese paper has been unearthed. During the Han dynasty, many influential historical figures left their marks in Lanzhou such as the great soldier Huo Qubing, Silk Road pioneer Zhang Qian, Banchao, Xuan Zang, Marco Polo, and national hero Lin Zexu.
Gansu Provincial Museum
The Gansu Provincial museum is located in southern Lanzhou city. It is the largest, and most comprehensive museum of Gansu province. Built in 1956, the Gansu museum covers an area of 18,000 square meters.
The Gansu Provincial museum consists of three parts, the two wings of the building are three storied and the main building in the middle has five levels. At the back of the building, there is a display hall and a lecture hall. In addition to the cultural relics preservation building, there are also the Hanjian building, and the cultural relic chemical examination repair room.
The collection in the museum includes all kinds of painted pottery. The design of these pottery is gorgeous and has the characteristic of the local culture. More than 20,000 brochures of the bamboo slips and other Chinese Jan (a kind of brochure) contribute to the studies of the Han Dynasty history. The museum collection includes wooden paints, the silk hemp fabric, and the national minority cultural relic. There are 175 pieces of stone carved with Chinese characters, and most of these works are done by Ouyang, Yan, Liu G, and WangXizhi .They are calligraphy art collection treasure of China.
Lanzhou Five Springs Mountain Park
Five Springs Mountain park is located south of Lanzhou city by Mt. Gaolanshan. It acquired the name because of the five springs of Hui, Ganlu, Juyue ,Mozi , and Mengwu. It is a historical place that has a history of more than 2000 years. The theme of the park is based on the five famous springs and the historical Buddhism building. The Buddhism building includes Ming and Qing Dynasties' Chongqing temple, thousand Buddha pavilion, and Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism temple.
Five Springs Mountain became a park in 1955, and now it is the place where local Lanzhou people prefer to spend their leisure time. It attracts tourists from all over the world. The forests here are exuberant, and the environment is quiet and beautiful. Inside the Chongqing temple, there is an ancient Taihe iron clock made in 1202. It is three meters tall.
Each year in the 8th day of April, based on the Chinese traditional calendar (lunar calendar), the Five Springs Mountain parks will hold the temple fairs, besides which there are also flower shows, plants displays, and various activities based on local customs. In order to make a pilgrimage to the famous mountain temple, Buddhists travel here from all different regions. Every year during Spring Festival, the colorful lanterns show is held.
Lanzhou Zhongshan Bridge
The Lanzhou Zhongshan bridge located at the foot of Bai Ta Mountain is an ancient bridge. It is referred to as “the first bridge over Yellow River”. History of the Zhongshan iron bridge datesback to 1372. Back then, there were floating bridges made up of ships tied together with ropes and chains. However, it was neither sturdy, nor safe. After over 500 years of use, the floating bridge here was retired in 1909, and an iron bridge was built here.
In the year of Guangxu 33 (1907), the Qing Dynasty government used the state treasury silver 306,6920,000 liang (Tael) to undertake the construction. The completed bridge was 233.33 meters long, and 7 meters wide. It was initially named “Lanzhou Yellow River Iron Bridge”. In 1942, the name was changed to “the Zhongshan bridge”. In 1954, the Chinese government rebuilt the iron bridge.
Two features in Lanzhou
The local kayak is a raft which is made from sheep and cow skins. They are used by local people who lived by the coast of the Yellow River as a kind of ancient ferry transportation. When you stroll along Zhongshan bridge, occasionally you can see these rafts drift about leisurely on the river course.
60 kilometers from the Lanzhou urban district, you will arrive at southwest Mt. Gaolanshan. At the foot of which is a village called Xianghuajian village. It is the place where the Lanzhou hand drum originated. For several hundred years, beating of the Hand drums start on the tenth day of the first lunar month, and it will reach its peak during the lantern festival. The village here is filled with the sound of the drum. |
