Blogs from Lanzhou, Gansu, China, Asia

Another nice breakfast at Leisa’s café, after another tough night on the “plank” bed, then we set off to drive 392 km down to Lanzhou, capital of Gansu (population ca. 2.5 miliion). Dropping from 3,400 metres to about 2,000 metres, from the mountains to a river valley and a city 4km wide by 25km long. As we left Langmusi, Christa noticed a (dead) wolf on the back of a put-put. We noticed a yak calf gambolling around, so confirmed our suspicion that the small, remote tent sometimes seen (with solar panel) is the equivalent of a shepherd’s hut, somewhere for the herdsman to stay during the calving period. The endless rolling grassland is an incredible sight, with prosperous homesteads in villages or isolated, and really strong stocking levels. We passed the watershed again, almost halfway from ... read more

CAMPING: IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE CHINA Distance: 142 Kms SubT. 2177 Kms Bal 10,314 Kms Road Condition: mostly good Weather: sunny, blue sky, white puffy clouds. Cooler. Good for riding. Time in Saddle: 7 hrs Av Speed: av. 20 kph. Av Cadence. Rpm Elevation: 1980 m (x4) up; 2000 m ( x2.5) Calories burned : E 6000 A great sleep, perhaps in contemplation of tonight's camp. Ate a nourishing breakfast supermarket bought, yogurt drink, banana, apricots, bun with jam, watermelon. Made riding much more comfortable. It was a heavy hills day, but taken at my own pace, it was quite comfortable. Rode alone most of the day, which was enjoyable as directions were straight forward, also allowed more toilet, drink and photo stops. The scenery was great, terraced hillsides, ready for planting, with long views ... read more

Geo: 36.0757, 103.679We woke up still on the train and it was dark.We gathered all of our belonging and off we went to find our tour guide.Another bus and off we went for breakfast. Noodles, baozi, soup and tea. Perfect.Back on the bus and off to Jiayuguan Pass.Jiayuguan Pass is the first pass at the west end of the Great Wall of China.The day was a little overcast but the Wall is amazing. It is hard to believe that people actually lived within these walls. Life would have been very difficult.There where so many camels and the kids also did some archery.Back on the bus and we went into the city for lunch. We walked around in search of food. Some of us ordered chicken. Yes the whole chicken arrived. Yes it was cooked and cut ... read more

After a very pleasant week in Beijing with Becky (and painful goodbyes), I took the train back to Lanzhou for the 2nd leg of my trip in Gansu Province, heading North West towards Xinjiang Province. But before getting on the bike and hitting the road hard, I spent one afternoon in Lanzhou city, visiting the quiet side of town. I hiked around the White Pagoda Mountain on the other side of the Yellow River. Lanzhou is not the most beautiful city in China, but it was nice to wander in this park and sit below large green trees and colorful temples. Old people were playing chess; young people were taking pictures with their iPads and children were flying kites. This park was built on the side of a very dry mountain and from the top we ... read more

Zaterdag 30 juli Van Lanzhou naar Korbeek-Lo Onze terugkeer naar huis gebeurde op een ontspannen manier. We konden om te beginnen uitslapen en rustig ontbijten. Om 10 uur werden we opgepikt door een privé-wagen, waarvan de chauffeur ons de dag tevoren een mooi aanbod deed om ons naar de luchthaven te brengen. Er was druk verkeer die zaterdagmorgen, maar we geraakten toch op een uur bij de luchthaven. Alles bleef vlot verlopen tot op onze tussenstop in Xi’an. Daar moesten we onze bagage terug oppikken en waren eraan gekluisterd voor een paar uur. De luchthaven van Xi’an is zeer groot en zeer druk maar heeft bijna geen zitplaatsen, uiteraard wisten we er 3 in te pikken. Het was lang wachten, maar ook dat gaat voorbij met puzzelen, lezen en mensen observeren. Uiteindelijk mochten we dan toch ... read more