Blogs from Lanzhou, Gansu, China, Asia - page 4

frohe vorweihnachtstage euch allen! sitzen gerade in lanzhou, einer millionenstadt irgendwo in der noerdlichen mitte chinas. eine stadt die sich damit ruehmen kann in den neunziger jahren als region mit der hoechsten luftverschmutzung chinas gegolten zu haben. angesichts der nicht eben kleinen konkurrenz in diesem ranking eine zu beachtende leistung! heute soll alles besser sein. naja, die sonne scheint (vermutlich) taeglich, zumindest laesst sich am gelb-braunen himmel ein heller fleck ausmachen und gegen nachmittag kann man, wenn man ganz genau hinsieht, sogar die berge wahrnehmen die diese stadt umschliessen. also alles halb so wild. ich vermute, dass lanzhou den ersten platz der luftverschmutzer an peking abzugeben hatte. eine beunruhigende vorstellung fuer die jungend der welt! wir fuehlen uns trotzdem recht wohl in diesem mief und verbringen einige "ruhige" tage hier (leid... read more

As we travelled from Xiahe to Lanzhou, the scenery changed from tree-covered mountains and sloping pasturelands to scrubby hills where brown was the dominant colour. The religious landscape also changed with many more skull caps, crescent moons, and minarets in evidence. I'd never thought of China as having much of a Muslim population, but apparently it wasn't only goods that came along the Silk Road - there are millions of Muslim Chinese, predominantly in the northwest of the country. Unfortunately the clear, crisp air of the mountains was also replaced with a polluted haze that was quite possibly the worst quality air I've ever seen. A corresponding increase in temperature wasn't countered by the bus's aircon, leaving everyone stewing in clothes that had been donned to deal with a chilly Xiahe morning. We had our first ... read more

Hi all The great wall was very very impressive. Very steep in some areas so quite a lot of exercise that day.The weather had that China haze thing happening so we couldnt see very far into the distance. We then had the joy of overnight train from Beijing to Xian which is one of the oldest cities in China (?3000Yrs). The train was brand new so it caught on fire just a little which was a bit exciting fo r a while. However we survived but with very little sleep. Xian has a 36km wall around it which in some ways is better than the great wall - there is more to see from the top. On sunny days you can hire bikes and ride the circuit but it was rainy on our day so we ... read more

Vrijdag 11 augustus Lanzhou is de hoofdstad van de provincie Gansu. Dit is een zeer grote provincie, bijna 1700 km lang maar in het midden is de provincie amper 100 km breed. Daar ligt ten zuiden een ontoegankelijke bergketen en ten noorden de woestijn. Alle handelroutes die in het verleden tussen China en het westen ontstonden liepen door deze smalle corridor, de Hexi corridor genoemd. Via deze handelsroutes (de Zijderoute genoemd) transporteerden men zijde, thee en porselein richting het barbaarse westen en kruiden, glas en dergelijke in de andere richting. Het spreekt vanzelf dat deze rijkdommen rovers aantrokken: langs deze wegen ontstonden allerhande goed beveiligde overnachtingplaatsen voor de handelskaravanen waarvoor men uiteraard goed moest betalen. Wie de Hexi corridor beheerste, bezat een onmetelijke bron van inkomsten die nooit opdroogde zolang de zijderoute de han... read more

Bingling si are Buddhist temple grottoes, which can only reached by boat, and only if the water level is high enough (in wet season, summer). Therefore they are not so well known, but definitely worth the effort. It makes a nice daytrip from Lanzhou or Linxia, or a nice stop between both cities. They were initially made in 420, and expanded several times through the ages. Nowadays, there still exist 183 niches, 694 stone statues, 82 clay sculptures, and 900 square meters of murals. All the statues, sculptures and murals exhibit superb craftsmanship, and have great artistic appeal. These caves, which stretch for 200 meters, include the caves of Western Qin, North Wei, Sui, Tang, and Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing dynasties. The most imposing is the statue of Maitreya (the Buddha of the Future), which is ... read more