Lanzhou 兰州市

Setting and landscape

Spurs of the Qilian Mountains flank the valley to north and south. The Yellow River meets the Huangshui (湟水) in the southwest of the municipality and cuts a chain of gorges and basins on its way northeast. The urban area runs about 30 km from east to west but narrows to about 1 km from north to south. The climate is arid to semi-arid, and spring brings dust storms.

History

Jincheng County (金城), named from an idiom for an impregnable fortress, was set up here in 86 BC and became the seat of Jincheng Commandery in 81 BC, a main stop on the Silk Road. In 583 the Sui renamed the commandery Lanzhou after Gaolan Mountain (皋兰山) south of the city. In Yongdeng County (永登县), the Lu family, founded by the Yuan prince Tuohuan (脱欢), who submitted to the Ming, ruled Liancheng (连城) as native chieftains for nineteen generations until 1931.

What to see

The Lanzhou Yellow River Iron Bridge, later renamed Zhongshan Bridge (中山桥), was begun in 1907, took three years to build and is known as 'the first bridge on the Yellow River'. White Pagoda Mountain (白塔山) on the north bank is named for a Yuan white pagoda raised in memory of a Sakya lama who died in Lanzhou on his way to see Genghis Khan. Five Springs Mountain (五泉山) takes its name from five springs, and its building complex is a national key cultural relic, as is the Lu chieftains' yamen at Liancheng, begun in 1378.

Making Lanzhou's Yellow River waterwheels has been on the national intangible heritage list since 2006. Duan Xu (段续) adapted tube wheels from Yunnan in 1556; the wheels, up to more than 20 m across, lifted river water for irrigation, and 252 still stood along the Lanzhou banks in 1952.

Food and local products

Lanzhou beef noodle making (兰州牛肉面制作技艺) joined the national intangible heritage list in 2021. The China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network traces it to a Hui cook, Ma Baozi (马保子), more than a century ago. The dough is hand-pulled to order in five thicknesses, from thick to hair-fine, or three flat widths, and served in a broth of yak or yellow-cattle beef simmered for five to seven hours with a dozen spices. Lanzhou lilies (兰州百合) are a Chinese geographical indication product.

Getting oriented

The city government sits in Chengguan District (城关区). Lanzhou is a rail hub where the Baotou–Lanzhou, Lanzhou–Xinjiang, Lanzhou–Qinghai, Longhai and Lanzhou–Chongqing lines meet, and Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport serves the city.

Highlights

• Zhongshan Bridge 中山桥: Iron bridge in Chengguan District, first named the Lanzhou Yellow River Iron Bridge; a national key cultural relic.
• White Pagoda Mountain 白塔山: North-bank hill named for its Yuan-dynasty white pagoda.
• Five Springs Mountain Park 五泉山公园: Named for the Hui, Ganlu, Juyue, Mozi and Meng springs; the peak rises above 1,600 m.
• Lu Tusi Yamen 鲁土司衙门旧址: In Liancheng Village, Yongdeng County, with the Miaoyin Temple (妙因寺) built beside it in 1427; national key relic since 1996.
• Gansu Provincial Museum 甘肃省博物馆: In Qilihe District; it grew out of the Gansu Science Education Hall founded in 1939.