Get to know Chengguan District
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- Administrative area
- District · 市辖区
- Part of
- Lanzhou
- Chinese name
- 城关区
- Local areas
- District guide
Area & population
- Area in the source
- 220.00 km²
- Population · 2020 census
- 1,484,016
- Administrative seat
- Yanbei Subdistrict
Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.
Setting and landscape
The district covers about 220 square kilometres, of which some 60 are built-up city. Yantan (雁滩), once a large island in the middle of the Yellow River and Lanzhou's main source of vegetables, has joined the bank as the river silted up and now belongs to the district. On the north bank stands White Pagoda Mountain (白塔山), about 1,700 metres above sea level; on the south side of Lanzhou, Wuquan Mountain (五泉山) sits on the northern foot of Gaolan Mountain (皋兰山). Lanzhou University and Northwest Minzu University (西北民族大学) are both in the district.
What to see
Zhongshan Bridge (中山桥), the steel truss bridge below White Pagoda Mountain, opened on 19 August 1909 as Lanzhou's first permanent crossing of the Yellow River. It was built under a contract signed in 1906 between the Qing Gansu foreign-affairs bureau and the German firm Telge & Schroeter, and renamed in 1928 in memory of Sun Yat-sen. Its orange-red paint was changed to lead grey during the war against Japan to hide it from bombers, and it has been a footbridge since repairs in 2004. It became a national key protected site in June 2006. A pontoon bridge was moved to the same spot in 1385.
White Pagoda Mountain Park (白塔山公园) is named after the pagoda on its summit. The first pagoda was raised in 1228 for a Sakya lama who died in Lanzhou on his way to meet Genghis Khan. The present brick pagoda is a Ming rebuilding of 1448. The terraced halls at the foot were designed by the architect Ren Zhenying (任震英) and built in 1958 from parts salvaged from the old city.
Wuquan Mountain Park (五泉山公园), a 4A scenic area opened as a park in 1955, is named after five natural springs and has more than ten Ming and Qing buildings; the Wuquan Mountain building group was listed as a national key protected site in 2013. A temple fair is held there every year on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month.
Highlights
- Zhongshan Bridge 中山桥: Steel truss bridge opened in 1909, the first permanent Yellow River crossing at Lanzhou.
- White Pagoda Mountain Park 白塔山公园: Ming brick pagoda of 1448 on the summit and 1958 terraced halls at the foot.
- Wuquan Mountain Park 五泉山公园: Five springs and Ming and Qing buildings; national key protected site since 2013.
Sources for this guide
城关区 (兰州市) · Wikipedia (Chinese) · CC BY-SA 4.0
中山桥 (兰州) · Wikipedia (Chinese) · CC BY-SA 4.0
五泉山 · Wikipedia (Chinese) · CC BY-SA 4.0
白塔山公园 · Wikipedia (Chinese) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Original English written from the listed sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer. Updated 2026-09-25.
Explore Chengguan District
Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.
Places to explore around Chengguan District
A wide view of the Yellow River at Lanzhou with sunlit water across the frame, crowds of bathers and small boats along the near bank at the left, tree-lined banks, and a skyline of high-rise blocks on the far side under a hazy sky with birds overhead.Yellow River Scenic Belt and Zhongshan Bridge黄河风情线与中山桥
The Yellow River Scenic Line (黄河风情线) is a riverside corridor along the Yellow River in Lanzhou, Gansu, and Zhongshan Bridge (中山桥) is the iron bridge that crosses the river there. The bridge was built in the early 20th century, stopped carrying traffic in 2004 and has been a pedestrian bridge since; the corridor along both banks grew out of a riverside road first proposed in Lanzhou's 1951 city plan.
Read the place guide →
An elevated view over the temple rooftops of the Wuquanshan building complex, Chengguan District, Lanzhou. · 兰州市城关区五泉山建筑群屋顶俯瞰。 Source-recorded photograph date: 2013-12-29 17:05:38.Wuquan Mountain五泉山
Lanzhou hill park named for five springs, with 25 groups of temple buildings begun in the Yuan and a national heritage listing since 2013.
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The White Pagoda of Ci’en Temple on White Pagoda Mountain in Lanzhou, May 2024.White Pagoda Mountain白塔山
White Pagoda Mountain rises directly above the north bank of the Yellow River. Its white brick pagoda combines a rounded lower form with an octagonal, seven-tiered upper tower. Terraces and temple buildings climb the slope below…
Read the place guide →Plan your visit
Getting there
Search for 城关区 in a map app to find stations and your accommodation.
Where to stay →Build your route
Yellow River Scenic Belt and Zhongshan Bridge and Wuquan Mountain are both listed here. The linked place guides have entrance and visit details.
Continue with Lanzhou →More in Lanzhou
Sources & geographic information
Administrative names and parent areas: Official geographic directory · Reference date 2026-09-06.
Some facts checked against 城关区 (兰州市) — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Some facts checked against 中山桥 (兰州) — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Some facts checked against 五泉山 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Some facts checked against 白塔山公园 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: Yellow River Scenic Belt and Zhongshan Bridge · Liuxingy · CC BY-SA 4.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Wuquan Mountain · Zhangzhugang · CC BY-SA 3.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: White Pagoda Mountain · xiquinhosilva · CC BY 2.0. Proportionally resized and converted to WebP without cropping, retouching or changing the photographed subject.
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