White Pagoda Hill

Rising 1,700 meters above sea level and covering an area of threee million square meters. Baitashan was turned into a park in 1958.

The hill took its name from the white pagoda in Baitasi (White Pagoda Temple) on its summit.The pagoda was built to commemorate a Tibetan lama of the Sa-skya-pa Sect of Tibetan Buddhism who died in Lanzhou on his way to Mongolia for an audience with Genghis Khan. Towering 17 meters, the pagoda is a solid brick structure.

Baitasi boasted three treasures-a drum made of elephant skin, a bronze bell, and a shiny-leafed yellowhorn. The tree was planted by Yunxuan, abbot of Ci'ensi (Temple of Grace) but died for lack of water long ago. The other two treasures are still extant.