Gansu Attractions
Sanke Grassland
Located 10 km to the southwest of Xiahe County seat, it is surrounded by mountains with wide and level alpine grassland in the center. With Daxia River running through the grassland from south to north, Sanke Grassland has plenty of water, lush grass, elegant scenes and herds of cattle and sheep, fo...
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...
Lanzhou Zhongshan Bridge
Popularly known as the Zhongshan Iron Bridge or the Yellow River Iron Bridge, it is located at the foot of Baitashan Hill (White Pagoda Hill) and the middle section of Binhe Road in Lanzhou. It is the oldest bridge in Lanzhou and the first bridge every built across the Yellow River. The bridge is 23...
Gansu Provincial Museum
Located directly across the street from the Friendship Hotel on western Xijin Road in Lanzhou's Qilihe District, the Provincial Museum was built after the founding of the People's Republic. The museum covers more than 6.6 Hect-ares of land and has a total floor space of 18,000 square meters. Built i...
Wuwei Leitai Han Dynasty Tomb
The tomb is located in present Leitai Park of Wuwei. It was discovered in 1969 underneath a Chinese scholar tree at Leitai, the site of a temple dedicated to the god of thunder built in the middle of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Artifacts found in the tomb include the famous bronze galloping horse,...
Wuwei Confucian Temple
Situated in the southeastern part of Wuwei, the Confucian Temple of Wuwei is a complex of structures built in palace style in 1439 during the Ming Dynasty. It was expanded time and again in the following centuries and gradually became the "number one institute of learning in Longyou ...
Zhangye Giant Buddha Temple
Zhangye Giant Buddha Temple, or Dafosi, is located within the city of Zhangye. It was built in 1098 during the Western Xia period (1038 - 1227) and revamped many times during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The main hall that houses the giant Buddha was restored during the Qianlong reign...
Horse's Hoof Temple
The Horse's Hoof Temple, or Matisi is located on the west bank of the Mati (Horse's Hoof) River in the Sunan (south Gansu) Yugur Autonomous County at the foot of the Qilain Mountains some 65 kilometers south of the city of Zhangye. Legend has it that God Erlang stopped to relax his horse here when h...
Jiayuguan Fort
The Jiayuguan Fort sits on top of Jiayu Hill, the highest place at the narrowest point of the middle section of the Hexi Corridor, which is hemmed in by high mountains on both sides. About eight kilometers north of Jiayuguan is the Hanging Great Wall that connects the fort to the Mazong Mountai...
Yulin Grottoes
They are located 68 kilometers south ofAnxi in a deep valley where elms abound. Of the remaining 42 caves 32 are on the east cliff and 10 on the west. They were built and restored during the Tang (618-907), Five Dynasties (907-960), Song (960-1279), Western Xia (1038-1227),Yuan (1271-1368)...
Mogao Grottoes
The Mogao Grottoes, 25 kilometers southeast of the city of Dunhuang, are carved into the steep cliff at the foot of Hills Mountain on the west back of the Daquangou, river bed. The first caves at Mogao appeared in 336. Of the original thousand or more caves, 493 remain intact. They contain more...
Yangguan Pass
The site of Yangguan (Yang Pass) is situated in the town of Nanxiang about 70 kilometers southwest of the city of Dunhuang.Yangguan was built along with Yumenguan by Emperor Wudi of the Western Han Dynasty when he opened up the areas west of the Yellow River in Gansu and established t...
Echoing-Sand Dunes and Crescent Lake
Five kilometers south of the city of Dunhuang is Mingshashan (Echoing-Sand Dunes or Singing Sand Dunes). The hill is at an elevation of 1,715 meters, are actually made up of sand dunes .The sands reportedly make a humming sound when one slides down the sand dunes, hence the name. Yuey...
Yadan National Geological Park
Yardangs, meaning steep small hills in Uygur, are a special wind-eroded landform in arid areas. About 85 kilometers west of Yumenguan is a typical formation of Yardangs stretching 25 kilometers from north to south and about two kilometers from east to west. Since the little hills ...
Binglingsi Grottoes
The grottoes are located in the Kesser Hishi Mountains 35 kilometers southwest of the county seat of Yongjing in Linxia Prefecture. Travel 54 kilometers westward from the Liujiaxia hydroelectric dam by boat and you will reach there. Bingling in Tibetan means a hundred thousand Buddhas or a thousand ...
Linxia Nanguan Mosque
Situated on Jiefang Road in the city of Linxia and with the Hongshui River running past in the north, the mosque is the center of religious activities for Moslems in Linxia. It was built in the last years of the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368). However, it was destroyed and rebuilt many time...
Labrang Monastery
Located some 280 kilometers south of Lanzhou, the Labrang Monastery in Xiahe is one of the six maior monasteries belonging to the Gelugpa Sect or the Yellow Sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Erected in 1709, it has structures built in Tibetan and Chinese palace styles as well as structures in...
Langmu Monastery
Some 90 kilometers south of the county seat of Luqu is the town of Langmusi. It is located at the northern foot of an extension of the Xiqing Mountains on the bank of the Bailong (White Dragon) River on the Gansu-Sichuan border. Langmusi basically comprises a group of Tibetan monaster...
The First Bend of the Yellow River
When it reaches Maqu county, the Yellow River turns abruptly, forming the first of its "eighteen bends" on its course. The river flows sluggishly in Maqu and has many tributaries in the area.The bend area is also noted for its beautiful wooded valleys, lakes, limestone caves...
Majishan Grottoes
The Majishan Grottoes are about 30 kilometers southeast of the center of Tianshui.One of China's four best cave temple groups, they are often referred to as the largest museum of sculpture in the East. Buddhism and Buddhist art were introduced to China from India via the old Silk Road during th...
Kongtong Mountain
Kongtong Mountain, part of the Liupar Mountain Range, is 15 kilometers west of the center of Pingliang. Kongtong is celebrated for its natural beauty and has long been regarded as the number one Taoist shrine in China. Its name implies the Taoist concept of discarding all desires and ...
Qingyang Northern Grottoes
The Qingyang Northern Grottoes, or Qingyang Northern Caves lie at the contiuence of the Ruhe and Puhe rivers about 25 kilometers south east of the city of Xifeng in Qingyang Prefecture. Carving of the caves began in 509 by order of Xi Kangsheng, governor of Jingzhou Prefecture. They a...
Dunhuang Museum
Located in East Yangguan Road of Dunhuang, the museum was established in October 1979. Covering an area of 2,400 square meters, it has a collection of over 4,000 cultural relics from the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.) to the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The collections are divided into three p...
Zhongshan (Sun Yat-sen) Bridge
Popularly known as the Zhongshan Iron Bridge or the Yellow River Iron Bridge, it is located at the foot of Baitashan Hill and the middle section of Binhe Road in Lanzhou. It is the old est bridge in Lanzhou and the first bridge ever built across the Yellow River. The bridge is 233.33 meters lon...
Xincheng Wei-Jin Art Gallery
Scattered in an area of more than 20 square kilomeers east of Jiayuguan and west of Jiuquan are more than 1,400 tombs dating from the Wei and Jin periods (220-420). These tombs are brick laid and contain beautiful wall paintings. They are referred to as the largest underground gallery in t...
Yumenguan Pass
Some 90 kilometers northwest of the city of Dunhuang, the Yumenguan Pass (other names: Yumen Pass, Jade Gate, Pass of the Jade Gate) was one of the two passes in the western frontier region during the Western Han Dynasty. The other was the Yangguan Pass. It was the gate of ancient China to Cent...
Wuqunshan Park
Located at the northern foot of the Gaolan Hills south of Lanzhou, Wuquanshan Park is a scenic spot with a history of some 2,000 years. Standing 1,600 meters above sea level and extending over an area of 267,000 square meters, the park boasts five excellent springs and more than a dozen gr...
White Horse Pagoda
Located in Baimata Village on the west bank of Danghe River to the southwest of Dunhuang, the White Horse Pagoda (Baima Pagoda) is 2 km away from the city center. In 374, Kumarajiva (344 - 413), an eminent monk from the Western Regions, spread Buddhism on his way to east China but his white horse di...
Dunhuang Movie and Television City
Dunhuang Movie and Television City is commonly known as Dunhuang Ancient City for being part of the ancient city. Located in Gobi desert on the south side of the highways between Dunhuang and Yangguan, it is 25 km away from city center of Duhhuang. Covering and area of more than 10,000 square meters...