Temples, bridges, mountains and yes, a couple trips to Starbucks for good measure.
Last year we took the train out of Lhasa to Lanzhou. The reason was twofold. First off we wanted to take the train out of Tibet in the winter. If you have a chance to take a train to or from Tibet, do it. It is a relaxing way to cross one of the harshest and most beautiful landscapes in the world. This is the same landscape that has kept Tibet the remote and mysterious place throughout history. Now, thanks to Chinese ingenuity, you can cross it in a 24 hour train ride while eating your instant noodles and drinking your sweet tea.
The second reason we did it is because air tickets are so expensive leaving Lhasa. Why? Who knows but we saved a least a couple hundred dollars (yes, US dollars) by taking a train then a flight from Lanzhou to Shanghai.
We got to Lanzhou early morning. But the key to the successful day was getting rid of our bags as soon as we could. Thanks to tripadvisor we found a high rated hotel right next to the train station, so we didn't have to deal with bargaining with taxi drivers fist thing in the morning. So when we arrived we walked across the road, enjoyed our complimentary cup of tea, dropped off our bags and set out on the city.
Lanzhou isn't a relatively large city. Armed with my cellphone and Chinese map app, we walked to the closest Starbucks to make a plan after we were caffeinated and our blood sugar replenished.
The closest Starbucks was in the city center in a mall of course. While a mall wasn't #1 on my list of things to visit in Lanzhou, it was still a nice place to game plan. So while I sipped my Americano and Megan her soy hot chocolate we came up with a plan.
The Plan
#1 head strait to the Steel Bridge (ZhongShan 中山桥 Bridge)
#2 cross steel Bridge to go to White Pagoda Park (Baita Mountain Park 白塔山公园)
#3 eat Lanzhou noodles somewhere along the way
#4 return on different bridge and head back to the hotel
Next Day
#1 check out, leave bags at desk
#2 head to Five Springs park
#3 barely catch a the airport train to make our flight
Okay that last one wasn't planned but that's what happened.
And we loved our 24+ hours in Lanzhou! It was a cold day but the sun was shining and the views were spectacular.
The walk to our first destination proved to be quite interesting. There were tons of new years sales going on selling cell phones. So we were bombarded by loud music and inflatable people. You know cartoon looking suits that are filled with air so it looks like multiple versions of Baymax really want you to buy his cell phone.
After dodging the multiple inflatable salesmen and women we made it to the water. We decided to take a stroll next to the infamous Yellow River that has been such a big part of Chinese history. We were not alone, many of the Lanzhou-ites?? were also enjoy the morning sun by the river.
Kites were being flown, old men were playing croquet, and a couple middle aged men were doing tai chi in the in the trees. The path was bustling and Megan and I were having a blast.
We got closer to the mighty Yellow River and were a little surprised by what we saw. In the middle of the yellow river were construction trucks and various other land moving machines. It did take a little bit away from the natural wonder that was known for flooding dynasty after dynasty when you can see trucks driving back and forth. So we joined the couple other dozen locals watching this machines redirect the most famous and deadly river in Chinese history.
After we finished watching the latest episode in man vs. nature, we were getting a little hungry so we looked for a noodle shop to try the famous Lanzhou noodles. Honestly I don't remember how delicious they were, which I am sure they were, but I remember how warm the noodle shop was. All the windows were fogged up so my hands and nose thanked me for stopping just as much as my stomach did.
If you ask anyone in China about Lanzhou the first thing they bring up are the noodles.
After lunch we were to our first destination, the Zhong Shan Bridge. The bridge translates something to the effect, "middle mountain" bridge, however it should probably be called the Sun Yat-sen Bridge (Sun Zhong Shan 孙中山 in Mandarin) The former President of china. The bridge's name was changed to the former leader of the Republic of China in 1942. The actual bridge we walked over was built in 1909 but there had been a history of a bridge being in that same location since the 14th century. This is also the first bridge ever built across the yellow river. Well I should say, first non-floating bridge across the Yellow River. So that's pretty cool I guess. And if the number of tourists were any measure, the Chinese think it is pretty cool too.
After crossing the bridge we heading into the White Pagoda Park and started our hike up the hill. We had just come from high elevation so we did pretty well on the hike. The views from the various pagodas were my favorite parts of the day.
After hiking all around and even doing a couple of the adventurous rides that cost 10 kuai (about $1.60) (you can check our video belowWe watched the sunset and headed back down the mountain. We decided to cross another pedestrian bridge that was a lot newer. And frankly were were sure why it was a pedestrian bridge by all accounts it looked like a regular bridge that the city just decided that this was no longer a bridge for cars.
So we walked across the deserted bridge and headed back to our hotel. And yes we walked all the way back stopping by KFC. Not our best choice. In case you haven't been at a KFC overseas, you have to be careful what you order. While they have some very similar dishes as the US KFC, they also have some menu items that many Americans may not be too excited about. You can guess which ones we ordered. Sometimes being adventurous pays off... other times it doesn't. We went home and slept well after a long day.
The next morning we checked out of our hotel and headed to the Five Springs Park. This park history goes back supposedly to the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. to 24 A.D.) when the springs first formed. There was a General who was with his troops who couldn't find water so he took his whip and snapped the ground five times, and viola! Five springs came up for his soldiers to drink from. The area wasn't made an official park until 1955. But since then it has become quite popular. Disepite the cold, when we got to the entrance it was busy, real busy! Vendors, singers, dancers, young couples with their one child buying what ever their child points at, were all to be seen.
By the time we finally got into the park we realized we bit off more than we could chew. The park is massive. So we tried some of the local street food along the way, took some pics and videos and hustled back down the hill and grabbed the first taxi we could and rushed back to the train station.
We grabbed our luggage from our hotel and headed into the station 10 minutes before our train to the airport was supposed to leave. As we rushed and grabbed our seat moments before the train started to move we realized we were basically the only people in our train car. But the relief we felt by making that train... oh man. The train was very new and the scenes along the way were quite beautiful.
Alas we finally made it to the airport. Our time in Lanzhou had come to an end. But it was great way to start our trip and will always be a pleasant memory. Lanzhou, you are missed.
Here's the video I made about Lanzhou last year. There is some syncing problems at the end but overall it gives a pretty good picture of our day in Lanzhou.
Here is a messy map of all our walking during our day and a half in Lanzhou.
