Lanzhou

Lanzhou

　　Lanzhou today spreads many miles along a thin valley, sandwiched in by hills and the Yellow River. With a population of 2.83 million people, it is one of the largest cities in the northeast, and this concentration has done little to improve the pollution that thickens the air and that flows downriver. The city, thankfully, has some good sights, both within its environs and nearby, and it is these, along with the good transportation links and friendly populace, that draw travelers here.
　　Lying in the central section of Gansu Province, this provincial capital received its name from the "lan" of the Gaolan Mountain Range to its south. Lanzhou was also in the past called the "Gold City", due to the precious metal that was found here. It was this discovery, along with the fact that the city was a significant fortress (for around 1,400 years) of the Hexi Corridor, an eastern and crucial stretch of the Silk Road, that led to a long period of great prosperity in the city.
　　In recent years the city has grown enormously, so that it now claims a length of around 30km, snaking along the southern bank of the river. After the Communist succession to power a population explosion increased residency numbers tenfold in just one generation. Of the now more than three million people in the city, the majority are Han, although many other peoples make this city their home, including the Hui (Muslims), Tibetan, Uigur, Dongxiang, Mongolian, Bonan, Kazak, Tu, Salar and Manchurian minorities.
　　Of all of the sights that are in and around the city, it is the Bingling Temple Caves that are the gem of Lanzhou. These are not the most easily accessible of China’s caves, but it is this that is probably the most contributing factor to the caves little spoilt charm. Although the temptations of heading north towards Xinjiang or west towards Xiahe and then Sichuan are pulling, a day trip to the caves, and the Lujiaxia Reservoir that surrounds them, is rewarding.