City: Gansu
Top Things to do in Gansu
Top Hotels in Gansu
- 1. 7 Days Premium Lanzhou Xiguan Shizi Zhongshan Bridge
- 2. Home Inn (Lanzhou Pedestrain Street)
- 3. 7 Days Inn (Lanzhou Jingning Road)
- 4. Dunhuang Guest House
- 5. Xihu Yinfeng Hotel
- 6. New Victory Hotel
- 7. Sunshine Plaza Hotel
- 8. Zugong Building Hotel
- 9. Ningwozhuang Hotel
- 10. Home Inn (Lanzhou Yongchang Road)
10 Things to do in Gansu That You Shouldn't Miss
Gansu (Chinese: 甘肃, Tibetan: ཀན་སུའུ་ Kan su'u) is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northwest of the country.
Restaurants in Gansu
1. Mogao Caves
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 874 reviews
Located in the Gobi desert, the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas feature beautiful wall fresco paintings and more than 3,000 sculptures dating from the forth to the fourteenth century.
Reviewed By garyr0bertb - China, null
The Mogao Caves or grottos, Dunhuang are amazing and one of the best places I have been to in Asia. I visited Mogao on New Year’s Day 2021, minus 6 degrees centigrade but no snow. I had an English-speaking Chinese tour guide who was excellent – her English was very good; her knowledge of history, art and religion was extensive; and she was gracious in answering my questions. I’ve studied Chinese history at university but Western lecturers and textbooks are no match for a local person who is a part of the culture! I visited 12 caves as this is the low season. If you visit in other seasons, you will see 8 caves. I was mesmerized by the Buddhist sculptures and murals, especially as I could see an evolution of styles through the centuries. The 492 Mogao Caves have art works ranging from the 5th to the 17th Centuries CE with restorations occurring during the Qing Dynasty, even into the early 20th Century. I was amazed at the resilience of the art to earthquakes and humidity, but also perturbed by the looting and vandalism of European and American treasure hunters in the early 20th Century. I spent 5 hours at the caves. This included the tour, visiting the museum (which has special exhibitions), buying books at the giftshop (two in English), having a coffee at the café, and wandering around taking photographs. Some Important Tips: # In high season, there is a daily limit of visitors. # You cannot take photos inside the caves and in parts of the museum. This is important as the light from phones and cameras (even without flash) damages the murals. Be respectful, don’t complain. # You need to go to the Mogao Caves Exhibition Centre first to purchase a ticket (140RMB). This is 5 kms from the centre of Dunhuang town. (Taxi – 30RMB or bus). Here you can watch a film if you wish. Please ask about the frequency of shuttle buses, especially in low season. In 2021, you will need a clear Health Code on your mobile phone (same as per booking into your hotel). # The shuttle bus will take you to the Mogao site 20 kms away (part of the ticket price). # Follow the passengers to the entry gate and show your ticket. If you want an English tour guide, please let them know here. I am unsure which other languages are available. # You cannot choose the caves you wish to see but all groups will see the main ones. # Don’t forget the onsite museum, gift and bookshop and café. # Shuttle buses leave regularly to the Exhibition Centre. From here, hop on a town bus or grab one of the waiting taxis in the car park back to Dunhuang town. # Doing a little reading about Tibetan and Chinese Buddhism, and Chinese history beforehand might influence your experience.
2. Wei-Jin Tombs
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 39 reviews
Reviewed By PARIVRAAJK - Chamba, India
Tombs of Wii-jin is so impressive and i am great full to the shepherd who exigently found it. It shows great history how different cultures use to live and perform then death rituals and understanding of life and after life/
3. Gansu Provincial Museum
4. Maiji Shan Caves
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 125 reviews
Reviewed By garyr0bertb - China, null
I visited Maijishan Grottos in December 2020 as I wanted to see the area in snow and avoid the huge summer crowds. I have visited hundreds of places in China (an Australian working in Guangzhou) and this is undoubtedly one of my top 3 favourites. I think ‘grottos’ is a more apt name than caves as the openings in the cliff face are quite small. Maijishan is one of the four famous grottos of China, the others being Mogao, Yungang, and Longmen – all in different provinces. One does not have to be a Buddhist, or even spiritual to appreciate the awesomeness, craftsmanship and cultural value of these grottos. The eagle-eyed will see an evolution of styles spanning the dynasties and centuries. Visiting Maijishan needs preparation and some of the information I found on websites seems now to be incorrect. I flew from Guangzhou to Lanzhou for a week. I took a taxi from my hotel to Lanzhou West Train Station; then caught the high speed train from Lanzhou West Station at 7.05am and arriving at Tianshui South Station at 8.33am (159RMB for 1st class ticket one way). I walked to the far end of the station and descended two escalators to the bus station in the basement. I waited about 40 minutes and caught BUS 60 to the entrance of the Maijishan site. Bus 60 is a tourist shuttle bus costing 7 RMB each way. I think there are only 2 morning buses in winter but more in other seasons. Once arriving at the site, pay 80RMB to enter, then choose to walk to Maiji Mountain (It took me 20 minutes walking briskly uphill along a road) or take a small electric vehicle (there will be a small charge). Walk up a steep set of stone stairs to the second admission gate. Here you just show your ticket and enter OR pay extra for a private tour in which extra grottos will be open for viewing. I chose not to have a private tour as it was a minimum of 600 RMB per grotto and in winter, there are no English-speaking guides. I caught the 2pm shuttle bus back to the station, and then the 4.05pm high speed train to Lanzhou. By 6.30pm I was sipping craft beers near the Zhengning Night Market and editing my photos. I was totally amazed at the technology of the ‘out-of-cliff walkways’ (totally safe I think), the view of the valleys and mountains, and of course the hundreds of Buddha-clad grottos. Most of the grottos are protected by metal gauze; however, I placed my iPhone camera in a gap and took oodles of great photos. I also had a downloaded guide of the grottos and read this beforehand. There are a few larger, gauzeless grottos open all the time, and these had amazing sculptures and murals depicting a thousand years of evolving Buddhist history. I won’t provide any details of the sculptures as I think these need to be discovered. A few tips if travelling privately from Lanzhou: # Best to use the high speed train – forget slow trains and buses as these leave little time to explore the mountain; remember to use the special entry and exit channel by showing your passport and train ticket # have the correct names of the high speed stations in Chinese characters for the taxi drivers etc # book the high speed train tickets in advance – use a Chinese travel agency or a Chinese friend who can book and pay online # bring your passport, and your mobile phone with the latest Health Record for the province (if travelling in 2021) # bring water and snacks, comfortable walking shoes to negotiate the stairs and walkways, and appropriate clothes for the season # don’t whinge if many of the grottos are protected by gauze as cultural heritage is more important than photo addictions; there are c. 200 grottos and 7000 sculptures – you do not need to see them all! # take it slow and easy on the steep stairs and on the overhang walkways; be conscious of people around you in tight spaces # avoid Chinese national holidays at all cost
5. Zhangye Danxia Geopark
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 294 reviews
Reviewed By 246StephenC
This is a UNESCO Geopark. Like most of the national parks, you will gather at a central point and take a bus into the park. There are four stops in all. You should make it a point to alight and walk around at each of the stops as they offer different views of the park. The biggest stop is the second one. There is the largest platform from which you can walk around and have a true panoramic view of the surrounding area. The fourth stop offers the best photo opportunities. It brings you closest to the multi colored rocks and this is a must visit stop for all visitors. Just be warned that there will be plenty of tourists and they’ll be crowding around looking for a photo opportunity as well. While some say that the best time to visit is at sunrise or sunset, we found the view in the afternoon to be good as well.
6. Pingshan Grand Canyon
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 27 reviews
Reviewed By ladakhed
This was a great place to go, and was a very different kind of landscape to the Danxia Rainbow mountains, which do not seem to be mentioned on tripadvisor, and May be conflated with these ones. Many people go on a day tour to see both landscape areas, but only do this if you are in a rush. Whereas in the rainbow mountains you are in the thick of the beauty, you start here floating above a landscape far below you, and it is mesmerising. There are a range of colours and shapes, mesas, escarpments, towers of stone and jagged layers of rock plummeting down into narrow canyons. Having enjoyed the scenery from above, you descend into one of the canyons through steep sections of steps and ladders, before squeezing through some tight spaces, as well as climbing two vertical 20m ladders to make it up one of the chutes. It sounds scary and strenuous, but antobe with moderate Fitness will find it fine. It took a comfortable 3 hours or so to enjoy the view s and do the walk. There is a 0945 bus from the west bus station that will do you off at the site at 1100 and pick you up again at 1630. We twiddled our thumbs a bit for an hour, but you could easily extend the walk in the park, or enjoy all the new facilities they are building outside the park. A taxi would cost between 200 and 300 for a return trip, depending on your bargaining skills. It was 100rmb per adult to enter, and 30rmb for a return 25 minute bus ride from the gate to the main park itself. It was a beautiful area and a fun walk. Definitely worth going.
7. Great Wall at Jiayuguan Pass
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 194 reviews
The strategic outpost at the western end of the Great Wall is the best-preserved pass.
Reviewed By AZCasualTraveler - Mesa, United States
This is the fifth section of the Great Wall that we have visited thus far - not as long in length as the others but it is strategically one of the most important piece of the Great Wall. This "restored" section of the Great Wall is located in the exact location -- unlike the nearby section that is considered to be a "replica" because it is not in a location of an original section of the Great Wall. The Jiayuguan Pass Great Wall is important in history in that is located along the historic Silk Road, and this section of the Wall is on the western end of the Great Wall and considered to be the "start" of the Great Wall. This Wall although short in length is also very challenging - the slope going uphill is almost 45 degrees which is quite steep. So hike up slowly and make frequent rest stops along the way. I do consider Jiayuguan Pass Great Wall is definitely worthwhile visit because of its strategic importance in the history of the Great Wall and location to the Silk Road trail.
8. White Pagoda Mountain (Baita)
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 93 reviews
Reviewed By garyr0bertb - China, null
I visited the Baita White Pagoda Mountain, Lanzhou in December 2020. It was minus 10 degrees centigrade but ascending the stairs kept the blood flowing! The park is most famous for its austere and beautiful white pagoda. The current pagoda was built by a Ming Dynasty official, Lou Yongcheng during the 1450s, and extended (not sure of details) during the Qing Dynasty in 1715. The entrance is at the northern end of the Zhongshan Bridge. As you ascend the layers of stairs, there are many information boards in Chinese and English. Entry is free. I avoided the cable car. Don’t be daunted by the stairs as I saw many preschool kids and over 75s scooting up the hill. There are interesting things to see along the way and great views of the famous bridge, the Yellow River, and the CBD. The White Pagoda is unlike the more majestic ones I have seen in eastern China but beautiful nonetheless, historically significant, and loved by locals. Today it is more of a light yellow colour than white, has Buddhist carvings on each of its 8 sides, and is 7 storeys high (17 metres). From here, you can walk to the back and take the paths to explore the mountain and a few other historical temples and buildings, including the Arhat, Sangon, and Three-Star Halls. I thoroughly enjoyed this park and its assemblage of historic buildings, forest trails, and gardens. I spent 2 hours here as part of a whole-day, personally-planned riverside walk. Don’t forget your water, hat and suitable walking shoes.
9. Dafo Temple of Zhangye
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 128 reviews
Reviewed By Donkeytonk
Here’s Marco Polo’s review of this very temple, from around 800 years ago: “The people are Idolaters, Saracens, and Christians, and the latter have three very fine churches in the city, whilst the Idolaters have many minsters and abbeys after their fashion. In these they have an enormous number of idols, both small and great, certain of the latter being a good ten paces in stature; some of them being of wood, others of clay, and others yet of stone. They are all highly polished, and then covered with gold. The great idols of which I speak lie at length. And round about them there are other figures of considerable size, as if adoring and paying homage before them.”
10. Iron Bridge of Yellow River
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 193 reviews
Reviewed By 556PaulC - Athlone, Ireland
Once again we’ve seen this several times, but once again we can’t help ourselves. Go at sunset to get the best pictures as the lights of the mountain and bridge are on. Crowded with people all taking pictures but just take your time and you’ll get what you come for. A must see, along with other attractions in this busy city.
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