Lanzhou

We will do some sightseeing in Lanzhou today to relax from all the motorbike riding. You will visit the first bridge over the Yellow River, the Watermill Park, the sculpture of the Yellow River Mother and the White Pagoda Hill. Furthermore we will take a short boat trip on the Yellow River. Breakfast will be at the hotel, lunch and dinner in the city and you will stay overnight at the "Hotel Savoy Muslim" (4*).

Zhongshan Bridge, the first bridge over the Yellow River , was built in 1907 and completed in 1909 and was the old crossing point for travelers and merchants who were then to head north on the Silk Road. In 1928, to commemorate Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the bridge was renamed Zhongshan Bridge as Zhongshan is another name of Dr. Sun. The bridge is 250 meters long and 8 meters wide.

The White Pagoda Hill stands at the northern bank of the Yellow River. It is a nice place for strolling, with green forests, scattered pavilions, teahouses and, from its heights, some good views of both the river and the city beyond. The park was named after the White Pagoda Temple that crowns the summit of its steeply terraced slopes. This temple was first constructed in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368 AD), allegedly under orders from Genghis Khan to commemorate a Tibetan lama. The temple was then rebuilt and expanded in the Ming (1368-1644 AD) and Qing (1644-1911 AD) Dynasties.

The Yellow River is refereed to as the Mother River of China. Lanzhou is the only provincial capital city that the river runs through. As a tribute to their mother river, the people of Lanzhou have erected the statue of "Yellow River Mother". A baby lies on the bosom of his mother with a naive smile while the mother (unlike most of the mothers in Chinese arts who are old, weather-beaten, kindly but with a touch of sorrow) looks happy and affectionate.

In the Water Wheel Park, you can get an idea of the old irrigation tool. The waterwheel was introduced from southern Yunnan Province to Lanzhou by a local who had been an official in Yunnan. The first waterwheel was made successfully in 1556 on the north bank of the Yellow River. Up to 1952 there were altogether 252 waterwheels lining both banks of the River.