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More Details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanzhou
LANZHOU: Early settlement in this region could be dated to the
Han
Dynasty and has a history of over 2,000 years. The city used to be called
the Golden City, when it was a major stop on the ancient
Silk Road.
To protect the city, the
Great Wall of China was extended as far as
Yumen.
After the fall of the
Han
Dynasty, Lanzhou became the capital of a succession of tribal states. Mixed
with different cultural heritages, the area at present-day
Gansu province,
from the
5th to the
11th
century, became a center for
Buddhist
study. The city acquired its current name in
1656, during
Qing
Dynasty. The semi-dry
climate is in the
temperate zone. Lanzhou is said to be one of the most polluted cities in China, if not around
the world. The air quality is so poor that at times one can not see Lanshan, the
mountain rising straight up along the south side of the city. The city is
located in a narrow river valley with an unfortunate curve causing it to be
hemmed in with no free air flow. Lanzhou is also the home of many factories
including petroleum processing, and suffers from large dust storms kicked up
from the Gobi Desert, especially in the winter and spring.
Places of interest
The Bingling Temple (Chinese: 炳灵寺;
pinyin:
Bǐnglíng Sì) is a series of grottoes filled with
Buddhist
sculpture carved into natural caves and caverns in a canyon along the
Yellow
River. It lies just north of where the Yellow River empties into the
Liujiaxia Reservoir created by the dam at
Yongjing,
about 80km from
Lanzhou. Bingling is a transliteration from
Tibetan meaning "Ten Thousand Buddhas".
The caves were a work in progress for more than a millennium. The first
grotto was begun around
420 AD at the end of the
Western Jin Dynasty. Work continued and more grottoes were added during the
Wei,
Sui,
Tang,
Song,
Yuan,
Ming,
and
Qing dynasties. The style of each grottoe can easily be connected to the
typical artwork from its corresponding dynasty. The Bingling Temple is both
stylisticaly and geographically a midpoint between the monumental Buddhas of
Bamiyan in
Afghanistan and the Buddhist Grottoes of central China,
Yungang Grottoes near
Datong and
Longmen Grottoes near
Luoyang.
Over the centuries, earthquakes, erosion, and looters have damaged or
destroyed many of the caves and the artistic treasures within. Altogether there
are 183 caves, 694 stone statues, and 82 clay sculptures that remain. The relief
sculpture and caves filled with buddhas and frescoes line the northern side of
the canyon for about 200 meters. Each cave is like a miniature temple filled
with Buddhist imagery. These caves culminate at a large natural cavern where
wooden walkways precariously wind up the rock face to hidden cliff-side caves
and the giant
Maitreya Buddha that stands more than 27 meters, or almost 100 feet, tall.
The sculptures, carvings, and frescoes that remain are outstanding examples
of Buddhist artwork and draw visitors from around the world. The site is
extremely remote and can only be reached by boat from Yongjing during summer and
fall. The rest of the year, the site is inaccessible, as there are no roads in
the area.
Yongjing (永靖县) (Chinese:
永靖县; Pinyin:
Yǒngjìng Xìan;
Wade-Giles:
yung-ching hsien) is a county in
Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture in
China's
Gansu Province
about 80km from the capital city,
Lanzhou. It
is the site of the
Liujiaxia Dam on the
Yellow
River. Yongjing is located in western Gansu province along the Yellow River, north
of the Liujiaxia Reservoir, or Bingling Lake. Yongjing County's area covers more
than 1,863 km². It is mountainous and hilly with elevations between 1560—2851 m
above sea-level and is located between 35°47'-36°12'N and 102°53'-103°39'E. Yongjing's history goes back approximately 5000 years. It was part of the
ancient
Western Qiang state. In the Han Dysnasty it was part of Jincheng (金城) or
Gold City. For many dynasties after that, it was part of Hezhou(河州). Not until
1928 did it become part of Linxia(临夏). Yongjing's economy is based mainly on the Yellow River and the hydropower it
and its tributaries provide. The 3 local dams are Liujiaxia, Yan'guoxia, and
Bapanxia. With beautiful natural scenery and the famous Bingling Temple nearby,
tourism is growing. Agriculture, mining, fishing, and other natural resource
related industries are also important. Yongjing is the only access point for the
Bingling Temple, a 3-hour boat ride away. Most boats start from just next to
the dam. In 2001 archaeologists discovered more than 100 dinosaur tracks in a
local hillside and a dinosaur themed park has been proposed.
- Wuquan Mountain
- Baita Mountain
- Xinglong Mountain
- Lutusi ancient government
Transportation
Lanzhou is a rail, highway, and air hub and the
junction point to
Xinjiang in
NW China.
Interesting Links:
See also:
The official website of the Games of the XXIX OlympiadThe official web site of
the 2008 summer games in Beijing is:
www.en.beijing2008.com
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