Lanzhou, Zhangye, Jiayuguan, Dunhuang - Train Tour of Gansu

It was the first time I decided on a trip because of a variety show. Dunhuang came, and I fell in love with it. When my companion asked about my travel plans this year, I said 'Dunhuang' without hesitation, and thus we had this wonderful memory.

6/5 (Day 1)

Spring Airlines flight 9C6137, departing at 10:35 from Shanghai Hongqiao T1. We arrived at the airport at 8:15, used self-check-in for luggage, and felt that there were very few people along the way.

The plane took off on time but started to bump during descent, lasting quite a while and making us feel a bit uncomfortable.

Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport is not large. After picking up our luggage, we had a bowl of beef noodles at the airport and felt much better.

We dragged our luggage to take a taxi. We asked the driver, and he said that most people treat Lanzhou as a transit point, preferring to join tours or self-drive. It's rare for people like us to take a taxi. It cost 200 yuan from the airport to the city.

We checked into GreenTree Inn Zhixuan Hotel (Lanzhou West Railway Station Lanzhou Center Zhixuan Hotel). We chose this one because it's close to the museum.

After dropping off our luggage, we checked the transportation and found that bus route 1 could take us to the Yellow River Iron Bridge. Bus 1 is an articulated bus. Lanzhou's buses charge by zone: you tap your card when boarding and tap again when alighting. We didn't know this the first time, and the driver called out to us, but we didn't react. The second time we rode, we made no mistakes.

After getting off the bus, we saw Baita Mountain Park and decided to visit it. From the top, we could see the full view of Zhongshan Bridge.

We walked from Zhongshan Bridge to Zhenglu Snack Street. Seeing the street stalls, we didn't feel like eating much. I just bought a cup of apricot peel water, which was quite tasty and I recommend it.

Originally, we wanted to eat crayfish, but the line was too long and we were too hungry, so we switched to a dry pot, which tasted okay.

We continued by bus route 18 back to the hotel, buying some fruit on the way. The day was complete.

Speaking of my impression of Lanzhou, every street felt like a night market at night, with various stalls spilling out, forcing people to walk on the road, which felt a bit unsafe.

6/6 (Day 2)

The hotel had a ventilation fan that was loud and couldn't be turned off in the room. We asked the front desk, and they said they would turn it off at midnight, but it ran all night, so we didn't sleep well.

We got up, checked out, stored our luggage, and went out to find breakfast. The bustling night market stalls were all packed away, leaving the street a bit greasy, but there was no litter. We ate beef noodles at Longshang Legend, added extra beef, got some soy milk, and had a full meal, ready to visit the museum.

At Gansu Provincial Museum, we rented an audio guide that played automatically when we approached an exhibit. The Bronze Galloping Horse is the museum's treasure. What impressed me most was the painted pottery exhibition, which had an interactive screen to design your own pottery. Unfortunately, the Buddhist art exhibition was closed, so we couldn't see it. At the cultural and creative store, we bought bookmarks and fridge magnets.

We finished the museum earlier than expected, so we went to Lanzhou Center to eat Little Sheep Hot Pot and Heytea.

We returned to the hotel to pick up our luggage and took the subway to Lanzhou West Railway Station, which was very convenient.

We arrived at the station an hour early. While waiting, we booked a private car for the next day in Zhangye. The driver also agreed to pick us up from the train today, which was great. D2757 departed on time, but the train announcement said that due to geological hazards, we would need to take a detour and arrive one hour late. We weren't in a hurry, so it didn't matter much. The person next to me seemed to have to get to work in Xining and was very anxious, discussing emergency plans the whole way.

Along the train ride, we could see the Qilian Mountains with thick snow on top.

After getting off the train, we contacted the driver to pick us up. We asked if there were restaurants near the hotel. He said no, so we found a restaurant near the station and had dinner. The roasted lamb chops had the skin on and were a bit burnt; we didn't like them very much.

We checked into the Holiday Inn Express Zhangye and were upgraded to a view room, but it was at the end of the corridor. They asked if we minded. We didn't have that problem, so we stayed. The room was large and we slept well.

6/7 (Day 3)

The hotel breakfast was a set meal, very clean. The driver picked us up at 8:00 sharp.

First stop: Mati Temple (Horse Hoof Temple).

Originally, you could drive in, but the road is under construction, so we had to take the scenic area bus. After a short ride, there was a section where asphalt was being laid, so we had to walk through the construction area, and a bus picked us up on the other side to continue.

The Thirty-three Heaven Grottoes left a deep impression on me. There was a section that was very low and steep; I used both hands and feet.

There was a waterfall in another direction from the grottoes. We calculated the round trip would take 1.5 hours, which was a bit far, so we didn't go.

We took the scenic bus back out and continued visiting the Thousand Buddha Cave at the entrance. We met a trainee guide who gave a free tour, so we listened along. The Medicine Buddha Hall at the top was too steep, so both of us gave up and just looked from below.

We spent more time than expected at this attraction. At noon, the driver took us to Dongfang Palace Beef Noodles for lunch. Snow pear with rock sugar was buy-one-get-one-free. I ordered beef stir-fried noodles with skin; besides being a bit salty, everything else was very satisfying.

Second stop: Binggou Danxia Scenic Area.

The cool yellow bus amazed us and matched the surroundings perfectly.

On the way to Xiaoxitian, it started raining, and by the time we reached Daxitian, it was a torrential downpour. For safety, we didn't get off the bus.

Third stop: Zhangye Qicai Danxia Scenic Area (Rainbow Danxia).

It's a 5A scenic area. We were a bit worried it might be overhyped, but we were still stunned. The layers of color were even more vivid after the rain. Unfortunately, clouds blocked the sun, so we couldn't see the sunset.

Back at the hotel, we ordered fried chicken for dinner and went to sleep happily.

6/8 (Day 4)

After breakfast, we checked out and arrived at the station an hour early, but the train was still delayed by one hour. It seems that all bullet trains on this line are delayed. There were very few people on the train.

After getting off the train, we called a taxi. That was the only taxi available, and we got it. The driver kindly introduced the scenery and gave us his business card, saying we could call him if we wanted to visit in the afternoon or if any friends wanted a ride. At first, we didn't think much of it, but after lunch, when we couldn't find a ride through Didi, we realized how timely that business card was.

We checked into Jiayuguan Hotel (Guan Cheng Silk Road Culture Expo Garden Branch). It's an older hotel with old-fashioned decor, but the service was good.

After dropping off our luggage, we had lunch at Dicos and called the driver to pick us up for a half-day tour.

First stop: Overhanging Great Wall.

The scenic area is not large, but climbing was a bit tiring. The photos came out great.

Second stop: Jiayuguan Fortress.

As we entered the scenic area, it started raining again. We waited at the ticket gate for the rain to stop, and sure enough, it cleared up after the rain.

The 'First Pass Under Heaven' is definitely worth seeing.

During lunch, we were discussing the itinerary for the next day. Since the trains kept getting delayed, if we took the originally planned bullet train to Dunhuang, we would arrive very late. Changing the train tickets was the best option. So after the tour, we asked the driver to take us to the train station to change our tickets. We switched from a higher-priced ticket to a lower-priced one, losing the equivalent of a cup of milk tea. The key issue was that we had already printed the tickets, so we couldn't change them online; we had to go to the counter.

After sorting out the tickets, we took bus route 1 back to the hotel. On the way, we had dinner at Xinjinrong Spring Pancake House. We ordered a serving of Yu Xiang Pork Shreds, which really whetted our appetite. The portions were generous. After dinner, we bought bread and fruit for breakfast and lunch the next day.

Back at the hotel, we asked the front desk if we could take the breakfast to go. They agreed immediately and said we could pick it up at the counter the next morning. They also asked if we needed a taxi and offered to book one for us. So thoughtful.

In the room, we found they had prepared fruit and snacks, and later they sent warm milk. We slept soundly that night.

6/9 (Day 5)

We got up, checked out, picked up our breakfast, and took a taxi to the station. As usual, we arrived an hour early. The regular train was not delayed, and there were many empty seats. We found some seats and chugged along toward Dunhuang.

On the way, I fell asleep. My companion posted on Moments, and someone commented suggesting we visit Yulin Grottoes. When I woke up, we talked about it, checked the route, and realized we could get off at Guazhou, hire a car, and go. We quickly contacted drivers, but all cars had to come from Dunhuang. We waited for the driver under the shade of a tree at Guazhou Station.

At 13:45, the car finally arrived. It took about 1.5 hours to drive from Guazhou to Yulin Grottoes, passing through uninhabited Gobi. Compared to the later Mogao Caves, there were fewer people here, and the explanations were more thorough. Definitely worth savoring. You can buy tickets for the special caves, but we didn't know, so we only saw 4 caves.

Since we had hired the car, we asked the driver to take us to the next attraction: Suoyang City. Suoyang City gets its name from a local Chinese herb called Cynomorium, a parasitic plant. The scenic area is large and requires an electric cart tour. We arrived late, so only the two of us and one other guy were there. The electric cart driver doubled as a guide, taking us around. From the scale of the city, it was once very prosperous. After the river was diverted, it declined. The Dunhuang Academy's Institute of Archaeology is conducting excavations there. Many areas are covered with white plastic sheets to prevent excavated areas from being buried again by sand.

On the way back to Dunhuang, we passed the 'Son of the Earth' internet-famous sculpture, a 3D-printed sculpture with considerable presence.

As the sun began to set, we arrived at our final hotel: Dunhuang Mountain Villa. As soon as we entered the room, we both fell in love with the style. The toy camel was a small gift we could take home. The room had a humidifier, which was thoughtful.

We dropped our luggage and quickly filled our stomachs. The hotel's Chinese restaurant was open until 22:00. We ordered braised donkey meat with sauce, hand-torn tofu, and scallion pancakes. We couldn't finish them, so we packed them to become lunch the next day.

6/10 (Day 6)

Hotel breakfast was on the 4th floor. We took the elevator to the 3rd floor and then walked up one flight of stairs. There were outdoor and indoor areas. It was too hot, so we were advised to eat indoors. Outside, it was very sunny, and despite the umbrellas, the wind was strong, so we were occasionally exposed to the sun.

Our ticket for Mogao Caves was at 11:30, and we were told to arrive one hour early. We booked a taxi through the hotel for 40 yuan to the Digital Center. There, we scanned our ID cards at the self-service machines to get our tickets, then queued inside to watch movies. The first one was 'Millennium Mogao,' introducing the Mogao Caves. The second was 'Fantasy Buddhist Palace,' a dome-screen movie. At first, I felt a bit dizzy, but then I found it fascinating.

After the movies, we queued for the bus to see the caves. Each group of about 20 people had one guide. The Great Sitting Buddha and the Library Cave were must-sees, and the rest were led by the guide. Most typical caves were covered, and the tour took about an hour. Some caves were not visitable because they were too small or the colors had faded too much. Each cave has temperature and humidity sensors; if any indicator is out of range, the cave is closed to the public.

After the guided tour ended, we sat on benches and ate lunch, then continued to visit three other free exhibitions.

One was the Library Cave Exhibition Hall, with many copies of Dunhuang manuscripts.

Another was the former residence of Chang Shuhong, preserved as it was. It was truly remarkable that people of that generation persevered.

The last was a replica of 8 caves, very impressive. Highly recommended.

We were deeply engrossed and spent a full 7 hours there. Dunhuang is definitely worth visiting again.

We left the scenic area, took a taxi to Mingsha Mountain. For some reason, I suddenly wanted to ride a camel. But once on it, I inexplicably got nervous, and now my back hurts. Crescent Moon Spring required climbing to see the full view; I gave up after a short climb.

We had dinner at Dicos in the scenic area and rushed back to the hotel to watch the 'Dunhuang Feast' performance. Along the way, both the private car driver and the taxi driver said 'Again Dunhuang' was great, so we didn't have high expectations. But the 360-degree rotating seats made it quite enjoyable to watch.

6/11 (Day 7)

I was too tired from the previous day, didn't shower or brush my teeth, and went straight to sleep. When I woke up, there was sand all over the bed.

Originally, we planned to rent bicycles to ride to Dunhuang Museum, but due to my back pain, I gave up and called a taxi instead.

The exhibition was quite interesting. There was also a creative exhibition and a photography exhibition. We took our time to see everything.

The hotel allowed us to check out by 2 PM. We went back, had lunch, and packed our luggage.

Our room came with an afternoon tea set, so we had a cup of coffee and two slices of cake, then headed comfortably to the airport. The hotel offered free airport transfer, which we booked in advance.

The 7-day trip was quite relaxed and the experience was fantastic. I think I will go to Dunhuang again.