Gansu Province is the north-western corridor into China, located in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, boundered by Qinghai to the south-west and the Gobi desert to the north-east, it forms the natural route for the overland silk routes into the heartland of China.
The map of Gansu Province
Ethnic Minority Group
Gansu is inhabited by Han people and people of ethnic minority groups, who make up 91.7 percent and 8.3 percent of the province’s population respectively. Other minority groups each with a population of more than 1,000 are the Hui, Tibetan, Dongxiang, Tu, Manchu, Yugur, Bonan, Mongolian, Salar, and Kazak.
Climate
Gansu has a temperate monsoonal climate with the marked transitional characteristics of a continental climate. It has a mean annual temperature of 9oC -- the hottest month, July, averaging 20-24oC and the coldest month, January, -12-2oC.
Cities and Highlights
Lanzhou, a well-known ancient city in China, is the capital of Gansu,It is the second largest city in northwest China.
Dunhuang,an oasis on the eastern edge of Taklimakan Desert,is a place renowned as home of grotto art.
The Dunhuang Mogo Grottoes is usually called "One thousand Buddha cave", a worldwide famous Buddhist relic. Building started in 366 AD and continued for 10 centuries,it is by far the most well-preserved Buddhist relic in the world and also a post along the ancient Silk Road, with the largest scale, longest history, and richest content.
The Dunhuang Mogo Grottoes
The famous Silk Road is the link in ancient time between China and western countries,Dunhuang Oasis at the western end of the Hexi Corridor was the terminal of the eastern section of the Silk Road (from Chang'an to Dunhuang) and the starting point of the middle section of the Silk Road.
Moon Crescent Lake,is 6km south of the center of Dunhuang at the Singing Sand Mountains, where the oasis meets the desert. Spring water trickles up into a depression between huge sand dunes, forming a small, crescent-shaped pond.
The Silk Road
Moon Crescent Lake
The grand Jiayuguan Pass, an important outpost in ancient China, is the western end of the Great Wall.
The grand Jiayuguan Pass
The Labrang Monastery in Xiahe is one of the largest Tibetan Buddhist resorts in China while the Bingling Thousand Buddha Caves in Lanzhou are a treasure trove of Han Buddhism. All of these are commendatory scenic spots for your tour.
The traditional handicrafts in Gansu are archaized carpets (using patterns from ancient carpets), luminous cups and the duplicates of sculptures and murals of the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang.
Great taste
People in Gansu like to eat noodles very much.And one kind of them is Yellow Noodles,the noodles are delicious and aromatic, mixed with soup or vegetables. Another is Lanzhou Beef Noodles,which is quite famous and can be found all around the country.
Other popular dishes are White Pagoda in Golden City,Roasted Chicken in Jingning,and West Long Preserved Ham, etc.
