Lanzhou was an important Buddhist center in the past. Three areas in its surroundings feature Buddhist relics and offer interesting options for short trips from the capital city:
Tianshui and Maiji Caves
With 300000 inhabitants, Tianshui is the second largest city in Gansu and hosts several attractions. Moreover, Tianshui was the birthplace of the Qin Dynasty; Qin Tombs have been excavated at Fangmatan near Tianshui.
The Maiji Caves are located 45km southeast of Tianshui on a hill rising 142m above the surrounding plains; its name means "stack of wheat straw." Within the 194 caves are over 7200 clay Buddha statues, whose heights vary from 20cm to 15m; the caves contain several big murals.
The Jade Spring Temple stands at the foot of Mt. Tianjing, just north of Tianshui. It is a Daoism holy site named after the spring running down from the mountain; it is placed amidst dense forests. The central hall is called the Venerable Sovereign Hall and was constructed to commemorate the Five Patriarchs and Seven Perfect Ones of the Complete Perfection Sect in the 13th Zhiyuan year of the Yuan Dynasty by Liang Zhitong, a disciple of Patriarch Qiu Chuji. Nowadays it includes over ninety structures, most of them were constructed during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The structures include some with especially picturesque names like: the Jade Emperor Pavilion (the biggest structure in the complex), the Honorific Arch of the First Mountain, the Hall of the Three Pristine Ones, the Hall of the Perfect Warrior, the Hall of the Big Dipper and the mystifying Thunder Patriarch Temple.
Yongjing and Bingling Caves
Yongjing is a county in Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, about 80km from the Lanzhou; nearby is the Liujiaxia Dam – or Bingling Lake - on the Yellow River. The city depends almost completely on hydropower generated by the Yellow River for its economy but its beautiful scenery includes attractions like the Bingling Caves and the temples within them, which are three hours away from the town by boat.
Bingling Caves
These caves are located on the Small Jishi Hill, 35km west of Yongjing County in Lanzhou and their name means "Ten Thousand Buddhas" in Tibetan. The 183 niches host 694 stone statues, 82 clay sculptures and several murals; the figures of the Buddhas are painted with strikingly vivid colors.
Dunhuang and Mogao Caves
Dunhuang is a city in Jiuquan, near the historic junction of the northern and southern Silk Roads in Gansu. Located within an oasis, it has 100000 inhabitants. It was a customs gate connecting China with Central Asia during the Han and Tang dynasties. For a while it was ruled by the Tibetans. The town is of little interest, though it features several souvenir shops selling material related to the caves. The night market at the town’s center caters for tourists and besides knickknacks it offers typical Central Asian food (see the dedicated entry in my Urumqi journal).
Mogao Caves (The High Up in the Desert Caves) are 25km from Dunhuang on the eastern slope of Mingsha Shan (Mount of Echoing Sand). The 750 caves contain clay statues, the largest one is 34.5m high and the smallest is just 2cm high. Apart from statues, the local monastery keeps fifty thousand manuscripts written in several languages; the last give testimony to the former importance of the place. The area’s key position, allowed Buddhist monks to collect scriptures from the west; as well, many pilgrims painted murals inside the Mogao Caves. The Jesus Sutras were also found in the caves. The overall impression of the place is of a vast cultural and historical richness, silent testimony to the people that crossed the area.
Another popular attraction in the area is the Mingsha Shan – or the Echoing-Sand Mountain and the surrounding Crescent Lake. The lake is an oasis surrounded by high dunes; a Han pagoda adorns its edge. It was named so due to the sound of the wind whipping off the dunes. The area is reached with camels guided by a local guide from the town; the dunes can be sled down.