10 Days in Baiyin

Settle in and walk the open-pit rim opened by the 1956 blasting — pit rim, wagons and mining memorial hall — then market-street dinner downtown.

1. baiyin mine park
2. baiyin city markets

Longwan village day, 70-odd km from Jingtai — 22 hairpin bends, gravel towers, donkey carts and the river's S bend. The Yellow River runs 258 km through Baiyin.

1. baiyin yellow river stone forest

The 1608 turtle-shaped garrison town with its wall ring near 1.7 km, then pines and meadows of the Shoulu forest park. Night back in Baiyin.

1. baiyin yongtai ancient city
2. baiyin shoulu forest park

Faquan's grotto-temple in red rock above the Yellow River, then a slow afternoon along the Jingyuan county-town waterfront.

1. baiyin faquan grottoes

The gorge stretch toward Lanzhou with the Daxia dam's water gates — valley drive and riverside picnic, back by dark.

1. baiyin yellow river grand canyon

Two hours southeast for the Ming Xijin Gate tower, museum complex and 1986 memorial tower of the October 1936 joining of forces; return by evening.

1. baiyin huining red army site

Lanzhou, Gansu's capital, lies 60-odd km southwest — the Silk Road galleries hold the bronze Galloping Horse unearthed at Wuwei in 1969, and the 1909 Zhongshan Bridge was the river's first permanent span. Honest label, this is a Lanzhou day; return by train.

1. lanzhou gansu provincial museum
2. lanzhou zhongshan bridge

North into Ningxia, where the 1958 Baotou-Lanzhou railway crosses the Tengger dunes and straw checkerboards have held the sand since the 1950s; the tiered Gao Temple caps the county town in late afternoon. Overnight back in Baiyin.

1. zhongwei shapotou
2. zhongwei gao temple

A slow loop of the city parks and market streets — laundry, tea and packing before the last day.

1. baiyin city parks
2. baiyin city markets

One unhurried hour at the mine park gates or over a market breakfast, then the HSR from Baiyin South toward Lanzhou or Yinchuan.

1. baiyin mine park