14 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.

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.

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

A second look at the stone forest from the valley floor, the county town at lunch, and light in the late afternoon over the dry hills; no long drives.

1. baiyin yellow river stone forest

Faquan's grotto-temple in red rock above the Yellow River, then the Jingyuan county-town waterfront at dusk.

1. baiyin faquan grottoes

The gorge stretch toward Lanzhou with the Daxia dam gates — valley drive, 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

Laundry, parks and market breakfasts — a mid-trip pause before the border days.

1. baiyin city parks

Lanzhou, Gansu's capital, 60-odd km southwest — the Silk Road galleries hold the bronze Galloping Horse unearthed at Wuwei in 1969; the 1909 Zhongshan Bridge was the river's first permanent span, with the waterwheel garden nearby. Honest label, a Lanzhou day; night train back.

1. lanzhou gansu provincial museum
2. lanzhou zhongshan bridge

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

1. zhongwei shapotou
2. zhongwei gao temple

Back to Baiyin's own river country — a market morning in Jingyuan, river fish at lunch and the bridge lines at dusk; Baiyin's counties carry the trip at half speed.

1. baiyin jingyuan riverside

A second, softer visit to the 1608 turtle town at golden hour, with the film-set village nearby used by historical dramas; evening drive back.

1. baiyin yongtai ancient city
2. baiyin dadunhuang film city

Market breakfast, a last stroll through the parks, and an early night — the trip closes on trains and open-pit light.

1. baiyin city markets
2. baiyin city parks

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

1. baiyin mine park