3 Days in Lanzhou

Start on the roughly 234-metre iron bridge begun in 1907 and finished in 1909, climb White Pagoda Hill opposite for the pagoda first raised in the Yuan era, then end at the Waterwheel Garden, where Ming-style lifting wheels have turned since Duan Xu introduced them in the 1500s.

1. Zhongshan Bridge
2. lanzhou white pagoda hill
3. lanzhou waterwheel garden

Book the free museum to see the 34.5-centimetre Bronze Galloping Horse, unearthed in 1969 and a tourism symbol since 1983, then the granite Mother sculpture of 1986 on Binhe Road; night-market laozao was made famous by a 2012 TV food series.

1. lanzhou gansu provincial museum
2. lanzhou yellow river mother sculpture
3. lanzhou zhengning road night market

Five springs and temples under the Han-era Huo Qubing legend, the 2,129-metre Lanshan lookout reached by cable car, then a last walk on the roughly 40-kilometre riverside line with a 1915-style beef-noodle bowl before the train.

1. lanzhou wuquan mountain park
2. lanzhou lanshan park
3. lanzhou yellow river style line