How to experience the unique cultures of Xinjiang, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in 70 days (Stop 22 Zhangye, Gansu)

Zhangye (张掖), Gansu, China. Visited 11-12 August 2024

After scaling the Great Wall at Jiayuguan and reconnecting with ancestral history, I continued eastward in northern China, pretty much still along the ancient Silk Route. The next destination was Zhangye, just 220 km away.

I first visited The Great Buddha Temple (Dafo Temple), built in the year 1100, which houses a gigantic Buddha statue about 35m long. Unfortunately, the statue is partially obscured due to the restoration work in progress. The temple area includes a few buildings and halls. The woodwork was sophisticated and truly exquisite – architectural art of the Western Xia Dynasty period. They were so thoroughly wooden and not a nail in place, almost like they were carved right out of dead wood. So perfectly put together, it was exquisite to admire. It is a marvel that it has survived, though it has been restored through the years. There were tourists around, but there was ample space for all to feel at ease and in peace in this inner sanctum.

The Great Buddha Temple
The Great Buddha Temple
One of the wooden entrance gates in the Great Buddha Temple complex, anchored by wooden supports
One of the wooden entrance gates in the Great Buddha Temple complex, anchored by wooden supports
The ceiling of Guandi Temple, so thoroughly wooden and intricately put together
The ceiling of Guandi Temple, so thoroughly wooden and intricately put together
Sutras Exhibition Hall
Sutras Exhibition Hall
A temple hall in the Great Buddha Temple complex
A temple hall in the Great Buddha Temple complex
A performance stage in the Great Buddha Temple complex
A performance stage in the Great Buddha Temple complex
A small old wooden house in the Great Buddha Temple complex
A small old wooden house in the Great Buddha Temple complex
Earthen Tower, in the Great Buddha Temple complex
Earthen Tower, in the Great Buddha Temple complex
Wooden Pagoda, in downtown Zhangye
Wooden Pagoda, in downtown Zhangye

The following day, I took a public bus to the Qicaidanxia scenic area (七彩丹霞景区), about 40 km outside the city. After the entrance gate, we were driven to four different spots, on a hop-on hop-off basis, to see the rock formations. These were parched lands with only short shrubs sparsely dotting the arid landscape. Just as well, because their radiant faces must be seen in full. It reminded me of the Five-colored Beach near Buerjin. Bald and bold, the mountains were full of confidence, shining in different colors in the hot sun, sometimes in stripes, running parallel across the slopes. It was a glorious display of hues, like rainbows on rocks. Standing at the top of the mountains, and on elevated viewing platforms, the surrounding mountains appeared like waves, their tops below or ahead, the valleys deeper between them, each trying to portray their individuality. Their colors would doubtless be magnificent at sunrise and sunset, but I was not romantic enough to seize those golden moments. 

Zhangye, steeped in history and shining with flying colors.        

Qicaidanxia, bald and bold
Qicaidanxia, bald and bold
Tourist buses taking visitors through the scenic area
Tourist buses taking visitors through the scenic area
Qicaidanxia landscape
Qicaidanxia landscape
Qicaidanxia landscape
Qicaidanxia landscape
The colors drab but out of this world
The colors drab but out of this world
The colorful rolling hills and dry valleys
The colorful rolling hills and dry valleys
Surrounded by a sea of radiant bare mountains at Qicaidanxia
Distinctive and unusual color stripes that ran across the slopes
Distinctive and unusual color stripes that ran across the slopes

To go to next Stop, click the link below:

How to experience the unique cultures of Xinjiang, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in 70 days (Stop 23 Lanzhou, Gansu)

To start from Stop 1, click the link below:

How to experience the unique cultures of Xinjiang, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in 70 days (Stop 1 Urumqi)

The Stops on this Trip:

China Urumqi > Turpan > Kuerle > Kuqa > Kashgar > Kuqa > Nalati (via Duku Scenic Drive) > Kuerdening > Yining > Sailimu Lake > Yining > Urumqi > Buerjin > Kanas Lake > Hemu > China Urumqi > Kyrgyzstan Bishkek > Bokonbayevo (Issyk kul Lake) > Karakol > Kyrgyzstan Bishkek > Uzbekistan Tashkent > Tajikistan > Khujand > Panjakent (and Haft Kul/The Seven Lakes) > Iskanderkul > Dushanbe > China Urumqi > Hami > Dunhuang > Jiayuguan > Zhangye > Lanzhou > Xian

The route map:

The route map

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