It is alright if you haven’t heard of the Yellow Stone National Park in the U.S., but it is almost guilty if you don’t know about Dunhuang of Gansu Province in northwest China. OK, I admit I am exaggerating here, but centuries of Buddhist caving paintings, statues and the Buddhist scriptures discovered in one of the caves make this place a world-renowned travel destination.
The Nine-level Tower Houses a Giant Buddha Statue
Gaotai itself is a small town which has nothing special to boast. However, its memorial park of the West Route Red Army, which was surrounded and massacred in the city by local bandits, tells a story of bloodbath in the history of the Red Army. The battle happened around 1930s, and an army corps of the West Route Red Army was chased and surrounded in Gaotai by the nationalist army. Despite the fierce resistance, they were all brutally killed. The commanders were beheaded and their heads were wired and hung up for public display. The story of the doomed West Route Red Army merits a book, and I am no expert to tell you the whole story. Anyway, the memorial park is a place to feel the cruelty of the history.
My trip to Gaotai gave me a rare opportunity to observe the total eclipse of the sun. This is a highlight of my travel in the Wild West.
About forty kilometers to the south of Zhangye City, Gansu Province, there is an endless stretch of rape flower fields. The scene is stunning, marvelous yet goldenly peaceful. The sign by the place claims it is the best view of rape flower in the world, and I believe it certainly lived up to this claim. Compared to my relatively extensive travelling to the scenic spots in the United States, I would say the view in Biandukou surpasses them all. And this trip changed my prejudiced view of my hometown – that the wild Northwest China only consists of barren lands and Gobi deserts.
Zhangye boasts its biggest sleeping Buddha in Aisa. The Big Buddha Temple, so called by the locals, is at a quiet willow-lined street near the city square. I was once a volunteer tour guide for the temple, but now I have forgotten almost all the description of the Buddha and the temple, and the only thing I can tell you is that it is about 34 meters long, and four people can sit on the ear of the statue to play cards. Anyway, it is just the biggest in-house nirvana statue of Buddha in Asia; maybe it is not the most artistically built among its kind, like the one I saw in Dunhuang, but it is definitely worth visiting, along with the exhibition of the Buddhist scriptures and relics. The ticket is 41 Chinese Yuan.
The Archway to the Main Building
There were originally five pagodas and towers in Zhangye City, and each was so named according to the Five Basic Elements in Chinese culture – Gold, Wood, Water, Fire and Soil. Now the only ones remained are the Earthen Pagoda around the Big Buddha Temple and the Wooden Tower in the city square. The rest three were destroyed during the Culture Revolution.
The Wooden Tower and the Dancers
I considered myself a hero when I spent three days on a slow train, sitting on a “hard seat”. China’s railway system sells three types of tickets:
I decided to visit my hometown – Zhangye in Gansu Province during this summer vacation. Having not visited the city for five years, I am eager to meet my relatives, see the city and most of all, eat to my heart’s content the local foods. I miss the Beef Noodles, Sauce Noodles, Rangpizi and many snacks with local flavors.
Traveling by air is always expensive, even with discounts. As a poor person like me, I have plenty of time, and a three-day trip on the train doesn’t sound too bad.
