Gansu is a long, narrow province in northwest China that follows the Hexi Corridor, the Silk Road passage between the Qilian Mountains and the Gobi. It joins the Yellow River city of Lanzhou, the Mogao Caves and Mingsha dunes at Dunhuang, the Ming fort at Jiayuguan, the rainbow Danxia hills of Zhangye, and the Tibetan monasteries of Xiahe and Langmusi into one of China's richest cultural and landscape routes.
Historical timeline
Key moments that shaped Gansu.
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1
Dadiwan and Majiayao cultures
Neolithic farming communities at Dadiwan near Qin'an and later Majiayao painted-pottery settlements along the upper Yellow River and Tao River leave some of China's earliest millet agriculture and painted ceramics.
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2
Qin rise in the Longxi region
The Qin people settle around present-day Tianshui and Longnan, building the base from which they later unify China.
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3
Han dynasty opens the Hexi Corridor
After General Huo Qubing defeats the Xiongnu, Emperor Wu establishes four commanderies at Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan and Dunhuang and builds Yumenguan and Yangguan to guard the Western Regions.
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4
First Mogao cave excavated
The monk Yuezun is recorded as digging the first cave at Mogao near Dunhuang, beginning a thousand years of Buddhist cave art.
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5
Maijishan and Bingling begun
Under the Later Qin and Western Qin, cave temples are begun at Maijishan near Tianshui and at Bingling in the Yellow River gorge, the latter dated by inscription to 420 CE.
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6
Tang dynasty Silk Road prosperity
The Hexi Corridor reaches its peak as a trade and pilgrimage route; Mogao, Maijishan and Bingling receive major Tang additions.
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7
Western Xia rule in the corridor
The Tangut Western Xia state controls Ganzhou, Liangzhou and Guazhou, leaving temples such as the Zhangye Giant Buddha Temple founded in 1098.
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8
Library Cave sealed and rediscovered
Manuscripts are sealed in Mogao Cave 17 around the 11th century and rediscovered by the Daoist caretaker Wang Yuanlu in 1900, drawing the explorers Stein and Pelliot.
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9
Jiayuguan Fort built
The Ming dynasty begins the fort at Jiayuguan, which becomes the western end of the Ming Great Wall.
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10
Labrang Monastery founded
The first Jamyang Zhepa founds Labrang in Xiahe, which grows into the main Gelug monastic centre of Amdo.
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11
Zhongshan Bridge opens in Lanzhou
The first steel bridge over the Yellow River at Lanzhou opens, replacing the seasonal pontoon crossing.
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12
Modern Gansu and World Heritage
Gansu joins the People's Republic in 1949; the Dunhuang Academy is founded in 1944 and, in 1987, Mogao and the Great Wall are inscribed as World Heritage.
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13
Silk Road UNESCO inscription
Maijishan, Bingling Temple and Xuanquanzhi are inscribed in the Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor World Heritage Site.
Historical sites
Places where Gansu's past comes alive.
Mogao Caves
A complex of hundreds of hand-cut Buddhist caves near Dunhuang, begun in 366 CE and filled with murals and painted sculpture over a thousand years.
Where: Dunhuang, Jiuquan
Admission: Adult: Category A CNY 238 peak (about $35), CNY 140 off-season (about $21); verify on the Dunhuang Academy site mgk.org.cn | Child: Children under 1.2 m are commonly free and 1.2-1.4 m half price; seniors and students often discounted with ID
Yumenguan (Jade Gate Pass)
The remains of a Han-dynasty fort and the Xiaofangpan walled enclosure that controlled Silk Road traffic west of Dunhuang.
Where: Dunhuang, Jiuquan
Admission: Adult: CNY 40 (about $6) | Child: Children under 1.2 m are commonly free and 1.2-1.4 m half price; seniors and students often discounted with ID
Yangguan Pass
A Han-dynasty southern checkpoint of which a single beacon tower and scattered fort remains survive on a ridge above the Nanhu oasis.
Where: Dunhuang, Jiuquan
Admission: Adult: CNY 50 (about $7) | Child: Children under 1.2 m are commonly free and 1.2-1.4 m half price; seniors and students often discounted with ID
Jiayuguan Fort (Jiayu Pass)
A Ming-dynasty fortress built from 1372 at the narrowest point of the Hexi Corridor, with three-layered walls, gate towers and a watch-tower ring.
Where: Jiayuguan
Admission: Adult: Peak CNY 110 (about $16); off-season CNY 90 (about $13) | Child: Children under 1.2 m are commonly free and 1.2-1.4 m half price; seniors and students often discounted with ID
Overhanging Great Wall (Xuanbi)
A section of the Ming wall running up the steep Heishan ridge north of Jiayuguan Fort, rebuilt in the 1980s.
Where: Jiayuguan
Admission: Adult: Included in the Jiayuguan Pass ticket (CNY 110, about $16) | Child: Children under 1.2 m are commonly free and 1.2-1.4 m half price; seniors and students often discounted with ID
Maijishan Grottoes
A haystack-shaped peak near Tianshui carved with 194 caves holding over 7,200 sculptures and more than 1,000 square metres of murals.
Where: Tianshui
Admission: Adult: About CNY 80 peak, CNY 60 off-season (about $12 and $9) | Child: Children under 1.2 m are commonly free and 1.2-1.4 m half price; seniors and students often discounted with ID
Bingling Temple Grottoes
A line of 183 surviving caves in a Yellow River canyon, begun around 420 CE, with 694 stone statues, 82 clay statues and a 27-metre seated Maitreya.
Where: Yongjing County, Linxia
Admission: Adult: Entry about CNY 50 (about $7) plus boat about CNY 60-150 shared (about $9-22) | Child: Children under 1.2 m are commonly free and 1.2-1.4 m half price; seniors and students often discounted with ID
Leitai Han Tomb (Wuwei)
An Eastern Han military commander's brick tomb excavated in 1969 beneath Leitai Park in Wuwei, containing 99 bronze chariot, horse and servant figures.
Where: Wuwei
Admission: Adult: About CNY 45 (about $7) | Child: Children under 1.2 m are commonly free and 1.2-1.4 m half price; seniors and students often discounted with ID
Tiantishan Grottoes
A group of cliff caves in the Qilian foothills south of Wuwei, with a large seated Buddha and early Northern Liang carving.
Where: Wuwei
Admission: Adult: About CNY 30 (about $4.50) | Child: Children under 1.2 m are commonly free and 1.2-1.4 m half price; seniors and students often discounted with ID
Fuxi Temple (Tianshui)
A Ming-dynasty temple in Tianshui dedicated to Fuxi, the legendary founder who is said to have created the eight trigrams.
Where: Tianshui
Admission: Adult: About CNY 20 (about $3); bring a passport | Child: Children under 1.2 m are commonly free and 1.2-1.4 m half price; seniors and students often discounted with ID
Zhangye Giant Buddha Temple
A Western Xia temple founded in 1098 housing a 34.5 m clay reclining Buddha in its main hall.
Where: Zhangye
Admission: Adult: About CNY 40 (about $6) | Child: Children under 1.2 m are commonly free and 1.2-1.4 m half price; seniors and students often discounted with ID
Labrang Monastery
A Gelug-school Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Xiahe founded in 1709 by the first Jamyang Zhepa, with six colleges, 18 halls and a gilded stupa.
Where: Xiahe, Gannan
Admission: Adult: CNY 40 (about $6) | Child: Children under 1.2 m are commonly free and 1.2-1.4 m half price; seniors and students often discounted with ID
Zhongshan Bridge
A steel truss bridge completed in 1909, the first permanent crossing of the Yellow River at Lanzhou.
Where: Lanzhou
Admission: Adult: Free | Child: Children under 1.2 m are commonly free and 1.2-1.4 m half price; seniors and students often discounted with ID
Wuwei Confucius Temple
A large Ming-dynasty temple complex in Wuwei, begun in 1437, and now home to the Wuwei Xixia Museum.
Where: Wuwei
Admission: Adult: Free | Child: Children under 1.2 m are commonly free and 1.2-1.4 m half price; seniors and students often discounted with ID