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Home Travel in Gansu Baiyin--With a Reputation of Copper City
Baiyin--With a Reputation of Copper City
Travel in Gansu

Baiyin

Baiyin (báiyín 白银) is a prefecture-level city in China's Gansu province. Baiyin City is situated in central Gansu Province (gān sù shěng 甘肃省), the upper reaches of the Yellow River. It is bordered by Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (níng xià huí zú zì zhì qū 宁夏回族自治区) in the east andInner Mongolia (nèi méng gǔ 内蒙古) in the north. The capital city of the province, Lanzhou (lán zhōu 兰州) isadjacent to its west. 


Overview

BaiyinBaiyin is a city directly under Gansu Province, located in the center of Longhai and Lanxin Economical Zone. It is a developing city as industrial and mineral base with a reputation of Copper City. It has 2 urban districts, 3 counties, 64 townships, 18 towns, and 7 sub-districts with a total population of 1,746,800. It covers an area of 21,209 square kilometers. The famous scenic spots in Baiyin includeYellow River Stone Forest (huáng hé shí lín 黄河石林) in Jingtai (jǐng tài 景泰), Shoulushan Forest Park (shòu lù shān 寿鹿山), Faquan Temple (fǎ quán sì 法泉寺).
 

History

BaiyinBaiyin means silver. As the name suggested, the city is a treasure land, whose mining industry began as early as the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD). During the end of Tang Dynasty (618-907) to the start of the Song Dynasty (960-1127), it was once occupied by the Tubo Kingdom of Tibet. By the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), mine industry of this area reached its zenith, and hence its name.
 

Geographic Features and Climate

BaiyinBaiyin is part loess plateau (huáng tǔ gāo yuán 黄土高原), part desert. Elevation ranges from 1275 to 3321 meters above sea-level. Located at the part of intersection of 103°33’--105°34’E and 35°33’-37° 38’N, Baiyin borders on 13 counties of three provinces or districts. Located in the transition area from the Tengger Desert and the offshoots of Qilian Mountains (qí lián shān 祁连山) to the Loess Plateau, the terrain of Baiyin basically slopes downward from southeast to northwest. The Yellow River zigzags through the city taking on a shape of 'S'.

Baiyin is in the center of the Eurasian Continent. Being continental monsoon climate, Baiyin has better weather in summers and winters. Annual sunshine time is 2,500-2,700 hours. January is the coldest month with average temperature-8-7.7 C. Summer average temperature is 19-22 C . Frost-free period is 190 days per year. Annual average precipitation is 185-500mm (July, August and September’s occupying 60% of the whole year.)
 

Attractions

Yellow River Stone Forest (huáng hé shí lín 黄河石林)
The Yellow River Stone Forest is a national geological park, with an area of about 5 million square kilometers, formed by three parts: stone forest wonder, the winding Yellow River course, and the oasis in Longwan village. It concentrates the main character of the geology and physiognomy of China, and combines several resources together felicitously, which include the yellow river, morning glow rosy clouds, stone forest, desert, Gobi, oasis and grange.

BaiyinLooking from the terrace standing at the entrance, you see a magnificent landscape of river, stone forest, desert and oasis. It looks even more beautiful when mist lingering on the slopes of the Qilian Mountains on the opposite bank of the Yellow River serves as its backdrop. The sunshine casts the whole valley in dark red, making it appear like the Grand Canyon (dà xiá gǔ 大峡谷) in the United States. The fabulous scenes reflect the prodigious craftsmanship of nature's creation. People have imaginatively given many peaks vivid names, such as "Lovers under the Moon (yuè xià qíng lǚ 月下情侣)", "The Goddess Looks at the Moon (shén nǚ wàng yuè 神女望月)", "Qu Yuan Asks Heaven (qū yuán wèn tiān 屈原问天)" and "A Gleam of Sky (jīn lóng yī xiàn tiān 金龙一线天)".

Location: Longwan Village (lóng wān cūn 龙湾村) in Jingtai District (jǐng tài景泰) of Baiyin City
Tel: 0943-5523080
Opening Hours: The whole day
Transportation: There are tourist buses in Baiyin City
Admission Fee: CNY30

Shoulushan Forest Park (shòu lù shān 寿鹿山)
Shoulushan Forest Park occupies an area of 170,000 square meters, among which 37,000 square meters is covered by ancient dense forest. Infested by white-lipped deer, which is how the Shoulu Mountain gets its name.

BaiyinIn spring, everything comes to life, with life and beauty. In summer, thousands of screen-like hills stand together with green trees, with birds singing and flowers sending off fragrance. In autumn, all the leaves change to red and yellow, creating a gorgeous spectacle with "all the mountains turning red, while all the trees are dried". In winter, snowflakes turn the whole of Shoulushan Mountain into a white wonderland. When you climb to the top, you just see a sea of drifting clouds and smell unknown plants blossom fragrantly, with a feeling of "climb the ladder in the Heaven, walk on the road of clouds and step into a fairyland". It is a green treasure place fortourists to spend holidays.

Location: Jingtai County of Baiyin City
Tel: 0943-8244356
Opening Hours: 8: 00-18: 00
Transportation: There are tourist buses to Jingtai County from Baiyin City
Admission Fee: CNY15

Faquan Temple (fǎ quán sì 法泉寺)
BaiyinFaquan Temple is an important cultural relic protection unit of Gansu Province and it is a provincial forest park. The total area is 3.86 square kilometers, with the building area of 5200 square meters. Taoism, Buddhaism and Confucianism are gathered together in one temple, with the blending of construction art, sculpture art, park art, and literature art.The Grottoes of Faquan Temple is also called Hongshan Temple (hóng shān sì 红山寺). So far 36 caverns have been remained, among which 4 caverns house central square columns and 20 caverns are very important.

It was regarded as an excellent and sacred place to cultivate oneself according to religious doctrines, and so achieved the fame of “Faquan nimbus” . It holds the “Coming of Buddha Day” on April 8 and the “Zhongyuan Buddha Meeting” every July 15 of the lunar calendar.

Location: angshaogoukou (yáng shāo gōu kǒu 扬梢沟口), 7.5km east of Jingyuan County (jìng yuǎn xiàn 靖远县)
Tel: 0943-8221534
Opening Hours: 8: 00-18: 00
Transportation: There is no tourist bus in Baiyin City, it is recommended to take a local taxi or rent a car
Admission Fee: Free
Recommended Time to Visit: May-June, September-November


Speciality Foods

Jingyuan Lamb (jìng yuǎn yáng gāo ròu 靖远羊羔肉)
BaiyinJingyuan Lamb is a local delicacy with a special flavor. Its outstanding feature lies in Tanyang sheep, Tanyang sheep are raised in a unique growing environment with unique nourishing value. The materials that choose to cook Jingyuan Lamb are special and the cooking process is in a unique way, so the lamb is fresh and tender. The dish tastes delicious and contains nutrition with a healthcare function.

Jiangshui Noodle (jiāng shuǐ miàn 浆水面)
BaiyinIt is a noodle using seriflux as its cooking liquor. It contains various good enzymes, is febrifuge, gets up people’s appetite and is a specialty for summer. Eating it in the dogs day can help people recover from fatigue, has restorative effect and in some sense is good for curing high blood pressure, intestinal tract disease and waterworks disease.Baiyin

Gray Pea Soup (huī dòu tāng 灰豆汤)
It is made of gray peas. It is popular for its unique flavor and cheap price. It is sweet like dates and contains nutrition. Drinking it is febrifuge in summer and nutritional in winter.
 

Transportations

By Air: Baiyin is 78 kilometers (48 miles) from Lanzhou and only 70 kilometers (43 miles) from Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport. Through the airport expressway, the Lanzhou airport can be reached from Baiyin City in one hour.
By Bus: Baiyin Bus Station stands in No.2, Renmin Road, Baiyin District, offering buses to Lanzhou every twenty minutes. In addition, the tourist bus station is in No.12, Shuichuan Road, Baiyin District.
By Train: No.5704 train travels from Lanzhou to Baiyin, K43A train from Beijing to Baiyin and T116 train fromShanghai to Lanzhou. Besides, there are some trains pass through Baiyin: N902 train from Xining to Yinchuan, No. 5703 train from Changzhen to Lanzhou, No. 1718 train from Chengdu to Huhehaote, etc.

Baiyin Transport Company, Travel Branch
Address:
No.12 Shuichuan Road, Baiyin
Ticket-booking Tel: 0943-8312757
Tel: 0943-8256666

Baiyin


Other Tips

Seat of the City Government:
No.100, Renmin Road, Baiyin District
Useful Telephone Numbers
Tourist Complaints:
0943-8238333
Weather Forecast: 121
Zip Code Inquiry: 184
Best Time to Go: summer and autumn