Road Trip in Gansu Countryside, China, July 2014

Text and images (c) Robert Barry Francos
Pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them

Lanzhou, our place of residence in Gansu Province, is a modern city surrounded by old farmsteads and dusty mountains, as it is in a arid, desert environment. We took a road trip around the more rural areas. Again, many of these photos were taken out of a moving car window, so they sometimes have glare, reflections or the frame of the car.

Sing for "Lanzhou" at the tollbooth for the Expressway

Leaving Lanzhou

People used to live in those caves, which they dug out.

Peacock statue in the Baylin town center.

Visiting the Tao Temple and Chiang Kai-Shek's Palace near Lanzhou, China, July 17, 2014

Text and images (c) Robert Barry Francos / FFotos by Francos, 2014
Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them

Located on the side of a mountain is a series of temples and coed monastery, , a renowned calligrapher, and a trail of stone-hewn stairs way up the side of a mountain that people carry bags of rock up to prove their devotion. It is also the site of a compound used briefly by Chiang Kai-shek and his wife, who are shown in scarily life-like effigy. It was a bit of distance from Lanzhou, of well over an hour by car. It was beautiful, but we chickened out on the stairs about half way up, with our middle aged knees singing to us.

Near the entrance was rather tourist-focused.

A temple could be seen up on the mountainside.

Looking back at the gated entrance, there were "stone" pillars
where people had their picture taken
(seen through the middle).

The villa covered by a giant quonset hut was on the road to the steps.

Needless to say, I followed directions...

Carrying devotion rocks to the temples

Round door to the grounds of Chiang Kai-Shek's Palace.

Model of Shek (right) and his secretary (left)

Mme. Chiang Kai-Shek in front of a vanity mirror;
are they making a point?

Cave and escape route under the house...just in case...

Stairs up to the first temple, with a rock carrier at top.

Making tea via solar energy

Female monk

The monk monastery

Temple next to monastery.

Well-known calligrapher showing his certificate.

His work.

Creating a dragon.

The person in yellow is his assistant (also a calligrapher-in-training)

Enthusiastic monk watching creation

Signage

He was expecting us to buy it as "impressed" Western tourists;
the translated price ended with the word "hundred" so we turned it down,
and he was disappointed (and surprised). Also, note the tear and the lower loop;
there was no way we could have brought it home undamaged, anyway. 

The point in the mountain stairs we gave up.

Sleeping in the shade of the stairs on a hot day.