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14.07.2007
What a relief. A bit like breathing fresh air. It may sound like an advertisement
but being able to watch BBC World after almost four month of just Chinese news
broadcasting. And even that very occasionally…it sure felt like freedom.
But that ended very quickly..
The horses were placed or parked 70 km to the south of Lanzhou. It was really a
day’s work to do that. We had to transport them with truck the last bit. It would
have been impossible to take them..us through the heavy traffic.
The road 312 used to be the only route to and from the Gansu corridor – a lifeline
to the west. And as it comes closer to the capital of the Gansu province, Lanzhou
the mountains close in on both sides and the frequency of polluted, worn down
towns and villages multiplies. In many ways it is like from a science fiction film
after some big catastrophe.
Besides, we were very tired, dirty, unshaved and we had had enough of this now.
So had our horses.
It might seem strange to take a break in one of the worlds most polluted cities –
but Lanzhou had to do.
And I must admit – I was curious about the place.
When we drove in to the city itself the smog became more evident. Factory after
factory lined the road. They all looked old and I like they had seen better
days..if there had been any.
Lanzhou is located between three mountain ranges by the yellow river. It is like a
kettle filled with heavy industry factories – most of them built in the fifties and
sixties. Sixteen of the world’s most polluted cities are to be found in China – this
is one of the stars of that list.
Our approach to this valley begun when we crossed the Wushao Ling pass. – It was
an easy pass compared with all eleven previous ones. It was beautiful too – green,
some shepherds here and there with their herds of goats. To the left the ruins of
the Great Wall continuing endlessly or at least to the next mountain.
Te Great Wall is much more impressive from a distance – close up it is mostly
quite disappointing. For most parts just heap of porous sandstone. One truly
wonders if this wall ever stopped an enemy to enter. Like most walls that are said
to keep the enemy outside just keeps the people inside to stay put.
This wall did not stop the Mongols or any other serious contenders for that matter.
Still- it feels nice to ride along theses ruins - our horse seem to enjoy this too
because they are in good spirits and eager to go.
The afternoon was a slightly different story – rather boring riding along road 312.
Only interesting thing was, six young guys from Taiwan on bikes. And on the way
to Paris – via Helsinki. We wished each other good luck and continued along a
stretch of not yet opened expressway then passing some dirty factory towns and
finally reaching a nice little spot by the once again visible Great Wall – not far
from the Lanzhou.
The next day was reserved for fixing a good place for the horses - so we did enter
pollution zone called Greater Lanzhou – with horses and all …on a truck.
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“ Lanchow / 29.1. 1908
..At the foot of the ridge, in the valley is Kansus capital Lanchow. This is the site
for the Viceroy of Lanchow and Sinkiang. With its northern city wall that reaches
all the way to the river…. We manage to get safely over the river with a ferry. The
ferry is a replacement for a pontoon bridge. The locals handle the ferry with great
skill and the crossing does not cost anything. On the other side Tsao is there to
meet us – he has arranged our living quarters in a dirty saraj - four dark rooms
and a kitchen located just between the outer and the inner gate.
It was not without a solemn feeling that I rode through >>Lanchows grand gates
and it was a pleasant change in the monotony of the journey to hear the trample
of the hooves on stone plates and to make way through the bazaar filled with
people and vehicles…”
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Well, no gates anymore and the city are of a total different size compared with
hundred years ago.
In 1953 the Communist Party decided to develop Lanzhou into a major industrial
centre. That resulted in a population explosion and since the late 1960s it has been
the centre of Chinas atomic energy industry. Also a lot of petro chemical industry
is located here. Today this city has a population of over three million, and it has
changed a lot since the heydays of foreign explorers some hundred years ago. Not
much left of the old Lanzhou – only a waterwheel by the river and some pagodas.
The water wheel provided the city with water by using the Yellow Rivers own
strong current to keep it rolling. N the old days water wheels were plenty.
The real estate boom is also going on here – a lot of high-rise growing like
mushrooms everywhere. Still you can find fairly old alleys with small shops,
bars etc. On a rainy night as we strolled around in the back alleys we did find a
few nice spots – some very Chinese other influenced by western models. Beer is
the foremost drink here – served lukewarm from shot glasses. When asked most
people say they do prefer it cold…but it is almost impossible to find cold beer in
the summer.
The people seem to be friendly and many eagerly wants to offer you a cigarette,
proudly saying that the cigarettes are made here in Lanzhou.
Thius city is populated by 97 % Han Chinese and there is still a Muslim minority –
not just Chinese Muslim but Uighurs too.
The whole so-called minority nationality question is a sensitive one in the whole
of China– any talk or report about problems is highly controversial. To say the
least.
The TV in my room on the day at the arrival went black because of a report on
deported Uigurs from Kazakhstan back to China – so somebody at the censorship
department just took BBC of the air…in China.
After four minutes BBC was back on air and everything continued normally…eh.
A few days of rest and a look at the local museum – actually a good one according
to Chinese standards. It hosts a section called “the Silk Road “ - that gives you a
rough idea of its history. From a very Chinese perspective.
All and all, Lanzhou seems to be a quite relaxed big city that has its charms and
the pollution did not seem to so bad during the few days here – maybe we brought
some fresh air with us…
All news
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