Gansu: Tibetan Grassland

Posted September 5, 2016 by Jan
China: Silk Road

Tibetan Grasslands

Gansu Province

China

September 5, 2016

Hello,

Readers Choice... Click on the "Grasslands Links" or scroll down to the end of the letter and join a Yak Herd.

Please enjoy my photographs of the vast expanse of the Tibetan Grassland, the gazing livestock, and a monastery enroute to the nearby mountains:

Located in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwestern Gansu Province, the Gannan Grasslands cover an area of 37.58 million mu (2.51 million hectares) (6.2 million acres) and primarily stretch out through Gansu's Maqu, Xiehe and Luqu counties.

Tianshui, Gansu Province, China

Posted September 3, 2016 by Jan
China: Silk Road

Tianshui

(pop 3.5 million)

Gansu Province.

People’s Republic of China

 

The aroma of fresh baked bread draws my attention as I wander through the noisy food market here in Tianshui, the second largest city in Gansu Province.  My eyes bulge as I encounter a pile of huge watermelons – the largest I think I have ever seen.

The bakers smile and also the lady who slices chunks of tofu and the man who sells noodles.  An elderly lady ignores me as she makes her selection from a truckload of pears.

Tianshui: Maiji Shan

Posted September 2, 2016 by Jan
China: Silk Road

Tianshui

Gansu Province

China

September 2, 2016

 

Ancient trade routes were much more than just a highway for the exchange of materials and goods from one distant place to another.  Ideas and culture also traveled with ships and camels and horses. The Silk Road is certainly a prime example of the exchange and dissemination of culture. 

Buddhism flowered in South Asia and eventually “traveled” to Central Asia and China.  Here in Gansu Province, the Maijishan Grotto Complex is one of several grotto sites lying on the trade routes between northwest China and Central Asia.

Baoji: The People's Park

Posted August 31, 2016 by Jan
China: Silk Road

Baoji

Prefecture Population 3,760,000

City Population 800,000

Shaanxi Province

Peoples Republic of China

August 31, 2016

 

With mountain ranges to the north and the south, Baoji lies in the strategic corridor and is the gateway to the eastern cities of Shanghai and Beijing and to the Far West of China.

Baoji traces its roots back to 2000 BCE.  

The ancient, now modern city of Baoji is just a short 177 km (110 miles) from the ancient capital of Xi’an and, heading west, an appropriate first stop along the Ancient Silk Road.

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