I went on a day-trip on Saturday with my friend Dustin from Canada. Dustin planned out the excursion: Starting in Lanzhou, we would travel to the city of Liu Jia Xi where we would take a boat to our final destination of Bing Ling Si.
Bing Ling Si is a Buddhist community southwest of Lanzhou. The main attraction is hundreds of small caves with Buddhist carvings.
Dustin and I met at 7:30 in the morning and took a bus from the university to western Lanzhou. Finding the west bus station was a journey of its own, so it was a good thing that our next bus didn't leave until 9:00.
The bus ride from Lanzhou to Liu Jia Xi was two hours. Public buses in the cities are dirty, crowded, and uncomfortable for long distances, but this bus was clean and had padded seats. The ride was quite enjoyable, especially because of the beautiful views of the county side.
Liu Jia Xi is a small city. Dustin and I think we were the only foreigners there, not to mention that few foreigners ever visit. Foreigners are more common in Lanzhou because it is the capital of the Gansu province and has several universities. We still get stares and "hellos" in Lanzhou, but in Liu Jia Xi we were met with gasps, pointing fingers, and people yelling "wai guo ren" (foreigners). A young girl even approached us with an offer for us to visit to her home. She recited some English sentences she had memorized, but it was apparent that she knew no English.
Dustin and I walked around Liu Jia Xi and had lunch. Then we took a taxi to the marina. We could have easily walked the distance, but we didn't actually know where the marina was. We had walked to the Yellow River at the south end of town but couldn't find it.
Unfortunately, Dustin and I were the only patrons of the marina on Saturday, so the boat ride was expensive. On the positive side, we had the 12 passenger boat to ourselves so we were able to take many pictures, and in my case, video.
The boat ride was one hour long and took us south on the Yellow River. The river is surrounded by mountains and is stunning.
Bing Ling Si is even more stunning. It would be an injustice to attempt to accurately describe the landscape. The mountains, the river, the walkways, the bridges, the caves, the Buddhist carvings and statues are all gorgeous. Bing Ling Si is a photographer's dream. Between the two of us, I think Dustin and I took over 300 photos.
As I previously mentioned, I brought my video camera along. I shot plenty of cover video and B roll, but the neatest tape I have taken so far in China is of Dustin and me being attacked by women and children selling jewelry and trinkets when we entered and left Bing Ling Si. The only English they know is hello, beautiful, and fifty (dollars). We spoke to them in Chinese and bargained with them for jewelry made by the Buddhist monks. (They kept saying "monkey" in English. Dustin and I know "monkey" in Chinese, so we said that back to them. Until we figured out that they meant "monk" both sides were confused about why the other would be talking about monkeys!)
We stayed at Bing Ling Si for just over an hour, and then Dustin and I took the boat back up the Yellow River to the Liu Jia Xi marina. We knew we were cutting it close on time- the last bus back to Lanzhou leaves Liu Jia Xi at 5:00. Buses are usually late, so we weren't too concerned that it was a few minutes before 5:00 by the time we docked. We speed-walked back toward town, but gave up and hitchhiked. On the way, we saw our bus to Lanzhou coming at us. The driver of our vehicle stopped in the middle of the road, honked, and waved the bus down. Luckily for us, the bus stopped to let us on.
This bus was crowded. Dustin and I didn't have actual seats, but we sat in the aisles and the front of the bus by the driver. Whereas the first bus ride seemed shorter than two hours, this one seemed longer. But we made it safely back to Lanzhou and to the university.
Because of recent events in China, traveling has been heavily restricted and is ill-advised. But because of the proximity and demographics of Bing Ling Si, Dustin and I felt it was safe to travel. Other popular destinations near Lanzhou, however, are closed to travelers. Hopefully things will calm down soon, because I'm already itching to go on some more weekend trips. Travel in China is easy and affordable because of the public buses and trains, and it would be a shame to stay in and study every weekend, especially as the temperature warms up!
