After some kilometers of urbanized area, we got into more hilly terrain. The landscapes were vastly shaped by human impact, on the one hand scarred by huge holes and trenches as leftovers from former (coal) mining activities and on the other hand by cascades all over the hills, carved in the landscapes in an effort to gain flat space for agriculture. The land was arid and looked infertile to me. Amidst of this alien desert-like space, the cherry blossom was in full play – beautiful!
Gansu is also known for the many cave-houses built into vertical scarps in the landscape. The soil seems to support these caves very well and most of the caves look quite old. However, by now, few people seem to actually live in it so that most seemed to be used rather as store rooms for agricultural tools.
We reached Lanzhou after 662 km and seven days of cycling. From here, Frank was going to continue on the official Silk Road, while I was planning to take a detour through Qinghai province. However, I had to extend my visa in Lanzhou first, which made me stay there for another week.
Tour part II data:
- distance: 662 km
- time riding: 40 hours / 7 days