Tianshui – Lanzhou

From now on, the journey continues with a little less luggage, but today a strong headwind is blowing in my face. The SRF Meteo app already told me that yesterday. Even here in China, this app has an incredible number of locations and the weather forecasts are very reliable, including the wind conditions, which are very relevant for me as a touring cyclist. I’m glad that today it’s only about 50 km to Qin’an, where I was able to book a hotel in advance.
By the way, with „booking.com“ you will hardly find any hotels along the Silk Route outside the big cities. If there is anything on offer at all, it is more likely to be found via „Trip.com“.
I often stop in let’s say „unknown“ towns and so I get very close to the population. At least there are no tourists to be found here in the city of Qin’an with its 500,000 inhabitants. That makes it all the more interesting. This was also the case tonight at dinner. I went to the restaurant and everyone was enjoying the same dish, niurou lamian 牛肉拉面! A beef soup with hand-pulled noodles and various spicy additives. So delicious.

Eating in this restaurant is a really great experience. The customers slurp the soup down and smack their lips to their liking. This dish really has it all. I go to the counter again and order another portion, to the delight of the kitchen staff. I think I’ve discovered a new dish and I’m already hoping to get牛肉拉面 again somewhere in the next few days. Just one day later in Dinxi, I am lucky to slurp another fine noodle soup.

I have now really arrived here in China and have already learned a lot. For example, it’s much easier to communicate thanks to a translation app. It’s incredible! Every day is a new adventure and slowly but surely I’m approaching the next city with around four million inhabitants. Lanzhou lies pretty much in the geographical centre of China.

The location on the Yellow River was of strategic importance in the past and, as I can read in the travel guide, Lanzhou is now famous for its popular noodle dishes. There are some excellent night markets where these typical delicacies of the Chinese Silk Road are offered.

I enjoy a few days in this lively city and can do a lot of things, such as washing my clothes, exploring other culinary dishes (e.g. the fire pot) and planning the route for the next few days.

The evenings are interesting. The city parks are a hive of activity! There is a lot going on and people are dancing, singing, walking or doing fitness exercises. The night markets are noisy. Finally, I went to the bar on the yellow river, where I had my first beer since the beginning of the tour and then another one straight away.