Gansu

The Silk Road throat on the Hexi Corridor — a Northwest province framing Dunhuang, the Great Wall, the Yellow River and Danxia landforms together.

• History: Gansu was a key route of the ancient Silk Road. The Mogao Caves at Dunhuang are a treasure house of Buddhist grotto art with several hundred surviving caves, famed for murals and painted sculpture. Jiayuguan is the western pass-fortress of the Ming Great Wall, called the "First and Greatest Pass Under Heaven". Zhangye's rainbow Danxia is a coloured-hill landform. Lanzhou is the provincial capital through which the Yellow River flows, represented by Zhongshan Bridge and White Pagoda Mountain. Gannan Tibetan and Linxia Hui autonomous prefectures and other areas are multi-ethnic; Dongxiang, Bonan and Yugur peoples are among the ethnic groups distinctive to or mainly distributed in Gansu (subject to ethnographic records). Foods include Lanzhou beef noodles, liangpi and hand-held mutton.
• Legend: The farewell imagery around "Yangguan and Yumen Pass" is widely circulated — Wang Wei's line "west out of Yangguan, no old friends" in "Seeing Yuan Er Off to Anxi" is literary creation, not pass history. Miraculous accounts of the origin of Dunhuang's "flying apsaras" are legend and Buddhist artistic imagination; in history the apsara image arose from the fusion of Indian Buddhist art and Central Plains painting styles.

• Mogao Caves, Dunhuang — cave visits must follow guides and no-photography rules; book in advance.
• Mingsha Mountain & Crescent Spring, Dunhuang — desert and spring together; evening light is best.
• Jiayuguan Fort — Ming Great Wall western pass-fortress and the First Beacon Tower of the Great Wall.
• Zhangye Danxia — coloured hills, most vivid on sunny afternoons.
• Zhongshan Bridge & Yellow River Scenic Line, Lanzhou — Yellow River iron bridge and riverside walkway.

Intercity travel is mainly by high-speed, bullet and conventional rail: Lanzhou to Zhangye, Jiayuguan and Dunhuang have bullet/high-speed trains, Lanzhou to Dunhuang mostly several hours, fares around a hundred yuan, subject to official publication. Lanzhou Zhongchuan and Dunhuang Mogao airports have airport buses and ride-hailing. Lanzhou has metro and buses; buses are mostly one to a few yuan, payable by transit card or ride code. Hexi Corridor sites are scattered; Zhangye to Danxia and Jiayuguan to Dunhuang mostly rely on tourist lines or chartered cars, a day's charter mostly hundreds of yuan — agree the route in advance. Yumen Pass, Yangguan and other site areas have few buses; chartering a car and bringing ample water is advised. Gobi stretches have strong windblown sand and distant petrol stations — plan fuel in advance when self-driving. Fare-evasion fines follow each operator's official rules.

• Red Line: In Mogao Caves photography and touching murals are strictly forbidden, and carrying liquids, lighters and similar items into caves is forbidden (subject to scenic-area notices); in Great Wall sites and Yardang landform areas do not carve or climb into restricted areas.
• Taboo: ① In Linxia, Gannan and other ethnic settlement areas and religious sites, do not photograph without permission or enter worship and ritual core areas; ② in halal restaurants do not order or bring pork products, and do not comment on others' dietary taboos.
• Good Manners: In caves follow the guide and visit quietly; in desert activities follow guides and take rubbish out; when tasting beef noodles respect the local description "one clear, two white, three red, four green, five yellow" (subject to the shop's actual serving).
• Common pitfalls for visitors: ① Hexi morning-evening temperature swings are huge, so bring a jacket even in summer, or night touring in short sleeves will leave you cold; ② Gobi ultraviolet radiation is strong, and without sun protection sunburn is easy — bring sunglasses, sunscreen and water.

Best from May to October; October's poplar season draws large crowds. Mogao Caves require booking several days in advance; in peak season there is an emergency visiting mode, subject to official publication. In high-altitude Gannan watch for altitude sickness and slow the itinerary.