Lanzhou, Gansu

The rest of my journey to Lanzhou passed without incident. On the flight from Beijing to Lanzhou I was sat in the ‘International section’ (3 seats in row 17) beside a couple from Israel. They were going to be staying in Lanzhou for one night before going on to somewhere else. That seems to be a common theme amongst travelers in Lanzhou, they tend to be passing though on the way to somewhere else.

Before I get started it would be good to give you a quick run-down on Gansu and Lanzhou. Gansu is a province in the North West of China, although it’s in the centre of China it seems that anywhere further than 100 miles from the East coast is considered to be in the ‘West’.

Gansu has a population of around 26 million making around 5 times bigger than Scotland. The economy is based around natural resources (which Gansu has plenty of) and 90% of China’s Nickel comes from Gansu. Lanzhou is the capital of the province and is home to around 3 million people and is increasing in size everyday.

Across from the University is 'Vanguard' a big supermarket

My initial thoughts of Lanzhou are mixed. The rate of growth has clearly led to an increasing gap between the ‘haves' and the 'have nots’. There are some very impressive looking buildings in particular the ‘Bank of China’ building across the street from the University and the ‘Bank of Communications’ building in the centre of the city. However, it is clear that a lot of people are living well below the poverty line.

The main entrance to Lanzhou University where we are staying

It is also clear that the benefits on having the world’s fastest growing economy are harder to see in Lanzhou compared to cities on the East coast. The majority of cars on the road are taxis and you rarely see top of the range cars, although I did see a Hummer!?!? One reason behind the lack of ‘nice’ cars on the road may be the driving habits in Lanzhou. Taxi rides are not for the faint hearted as the driver will weave through traffic to drop you off as quickly as possible. I know I wouldn’t drive a car here. The locals that I have spoken to all use the bus, it's reliable and cheap (7p to anywhere in the city).