Gansu Province is located in the middle part of the Silk Road between Xinjiang Yygur autonomous Region and Shanxi Province in the Northwest China. It covers and area of 454,000 sq. km with the population of 24 million. Lanzhou is the capital of the province.

Proud of its long history, Ganzu is one of the cradles of Chinese ancient civilization. It is the birthplace of Fu Xi, the Chinere ancestor well known for its great inventions in Eight-digram, charcters and calendar. The initial farming also appeared here in earlier Zhou period, 3000 years agao. The cultural relics in Ganzu fall mainly into the Neolithic culture, the Yellow River culture, and the Great Wall culture representing the history of the civilization of the Chinese people for 8000 year. Meanwhiel, the Silk Road culture in Ganzu has drawn attention from other parts.

Gansu has always been a must along Silk Road, and an important thoroughfare of culture and trade between China and the west. Over the past 2000 year, from the loess plateau in the east to the Gobi-desert in the west, there had been groups of famous figures like envoy Zhang Qian, mond Xuan Zang and Marco Polo advancing through mountains and over rivers.

Gansu is reputed as the Golden Section along the road, and regarded as "The Hometown of Grotto Arts." The most popular ones are Mogao Grattoes, Maijiashan Grottoes and Bingling Si Grottoes. In addition, there are many attractive historical sites along the Silk Road, such as temples, monasteries, Great Wall, towers, pagodas, tablets and ancient castles. The majestic and charming natural sceneary in Gansu, include the endliess plateau prairie, vast expanse of Gobi-desert, magnificent loess plateau and grotesque Danxia landform as well as snow-capped mountains.

Gansu Province is rich in mixed cultures of Budddhism, Islam, Christiannity, Confucionism and Taoism due to its position along the Silk Rroad , therefrom many religious cultureal relics have become major component of the Silk Road cultur, and ethnic groups like Tibetan, Hui, Yugur and Mongolian carry onecivilization and their colorful folklore will enliven the Silk Road tour.

The means of modern communications shoten the distance of travel on the Silk Road, although afar on the map. Today, the Silk Road tour is never only by camal and the modern airlines, railway make Silk Road Tour in Gansu more convienient.

A Silk Road terminal, Dunhuang played a pivotal role in China's trade and cultural exchanges with the West in ancient times. Dunhuang Grottoes is a colossal treasure-trove of, among other things, 45,000 square metres of frescos and 2,415 painted sculptures. The discovery of Tripitaka Cave at Dunhuang 100 years ago uneiled one of mankind's important disciplines of learning: Dunhuang studies. The famous Mingsha (Humming Sand) Hill and Crescent Moon Spring are found south of Dunhuang, while to the north there is Yumen Pass on the Great Wall. The ruins of the Yanguan Pass lie south of the city.

The 194 cave-shrines of this "Gallery of Oriental Sculpture" on a perpendicular mountain cliff southeast of Tianshui, provide shelters to 7,200 stone and clay figurines and 1,300 square metres of murais. The clay figures, fastidiously crafted to the minute detail, and blending lifelike imagery with spiritual resonance, are paragons of ancient Chinese clay sculpture.

Hexi corridor or Gansu corridor, to the west of the Yellow River, has always been a must of the Old Silk Road. This is really a narrow but long stretched passage lasting for 1200 km from steep Wushaolin hillside to Xinxinxia gorge at the border of Gansu and Xingiang. There are many fertile oasis surrounded by vast expanse of Gobi-desert, sandwiched in between snow-covered Qilian Mountain to the south and north mountain and deserts to the north.

Gannan Tibetan Autonomous prefecture is situated at the east edge of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The wonderful scenery there are vast expanse of prairie, dense forest, grotesquce stone forest and highland lakes. Ajourney to Garman is the next best thing to a trip to Tibet, but far more easily accessible.

Travelers and pilgrims alike come here to visit the labuleng Lamasery of Xiahe, Langmusi monastery of Luqu, Chanding and Gongba monasteries of Zhuoni. It is a mellow, slightly backward area, with beautiful surroundings everywhere. Southward form here lies the best way to Jiuzhaigou of Sichuan.

Labuleng Lamasery (or Labrang Monastery) of Xiahe is in the county town, built in 1710. It's one of the six most important leading lamaseries of the Yellow Hat Buddhist Sect in China, largest around Gansu, Qinghai and Sichuan. It is the greatest Lamasery institute with the richest collection of Buddhism scriptures.

A cultural heritage under key state protection A total of 694 exquisitely chiseled and highly expressive stone sculptures and 900 square metres of frescoes in graphic images are found in 183 caves scooped into two vertical cliffs that form the southern and northern sides of Jishi Mountain that overlooks the northern shore of the Yellow River in Yongjing County to the southwest of Lanzhou.