Last day in Langzhou.

After the excitement of the Lanzhou Night Market, we had a day to explore this city before heading home to Shanghai.

We visited a Taoist temple, which like many other temples we visited in China, was a quiet oasis in the midst of the busy, noisy city.

The temples are laid out in a similar fashion.  There are various open "rooms" around the perimeter of the large space, and each room houses a statue, representing a Tao deity, but without local knowledge, I was not sure what this one represented.

People in the rooms  burn incense sticks, or pray, or meditate.

We always moved carefully around the temples, because you have to respect the locals who are visiting.

Red prayer flags, in their hundreds, add bright splashes of colour.
A major part of the Tao philosophy is that of the Yin and the Yang....opposing forces.
If you look carefully, you can see the Yin-Yang symbol on some of these flags.

The Yellow River flows through the city, and no, it is not "yellow". As you can see from the photos, it is like many rivers the world over, brown!

The brown "Yellow River"

You can cross the river is a chair lift, and ride to the top of a....what?.... not quite a mountain, but more than a hill...on the opposite side of the river.

As you ride the chair lift, this view of typical Chinese architecture is there to enjoy.

Another past time, enjoyed by the Chinese tourists, is to ride the Yellow River in jet boats, or as shown here, float along quietly on a raft. The raft is held afloat by inflated pig skins.! Look carefully, and you can see, pointing skywards, the legs of the ex-pigs!

A Tourist Treat...a ride on a raft afloat with inflated pigs' skins!

The city has very modern (i.e. "western") aspects as well, such as this large open square.

Such a square as this seems more Western to me.

We wandered the streets, to find a noodle shop for lunch. The object of our search was recommended to us by a taxi driver. What could be better, we thought.

Walking the streets searching for a particular noodle shop.

And of course, large American companies have invaded almost every country on earth!

We found the noodle shop where we had lunch.

It was in a side street, and had, according to a plaque attached to its wall, won an award for "best noodle shop" in the recent past.
We ordered.

Noodles with selected side dishes.

And enjoyed.....

Delicious fare!

Our noodle lunch was certainly very tasty.

And so farewell to Lanzhou, and back to the east, and Shanghai.