Gansu Provincial Museum

Yesterday, Wednesday, Aug. 27, we visited the Gansu Provincial Museum. We were very impressed. It is comparable to some of the better quality museums in the US. It was very clean with updated displays, and even had English as well as Chinese descriptions. There are some displays on dinosaurs and early mammals, but the main displays are on the silk road which ran through Lanzhou. The silk road was the main trading route to bring silk to the Middle East and Europe. It is also one of the reasons there is a Muslim popular in Lanzhou (although it is only 2%). One rule of thumb is that anywhere there is a Muslim popular in China is a place that was involved in trade.

The centerpiece of the museum is a bronze horse found in a tomb that is about 2,000 years old. It is an interesting design depicting how fast the horses were. It has only one hoof on the ground and this is on the back of a bird that both symbolizes speed and helps to stabilizes the statue. We have bought a smaller replica to remind Trent of his home province.

After the museum we went to a replica waterwheel near the river. It was designed by a local inventor many years ago. At one time they were very common along the river. They are used to supply water for irrigation.

Near the waterwheel, they showed us sheepskin bladder rafts that were used to transport goods across the river in ancient times before there were bridges. Lanzhou was where the silk road crossed the Yellow river.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing at the hotel. For supper we went to a local restaurant and were served a Delicious mutten-filled pastry as well as other interesting dishes.