China Province: Gansu

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As we continue our tour of Chinese provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, today brings us to the province of Gansu.

Located in northwest China, Gansu Province abounds with both natural beauty and cultural relics. Han people constitute the majority of the population, with a large concentration of ethnic Hui. There are also other ethnic minority groups living in the province, such as the Dongxiang and the Tibetans.

In the southeast of Dunhuang city, the Mogao Grottoes are the most popular tourist destination. They are renowned for their delicate murals and sculptures. The site is also the largest, best preserved and richest treasure trove of Buddhist art in the world. In 336 A.D., a monk named Le Zun chiseled the first cave of the Grottoes. Today, 492 caves still stand, containing some 21-hundred colored statues and 45-thousand square meters of murals. These murals, if joined together, would cover a length of 30 kilometers. The caves vary in size. The smallest one allows just enough space to fit your head in. The largest one stretches from the base of the mountain to its summit, over 40 meters in height. The Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes has been deemed a World Heritage site by UNESCO.

At the westernmost part of Gansu province lies a prefecture-level city---Jiuquan. The city is the closest major city to the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. On October the 15th, 2003, Shenzhou 5 was launched from the center, marking a great step forward in China's aerospace industry.

Gansu also boasts diverse landscape, such as the Qilian Mountain Range, the glaciers at Jiayu Pass, the Danxia landform in Zhangyu, and lush forest farms.