The Silk Route was an intricate network of 12,000 km of trade routes connecting China to Europe and India. For 1,500 years (130 BCE to 1453 CE), it was a critical path used for trade and cultural exchange. Gansu province, situated at the gateway of the Silk Road, served as a vital crossroads between East and West. Even more important was the spread of Buddhism from India to China along the Silk Route. Xuanzang, a 7th-century Chinese Monk who followed the tradesmen on Silk Road by foot, traveling over 10,000 miles to study Buddhism and collect scriptures from India. After 17 years, he returned to China and translated Buddhist scriptures into the Chinese language. You can still see the collections of his Buddhist texts and artifacts in the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi’an.
My friend Shiqiu made all the arrangements for our trip to Gansu and accompanied us from Beijing to Dunhuang. Our first stop is the town of Tianshui (translated as Heavenly Water) because it’s only an hour away from Maiji Mountain. The Maiji Grottoes are named so because it is shaped like a stack of wheat. The grottoes were carved during the late Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE) and continued to expand over the next thousand years. This grotto was famous for its exquisite clay sculptures. The sculptures were distributed on cliffs with suspended plank paths. Ray, with his replaced knee, did very well getting up and down the steps. We were very fortunate that the weather was mild, around 80°F, and there were only a few tourists at this site, allowing us to get up close to the murals and sculptures to see all the details.
Our second stop was the capital city of Lanzhou. Shiqiu rented a airB&B for us. It’s a 2-bedroom apartment on the 33rd floor of a high-rise building which located next to the Gansu Museum. I was surprised to find a complete market in the basement of this building. Residents in this compound don’t need to leave the building to do their daily shopping. In addition to being close to the museum, we were able to walk to the night market and a modern mall in just 5 minutes. What a great location! Most Chinese museums are free to the public, and the few that require admission often waive the fee for seniors over 65. It’s an adventure to be in a society that respects elders. The Gansu Museum features three permanent exhibitions: Civilization along the Silk Road, Painted Pottery, and Paleontological Fossils. I especially enjoyed the relics collected along the Silk Road, such as the embroidered birds on lace and painted bricks that depicted the daily life of people 1,800 years ago. Their prize collection is the “Galloping Horse treading on a Flying Swallow,” dated back to the 2nd century CE. I was amazed by the blue lotus-shaped cup and saucer (Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) ), which showed elegance and the advanced art of glassmaking.
Labrang Monastery is regarded as one of the most renowned Tibetan Buddhist monastic institutions. When we visited, there were monks in study groups of different levels. The monastery has an extensive collection of Buddha statues, sutras, and murals. We were mesmerized by the unique Buddhist sculptures that were made entirely out of yak butter. These brilliant designs and colorful sculptures are created once a year and will be melted down and distributed to believers as a blessing; new ones will be made during the Tibetan New Year.
