Private Day Trip to Bingling Temple Grottoes, Waterwheel Garden and White Pagoda Mountain from Lanzhou

Tour Highlights
• Marvel at Binglingsi Temple Grottoes filled with Buddhist sculptures in a canyon along the Yellow River.
• Visit Lanzhou Waterwheel Garden along the Yellow River (the second longest river in China.
• Walk the Iron Bridge of Yellow River, the first bridge built on the Yellow River.
• Hike up White Pagoda Mountain to enjoy a bird's-eye view of the city of Lanzhou.

About This Tour
• Departure: Daily departing from Lanzhou.
• Tour Duration: Approximately 8 hours.
• Pickup Time: Between 07:00 and 10:00, choose a departure time most suitable for you.
• Pickup & Drop-off Place: Your accommodation in Beijing
• Advice on Meals: Lunch is not included. We suggest a filling breakfast and perhaps some packed snacks. For an authentic local lunch experience, simply inform your guide, who will help you find a spot.

Tour Itinerary at a Glance
• Pickup from your accommodation in Lanzhou
• Drive to Liujiaxia Reservoir (90 minutes)
• Board speedboat to Binglingsi Temple Grottoes (40 minutes)
• Visit the Grottoes (1 hour & 30 minutes)
• Drive back to Lanzhou (2 hours)
• Visit Waterwheel Garden (15 minutes)
• Visit Whilte Pagoda Hill (1 hour)
• Transfer back to your accommodation in Lanzhou

Tailor This Itinerary to Meet Your Needs and Requirements
• If you want to customize this itinerary, contact us via WhatsApp (+86 139 1083 0737) or email (info@GrandChinaTravel.com). We'll create a tailor-made tour package just for you.

 
Price Remark
• Prices are not valid during National Day (Oct 1-7), Chinese New Year, and Labor Day (May 1-5).

Price Inclusions
• Professional English language speaking tour guide
• Air-conditioned vehicle with an experienced driver
• Admission tickets to sightseeing places
• All government taxes

Price Exclusions
• Hotel accommodation.
• Your personal expenses.
• Meals are excluded allowing you flexibility on menu.
• Travel insurance is not included. Please purchase before your trip to provide for any unforeseen circumstances.
• Gratuities to guide & driver. They are customary and would be of great encouragement and reward for quality service.

Additional Info
• Confirmation will be received at time of booking.
• Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately.
• The itinerary is subject to change due to traffic conditions or bad weather.
• The itinerary is flexible; changes can be made upon written request from travelers.
• IMPORTANT: It is required by the government regulations that travelers must provide their name, gender, nationality, passport number and date of birth to their tour operator upon booking a tour. Failure to do so could result in being denied access or admittance to sites and attractions during sightseeing. When you book this tour, please complete all required fields at checkout. Please bring your passport with you on the tour.

Cancellation Policy
• Cancellations made 24 hours prior to the scheduled departure time will receive a 100% refund.
• Cancellations made within 24 hours of the tour's start time or after the tour begins are non-refundable.
• Cancellation request will be confirmed within 2-5 business days, with refunds issued within 14 working days.

Know Before You Go
• Please keep your passport with you at all times, as it might be needed for entrance ticket purchases.
• Pickup time, guide's name, and contact information will be confirmed via WhatsApp or email.
• Your guide will be waiting at the designated meeting place, holding a GoGrandChina welcome sign with your name.
• Meals are not included; please feel free to ask your guide for recommendations.
• If you book an Airbnb, please note that door-to-door pickup and drop-off might not be provided.
• There's a 20-minute grace period for waiting. Failure to show up will result in tour cancellation & no refund.

Hotel Pickup, Transfer to Liujiaxia Reservoir
Your private guide will be holding GoGrandChina pick-up sign and waiting for you in your hotel lobby (or other appointed meeting place) at the appointed time. You will be transferred to Liujiaxia Reservoir by a comfortable air-conditioned private vehicle. The trip takes about 90 minutes.

Liujiaxia Reservoir
Liujiaxia Reservoir is formed by the Liujiaxia Dam on the Yellow River. It occupies over 130 km2 (50 sq miles). The Daxia River and the Tao River flow into the reservoirs, forming wide bays. The water level in Liujiaxia Reservoir is usually reported as 1,735 m (5,692 ft) above the sea level, but in practice it varies significantly, in accordance with the water flow and human needs. The initial capacity of the reservoir was 5.7 km3 (1.4 cu mi), but after 10 years it lost 10% of its capacity due to silting, and after 17 years, 17.4%. The primary purpose of the Liujiaxia dam is generating electricity; in addition, it is used for flood control, irrigation, and "ice flood prevention". The power plant has 5 generators with the total installed capacity of 1,225 MW. When it became fully operational in 1974, it became China's largest hydroelectric power plant, and remained so until the 1980s.

Speedboat Ride to Bingling Temple Grottoes
Bingling Temple Grottoes can only be reached by speedboat, the ride is about 40 minutes.

Explore Bingling Temple Grottoes
Located some 100 km (62 miles) southeast of Lanzhou, the Bingling Temple is a series of grottoes filled with Buddhist sculpture carved into natural caves and caverns in a canyon along the Yellow River. It lies just north of where the Yellow River empties into the Liujiaxia Reservoir. Bingling means thousand Buddhas or 10,000 Buddhas in Tibetan language. The caves were a work in progress for more than a millennium. The first grotto was begun around 420 CE at the end of the Western Qin kingdom. Work continued and more grottoes were added during the Wei, Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. The style of each grotto can easily be connected to the typical artwork from its corresponding dynasty. The Bingling Temple is both stylistically and geographically a midpoint between the monumental Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan and the Buddhist Grottoes of central China, Yungang Grottoes near Datong and Longmen Grottoes near Luoyang. Altogether there are 183 caves, 694 stone statues, and 82 clay sculptures that remain. The relief sculpture and caves filled with buddhas and frescoes line the northern side of the canyon for about 200 meters. Each cave is like a miniature temple filled with Buddhist imagery. These caves culminate at a large natural cavern where wooden walkways precariously wind up the rock face to hidden cliff-side caves and the giant Maitreya Buddha that stands more than 27 meters, or almost 100 feet, tall.

Drive back to Lanzhou
It will be about 90 minutes to drive from the reservoir back to Lanzhou city

Visit Waterwheel Garden
The Waterwheel Garden, built in 1994, is located by the Yellow River. The garden covers an area of 1.45 hectares (3.58 acres) and is comprised of two waterwheels, a cofferdam, the recreation area and a house of water mill. In the garden, tourists can experience crossing the river on a sheepskin raft, which is the most primeval ferrying tool in the northwest region of the Yellow River. A visit to the Waterwheel Garden will provide an insight into the irrigation tools of ancient times.

Visit White Pagoda Mountain
White Pagoda Mountain, famous for its white pagoda built during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), is located at the northern bank of the Yellow River in Lanzhou. Legend has it that the White Pagoda was built in honor of a well-known Tibetan Lama who died of an illness in Lanzhou when on his way to Mongolia as representative of the leader of Sakyapa in order to meet Genghis Khan. The white pagoda, 17 meters high, has a round foundation and seven floors. Its eight sides contain many statues of Buddha. The mountain where the park is located also boasts the elephant-skin drum, bronze bell and redbub tree, which are the so-called "three treasures of Lanzhou." Tourists enjoy an excellent bird-eye view of Lanzhou from the park.

Transfer Back to Your Hotel
After visiting White Pagoda Mountain, this private tour comes to the end. Your guide and driver will transfer you back to your hotel.