'Ballad of the Yellow River' in Lanzhou

A bird’s eye view of Lanzhou, capital of Northwest China's Gansu province.

“The Yellow River keeps running across my home, across Lanzhou. My relatives afar, listen to this ballad…” go the lyrics of the famous rock and roll song—Ballad of the Yellow River—composed by “Wild Children,” a band from Lanzhou at the close of the 20th century. It is often the outside world’s first impression of Lanzhou, the capital city of Gansu Province. Like the name of the band, the lyrics show the pride of the vast land of northwestern China. The Yellow River is deeply rooted in local life, as sacred as the Bund is to Shanghai.

Despite its being the only provincial capital city in China to see the Yellow River running through it, Lanzhou, which is in China’s northwestern inland, is dry for most of the year. The ever-flowing Yellow River is i the lifeblood of this city of heavy industry.

Lanzhou's Zhongshan Bridge, built in 1907, was the first permanent bridge to cross the Yellow River.

Over years, with the natural endowment of the Yellow River running through it, Lanzhou has completed building numerous riverside landscapes that extend more than 50 kilometers from the east to the west along the Yellow River, like the sightseeing corridor, the waterscape sculpture, the sculpture of The Yellow River Mother, the sculpture of Journey to the West, waterside square, platform near the water, the Yellow River music fountain, the Dragon Park and the Wetland Park.

This scenic belt along the Yellow River has become a famous tourist site, as well as a choice destination for locals to spend their leisure time. Either in spring, when it blooms with flowers, or in the height of summer when it is cool with shade, or in golden autumn, it always attracts an endless stream of tourists and visitors. Even in snow-covered winter, young couples would come here to while away the time.

“I have been living by the Yellow River since I was a kid. It’s like an old friend to me. I am used to life with it,” said Mr. Li, a Lanzhou citizen, with a special feeling for this mother river that runs through the city. “The Yellow River is extensive, and it’s like a good listener, absorbing all your emotions, happiness or sadness, bringing peace to you.”

A night view of Zhongshan Bridge in Lanzhou

In the eyes of foreign tourists, the beauty of Lanzhou is in the banks of the Yellow River when the streetlamps have just been lit. Set off by the lights, the Yellow River is charming and full of life. This plus the tireless stream of people make people feel that the entire city is animated in the flickering lights. When night falls in on Lanzhou, the most crowded part of the Yellow River is the iron bridge spanning its breadth. In the long history of Zhongshan Bridge, countless tourists have left their handwriting to mark the fact that “I was here”.

Lanzhou loves the Yellow River deeply not only because local people rely on the Yellow River for their leisure, but also because the Yellow River is a classic backdrop to many official activities. . In recent years, the local government has held a series of well-known events, including Lanzhou International Marathon, Qinghai Lake International Cycling Race Lanzhou section, and Lanzhou International MBA Yellow River Rafting Race.

Besides sightseeing along the Yellow River, foreign tourists can choose to “slip into” the river, and get to know it more intimately with sheepskin rafts and yachts. In particular, sheepskin rafts, with a history of more than a thousand years, are one of the major ways many tourists experience the culture of the Yellow River. They used to be the main form of transport in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, but became less influential after the introduction of modern water carriers. Despite that, they have experienced a surge in popularity as tourism flourishes.

EMBA Yellow River rafting race

In recent years, “rafter” (a person who is skilled at paddling sheepskin rafts in the Yellow River) Zhang Baode, who is over 60 years old, suddenly became a “characteristic tour guide” along the scenic belt of the Yellow River in Lanzhou. He hums traditional tunes on the Yellow River, and tells the tourists ancient stories about the Yellow River while rafting more than 3 km down the river.

In fact, Zhang Baode was a “rafter” transporting loads most of his life. For almost half a century, he has been with the Yellow River. According to him, his childhood memory was along its length—transporting loads by rafting on the Yellow River. It is just that the role of sheepskin rafts has changed from a regular mode of transport to a form of tourist leisure activity to experience the Yellow River in recent years.

Sheepskin rafts, which used to be called “l(fā)eather ships,” have a history of about 1,500 years. They are a form of ancient river transportation popular in Gansu and Qinghai, mostly in Lanzhou. When making sheepskin rafts, sheep would be skinned whole and made into rafts to float down the Yellow River.

Sheepskin rafts

Zhang Baode does not feel sad about the new nature of his job. He worries that one day, sheepskin rafts will only be seen in museums. He believes that as long as tourists are interested in and enthusiastic about taking sheepskin rafts, it is a continuation of the life of sheepskin rafts, and it is a symbol of the vitality of the Yellow River culture to be able to keep original things from our ancestors.

For thousands of years, Lanzhou, an important node on the ancient Silk Road, has been inhabited by more than 20 ethnic groups, including Qiang, Rong, Han and the Huns. The Silk Road culture and the Yellow River culture join here, and the Eastern and the Western cultures exist harmoniously here, too. However, for historical, regional, even natural factors, it has been disputed because it is said to be “exclusive.” “How to properly correct such impression as soon as possible” has become an urgent task for the local government in Lanzhou.

Lanzhou will soon join hands with Baiyin, Linxia and Gannan in Gansu Province to build a Yellow River Tour Union, and release the Declaration of Yellow River Culture Tour Union by Four Cities and Prefectures along the Yellow River at the “China·Lanzhou Yellow River Culture Tourism Festival” to be held at the end of this July, aiming at comprehensively integrating the tourist resources in Lanzhou with the priority of developing Yellow River tourism.