Introduction
Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu, is surrounded by mountains and the rivers, with fertile soil, and sufficient sunshine. As the temperature here varies greatly between day and night, it is an ideal place for growing sweet melons and fruit. Since ancient times, Lanzhou has been known both at home and abroad for its Bailan melons, Zui melons, black watermelon seeds, Dongguo pears, soft pears, honey peaches, lilies, hotbed chives, and roses. The Yellow River sweet melons, which have been developed in recent years, are very sweet and tasty, with a golden yellow color.
Lanzhou produces a wide variety of arts and crafts, showing their unique characteristics, such as Dunhuang pottery ware, Tao ink slabs, Tianshui carved lacquer ware, weird stones from the Yellow River, Bao'an waist knives, and Gansu carpets. Gansu also produces precious medicinal materials, such as Chinese angelica, Codonopsis pilosula, and rheum officinale. Gansu Province enjoys a high reputation for its traditional Chinese patent.
Local Products and Handicrafts
Lanzhou Bailan Melons
Bailan melons are also known as the Lanzhou melons. In the 1940s, Mr. Wallace, vice-president of the United States, came to visit China. He brought with him some melon seeds. With the seeds, Lanzhou people developed Bailan melons. Now Bailan melons are widely grown in Lanzhou, and those grown in Qingbaishi, Lanzhou, are the best.
Bailan melon is light yellow, orange or white. Its pulp is light green or apricot yellow, juicy and fragrant.
Mapi Zui Melons
Mapi Zui melons are sweet melons evolved from Harm melons from the Xinjiang. They are in an elliptic or round shape, with yellowish green or green skin. If a melon is ripe, its skin will become rough. When a melon is open by a knife, there will be a smell of wine. The melon has thick and fine pulp, much juice and a fragrant smell.
Hotbed Chives
Hotbed chives are tender sprouts of Chinese chives cultivated by the Lanzhou people through a special way, mainly growing on the both banks of the Yellow, Datong and Yuanchuan rivers in Lanzhou. As a tender vegetable, hotbed chives can be fried with sliced chicken meat, or used to prepare cold dishes or soup.
Lily
A big lily is as large as a lotus flower, and a small one is like a fist, weighing 350 g on average. White in color, lilies can be made into delicious dishes together with bean products, gluten, edible fungus, and can be fried, or steamed. Local people also prepare sweet deserts or soup with lilies, which are also good medicines cooked with other ingredients.
Daban Watermelon Seeds
Daban watermelon seeds are mainly produced in the suburbs of Lanzhou, and Gaolan, Yongdeng, Jingyuan and Huining counties. The melon seeds are from the light green watermelons full of large seeds. As the watermelon is drought resisting, local people often have a bumper harvest. The black seeds of watermelons are processed to be spiced, salty and tasty watermelon seeds which have been well received by customers.
Honey Peaches
As the land of peaches, Gansu has grown peaches for over 3,000 years. Now Gansu produces over 200 varieties of peaches, of which the honey peach produced in Lanzhou is the best. Lanzhou grows 184 varieties of peaches, such as June, Zhushajian and Chishui peaches, and the peach tree forests in Arming District cover an area of 473.3 hectares. Chishui peaches and Baifen peaches are the most famous. Honey peaches produced in Lanzhou are big, soft, sweet and juicy and tasty. The people in Anningbao live a long life, because they eat a lot of peaches.
Songhua Mushrooms
Songhua mushrooms, also known as "cockscomb mushrooms," are precious fungus. As large as a fist, Songhua mushrooms have weird shapes, and are in different colors, such as light yellow, light red, blackish green, purple and red. Tender and tasty, Songhua mushrooms can be fried, or stewed with meat.
Cobbles from the Yellow River
Cobbles from the Yellow River that have been washed by the river water for thousands of years can be made handicraft articles, showing uncanny workmanship. In recent years, the cobble handicrafts have been well received by both Chinese and foreign tourists.
Kushui Rose
Lanzhou people have a long history of growing roses. Kushui Township in Yongdeng County grows the best roses in China. Fragrant roses can be preserved in sugar or honey, and can be used to make wine, sauce, tea and various cakes and candies. Rose oil is precious material for making perfume and high-class cosmetics.
Lanzhou Shredded Tobacco for Water Pipes
Shredded tobacco for water pipes is also known as the nine-leave fragrant grass or yellow-flower tobacco. The tobacco irrigated with water from the Five-spring Red Earth Ditch is the best for its color, quality and smell. Hence the saying that "Lanzhou leads the country in high-quality tobacco."
Famous Shops and Stores
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