Actually I did not research much before going to Tian Shui. Now that I’ve been there, and finally looking at a map (3 years after going there), I finally have an understanding on where everything is.
When we took the train to Tian Shui in 2013, the train station is actually located in Maiji district, about 15km East of the city of Tian Shui. There are plenty of stores and hotels around the train station. However, the high speed train was being built and I’m not sure of the location of the new train station.
We spent one night close to the train station. The sun came out in the evening, and it was actually quite pleasant along the river. I am guessing the river is Weihe (渭河), the largest tributary of the Yellow River.
Tian Shui is a small 3rd tier type city in China, and the second largest in Gansu Province, with 3.5 million people. There are actually quite a few attractions in Tianshui in addition to the grottoes. None of the other sites are extra spectacular, but it may make an interesting day for people who want to travel slowly and experience each city. These smaller cities definitely have a much different vibe than Beijing; and the Northwest just feels even tougher, although it is hard to explain.
A sample itinerary of Tian Shui can be as follow:
Half a day at the Maijishan Grottoes. Walking through the grottoes takes around 2-3 hours. For those with the time, the ticket to the grottoes include a visit to a cliff with a temple underneath, and a scenic area.
Part or one full day can be spent in the city of Tian Shui with all the attractions, most of which are walkable to each other:
- The Hu’s Family Compound, the mansion of a prominent family that dates back to the 1500s
- Fu Xi Temple (伏羲庙), a temple walkable from everything else. The temple was built around the 1480s, and is well known for being the only temple in China with a statue of 伏羲 (known as the ancestor of all of China)
- The Tian Shui Museum, located next to the Fu Xi Temple
- Yuquan Temple (玉泉观), a Taoist Temple
- Nanguo Temple (南郭寺), a temple several km away from the city, that offers a view of Tian Shui.
If I ever return to Tian Shui and decide to slowly travel through the area, I may also consider visiting the following Buddhist attractions that are similar to Maijishan, and were made from the same time period. They are perhaps a 1.5 hour drive West of Tian Shui, and can be visited together in one day:
- Wushan Water Curtain Cave Scenic Area (武山水帘洞), which got its name from a cave where the water drips continuously in the winter, and looks like a water curtain. It is known for having the largest outdoor some kind of buddha statue in Asia (露天摩崖浮雕大佛拉梢寺大佛). According to the website, there are also over 100 statues, over 2000 square meter of murals, and one headless dried corpse!?
- Gangu Daxiang Mountain (甘谷大像山). There is a really big buddha there.
A walk around Tian Shui
On the second day of our trip, we walked around the Tian Shui city center. Below is from a walk around a market:
Most of the food offered in Tian Shui seem to be starch based, usually some kind of dough or noodle with spicy sauce. We tried different soup noodles for different meals, which were okay. I love to eat, and usually food is a priority in my travels. But sorry Gansu, not anymore! I would soon realize that there are places where I simply don’t like their food, at all, and Gansu is one of them (even though I didn’t make it to Lanzhou, and I would probably like their noodles). In fact, if I ever have to lose weight quickly, I may consider simply living in Northwest China for a month.
One food that is famous in Tian Shui is called gwa gwa(呱呱?). We went to the Pedestrian Street of Tian Shui, and saw this store that is probably famous for 呱呱. It was early in the morning, but I heard it is quite popular and sometimes sell out:
Eventually we decided to try the gwa gwa at another store later in the day. I believe it is some kind of buckwheat dough with chili oil on it. I didn’t really hate it or like it. Actually, other than the chili oil, I was not sure if it had any taste. The appearance of the food is definitely not going to win any award, but at least I gave it a try.
Stumbling on FIRE 