I have combined Aug 27th and 28th into a single entry but will provide separate photos for each day. On the 27th we were at the Lhasa train station by 9:00am for a 10:00am overnight train back to Xining. In addition I was not feeling well a condition I ascribed to the altitude. Fortunately we had an entire 4 berth cabin to ourselves so I could sleep all day and again all night while Nina played games on her phone, edited recent photos and took in the expansive views of the Tibetan plateau. That was about the sum total of the 27th.

We arrived in Xining in time to catch a high speed train to Lanzhou a journey of about 2 hours. Lanzhou is a small Chinese city of 4 million people and has the distinction of sitting astride the Yellow River. In fact the development of the town follows the river and is now 45km from East to West (along the river) and only 2-3 km North to South. Its history is largely driven by being a major stop on the Silk Road and one of the points at which various Chinese dynasties contacted Barbarians.

Photos from, the 27th

After arrival we did a walking tour along the banks of the Yellow River. The river is clearly a popular entertainment place for locals and there are many facilities for eating, drinking and playing. In particular we examined an old iron bridge (replica of) built by the Germans in 1908 for the last of the Chinese Emperors, a couple of old wooden water wheels used for moving water for irrigation, and a raft riding concession. More about this in the next post when Nina gets involved.

After that we checked into the hotel and I collapsed into bed.

Photos from, the 28th