China Day 8

The theme of today was undoubtedly "climbing". Our first stop was an hour's drive with not much traffic. Daxiang mountain where the temples and giant Buddha were built circa 400ad is a high Ridge with buildings along the top of the Ridge leading up to a the giant Buddha of 23 metres high carved into the rock. Getting to the top was quite challenging - 1127 steps! Along the way we're temples to different people such as the first great doctor and carpenter in the Chinese culture. The giant Buddha was awe-inspiring. Took quite a long time to complete the whole circuit and then off for one of our best lunches yet - Peking Duck which was just beautiful.

2 hour trip to the next site - Lashao Temple - also known as the Great Buddha Cliff (is there a theme emerging here?) Which again involved serious climbing of huge stairways but the end justified the means. This is the tallest rock Buddha in China at over 42 metres high - spectacular - and the mountains around it are like you've never seen. Hope to get some photos on Facebook later. You just walk around amazed at what sights are before you. This is not just touring, it is experiencing sights you can just not compare to any previous experience.

It was then a 3 hour drive on a 6 lane expressway to reach Lanzou,  a city of 12 million with massive traffic issues. We are staying just near the Yellow River which we will explore tomorrow.

Lanzou noodles are apparently on the menu!