The Yellow River Waterwheel, a wooden tool located in the Yellow River Bend (approximately 6 to 7 kilometers from Shapotou), utilizes water flow power to lift water for irrigation. The existing waterwheels are mainly used as landscapes. The main body of the waterwheel consists of an axle, spokes, a scraper, and a water bucket, with a diameter of up to 17-20 meters. It lifts river water to a wooden trough for irrigation of farmland by driving the runner with water flow. The Lanzhou Waterwheel Expo Park showcases six restored giant waterwheels, among which the Xiachuan Waterwheel was built in 1711 and was listed as a provincial-level cultural relic in 2003
During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty (1556), Duan Xu, a native of Lanzhou, drew inspiration from the southern tube-wheel technology to create the first waterwheel. During the heyday of the Qing Dynasty, there were over 300 such waterwheels distributed along the Yellow River basin. A single waterwheel could irrigate 200-300 acres of farmland day and night, but they were gradually abandoned after the widespread adoption of electric irrigation in the 1950s. Most of the existing waterwheels are restored and rebuilt, such as the Longwan waterwheel restored in 1999, which retains its ancient design. In 2006, the craftsmanship of making the large waterwheel along the Yellow River in Lanzhou was selected as a national-level intangible cultural heritage

The material chosen for the Yellow River Mother sculpture is ordinary granite, which can better represent the color of the Yellow River and the skin tone of the Chinese people. At the same time, the rough texture of granite seems to tell the story of the vicissitudes and tremendous changes that the Chinese nation has experienced over thousands of years. The composition is concise and the meaning is profound, symbolizing the Yellow River Mother who nurtures the Chinese nation with her endless vitality and perseverance, as well as the happy and thriving Chinese descendants. The base of the Yellow River Mother statue is engraved with water ripples and fish patterns, which originate from the primitive patterns of ancient painted pottery in Gansu Province, reflecting the long history and culture of Gansu. With its unique aesthetic value and ideological connotation, it has become a landmark attraction in Lanzhou City

AI大模型翻译
The Hexi Corridor, abbreviated as "Hexi", is located in the western region of China, specifically in the northwest of Gansu Province, situated between the Yellow River to the west and the Qilian Mountains and the Badain Jaran Desert to the east. It is a narrow strip extending from northwest to southeast. It is named Hexi Corridor because it is located to the west of the Yellow River and shaped like a corridor. It stretches about 1,000 kilometers from east to west and varies in width from nearly 200 kilometers at its widest point to just a few kilometers at its narrowest. It mainly encompasses the cities of Wuwei, Jinchang, Zhangye, Jiuquan, and Jiayuguan in Gansu Province. The central city of the Hexi Corridor is Wuwei
The Hexi Corridor has been a vital communication route connecting the Central Plains of China with the Western Regions since ancient times. It is a core area where multiple ethnic groups have continuously clashed and integrated, leaving behind a wealth of cultural heritage and cultural tourism resources that can be utilized. Due to its unique status as a passageway and an important venue for continuous conflict and integration among multiple ethnic groups, the Hexi Corridor region has become a treasure trove for experiencing the rich and diverse culture of the Chinese nation and understanding cultural differences between different ethnic groups. At the same time, it is also a living historical textbook for understanding the formation, integration, and development of the Chinese nation, and has become a region for cultivating cultural identity among the Chinese people

Zhangye Grand Buddha Temple, situated in the downtown area of Zhangye City, was initially constructed during the Yong'an period of the Western Xia Dynasty, boasting a history spanning over nine hundred years. The temple is renowned for housing a colossal indoor clay statue of the Reclining Buddha, which is among the largest of its kind in China. Additionally, it features distinctive ancient structures such as the earthen pagoda and the Shanxi Guild Hall, offering visitors opportunities for worship and exploration. Exhibitions within the temple provide insight into Buddhist art and the rich history of Zhangye Grand Buddha Temple. Zhangye Grand Buddha Temple stands as one of the iconic attractions of Zhangye.

The Zhangye Colorful Danxia Scenic Area is located in Linze and Sunan Counties, at the northern foothills of the Qilian Mountains. The scenic area is 40 kilometers east of Zhangye City and 20 kilometers north of Linze County. With a total area of 50 square kilometers and a tourist activity area of 4 square kilometers, it is now a World Geological Park and a national 5A-level tourist attraction. Within the scenic area, there are seven scenic spots, including Colorful Cloud Sea, Colorful Fairy Destiny, Colorful Brocade, Colorful Rainbow, Crouching Tiger Gorge, Colorful Ao River, and Vientiane Earth Forest Valley. There are also attractions such as Dragon Playing with Fire (colorful hills), Monkey Watching the Sea, Tortoise Asking the Sky, and Toad Seeking Wisdom

Visit Jiayu Fortress, the main attraction protecting the Jiayu Pass between the Qilian and Black Mountains. Walk along the westernmost section of the Great Wall for panoramic views of the Gobi Desert. This historic site offers a combination of architectural grandeur, military strategy, and desert scenery.

Yulin Grottoes, also known as Wanfo Gorge, Yulin Temple, and Shangdongzi, are located on the steep cliffs on both sides of the Yulin River gorge, 70 kilometers south of the city of Guazhou County (formerly Anxi County) in Jiuquan City, Gansu Province. They are named after the elm trees that form a forest on the riverbanks and are managed by the Dunhuang Academy.

"Son of the Earth" is a large outdoor sculpture located on the Gobi Desert in Guazhou County, Gansu Province. It was independently created by Professor Dong Shubing, the director of the Sculpture Department at the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, in 2016. It is one of the first works of the Guazhou Gobi International Sculpture Art Gallery, aiming to continue the tradition of plastic arts of the Mogao Grottoes and Yulin Grottoes in Dunhuang, and to create an integrated area within the Greater Dunhuang Cultural Tourism Economic Circle. It is a core project of Dong Shubing's "Wilderness Art Plan" and was listed as a funded project for art creation in 2016 by the National Art Fund. The sculpture is 15 meters long, 4.3 meters high, and 9 meters wide, primarily made of red sandstone. Model data was obtained through 3D scanning, and then the sculpture was carved block by block in 3D. Finally, each block was carved, assembled, and installed to form the image of a prone and sleeping baby, symbolizing the harmonious coexistence of humans and nature.

The Mogao Caves, commonly known as the "Thousand Buddha Caves," are a representative group of caves within the Dunhuang Grottoes. Located on the cliff face of the eastern foothills of Mingsha Mountain and the west bank of the Dangquan River, 25 kilometers southeast of Dunhuang City, they face east towards the Sanwei Mountain. The caves are densely distributed along a cliff face approximately 2 kilometers long from north to south and about 40 to 50 meters high. The rock is composed of Jiuquan system gravel rock layers, formed by the deposition and bonding of sand and pebbles. The sand layer is loose and unsuitable for carving, so the grottoes mainly feature clay sculptures and colored paintings.

During the Jin Dynasty, it was once known as "Xianyan Temple". Before the Sixteen Kingdoms period, during the Former Qin Dynasty, it was officially named "Mogao Caves". At the end of the Sui Dynasty and the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, it was called "Chongjiao Temple". In the Yuan Dynasty, it was known as "Huangqing Temple", and in the late Qing Dynasty, it was also referred to as "Leiyin Temple". However, these were all temporary names used to refer to the entire Mogao Caves during a short period of time. According to the "Inscription on the Mogao Caves" written in ink on the north wall of the front chamber of Cave 156, the Mogao Caves were founded in the late Western Jin Dynasty. According to P.2691 "Topography of Shazhou", the caves were built in the ninth year of Yonghe in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (353). Furthermore, according to the "Inscription on the Buddhist Niche of Li Junxiu in the Mogao Caves" preserved by the Dunhuang Academy and dated to the first year of Shengli in the Zhou Dynasty (698), the first cave was excavated by the monk Yuechun in the second year of Jianyuan in the Former Qin Dynasty (366). Currently, there are three prevailing theories, but the one that is most commonly accepted is the second year of Jianyuan in the Former Qin Dynasty. After the Former Qin Dynasty, the caves underwent a total of 11 eras, including the Northern Liang, Northern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui, Tang (divided into early, prosperous, middle, and late periods), Five Dynasties, Song, Uighur, Western Xia, and Yuan dynasties, spanning a thousand years. By the time of the Wu Zhou Dynasty (early Tang Dynasty), there were already "more than a thousand cave chambers".

The Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Lake Scenic Area in Jiuquan City, commonly referred to as the Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Lake Scenic Area, is located 5 kilometers south of Dunhuang City, Jiuquan City, Gansu Province. It covers an area of 76.82 square kilometers, with the core scenic area defined as 12.79 square kilometers. It is renowned for the desert wonders of mountains and springs coexisting, and sand and water intergrowing, and is hailed as "one of the wonders beyond the Great Wall"

Devil City, a type of Yadan landform, is mostly located in Gobi deserts or sandy wastelands. Globally renowned examples include the World Devil City Scenic Area in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China, Qitai Devil City, Kizil Devil City, and Hami Devil City in China, Devil's Tower in Wyoming, USA, Mojave Desert, the Tebet wilderness in the Chad Basin, Africa, the southeastern Lut Desert in Iran, and Wadi Rum in southwest Jordan.
The Ghost City typically integrates natural landscapes such as Gobi Yadan, desert canyons, natural asphalt, sunrise and rosy clouds, and mirages, and boasts tourism resources like rock Yadan and natural asphalt veins. The landscape emits various sounds due to the wind blowing sand and gravel, as well as rocks, which continuously strike, collide, and rub against the rocks, hence the name "Ghost City". Some Ghost Cities are located at wind gaps, where the maximum wind force can reach level 10-12.
The Yadan landform tourism resources generally feature characteristics such as being unique, mysterious, and ancient. The Yadan landform is peculiar, with various shapes resembling walls, fortresses, villages, pillars, humans, beasts, and objects. The Yadan landform is characterized by "flat tops and steep bodies." The huge mounds are mostly 10 to 30 meters high, with steep side walls, and the side facing the prevailing wind is twisted and winding, creating a climbing potential. When climbing to the flat top of the mound, the wind whistles by your ears. The Yadan landform is distributed in vast strips of wind-eroded depressions between various odd and unusual landforms, resembling the streets and alleys deep in a utopian land, appearing deep and serene. The Yadan landform has been formed for a long time

Yumen Pass is a military fortress of the Great Wall in the Han Dynasty, originally established during the Yuanfeng period of Emperor Wu of Han (approximately 116 BC - 105 BC). It served as the core pass in the defense system of the four prefectures in Hexi, and, along with Yang Pass, was the administrative headquarters of the Longle County Commander in Dunhuang Prefecture, guarding the throat of the northern Silk Road. The location of the pass has been confirmed through Han bamboo slips and archaeological excavations to be Xiaofangpan City in the northwest of Dunhuang. The existing square rammed earth castle has a side length of about 25 meters and a residual height of nearly 10 meters. Outside the northern wall, there remains a road leading to the Western Regions. Surrounding areas are dotted with the remains of the Han Great Wall, beacon towers, and storage sites of He Cang City.
Originally located within Jiuquan County, it was relocated twice to the northwest of Dunhuang in the fourth year of the Taichu era (101 BC) and the first year of the Later Han Dynasty (88 BC). From the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, it experienced repeated abandonment and reconstruction as the Silk Road waxed and waned. As an exclusive passage for the Han army to enter and exit the Western Regions, it was strictly controlled militarily, distinguishing it from the diplomatic function of Yangguan Pass. The allusion to Ban Chao's "entering Yumen Pass alive" originated from this. Since the Tang Dynasty, it has been transformed into a typical image in frontier poetry, with famous lines by poets such as Wang Changling and Wang Zhihuan making it a symbol of the western frontier of Central Plains civilization. In 2014, it was included as part of the "Silk Road: Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor" in the World Cultural Heritage list.