兰州

LanzhouTravel Budget Guide

Tier 2·IATA: LHW

When to visit

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Super-peak (national holiday)PeakShoulderOff-season
Holiday surges
  • extremeSpring Festival· Lunar Jan 1–7 (late Jan / mid-Feb)
  • highQingming (Tomb-Sweeping)· Apr 4–6
  • extremeLabor Day· May 1–5
  • highDragon Boat Festival· Lunar May 5 (~Jun)
  • highMid-Autumn Festival· Lunar Aug 15 (~Sep/Oct)
  • extremeNational Day Golden Week· Oct 1–7
Taxi flag-drop:¥10starting fare

Attractions

Mount Xinglong Nature Reserve兴隆山自然保护区4A$4.43 (CN¥30)
Lanzhou Waterwheel Park兰州水车博览园4AHeritage Site$0.00 (CN¥0)
Lanzhou Danxia Scenic Area兰州水墨丹霞旅游景区—$8.87 (CN¥60)
Gansu Provincial Museum甘肃省博物馆—Heritage Site$0.00 (CN¥0)
Yellow River Tower黄河楼—$4.43 (CN¥30)
Yellow River Iron Bridge (Lanzhou)黄河铁桥—Heritage Site$0.00 (CN¥0)
Lanzhou Polar Ocean World兰州极地海洋世界—$16.26 (CN¥110)
Lanzhou Old Street兰州老街—$0.00 (CN¥0)
Lanzhou Wildlife Park兰州野生动物园—$22.17 (CN¥150)
Baita Mountain Park白塔山公园—$0.00 (CN¥0)
Mother Yellow River Sculpture黄河母亲像—$0.00 (CN¥0)
Dunhuang Art Museum敦煌艺术馆—$0.00 (CN¥0)
Lanzhou Ocean Park兰州海洋公园—$17.44 (CN¥118)
Yellow River Sheepskin Raft Rafting Center黄河羊皮筏子漂流中心—$22.17 (CN¥150)
Lanshan Park兰山公园—$0.74 (CN¥5)
Hekou Ancient Town河口古镇—$0.00 (CN¥0)
Asia-Europe International Sightseeing Experience Hall亚欧国际观光体验厅—$17.74 (CN¥120)
"Wind Rises in Han Dynasty" Immersive Performance Block风起大汉·沉浸式演艺街区—$14.63 (CN¥99)
Lanzhou New Area Great Wall Movie and Television Base兰州新区长城影视基地—$7.09 (CN¥48)
Lanzhou Museum兰州市博物馆—$0.00 (CN¥0)

Hotels

Budget

$15.67 (CN¥106)
/night

Standard

$20.10 (CN¥136)
/night

Comfort

$35.47 (CN¥240)
/night

Tiers are grouped by hotel star rating — Budget ≈ 2★, Standard ≈ 3★, Comfort ≈ 4★ and up. Figures are citywide average nightly rates, so an individual hotel may sit above or below its tier.

Food

Budget meal

$3.40 (CN¥23)
/meal

Mid-range

$10.35 (CN¥70)
/meal

High-end

$33.55 (CN¥227)
/meal
Must try:
  • Lanzhou beef noodle soup
    兰州牛肉面 · Lánzhōu niúròu miàn
  • Hand-grabbed mutton
    手抓羊肉 · Shǒuzhuā yángròu
  • Sweet pea porridge
    灰豆子 · Huīdòuzi
  • Sweet fermented barley
    甜醅 · Tiánpēi
  • Cold wheat-gluten noodles
    酿皮 · Niàngpí
  • Yellow alkaline noodles
    黄面 · Huángmiàn
  • Eight-treasure tea
    三炮台 · Sānpàotái
  • Mutton offal soup
    羊杂碎 · Yáng zásuì
Styles:Fast food · Street snacks · Noodle house

Culture & Heritage

Time-Honored Brands (3)

MOFCOM-certified · cultural background, not a business endorsement
Mazilu Beef NoodlesBatch 2
Est. 1954
A time-honoured standard-bearer of Lanzhou beef noodles, hanging its signboard from 1954 beside the city temple, the most famous name on the lineage of China's "No. 1 noodle."
Foci PharmaceuticalBatch 1
Est. 1929
A Chinese-medicine house founded in Shanghai in 1929 and relocated to Lanzhou in 1956, pioneer of the concentrated-pill form and Gansu's first China Time-Honoured Brand in traditional medicine.
JingyanglouBatch 2
Est. 1902
A Huaiyang restaurant founded in the late Qing that moved its entire operation to Lanzhou in 1958, the only century-old eatery still trading in the city today.

Famous Snacks (6)

Lanzhou Beef NoodlesFamous Snacks
Hailed as "China's No. 1 noodle," Lanzhou's flagship bowl, defined by clear soup, white radish, red chilli, green garlic and yellow noodles, the first taste through which outsiders come to know the city.
Lanzhou Niangpi (Steamed Wheat Sheets)Famous Snacks
A northwest cold wheat-skin snack; the Lanzhou style stands out for its thick, chewy sheets and sharp mustard-chilli-sour dressing, one of the most everyday street snacks of the city.
Sanpaotai Covered-Bowl TeaFamous Snacks
The covered-bowl guest tea of Lanzhou, spring-tip tea steeped with longan, jujube, goji and rock sugar, named for its three-piece set of lid, bowl and saucer.
Lanzhou Jiangshui Noodles (Soured-Broth Noodles)Famous Snacks
A summer noodle bowl whose broth is the lightly fermented vegetable jiângshuǐ, sour, cool and appetite-sharpening, the taste by which Lanzhou beats the height of summer.
Lanzhou Lily BulbFamous Snacks
The sweet edible lily bulb grown around Lanzhou, with large white scales sweet as a pear, a Long-region delicacy used in dishes and sweets, named alongside beef noodles and carved gourds as a Lanzhou speciality.
Lanzhou Grilled Lamb SkewersFamous Snacks
The star snack of Zhengning Road night market, lamb grilled over open coals and dusted with cumin and chilli, the smokiest taste of a Lanzhou summer night.

Intangible Cultural Heritage (5)

Lanzhou Beef Noodle Making TechniqueNational ICH · Batch 第五批国家级非遗（2021，扩展项目）
The traditional craft of Lanzhou beef noodles, hailed as "China's No. 1 noodle," inscribed as national ICH in 2021.
Lanzhou Taiping DrumNational ICH · Batch 第一批国家级非遗（2006）
The Lanzhou drum dance hailed as the "No. 1 Drum Under Heaven," born of Ming-era military colonies, inscribed as national ICH in 2006.
Lanzhou Yellow River Large Waterwheel Making TechniqueNational ICH · Batch 第一批国家级非遗（2006）
The craft of building the great irrigation waterwheels along the Yellow River at Lanzhou, inscribed as national ICH in 2006, an emblem of the river culture of the Golden City.
Lanzhou Carved GourdProvincial ICH
The gourd-carving craft counted with beef noodles and the sheepskin raft among the "Three Treasures of Lanzhou," listed as Gansu provincial ICH in 2006.
Lanzhou Sheepskin RaftProvincial ICH
An ancient river craft that has floated on the Yellow River for centuries, counted with beef noodles and carved gourds among the Three Treasures of Lanzhou and listed as Gansu provincial ICH in 2006.
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