A metre of straw beside the railway
Where the southeast edge of the Tengger meets the Yellow River, wheat-straw grids about one metre square let the Baotou–Lanzhou railway cross moving dunes. The line crossed roughly forty-two kilometres of sand.
Zhongwei.
Zhongwei stands where the Tengger desert meets the Yellow River and the Baotou–Lanzhou railway crosses the sand. Shapotou's straw grids, the Gao Temple, the old waterwheels at Changle and the wolfberry fields of Zhongning all belong to this prefecture.
Stories
Three teachings on one climb
On Zhongwei’s old street grid, Gao Temple sets Buddhist, Daoist, and Confucian rooms on one axis, from a Mahavira hall up to the Jade Emperor and the Holy Mother.
ReadWheels that lifted river water
At Shuiche Village in Changle, wooden wheels once lifted Yellow River water onto the fields. They were dismantled by March 2013; a 2020 decision names two to restore, but no wheel turns there yet.
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Dried in Zhongning
Zhongning wolfberry is a dried fruit of Zhongning County, registered in 2017 as an agricultural-product geographical indication: red, wrinkled, faintly scented, sweet and slightly sour.
ReadPlaces
Zhongwei
Shapotou
Where the southeast edge of the Tengger meets the Yellow River, wheat-straw grids about one metre square let the Baotou–Lanzhou railway cross moving dunes. The line crossed roughly forty-two kilometres of sand.
Zhongwei
Zhongwei Gao Temple
On Zhongwei’s old street grid, Gao Temple sets Buddhist, Daoist, and Confucian rooms on one axis, from a Mahavira hall up to the Jade Emperor and the Holy Mother.
Zhongwei
Changle Yellow River Waterwheels
At Shuiche Village in Changle, wooden wheels once lifted Yellow River water onto the fields. They were dismantled by March 2013; a 2020 decision names two to restore, but no wheel turns there yet.
Zhongwei
Zhongning Wolfberry
Zhongning wolfberry is a dried fruit of Zhongning County, registered in 2017 as an agricultural-product geographical indication: red, wrinkled, faintly scented, sweet and slightly sour.
Photo credits and rights
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A line of camels carrying riders crosses a bare sand dune beneath a pale, hazy blue sky.Zhongwei Municipal People's Government · Rights information Photo source ↗