Gansu · China
Where to stay in Lanzhou
Lanzhou is a city in Gansu, China, home to about 4,359,000 people.
- Best months
- May to September
- Nearest airport
- LHW54 km · Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport
- Currency
- CNYrenminbi
- Time zone
- Asia/Urumqi
- Language
- Chinese, Putonghua, Standard Chinese
About
About Lanzhou
Lanzhou, formerly Lanchow, is the capital and largest city of Gansu province in northwestern China. Located on the banks of the Yellow River, it is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the eastern half of the country.
Lanzhou is an industrial city of about 4.5 million people. It is located on the shores of the Yellow River. It used to be one of the most polluted cities in China but the situation has improved. The elevation of Lanzhou is 1,570 m. Lanzhou was a major stop on the Silk Road; in those days, it was known as the Golden City. From the 5th to the 11th century the city was a major seat of Buddhist learning, and it acquired its present name during the Qing Dynasty in 1656.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Lanzhou
See
- Gansu Provincial Museum
- Five-Spring Mountain
- Zhongshan ("Morning") Bridge
- Sculptures of the Mother River
- Tianxu sand Palace Geopark
- Gansu Sanmu Bicycle Museum
- White Pagoda Mountain Park (Baitashan)
- Green Corridor along Binhe Road
- Waterwheel Garden
- Gaolan Mountain
- Yantan Park
- Xiaoxihu Park
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Which part of Lanzhou to stay in
As located in buildings, with almost no signs or Chinese signs, hostels in Lanzhou are a little bit tricky to find.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Hotels in Lanzhou
13 hotels within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Atour Hotel Lanzhou Xigu | 19.9 km | |
| Civil Aviation Yunmeilv International Hotel | 4.4 km | |
| Crowne Plaza Hotel Lanzhou | 2.1 km | |
| Grand Soluxe Hotel Gansu(Zhangye Road Pedestrian Street Store, Gansu) | 0.3 km | |
| Great Wall Jianguo Hotel | 3.6 km | |
| Hampton by Hilton Lanzhou Mogao Avenue | 13.5 km | |
| Hampton by Hilton Lanzhou Qilihe Bridge | 6.7 km | |
| Holiday Inn & Suites Lanzhou Center | 4.8 km | |
| Hyatt Regency Lanzhou | 1.6 km | |
| JI Hotel Tianshui South Road, Lanzhou | 3.1 km | |
| Mercure Lanzhou Zhengning Road | 1.6 km | |
| Wanda Vista Lanzhou | 3.4 km | |
| Wyndham LanZhou HaiYue | 2.1 km |
When to go
The best time to visit Lanzhou
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Lanzhou are May to September. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 27 °C; August is the wettest, with about 73 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Lanzhou: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport (LHW), about 54 km from the city centre in a straight line.
Getting around
There are two Metro lines, Metro Line 1 (blue line) runs east–west across the city, linking downtown with West Railway Station, and Metro Line 2 (red line). Fare is around ¥2-4. There are other metro lines being build connecting the main Railway Station (as of Aug 2024). The #1 Bus is really useful getting around Lanzhou. It travels from Lanzhou Station to the Lanzhou Hotel, Qingyang Lu, Xihu Gongyuian Park, Qiliheqiao and ending at Lanzhou West Station. It also connects the train station to the starting point of the shuttle bus to the airport, here. The fare for bus or metro is around ¥ 2-3.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
LHW · Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Lanzhou
Eat
Lanzhou is famous for its beef noodle soup (兰州牛肉拉面 Lanzhou niurou lamian). The noodles are always hand made, and the broth served hot and spicy with as much beef as you care to pay for. If the place offers a cheap bowl of noodle, usually it comes with beef broth, but without sliced beef, you need to pay more for it. They are a specialty of the Muslim Hui ethnic group, and hence are a good option for those looking for halal food. A bowl of beef noodle soup is around ¥15 (as of Aug 2024).
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Lanzhou: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Lanzhou?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Lanzhou are May to September. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 27 °C; August is the wettest, with about 73 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Lanzhou?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport (LHW), about 54 km from the city centre in a straight line.
What currency is used in Lanzhou?
renminbi (CNY).
Nearby
Destinations near Lanzhou
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.