Current Time in Baiyin, China

Baiyin lies in the eastern part of Gansu Province in northwestern China, spread across the dry hills and terraces of the Loess Plateau at a point where the Yellow River cuts a broad valley on its long journey east. The city stands roughly seventy kilometres northeast of the provincial capital Lanzhou, at an elevation of about fifteen hundred metres, surrounded by ochre ridges, irrigated river flats and, further north, the sandy margins of the Tengger Desert. The climate is continental and strongly arid, with cold clear winters, hot summers and very little rain.

As a prefecture level city Baiyin administers around one and a half million people, of whom several hundred thousand live in the compact urban districts at its centre. The name means white silver and refers directly to the mineral wealth that has shaped the place for centuries. Silver was mined here during the Ming dynasty, and in the twentieth century the discovery of a large copper deposit turned a scattering of villages into one of the most important non ferrous metal centres in China. Copper, lead, zinc and a substantial chemical industry still underpin the local economy.

The wider district has been inhabited far longer than the modern city suggests. Caravan routes of the Silk Road passed through this stretch of the Yellow River valley, and ferry crossings made of inflated sheepskin rafts were in use here for generations. The most striking survival of that older world is Yongtai, a Ming dynasty garrison town founded in the early seventeenth century whose circular rammed earth wall, seen from above, resembles a turtle. The village inside the walls is now largely abandoned to the wind, and its weathered gates have become a favourite location for Chinese filmmakers.

The best known natural attraction is the Yellow River Stone Forest, a national geopark near Jingtai County where columns of yellow sandstone rise more than two hundred metres above a bend in the river. Visitors reach the base by donkey cart or by sheepskin raft, and the surrounding gorges, desert plateaus and the nearby Shapotou dunes make the area a popular destination for photographers and hikers. Closer to town, Fajing Temple and the terraced parks along the river offer quieter afternoons.

Baiyin is linked to Lanzhou by expressway and by rail, and the provincial capital provides the nearest major airport and high speed connections to the rest of the country. Local buses serve the urban districts, while long distance coaches reach the mining towns and farming counties spread across the prefecture.

Education is oriented towards the city's industries, with vocational and technical colleges training engineers, chemists and metallurgists, while students seeking university places generally travel to Lanzhou. In recent decades Baiyin has been officially designated a resource depleted city and has invested heavily in solar and wind power, ceramics, greenhouse agriculture and tourism in an effort to broaden its base.

For travellers, Baiyin offers a rewarding glimpse of inland China away from the famous coastal cities, combining industrial heritage, desert scenery and the enduring presence of the Yellow River.