General's Pillar
From the old pontoon bridge.
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Lanzhou's best-known landmark, a steel truss bridge across the Yellow River that opened on 19 August 1909 and was known for generations as «the First Bridge over the Yellow River», being the first permanent bridge on that long river; in 1928 it was named after Sun Yat-sen, known in China as Zhongshan. Before it, a pontoon bridge of boats chained to iron pillars had stood on the same spot since 1385; it was taken apart every winter for fear of the ice, was often swept away by floods, and served for 524 years. One of its original iron pillars, known as the «General's Pillar» and 5.8 metres tall, still stands in a small pavilion at the bridge's southern end. The German firm Telge & Schroeter of Tianjin built it between 1907 and 1909 to a design by an American bridge company, its materials shipped from Germany through Tianjin and then hauled overland to Lanzhou; it runs 233.5 metres over five spans of 45.9 metres each, while the steel arches on top were added in 1954 to strengthen it. Its first colour was an orange-red; it was painted grey during the Second Sino-Japanese War and has stayed that colour. The bridge has been for pedestrians only since March 2013, and it is free and always open, per visitor guides. Sunset and the hours after it, when the bridge is lit above the water, are the loveliest; the climb up Baita Mountain starts at its northern end, and the riverside promenade on the south bank leads east to the waterwheel park.
From the old pontoon bridge.
Added in 1954.
Over the Yellow River.
Over the Yellow River at the foot of Baita Mountain, Chengguan District, Lanzhou
Yes, the bridge is free and always open, and it has been for pedestrians only since March 2013; sunset and the hours after it, when it is lit, are the best time, per visitor guides.
Lanzhou is famous for its hand-pulled beef noodle soup, made by the city's Hui Muslim cooks, and most of its noodle shops display the halal sign; still, check for the sign, as pork is common in other restaurants. About ten minutes' walk south-west of the bridge's southern end stands Xiguan Mosque, one of the city's oldest, whose origins go back to the Ming dynasty.
