Bingling Temple, a niche grotto day trip guide

Transportation Bingling Temple Grottoes are located in Linxia, but it's completely feasible to do a round trip from Lanzhou in one day, and it can also be included in the Gannan travel route. There are two ways to get there: one is by land, driving from Lanzhou takes about two and a half hours, with many winding mountain roads, all paved, but still tiring to drive; the other is to take a boat from Liujiaxia Pier and go by water, which is faster, but since you need to return on the same boat, the visiting time is limited. If you're not looking at the special caves, the water route is fine. Tickets You must buy a basic ticket for Bingling Temple Grottoes, which allows you to see the ordinary caves, priced at 50 yuan. Tickets for the special caves are sold separately, with the most famous caves 169 and 172 bundled at a price of 300 yuan. For the ordinary cave explanation, no matter how many people are in the group, it's only 50 yuan. If you buy a ticket for the special caves, it comes with a guide for those caves. When I went, the guide for the ordinary caves sounded like an emotionless recitation machine, but was very serious and detailed when explaining cave 169, so the guiding experience depends entirely on the guide's mood and state. It's recommended to watch a documentary about the grottoes in advance to understand the background knowledge, otherwise, even if the guide explains, it's hard to understand. Tour Route The route through Bingling Temple Grottoes is quite simple. After entering, you first see the Yellow River Danxia at p2, and after checking tickets, you walk a short distance to see the ordinary caves one after another (p7-p15). Continue walking to the big Buddha (p5), where you can go up to the special caves 169 and 172, the stairs look very steep (p16), but it's not too difficult to climb slowly. After seeing the big Buddha, you can cross the bridge to a small room to see the reclining Buddha (p6), and then the tour is over. So the main grottoes are all in the first half, and you can take your time to look carefully. I spent a total of more than 2 hours there (including the special cave 169). Most of the caves in Bingling Temple are not covered by iron nets, so the visual experience is better. Bingling Temple Cultural and Creative Bingling Temple Grottoes are now managed by the Dunhuang Academy, and perhaps drawing on the successful experience of the Mogao Grottoes, the cultural and creative products of Bingling Temple Grottoes are very attractive, but there are few types, and many are from the Mogao Grottoes placed here for sale. On the way to the ticket checkpoint after entering, you can see them. There are also vending machines selling cultural and creative products in the scenic area, but they are more expensive than in the store, so it's better to buy them in the store. Liu Jiaxia Checkpoint Bingling Temple Grottoes are close to the Liujiaxia Reservoir, so if you have enough time, you can also check out the Liujiaxia Huangtao Confluence Viewing Platform (p18), where the muddy river is the Tao River, and the clear one is the Yellow River, the confluence of the two rivers is quite magical. Additionally, Wei Jiapo next to Liujiaxia can also be a stopover point, known as the 'Little Erhai', but I haven't been there, so I won't elaborate. Food: You must try the authentic Yellow River carp near the Liujiaxia Reservoir, as well as the local pot. Personal tips: For friends who are not interested in religious beliefs, there's no need to go, and it might be better to just go to the Liujiaxia Reservoir. I joined a tour group on Ctrip, and a Buick business car just took me and two other girls, the driver took us around for a spin, it was really super cost-effective (this depends on luck, normally they would fill the car).