Built in 1994 & located on the West side of Binhe Road in Lanzhou City, the Capital of Gansu in Northwestern China - Lanzhou Waterwheel Park covers an area of 1.45 hectares…………

Right inside Lanzhou Waterwheel Park is a Sketch Map & Briefing of the famous Park :

Here’s Me standing infront of the 2 largest Waterwheels inside Lanzhou Waterwheel Park (still drizzling now)………..

At 16.5 metres in diameter, these Waterwheels are Ancient Irrigation Devices that use flowing or falling water to create power by means of a set of Paddles mounted around a Wheel. The force of the water moves the Paddles, & the consequent rotation of the Wheel is transmitted into Machinery via the Shaft of the Wheel.

There were many Irrigation Machines in Lanzhou, which is the only City through which the Yellow River (Huanghe) flows, & the Waterwheel is the oldest one – invented by an Imperial Official named Duan Xu during the Ming Dynasty.

Beautiful snapshots of the Yellow River (Huanghe) beside Lanzhou Waterwheel Park – though looking real muddy this tranquil scene of the Yellow River amidst the local Chinese Sleeping Willow Trees does look very gorgeous to Me :

No wonder Lanzhou was once called “The City of Waterwheels“…………..

HEY what are those down below there at the Park beside the Yellow River (Huanghe)?!?! Looking like Piglets to Me ahhaha!!

OH WHAT!?!? These are Sheepskin Rafts!! Oh DEAR!!!

I’ve NEVER seen anything like these unique Sheepskin Rafts!!! Have you!??!

Called the Sheepskin Rafts of the Yellow River (Huanghe) & most popularly seen along the banks of the Yellow River – these Rafts were firstly used as Water Transportation Ferries in Troops during the Han Dynasty, then later used to carry people across the Yellow River! 

The following are descriptions of Lanzhou Sheepskin Rafts :

Poor Poor Sheeps – now that I’m having much closer looks at them & touching them…………they feel very tough & hard & kinda eerie to me :

But they really seem more like whole Pigs (rather than just Pig Skins) than Sheepskins to me!!

Haha wondering why there’re Muslims here in China!?!? Well, the first major Muslim settlements in China consisted of Arab & Persian Merchants who reached China through the Ancient Silk Road, & these Muslims later married the Chinese people here in China.

Altogether, Chinese Muslims account to 1.5% of China’s population, at a number of 20 million (WHOA there’s alot!!) - scattered throughout China but mostly found in Northwestern China & here in Lanzhou being located in Northwestern China has its large share of Chinese Muslims.

The following’s a huge Poster seen here inside Lanzhou Waterwheel Park that reads in Chinese translated to English – “Welcome Aboard Sheepskin Raft Cruising Over Yellow River (Huanghe)” :

Let’s see a close-up snapshot from the above Poster showing the Chinese riding on a Sheepskin Raft across Yellow River (Huanghe) :

Guess what!??! There’re still Sheepskin Rafts available here in Lanzhou & tourists like myself can ride on one across the vast Yellow River!!

Hahah I’ve done Water Rafting in Cairns Australia before, but never Sheepskin Water Rafting heheh!!

Sounds really cool & most interesting huh, unfortunately there’s no sufficient time for my Tour group (that including Me!!) to take up the Cruise at all (((

Hahah it’s indeed a real cool special way of getting to know what & how the Ancient Chinese people make use in their daily living here along the banks of the massive Yellow River (Huanghe) - pretty hard as it seems, we can only imagine looking at the Waterwheels & Sheepskin Rafts………..

Before I leave Lanzhou Waterwheel Park for my next sightseeing tour – here’s the most extraordinary Lanzhou Souvenir that one can bring back home – but NOT for Me cos I feel kinda yucky just thinking about the many poor poor Sheeps……….

Shortly after leaving Lanzhou Waterwheel Park, we arrive at the site of yet another famous Yellow River highlight - the Yellow River Mother Sculpture.

Referred to as the Mother River (or “Mu He” in Chinese) - the Lanzhou people erected the Yellow River Mother Sculpture here by the side of the River as a tribute to it – here below inscribed on the black Marble Tablet reading “Huanghe Mu Qin” as in “Yellow River Mother” Sculpture :

Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in Western China, the Yellow River (Huanghe) flows through 9 Provinces of China & empties into Bohai Sea. The Yellow River Basin has an East-West extent of 1900km, & a North-South extent of 1100km, with a total Basin area of 742,443km.

Here’s Me standing infront of the Yellow River Mother (or “Huanghe Mu Qin”) Sculpture :

Innitially refered simply as “River” or “He” (in Chinese), the Yellow River (Huanghe) later gets its name cos of its Ochre-Yellow colored muddy water in the lower course of the River – the Yellow color having come from loess suspended in the water. For this muddy water, the Yellow River is sometimes poetically called the “Muddy Flow“!!

Actually, the Yellow River (Huanghe) has another rather sad name to it being called “China’s Sorrow” due to the frequent devastating floodings (almost 1600 times in the last 3000-4000 years!!), cos of the elevated River bed in its lower course from large amount of loess carried by the River & continuously deposited along the bottom of the River’s canal.

Nevertheless, the Yellow River (Huanghe) has nourished generations of the Chinese people here in China & has earned the proud name “China’s Pride“………..

And to the Chinese people, this Yellow River Mother (& Baby) Sculpture represents China (which is the Baby) being nourished & loved by his Mother (which is the Yellow River)…………

Well, I’ll end here with the following interesting Chinese Signboard seen outside the Yellow River Mother Sculpture that reads in direct English Translation as “Love Me Yellow River, Green Me Golden City” literally meaning “Love my Yellow River, Make Green my Golden City” (since Lanzhou used to be called “Golden City“) :