Yongjing County

This is a green and pleasant, modern town on the banks of a large river.

You rarely see ancient pagodas here, only lonely temples carved into rocky hillsides. New skyscrapers have risen in the central districts. Surrounded by mountains and hugged by the Huang He River, Yongjing has a picturesque charm. There are a respectable number of five-star hotels in this provincial town, which has only 200,000 residents. A recent event, the 7th International Tourism Festival ‘Travel to Dunhuang – the Great Silk Road’, recreated a modern version of an ancient trade fair on the old caravan route, reviving Gansu’s role as a cultural bridge to rest of the world. Tourists found themselves greeted in a spectacular way, with actors beating drums to drive away evil spirits. Food sellers and cooks put on cooking demonstrations, combining shashlik with lively dancing accompanied by Uighur music and, more surprisingly, modern Russian hits.