I thought it applied to going outside of Yunnan.

It depends on how strict the local PaiChuSuo is. In Tianjin you need to report when you leave the city. The first time you register they will fine you if you can't prove you just arrived in the city. Yunnan is very relaxed compared to other areas of China.

Summary of Wuwei - Places to visit.

1 - Rui An Fort - Minqin County - 2 hr drive - 30 RMB
2 - Tian Ti Shan Grottoe - Liang Zhou District - 1.5 hr drive - 30 RMB
3 - Bai Ta Temple - Liang Zhou District - 30 min drive - 10 RMB

Within City Limits:
4 - Da Yun Temple - 5 RMB - very nice
5 - Hai Zang Temple - Free
6 - Lei Tai Han Tomb - Free
7 - Luo Shi Ta Temple - Free - Very nice
8 - Nan Cheng Men Lou - Free - Big gate in center of town
9 - Xi Xia Museum - Free
10 - Confucian Temple - Directly across from Xi Xia Museum - 30 RMB.

I visited all the sites listed above except for the Confucian Temple which was under renovation yet still allowed tourists inside. All worth a visit - especially Tian Ti Shan Grottoe which is older than Mogao Grottoe and resembles Le Shan in Chengdu, Sichuan - Must See!!!

Moving on to Lanzhou via T (Slow) Train - 3 hours.

Trivia: Galloping Horse = Tourism Horse.

Perhaps some of you may have noticed a statue in your travels of a bronze horse that sits on top of a globe. You can see it in many tourism cities such as Dali Old Town (right next to the south Gate) and Lijiang.

This horse is now known as the Tourism Horse but it was unearthed at the Lei Tai Han Tomb in WuWei, Gansu.

Lanzhou - My wife went to 2 different pharmacies to buy some Contact cold medicine. She was told she needs a prescription. Now it begins, AMA rules coming to China; you got to love the NWO, WTO, UN and all the Big Brother bull. Lets see when prescriptions are needed in Yunnan for simple OTC meds like Contact. Next will be the attack on TCM and the sudden rise of people who die from TCM overdose and TCM poisoning.

Lanzhou has a very nice Public Bike System (Gong Gong Zi Xing Che) that uses an IC card similar to a bus card. There are about 15-20 bikes parked on many sidewalks around the city. Just tap the IC card scanner and the bike is released. When you reach your destination you park the bike and walk a few meters to where you need to go. Very convenient and only 1 RMB/2 hours. Great System.

@Campo: How bad's the air in Lanzhou this time of year?

Took a T Train from Lanzhou to Tianshui (4 hours). It was my first time in a double decker train. The cars are half the length of regular trains but they have an upstairs and downstairs so they can seat just as many people as a regular train.

The train begins in Lanzhou and ends in Tianshui with only 4 stops in between so there are no long distance travellers on board. Those long distance trains that take 30-40 hours to reach their destination are very nasty because the passengers have been on board for a long time. After 12 hours that train smells like foot, ass and boiled noodles and the floor is carpeted with sunflower seeds.

The best thing about these double deckers is that they are not as crowded because the other half of the people are either above or below you and they don't migrate from floor to floor.

The very, very best part is that there is NO smoking anywhere in the train (Just like a D or G train) so I did not have to put up with the Nasty smokers.

When we arrived in Tianshui we saw 2 big brown signs right outside the train station that list all the scenic spots and their distances - very convenient.

Went to 3 different hotels to ask if they accept foreigners and each hotel had multiple signs in English and Chinese that read - NO Smoking in Public.

We will go to Maijishan Cave Temple Complex (UNESCO) tomorrow. There is a bus (#34/5 RMB/1 hour) that goes directly to this scenic spot from the train station - very convenient.

Taxi Fees - 5 RMB/2 km + 1 RMB/km.

I love this place already.

Campo, I have a question: on these long duration, non-smoking trains, do they let passengers off at stations to smoke on the platform (and then get back on), or do they have to go cold turkey for 30+ hours?

Took a T Train from Lanzhou to Tianshui (4 hours = 300 km).

The train begins in Lanzhou and ends in Tianshui with only 4 stops in between so there are no long distance travellers on board. Those long distance trains that take 30-40 hours to reach their destination are very nasty because the passengers have been on board for a long time. After 12 hours that train smells like foot, ass and boiled noodles and the floor is carpeted with sunflower seeds.

The very, very best part is that there is NO smoking anywhere in the train (Just like a D or G train) so I did not have to put up with the Nasty smokers.

I cut and paste from my earlier post to answer your question.

Nowhere did I say that the long distance (30+ hours) trains do not allow smoking. The train I took for 4 hours was a No Smoking train.

The long distance trains allow people to smoke in between cars. This is why they are nasty and smelly.

Visited the Maijishan Cave Temple Complex in Tianshui, which is a recent addition to the UNESCO sites.

Very convenient for a do-it-yourself type person.

Take bus #34 directly in front of the train station (5 RMB/40 minutes) and it will drop you off directly in front of the visitors center. The main gate and visitors center is 3 km from the grottoe.

You can choose to walk or take a green golf cart for 15 RMB round trip.

There is a little scam going on with tickets so pay attention.

Full Ticket = 70 RMB
Main Gate only = 20 RMB

But if you pay 20 to get inside and then you want to go in the grottoes you must pay 70 RMB (20 + 70 = 90). We went to complain and we were refunded the gate tickets (20 RMB) after our tour. We were told we were the first to complain about their misleading advertising.

There is absolutely NO reason to pay 70 RMB or to go up to the grottoe.

For 20 RMB, there are 3 places to take pictures of the cliff and grottoes all within 100 meters of each other.

We paid the 70 RMB to climb the steps and see the grottoes. All you can see is wooden doors with chicken wire mesh for a window. There are signs that read no Photos and there are many police but they do not bother you and they allow all people to take pictures through the wire mesh doors (pointless).

There are a few larger grottoes with no doors and you can take some nice pictures and no one will bother you.

I am an early bird so we arrived by 0730. No reason to get there before 0900 as the sun does not come up over the mountain until then. Also, there was a thick fog when we arrived and the fog does not lift until after 1000. If you go early you will be facing directly into the sun and the pics will be worthless.

20 RMB for a UNESCO site is very good. I regret paying 70 RMB to climb the grottoes as there is nothing really to see. The best pictures are from below where you can see the entire cliff and the 3 large sculptures on the face of the cliff.