For a culturally focused stay in the municipal area of Linxia City, there are several themes to explore: historic streets and residences, traditional crafts, the layout of courtyard compounds and museum collections. Bafang Shisanxiang in Linxia City is a cultural and tourism district with historic streets and residences, as well as a range of cultural activities. Dong Gongguan in the associated county makes an architectural statement with its courtyard compound; the Linxia Prefecture Museum in Linxia City focuses on painted ceramics from the Majiayao culture.
Bafang Shisanxiang: Streets, Courtyards and Crafts
Bafang Shisanxiang is a historic street district in Linxia City, with a pedestrian zone covering about 410,000 square metres and a main street more than 1,300 metres long. These figures give the district a concrete sense of scale. Visitor activities include exploring historic streets and residences, cultural exhibitions, culinary experiences and relaxing in courtyards. The focus here is therefore not only on buildings, but also on different ways of experiencing culture.
Bafang Shisanxiang in Linxia City is home to 119 intangible cultural heritage projects at prefecture level or above. These include copper kettle craftsmanship, brick relief, wood carving, egg carving, clay sculpture and gourd carving. The examples range from crafts and sculpture to relief work and carving. Linxia’s intangible cultural heritage is presented through museums, exhibition halls, cultural performances and street demonstrations. Visitors interested in how culture is shared can therefore find several different formats alongside the historic district itself.
Historic Architectural Forms and Protected Sites
In Bafang Shisanxiang in Linxia City, the North Temple Dragon Screen Wall and the courtyard at No. 80 Daga Lane are classified as provincial-level cultural heritage sites. Their names point to two distinct architectural features: a dragon screen wall and a courtyard. Both are protected sites alongside the district’s broader themes of historic streets and cultural activities.
At Dong Gongguan in the associated county, the focus is on spatial layout. The compound comprises 126 surviving rooms: the main entrance, passage hall, southwest courtyard, northwest courtyard, inner courtyard and outer courtyard. Its floor plan corresponds to the Chinese character “田”. The compound can therefore be understood through two specific features: the number of surviving rooms and the shape of the overall floor plan. For an architectural perspective, both individual courtyard areas and their arrangement are relevant.
Majiayao Ceramics at the Linxia Prefecture Museum
The Linxia Prefecture Museum in Linxia City houses 4,288 cultural objects. Among them are 66 first-grade, 230 second-grade and 705 third-grade protected objects. Collection figures may change as they are updated. The museum is also a national second-grade museum and a Gansu provincial patriotic education base.
The collection of the Linxia Prefecture Museum in Linxia City is particularly rich in painted ceramics from the Majiayao culture, dating from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age. This focus brings together specific objects and a broad time span. If you want to explore cultural history through collections and materials, Majiayao ceramics offer a clearly defined thematic entry point; the protection grades of the cultural objects also provide another perspective on the collection.
Cultural Highlights for Your Stay
The cultural destinations each have a distinct focus: Bafang Shisanxiang in Linxia City combines historic streets with crafts and cultural interpretation; Dong Gongguan in the associated county is known for its spatial layout and floor plan; the Linxia Prefecture Museum in Linxia City focuses on cultural objects and Majiayao ceramics.
Discover more destinations: Dingxi, Baiyin, Zhangye, Jiayuguan, Jinchang, Lanzhou, Gannan, Longnan
For the broader travel overview: Gansu.
