I didn't know much about this place until the bus I was on (I was going elsewhere) passed by this beautiful park. I asked the person behind me what its name was, and made sure to return to it the following day.
I didn't know about this place until I passed by it on the way to somewhere else, I didn't regret going back for it after seeing the sea of yellow rape flowers when my friend and I alighted the bus. There weren't a lot of people, which I found surprising for such a beautiful place.
Here's a short video:
The combination of colors, the yellows, the greens of the mountains and the blue skies make for a picturesque landscape.
The place seemed surreal, I got used to the droves of Chinese tourists coming and going, and it was quite different that this beautiful place barely had any. However, it was a welcome relief, since we almost had the place to ourselves.
You can also ride horses (at a price) while exploring Biandukou, but you actually don't need one since it is easy to walk around.
You can see a sea of yellow as far as your eyes can see. There are many fields and small villages dotting the area.
I couldn't stop taking pictures in every direction, because everything was picture perfect; although there was a mix of overcast and blue skies, serving as the backdrop for the yellow flowers and verdant, green rolling hills.
We stayed in the same hostel and decided to invite her to come with me to Biandukou, we had a nice time exploring this part of China. We met a random roadside vendor that decided to give her a free potato (haha!). We were also surprised that a small shop that sold honey brought out a QR code so that customers can pay using WeChat, which I thought was amazing.
This part was quite unique, Zhangye is near a desert, a green mountain and this; which is strange since an arid area is just a few hours away. The weather also changed from dry and hot to cool, which makes some sense because Biandukou is just around the border of the Qilian Mountains, in Qinghai. In my opinion, this is one of the most diverse areas among the places I've been to in China, the landscape and even weather changes within a few hours of each destination.
Here's another video:
How to get to Biandukou
Unlike many other attractions in China, Biandukou surprisingly didn't have an entrance fee (I visited in July 2017). I also came at the right season because the yellow rape flowers were blooming already. The round way bus tickets from Zhangye to Biandukou is around CNY 49.
