After checking into the Jinheyuan hotel (AKA the Rezen Select Hotel), I took a cab to a nearby Salar (Muslim minority group,) village.

{What I thought was) the community exhibition center was closed for siesta.

So I wandered until I found a restaurant. Lovely place with a peaceful courtyard.

I ordered some food and a woman brought me a gaiwan (special tea cup like the ones Bamboo sent with me on my last trip.)

The tea (leaves) were already in the gaiwan, and then she added hot water from that huge thermos shown in the photo.

mmmmmm ba bao tea! (and it was GOOD!)

You may remember that the reputed origins of ba bao tea was Muslim merchants trading along the ancient silk road. Well, Lanzhou is situated where the silk road intersected the Yellow River, And both Linxia an Xunhua were important Silk Road towns! The legacy of the Silk Road and all its magic are very strong in these cities with their large Muslim populations! (over the centuries Muslim traders were a crucial component in Silk Road trade!)

Some random photos from Xunhua:

Footnote: Did I mention that my hotel in Xunhua was luxurious?
Did I mention that my room is huge and has all kinds of cool extras and classy touches?
Did I mention that its price is $37/night?

Truly the biggest factor in hotel prices is the city the hotel is in…
Big famous, well traveled cities tend to have higher prices.
But it is still possible to get good comfortable lodging at a reasonable price even in places like Beijing, Shanghai, and Xi’an..

One last note about the details of this hotel-

Although of course the rooms have glass- drinking glasses to use with the bottled water. But they also clearly think some people might plan on steeping their tea “to go”. So they provided slightly heavy duty take out cups

Pre-loaded with a “lite” dose…

of ba bao tea! (Some people will do anything to get out of springing for teabags!) 😉