Stand on the approach to the Kongtong Mountains in the early morning and the ridges rise out of the mist in layers, each one further back and fainter than the last. This is the landscape that has drawn Taoist pilgrims to Pingliang for centuries, and it remains the reason most travellers come.
Pingliang suits travellers who are already in Gansu or neighbouring Shaanxi and Ningxia and want a stop that combines mountain walking with a serious museum collection. It is a working city on the Loess Plateau rather than a resort, so come for the sights rather than for nightlife or shopping.
This guide covers the places worth your time in and around the city, followed by a plan for a single day if that is all you have.
Top things to do in Pingliang
1. Kongtongshan National Park
Kongtongshan National Park is the main reason to come to Pingliang and an important site in the Taoist religion. The mountains are associated with the mythical meeting of the Yellow Emperor and Guangchengzi, an immortal, which gives the landscape a weight that ordinary hill walking does not.
Give this the best part of a day rather than squeezing it in. The park is outside the city proper, so plan your transport there and back before you set out, and note that Pingliang sits at around 1,400 m, so the air is thinner and the weather cooler than you might expect at this latitude.
2. Pingliang Museum
Pingliang Museum (平凉市博物馆) sits in Longyin Temple Park in Kongtong District, and the tourist shuttle bus stops near it. It holds around 14,500 artefacts dating from the stone age to modern times, which makes it a useful counterweight to the mountains: the region's long history laid out in objects rather than views.
Entry is free, and the museum is open 09:00–17:00 with no entry after 16:00, closed Mondays. Because it is in Kongtong District and on the shuttle route, it pairs naturally with a Kongtongshan day rather than a separate trip across town.
If you only have one day
Morning: Take the tourist shuttle towards Kongtong District and spend the morning at Pingliang Museum in Longyin Temple Park, arriving after 09:00 and well before the 16:00 last entry. The shuttle stops near the museum, so you can stay on the same route afterwards.
Afternoon: Continue to Kongtongshan National Park and give the rest of the daylight to the mountains and their Taoist sites. Keep an eye on the time you need to get back into the city.
Evening: Return to Pingliang and eat in the city proper. The mountains are the day's high point, so keep the evening simple and rest before travelling on.
Frequently asked questions
When is the best time of year to visit Pingliang?
Pingliang has a monsoon-influenced, four-season, humid continental climate. Winters are cold and dry, with January averaging around −4.2 °C, while summers are warm and humid, with July averaging around 21.5 °C. Much of the annual rainfall falls from June to September, so if you want dry conditions for the mountains, look outside that window.
Do I need to book the museum in advance?
The source material does not mention advance booking. It does state that entry is free and that the museum is closed on Mondays, with no entry after 16:00, so plan around those constraints rather than around a reservation.
How do I get to the museum and the mountains?
The tourist shuttle bus stops near Pingliang Museum, which is in Longyin Temple Park in Kongtong District. For travel into the region more broadly, the G22 Qingdao–Lanzhou Expressway runs towards southern Ningxia and on to Lanzhou, and China National Highway 312 runs towards Xi'an.
What is Pingliang known for?
It is known for the nearby Kongtong Mountains, which are sacred to Taoism and the location of the mythical meeting place of the Yellow Emperor and Guangchengzi. The city itself was established in 376 AD.
Check the museum's Monday closure against your dates, set aside a full day for Kongtongshan, and you have enough to start planning.