Lanzhou · Gansu · 8 mg mid-size
Lanzhou Black Mid-Size (兰州(黑中支))
Lanzhou’s black-and-gold mid-size — a damier-checked hard pack carrying Dunhuang’s flying apsara, a black rod with a silver tip, and a soft, silky smoke that finishes faintly sweet. Below is the honest read on how it tastes, who it suits, and how to tell yours is real.
TAR8 mgNICOTINE0.8 mgCO8 mgLENGTH88 mm mid-sizeBARCODE6901028067959
The black mid-size from the Silk Road
Lanzhou is the home brand of China’s dry northwest — made by China Tobacco Gansu Industrial in the Yellow-River city the pack is named after, and for years the leading everyday smoke across Gansu and the region around it. The whole range chases one house feel the makers call mianxiang: soft, silky and moisture-kept, tuned to stay smooth even in desert-dry air. This black mid-size is the label’s most current face — the fashionable mid-size gauge dressed up in a black checkerboard and Dunhuang gold.
The look leans hard into the Silk Road. Those ribboned flying apsaras (feitian) and the cave-mural palette are motifs Lanzhou has spent years turning into its own signature, right down to a premium Feitian sub-line. On the black pack that heritage arrives in luxury-leather black with a gold apsara — plus a small scratch-off panel on the top edge that regulars treat as a little ritual before they open it.
By the numbers
1936Lanzhou factory roots≤ 8 mgtar across the whole line88 mmmid-size rod#1in China’s arid northwest
Lanzhou keeps its entire range at or under 8 mg tar and reaches most of China’s provinces, but its heartland is the northwest, where it has long been the pack to beat. The black mid-size is part of the brand’s newer move into the mid-size gauge, arriving alongside 2024’s paler Feitian Mingzhu.
What defines it — straight answer
Two things. First the smoke: mianxiang — soft, rounded and low-irritation, with a clean, faintly sweet tail; harmonious rather than punchy. Second the design: the black damier box and the gold Dunhuang apsara, with a black-papered rod and silver tip that almost no other Chinese pack runs. It is a cigarette sold as much on look and smoothness as on strength.
One straight note, because the brand talks low-tar: the whole line sits at or below 8 mg, and this one uses a twin-row ventilated filter to hold that number down and smooth the draw. That is a taste choice, not a health one — a lower number doesn’t make any cigarette safe, and “mid-size” is just a gauge. Smoking harms you whatever the box reads, and we would rather say it than dress it up.
How it smokes, start to finish
On the draw
Soft and even — “neither thin nor heavy,” with little to no scratch. Easy going in.
First third
Clean and harmonious, a delicate herbal-roasted aroma, no off-notes. This is the best stretch.
The middle
A mild backbone shows — “soft with a bit of strength inside,” never sharp; more body than a slim.
The finish
Stays tidy rather than ragged, a faint sweetness left on the lips and a whisper some liken to Chunghwa’s plum-and-cream.
Strength
Gentle. An 8 mg mid-size — smooth and low-harsh, not a nicotine hit.
Burn
Fast. The common gripe: it doesn’t last — a quick smoke for the price.
Palatability — what it’s really like
If you’re choosing this one for the taste, here’s the fuller picture. Lanzhou Black is a flue-cured (Virginia-style) blend built around softness rather than strength — a clean, lightly grain-sweet base lifted by a delicate perfumed note, closing on a faint natural sweetness and, on a good stick, a hint of the plum-and-cream register people prize in high-grade Chinese blends. No menthol, no capsule, no fruit to swing the flavour mid-cigarette — just a consistent, silky, faintly sweet smoke, stick after stick.
“The opening is just right in strength, the aroma very harmonious, the draw soft with almost no harshness.”
— a yanpk-style reviewer
“Clean, comfortable aftertaste; when you finish, a faint sweetness stays in the mouth.”
— a cnxiangyan reviewer
“There’s a touch of Chunghwa-like plum in it, with a little creaminess.”
— a smoker’s note
“Nice smoke, but it burns fast and doesn’t really last — a bit brief for the money.”
— an honest gripe
Freshness matters here. It runs light and burns quickly, so a fresh stick tastes noticeably rounder and sweeter than a stale one — keep unopened packs cool and dry and work through them rather than leaving a pack open for weeks. It also shows best on a clean palate: the first of the day, or one after a meal with tea, reads far sweeter than your fifth on a long smoky night.
To the people around you the smell is mild and fairly clean rather than acrid, part of why it’s such an easy one to pass around. And because the sweetness is gentle and nothing — no menthol, no capsule — hammers a single note all day, it doesn’t tire the palate; you can come back to it stick after stick. Its real limit is not flavour but longevity: enjoy it for the smoothness and the finish, not for a rod that lasts.
The details
Aroma
Flue-cured (Virginia)
Filter
25 mm, black rod with silver tip, twin vent rows, no capsule
Contents
20/pack · 10 packs (200)/carton
Made by
China Tobacco Gansu Industrial (Lanzhou Cigarette Factory)
Who loves it, and who won’t
You’ll love it if you want an easy, low-irritation everyday smoke with a clean, faintly sweet finish; if you rate a good-looking pack, because that black damier and gold apsara land it among the best-dressed Chinese mid-sizes; or if you’re curious about the mid-size gauge and that Chunghwa-ish plum note in a lighter, cheaper form.
You won’t if you’re a heavy smoker chasing a firm hit — 8 mg will feel gentle — or if what you value most is a rod that burns slow and lasts, because this one goes quickly. Some smokers simply prefer a full king-size, too. Better to hear that now than open two cartons of the wrong cigarette.
How it stacks up
vs the classic king-size Lanzhou (hard or soft) in the pale Dunhuang-landscape packs: softer, sweeter-finishing and more modern in the slimmer mid-size rod. vs the pearly Feitian Mingzhu mid-size: a darker pack with a touch more body. vs the premium Feitian gift tiers: this is an everyday carry, not a status gift. vs a fruit-capsule mid-size: no capsule here — the sweetness is natural and on the finish, not a burst.
When it lands: spotting a fake
Fakes are out there, so give yours a ten-second check. Everything we send is source-direct and factory-sealed, small-pack barcode 6901028067959, steel stamp and Chinese warning intact. On a real one: the black box has a crisp, even checkerboard weave and a clean gold flying-apsara; a six-figure letter-and-number steel stamp sits on the base; its side seam carries an iron burn-seal with fishtail marks top and bottom and a small I-beam scorch where the seal closes; a full 25 mm filter carries twin vent rows above the printed apsara band; and the rod is truly black-papered with a silver ring. Blurred, uneven check printing or a flat, burr-free stamp are the giveaways.
If customs holds it
Your parcel goes out in plain, unmarked packaging with full tracking — nothing on it names the brand, product, origin or quantity. We dispatch within 1–3 business days and most orders land in about 7–15 days; our typical customs-clearance rate runs around 95%. Tobacco is a controlled import almost everywhere, so duty and personal limits are on you and vary by country — no honest seller can promise a parcel is never checked. What we promise is bounded: should your first parcel to a destination be seized, notify us within 14 days with the official notice and you get one free reship — our
shipping & customs terms spell out what’s covered. You pay one clear price up front, with no surprise ‘insurance’ or ‘clearance’ fees.
Good to know
Is 8 mg too light for me?
If you smoke strong king-sizes, it’ll feel gentle — this is a smooth, low-harsh mid-size. If you want an easy everyday smoke or a clean, faintly sweet finish, that lightness is exactly the appeal.
Why does it feel like it doesn’t last?
It genuinely burns fast — the single most common gripe. Smoke it fresh and don’t expect a long, slow rod; the pleasure here is the smoothness, not the duration.
Is it a good cigarette to gift?
It’s more of a stylish everyday and social pack than a status gift, loved for the looks and the smoke. If you want a gift-tier Lanzhou, look at the premium Feitian line instead.
How do I know it’s real?
Match barcode 6901028067959, the crisp gold apsara and checker print, the six-character steel stamp and the 25 mm twin-vent filter, and check the seal marks — full list under “When it lands” above.
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We ship discreetly
EMS/UPS/FedEx, tracked, plain packaging, 7–15 days. First parcel seized? One free reship, once per destination (claim within 14 days) — see
shipping & customs terms.
Minimum order 2 cartons. Prefer to ask first? WeChat Womm2234 · WhatsApp +852 5790 4640.
Smoking is harmful to your health. For adults of legal smoking age only. Please comply with your country’s tobacco import rules; xiangyandd is not liable for seizures under local law.
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