foreword
About a month before this trip, I suddenly wanted to visit Lanzhou, Kumbum Monastery, Mingsha Mountain, and Crescent Spring. It was there when we played the large-scale 3D game "Moxiang" together, but it has been left behind for so many years. This year, I suddenly decided to realize it. Don't they all say "China is very beautiful, and seven points are in the northwest"? ! Just do what you say, study the itinerary, route, and research strategy. Everyone talks about the trip and go. In fact, before you go, you have to wander in the ocean of words or pictures for a long time. , and go out with the bag on my back, I still can't do it.
plans and changes
I once thought that this time I would directly realize my dream of pilgrimage to Tibet. I took a vacation on September 20 and went on the National Day holiday. After traveling around Gansu and Qinghai, I took the train straight to Lhasa. There are a lot of people in the week, and all kinds of consumption are high. I changed this plan and only went to Qinghai, Gansu. Due to the limitation of the number of visitors to Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes (6000 A tickets/day, 12000 B tickets/day), I am afraid that I couldn’t buy a ticket at that time, so I followed the online recommendation and contacted Jing Jing, the itinerary planner. My original intention was to charter a car tour, and I also talked about it according to this. I paid 300 yuan per person on WeChat one month in advance for seven days and six nights. Ganqing made a deposit for traveling around, and quietly booked a ticket for Mogao Grottoes. But after a few days, I contacted Jingjing again and lost contact. Another planner called Xiaomi answered the call and asked for the business license photo of their company "Qinghai Zhongmu International Travel Service Co., Ltd." Although the itinerary has largely remained the same, the accommodation “all local quasi-four-star hotels” is much worse. For two days, the accommodation is not in the city or county, but in a town. On the first night of the itinerary, I reported these situations to the person who signed the travel contract. After negotiation, he agreed to refund me the price difference of 400 yuan compared with the other two, but due to the second The one-day schedule was full and there was no contact. On the third day, the contact changed again. I asked to contact another leader, and this leader said that everything was based on the contract. Not much, but such ups and downs can easily affect my mood. Fortunately, I have a big heart. I should play during the day and talk at night. In addition, the six of us are about the same age, and the other two couples are excellent, which did not affect the pleasant travel. I write this here, just to remind everyone, don’t contact casually on the Internet, or contact the official platform website or the master who has relatives and friends who have gone through the chartered car trip, don’t let some disturbing things affect our hard-won vacation!
journey
D1 Mudanjiang--Yantai--Lanzhou
D2 Lanzhou - Xining
D3 Xining-Tar Monastery-Qinghai Lake-Chaka Town
D4 Chaka Town--Mirror of the Sky--Chaka Salt Lake--Emerald Lake--Dachaidan
D5 Dachaidan--Qinghai Yadan Devil City--Aksay Oil Town--Dunhuang
D6 Dunhuang--Mogao Grottoes--Crescent Moon Spring in Mingsha Mountain
D7 Dunhuang—Jiayuguan—Zhangye Colorful Danxia
D8 Zhangye--National Highway 227 Biandukou-Qilian Dacao-Xining
D9 Xining--Lanzhou
D10 Lanzhou - Yantai - Mudanjiang
For the above itinerary, from the night of D2 to the day of D8, it is a group tour with a small package of six people. In the other few days, apart from being on the road, my husband and I are strolling in Lanzhou City and Xining City! Detailed itinerary
D1 Mudanjiang--Yantai--Lanzhou
First of all, I love my hometown very much, but I still have to complain, it is too inconvenient for us to go out, and we need to transfer almost everywhere. At 5:00 p.m. on September 14th, I took the plane of China Eastern Airlines and transited in Yantai, and arrived at Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport at 11:30 p.m. The air ticket was 1,000 yuan per person. No more, take the airport bus line 1 at 12:20, and stay at Ruida Boutique Hotel at 1:30 in the morning (this is already the nearest airport bus line), this store is just opposite Lanzhou Railway Station. The room rate is 165 yuan, not including breakfast, just to eat Lanzhou beef noodles.
D2 Lanzhou - Xining
In the morning, I ate the Yibainian beef noodles recommended by the little girl at the front desk.
After visiting Gambo, it was lunch time. Searching for delicious food, countless answers pointed to Lanzhou Center opposite Gambo. I really didn’t know if I didn’t go there. The center of Lanzhou is magnificent and beautiful! The Lanzhou Center project covers an area of about 127 mu, with a total construction area of about 600,000 square meters and a planned total investment of 6.1 billion yuan. Lanzhou Center integrates office, shopping, hotel, finance, business, culture, catering, tourism, entertainment, leisure and other elements, and is close to Gansu Provincial Museum. The rooftop garden of Lanzhou Center is very beautiful. Due to time constraints, I only took a few photos.
According to the recommendation of netizens, I chose to meet Changan on the 3rd floor for dinner (of course, the main reason is that the name is nice and I like it), the picture above
After eating and drinking enough, we are going to gather in Xining, and take the high-speed train from Lanzhou West Railway Station to Xining Station for two and a half hours.
For dinner, I ate Northwest specialty haggis soup and sheep intestine noodles, which were warm and comfortable! Strolling casually after dinner, I ran into a large mosque and Muslims praying. There is nothing interesting in Xining, except that there are many temples. Xining City is more than 2,200 meters above sea level, and I was slightly dizzy. For future trips, I bought a small oxygen cylinder at a nearby pharmacy, just in case.
D3 Xining-Tar Monastery-Qinghai Lake-Chaka Town
Kumbum Monastery is located in the Lianhua Mountain in the southwest corner of Lushaer Town, Huangzhong County, Xining City, Qinghai Province. It is the birthplace of Master Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug Sect (commonly known as the Yellow Sect) of Tibetan Buddhism in my country. One of the temples, it is also the leading scenic spot and historic site in Qinghai Province and a national key cultural relics protection unit. Lifelike ghee flowers, colorful murals and colorful pile embroidery are known as the "Three Wonders of Kumbum Monastery Art" (unfortunately, no photos are allowed). When visiting Kumbum Monastery, you must hire a tour guide to explain, otherwise you will only watch the bustle and take pictures It's boring, the three of us hired a commentator for 130 yuan, AA system. Tickets for Kumbum Monastery are 70 yuan, and sightseeing cars are 20 yuan per person.
One thing I have to say is that eating in the northwest is relatively expensive. We left Kumbum Monastery and went to Qinghai Lake. The driver took us to a small shop, and the four of us (the other went to eat by ourselves) ), ordered three dishes and one soup, 300 yuan, 75 yuan per person, not delicious...
After lunch, we set off towards Qinghai Lake, the largest inland lake in China and also the largest saltwater lake in China. The weather was not good, and it was raining lightly. Tickets for Qinghai Lake Erlangjian Scenic Spot are 90 yuan. There is a battery car in the scenic area, there is no need to take it at all, and it takes more than an hour to walk while taking pictures.
Stay in Chaka Town, and on the second day go to the Internet celebrity check-in place - the mirror of the sky.
D4 Chaka Town--Mirror of the Sky--Chaka Salt Lake--Emerald Lake--Dachaidan
Chaka Town is located at the eastern end of Ulan County, Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, on the eastern edge of the Qaidam Basin, with an altitude of 3059-4200 meters. The Chaka Salt Lake is the most beautiful time around sunrise and sunset, with colorful clouds and sunrise Or the setting sun reflects on the salt lake, forming a picture of the same color of water and sky. Due to the high altitude, I hardly slept all night. In this state, I still had a good time playing. Before I came here, I saw a lot of beautiful photos, and I felt that I had to wear a red dress when I came here to take pictures. I didn’t have it, it’s okay, I have a red shawl instead! Tickets for the Mirror of the Sky are 60 yuan, and the small train is 50 yuan for a one-way trip. It is recommended to go to the innermost one-way, and then walk back. You don’t need to walk every sightseeing plank road, which is almost the same. Near the entrance of the scenic spot, there are large groups of salt sculptures that you can visit and take pictures.
After leaving the mirror of the sky, we drove to Emerald Lake. Emerald Lake is not only one lake, but hundreds of salt pit lakes. Since the technology of manual salt mining was relatively backward decades ago, workers collected salt At that time, it basically relied on experience to mine. Once it was found that the salt mine reserves were low, it was immediately abandoned and another salt pit was dug again. Therefore, hundreds of emerald lakes have different shapes and sizes, but they are even more magical and beautiful. At present, there are no charging conditions, and it is free and open.
I stayed in Dachaidan that day, and I ate Northeast dumplings for dinner. It was delicious. I started to miss home after only a few days out
D5 Dachaidan--Qinghai Yadan Devil City--Aksay Oil Town--Dunhuang
There are no major scenic spots in today’s day’s itinerary, and the road is still far away. There are two in Yadan Devil City. The one that our master took naturally is not as beautiful as the one for taking pictures. The most beautiful road on the way has changed. There is a gap in the route you take, which can be seen from the photos, so I suggest that you take this route to find a reliable charter driver.
The oil town is located in the old county town of Aksai in Jiuquan, Gansu Province. It used to be a lively oil town. Movies such as "Nine-story Demon Tower" and "Western Wind" were filmed here. Because of the oil, the town rose from the ground, and from bustling to ruins, the traces left by human existence have been integrated with nature. Tickets are 20 yuan. We missed lunch and bought meat clips and egg-filled pancakes here, which were unexpectedly delicious.
In the past few days, it has been miserable and rainy, and the temperature has reached the lowest three or four degrees. Once we arrived in Dunhuang, the temperature rose and the sun was shining, but it was a little dry. Dunhuang, a small city, is very clean. The best thing is that it is close to Xinjiang and has abundant fruit resources, which are cheap and especially sweet. My husband and I plan to watch the large-scale indoor scene experience drama "See Dunhuang Again". Since our master said that we can only watch it at the original price of 368 yuan, my husband and I contacted Xiaoyu, and her chartered car master gave us 298 yuan, so we ate at the Dunhuang night market in the evening After dinner, I watched "See Dunhuang Again" with Xiaoyu. Because the first few scenes were watched on the go, I was a little tired, the plot, stage design, lighting, etc. were all very good, but there were about ten shows a day, and the actors were a little tired and lacked passion.
Due to time constraints, I only had time to eat a bowl of glutinous rice noodles, donkey meat yellow noodles and big meat skewers. The meat skewers were very fragrant and a bit greasy at the same time. Meat skewers forgot to take a picture
Theme Song of "Encounter Dunhuang": In an instant, in an instant
a dream for a thousand years
just a blink of an eye
The dream has woken up but a thousand years have passed
in a moment in a moment
A tear has been shed for a thousand years
just a blink of an eye
It hurts for a while but it hurts for a thousand years
D6 Dunhuang--Mogao Grottoes--Crescent Moon Spring in Mingsha Mountain
We made an appointment to visit the Mogao Grottoes at 9:00, watch the theme digital movie "Millennium Mogao" and the dome movie "Fantasy Buddha Palace", take the transportation vehicle to and from Mogao Grottoes, and take a group of 25 to 30 people Equipped with full-time guides, visit 8 open caves of Mogao Grottoes. The ticket price is 238 yuan per person per time. I think it is still necessary to watch movies, because the caves are spectacular and the murals are exquisite, but they are all the same. For us ordinary people who don’t do research and just watch the excitement, we can’t see anything. After watching the movie, we know the origin and development of Mogao Grottoes The prosperity and decline of history and the Silk Road, blending into the story and then looking at the landscape, in addition to sighing and adding a sense of participation, it is interesting!
After visiting the Mogao Grottoes for more than 4 hours, I returned to Dunhuang to rest. Because the temperature in the desert is too high and the sunshine is too full, I usually go to Mingsha Mountain Crescent Lake at 5 pm. My husband and I have mutton stewed cakes at a house. The set meal is 78 yuan, the mutton is soft and rotten, and the stewed cake is fragrant and delicious. Mingsha Mountain Crescent Spring tickets are 110 yuan, camel rides to Crescent Spring are 100 yuan per person, and electric cars down the mountain are 20 yuan per person. We originally planned to have desert camping. The night starry sky is very romantic, because the season is later, This did not take place, but the stars saw it, praise!
After a late lunch and a short rest, I came to the Crescent Moon Spring in Mingsha Mountain, which I never forget. When I entered the scenic spot, I went to ride a camel to the Crescent Moon Spring.
D7 Dunhuang—Jiayuguan—Zhangye Colorful Danxia
Jiayuguan is located in the middle of the narrowest valley 5 kilometers west of Jiayuguan City, Gansu Province. The city walls on both sides of the Chengguan pass across the Gobi Desert. It was once known as the throat of Hexi, because of its dangerous terrain and majestic buildings, it is known as the most majestic pass in the world and the key to the border. Jiayuguan is the transportation fortress of the ancient "Silk Road", known as one of the three wonders of the Great Wall of China (Shanhaiguan in the east, Zhenbeitai in the middle, and Jiayuguan in the west). Tickets for Jiayuguan are 110 yuan.
There are some food stalls around Jiayuguan, and there are many kinds of snacks. We had a good meal and rushed to Zhangye Colorful Danxia non-stop. Tickets are 54 yuan, and electric cars are 20 yuan. The view here is better on a sunny day than on a rainy day. The first sunny day after the rain is the best. After being moistened by the rain, the Danxia color is more vivid. There are 3 entrances to the scenic spot. I entered from the north gate. The electric car passes through 4 viewing platforms in turn. It is recommended not to go to each of them. The last one is the best to watch the sunset. It is the same as Mingsha Mountain. Go up the mountain around 5 o'clock.
I ate hot pot for dinner, not only forgot the name of the restaurant, but also forgot to take a picture at first, huh?
D8 Zhangye--National Highway 227 Biandukou-Qilian Dacao-Xining
There are no paid scenic spots on this day, and I have been on my way. Originally, there are rapeseed flowers in Menyuan in summer, blue sky and white clouds, cyan lake water, and bright yellow rapeseed flowers, but this season has fallen. It’s a pity! In fact, the most beautiful scenery is on the road, crossing the Qilian Mountains, stopping in any valley, and taking a picture of the scenery can be used as a desktop.
After returning to Xining, I stayed at Qingteng Holiday Hotel opposite Xining Station, took the bus to Mojia Street Night Market, and ate snacks such as stuffed skin, old yogurt, sheep’s trotters and cumin potatoes, some of which I forgot
D9 Xining--Lanzhou
I deliberately set aside half a day for a stroll in Xining. I got up early and had breakfast. I went to Ma Bufang Mansion first, but found that it was closed. Then I went to Dongguan Mosque, passing Qinghai Provincial Government.
When the train returned to Lanzhou, we still stayed at the Ruida Boutique Hotel, because the transportation here is convenient, and there is an intercity train to the airport. Went to Zhengning Road Night Market for dinner, ate skewers and baked potatoes (didn’t eat enough in Xining, this one is not as good as Xining), drank milk and egg fermented glutinous rice, very delicious, the most famous one has a long queue , Unfortunately, the phone is out of battery here, and I didn't take any pictures.
D10 Lanzhou - Yantai - Mudanjiang
The dream of a trip to the Northwest began in Lanzhou and ended in Lanzhou. If you haven’t been to Lanzhou, you can’t say you’ve been to the Northwest. This city, which flows through the Yellow River, has a history of more than 2,000 years. It is worth our special visit. My husband and I visited the Waterwheel Expo Park, the Yellow River Iron Bridge in Zhongshan, and the Yellow River Mother Sculpture Scenic Spot along the Yellow River. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, take the intercity train to Zhongchuan Airport and stop at Yantai to return to Mudanjiang, completing the trip to the northwest.
postscript
1. Clothes. The temperature difference between Qinghai and Gansu is huge, so clothes must be worn according to the two seasons, especially in autumn and winter, the hotels here basically have no heating and air conditioning.
2. Food. Eating in Ganqing is expensive, and there are halal restaurants everywhere. If they are not halal, they are also Sichuan restaurants, at least in scenic spots. The fruit is relatively cheap and, thanks to the arid sun, the fruit is particularly sweet.
3. Live. I don’t know if it’s because of the season, but I feel that the accommodation is very cheap, not counting the accommodation arranged by the travel agency. The standard rooms that my husband and I live alone are all between 120-150, and the sanitation and transportation conditions are good, and 24-hour hot water supply.
4. OK. After traveling around Ganqing for 6 days, between 2500 and 2700 kilometers, I often miss meals. If you have hypoglycemia, diabetes or people who are not hungry, it is recommended to prepare some snacks and fruits.
5. Others. Sun protection is a must in Northwest China. The sun doesn’t set until eight o’clock in the evening, and it’s dry and rainless. Speaking of which, hydration is also very important, and a mask is a must. Secondly, there are many Tibetans and Muslims here, so we should pay attention to etiquette and folk customs to avoid unnecessary troubles. Thirdly, due to the high altitude, avoid running, sprinting and jumping when passing through high-altitude sections.
