Crossing Lop Nur (July 20, 2019)
Traveling through Lop Nur has always been my lingering wish. In the past few years, because of the lack of roads and transportation restrictions, I had no courage and could only sigh and sigh.
In recent years, although Provincial Highway 235 has been built from Hami to National Highway 315 and runs through Lop Nur from north to south, rumors that the road is in poor condition and that it is forbidden to pass due to military and animal protection also discourage me. . This year, I made up my mind to go deep into the "tiger's den" to explore competition.
At 8 o'clock in the morning on the 20th, we set off from Huatugou in Mangya, Qinghai along National Highway 315. Arrived at the Yitunbulak Public Security Checkpoint at the border of Qingxin Province (district) at around 9:00, registered with the face and received the speed limit ticket. The time limit for 70 kilometers is one hour and 26 minutes. All the way downhill, arrived at the checkpoint on time at 10:35. After inspection and release, it went down all the way again, and arrived at the intersection of G315 highway to Lop Nur at 12:00. Just about one kilometer into Provincial Highway 235 in the north, a car with the name of Anhui Santana came towards me. Beckon to those who come to explore the way, and continue walking on the gravel road after knowing the road conditions. This section of gravel road is about 80 kilometers, which is the most difficult road in the nearly 800 kilometers of the whole journey, with an average speed of about 25 kilometers. At around 14:00, after driving more than 63 kilometers on the gravel road, it was found that the rear right wheel lost pressure and ran flat. At this time, the wind is about five to six levels, flying sand and rocks, and the wind and sand hit the face. I had no choice but to get out of the car and change the tire. Just after taking the spare tire out of the car, an off-road vehicle (license plate Ji CA15A58) drove from the direction of Ruoqiang. The driver was about fifty years old and offered to help me. Because the road was far away and windy, I asked him to go first several times, but he insisted on helping me change the tire. This enthusiastic person has the same surname as mine, a native of Qinhuangdao City, a boss, and his wife crossed Lop Nur from Tibet via the Xinjiang-Tibet line to southern Xinjiang. Because I lost my spare tire, he was afraid of another accident, so he must go with me. I was very grateful to him, and insisted on letting him go first. I am very grateful to him, but I don't want to burden others with accidents. After the tire was changed, everything was ready, only then did I realize that the eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and hair were all dusty and dusty. After walking the gravel road and going up to the alkali crust road, I thought it would be more difficult to walk. Unexpectedly, the salt and alkali formed a hard crust, and the road surface was almost comparable to the cement road except for the whitening. Except for individual potholes, the general speed is above 60 kilometers. Sometimes the speed reaches about 90 kilometers per hour without knowing it. Fortunately, although the sky was overcast, it did not rain. If it is raining, the car will not be able to walk on the alkali crust road if it slips.
Arrived at Lop Nur Town at almost seventeen in the afternoon. In ancient times, Lop Nur used to be the place where the Lop people lived and multiplied. It was an important channel of the "Silk Road" in the Han and Tang Dynasties, and it once produced the famous Loulan beauty. After Lop Nur dried up in the 1970s, it was regarded as a "forbidden zone for life" by the world. At the end of the 20th century, the staff of the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences found a large-scale potassium-rich brine deposit in Lop Nur, with a reserve of 200 million tons. In September 2000, Xinjiang Lop Nur Potassium Salt Co., Ltd. was established with national investment and development, and Lop Nur became the world's largest production base of potassium sulfate. After Luo Potassium was established, the local population continued to increase. The town of Lop Nur also rose due to potassium salt, and the whole Lop Nur is also desolate and full of mystery. At present, the entire area of Lop Nur, except for provincial roads and small towns, is designated as a military control and wildlife protection area, and no one is allowed to enter without approval from the relevant departments.
The first thing to do after arriving in Lop Nur Town is to refuel at PetroChina. The price of oil is not high and it is 30 cents lower than Huatugou. The second is to repair tires. I found the first tire repair shop, and the person who claimed that the car tires would not be repaired, but would repair them, went back to Sichuan, and found another shop with the same answer. I have no choice but to say: You should be a dead horse as a living horse doctor! Leaving this small town, nearly 800 kilometers of the vast Gobi desert is uninhabited, and the future is unpredictable, so I had to ask someone to solve it. The young man is twenty-eight years old, from Wuwei, and has been working here for more than ten years. He used the most primitive tools and methods to repair tires on the oil-stained sand, and all the handles he used were broken. Even so, I have no choice but to do so. Moving on, a military checkpoint blocked the way. When I saw no one in the vicinity, I honked the horn a few times. After half a day, a soldier came out, walking in the pace of participating in a military parade, and making formal gestures like a traffic policeman asked me to back the car to the side of the road more than ten meters away from Luka. The soldiers demanded that in addition to their driver's licenses, vehicle licenses, and ID cards, they also asked them to hand over their mobile phones and photo and video equipment for inspection. And delete all photos related to landmarks and text. All mileposts and road signs I photographed along the way were removed. I really don't understand, the road signs on the dignified provincial roads are indicators to inform pedestrians of publicity, so what does it have to do with the military? And what has it to do with secrecy? In desperation, he had no choice but to obey, but he still felt very anxious in his heart. After passing the checkpoint, it is another 80 kilometers of saline-alkali crust road. After that is the asphalt road, the road condition is good. It was dark and late in Xinjiang, and it was completely dark around ten o'clock. Arrived at Nanhu Lake after 11 o'clock, and ate grilled fish and barbecue at Xiayuanzi Night Market at 12:30. It was two or three o'clock when we arrived in Hami, so we slept in the car until six o'clock, and checked into Tianma Hotel. After crossing Lop Nur smoothly and fulfilling a wish for many years, my whole body and mind relaxed, and I slept soundly for a day.
