DAY 8 Dunhuang, Gansu -> Mangya, Qinghai

Today's destination - Qinghai Mangya.

According to Baidu: Mangya is located in the northwest corner of Qinghai Province, with an average altitude of more than 3,000 meters. It is surrounded by no man's land on three sides and barren desert on one side. To the south is the Hoh Xil no-man's land, to the west is the Altun Mountain no-man's land, to the north is the Lop Nur no-man's land, and to the east is the fifth largest desert in my country, the Qaidam Basin. There is no county within a radius of 200 kilometers. Known as the loneliest city in my country.

"Mang": the appearance of vast water; "ya": the steep side of a mountain or highland. Mangya, the loneliest city in my country = high mountains and long rivers.

After resting in Dunhuang for a long time, I took a new look and set off again. The oasis behind us is gone, and we will be greeted by the boundless Gobi desert. Green, goodbye!

Walking on the G215, when you turn a corner, a dazzling beam of light stands not too far ahead. This is the MEGA project hidden in the Dunhuang Gobi, the Dunhuang heat collection tower known as the "super mirror power station". It is said that there are more than 10,000 "super mirrors" under the heat collecting tower. They chase the sunlight like "sunflowers facing the sun" and reflect the sunlight to the central heat collection tower. This beam of light has become a new landmark of Dunhuang. Its light is so dazzling that even people dozens of miles away can see it clearly.

After leaving Yangguan, the road ahead is deserted and there are few cars and horses. The world outside the car window suddenly became very large and very quiet. Thinking of the yellow sand and clear springs 60 kilometers away, there are still crowds of people at this moment, and I understand that "there is no old man out of Yangguan in the west".

The service area of ​​Aksay (Kazakh Autonomous County) is huge and empty. The staff probably hadn’t seen anyone for a long time, and chatted with us in a chatty manner: “I’m from Dunhuang, but I’m not used to Dunhuang anymore, the weather is too hot, it’s much cooler here!”, “The snow-capped mountains over there It’s Dangjin Mountain, if you go to the mountain, you may encounter snow.” “This road was just repaired last year, and there are no people there yet.” No wonder, it was empty.

After leaving Aksai, the snow-capped peaks gradually receded and disappeared. But the narrow and long mountains are still stubbornly walking with us, as if guiding the way for travelers. On both sides of the road, there is only a barren desert.

I don't know how long we walked, the freshness of entering the Gobi for the first time faded, Lilia and I began to complain that we saw only yellow sand and no green. While talking, azure blue appeared in the desert on the left, first a line, then a point, and finally a large area—a big and beautiful lake, how could we not go and see it?

So, following the direction guided by the red and white road posts, they came to a big iron gate. Reluctantly, the gate was closed tightly, so I could only look at the lake helplessly through the fence. Still not giving up, I suddenly found that there was a slightly larger gap in the fence, just enough to squeeze one person through. Going over the fence, the blue lake water is in front of you, and you feel happy, and then you are invited out by the staff... There is a sign "Dasugan Lake Migratory Bird Protection Area, Aksai County" at the gate.

Going forward, the lake is getting farther and farther away, and the white clouds are getting closer. In the Gobi wilderness, countless "big windmills" are turning tirelessly. Behind the "windmill" forest, those dark mountains have become a little miniature, which makes people feel unreal. In fact, mountains are still high mountains, but the Gobi is too vast. In this vast Gobi, the mountains have become MINI versions. How small will people be?

In this way, we entered Mangya City, Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and (again) entered Qinghai from Gansu.

Blue sky, white clouds, snow-capped mountains, wilderness, and yellow that is so strong that it seems to be overflowing, this is the site of the Lenghu Oil Base—an abandoned town that thrived because of oil, and was abandoned because of oil. This huge ruin silently tells the prosperity and glory of the past, and the helplessness and desolation of today.

On this side are our sighs and sighs under the ruins; on the other side are the laughter of children taking pictures on the ruins. The same scenery, different state of mind. The world is wide enough to accommodate expansive sounds. A world with only one voice is dull.

After packing up my mood, I finally embarked on National Highway 315. What awaited us was a wonderful journey of nearly 300 kilometers. Kunlun Snow Mountain and Altun Mountain face each other far away, and the landform of Yardang, which is eight hundred miles away, looks like a city of devils. On Dafeng Mountain, where "the wind blows and the sand flies", there are boundless "soil bumps". There are also large groups of clouds, floating all the way above the head, so close, it seems to be within reach.

The G315 section of Mangya is extremely lonely, desolate and charming. A 4 hour journey, long distance but not a trek.

Walking and stopping all the way, it was already 7 o'clock when we arrived at Mangya Emerald Lake, but fortunately, it didn't set until 9 o'clock here. Compared with other "old" emerald lakes, Mangya Emerald Lake can be regarded as "new", but it is bigger, more beautiful (and free).

Drive along the lake and watch the snow-capped mountains and clouds reflected on the crystal-like lake; see the snow-white salt flowers and emerald green ripples shining in the sun; see the fragments of emeralds and sapphires scattered in thousands of hectares of salt fields...

Gradually, after entering the depths of the lake, the few tourists who were originally there have disappeared. Why squeeze out the tea card to "look in the mirror"? This is the clear "mirror of the sky", only the blue sky, clear water, and us.

I linger and forget to return, but I have to return. After nine o'clock, I left Emerald Lake and rushed to today's accommodation: Mangya Huatugou, fortunately, it is only about 20 minutes by car.

Mangya, the "end of the world" in the beautiful Qinghai, the cliff of the boundless, the corner of the majestic...

(to be continued)