DAY 10 Wusu Te Water Yadan -> Dachaidan Town
The north wind was tight last night.
I passed the night in a shaky, drowsy state. Woke up early in the morning, feeling much colder. I checked and it turned out to be only 4 degrees! Is it that exaggerated?
Pushing open the door, the sky is full of yellow sand, and the outside world is filled with dust and mist, and it is hazy. The sandstorm from the direction of Dunhuang has blown here. The entire Yadan on the water is shrouded in a thin layer of sand mist. It seems that the sunrise and the morning sun have no chance or share.
Nevertheless, we took the first minibus of the day and headed for the depths of Yadan on the water. In fact, it's just a casual look, the weather is really bad. However, the so-called "scenery is born from the heart", it should be regarded as seeing the "Penglai Wonderland"...
By the way, when I booked the water Yadan RV camp, I saw a lot of complaints in the comments, saying that the breakfast here is very poor, and everyone has to give away an egg, and the rest has to be robbed. The words are conclusive and unbelievable. So we didn't go to the restaurant for breakfast at all. Why let a meal spoil our good mood along the way!
At around 10 o'clock, we left Shuishang Yadan and continued along G315. Today is the shortest day of the trip, with a total of less than 300 kilometers. The goal: Dachaidan.
Dust accompanied us all the way. After a while, a large blue lake appeared on the right. That is Dongtai Jinel Lake, known as "China's Maldives". Unfortunately, it was closed just last week. It is said that too many tourists have caused serious damage to the environment of Dongtai Lake, but I don't know whether this barrier is temporary or permanent.
The ecosystem in Qaidam No Man's Land is very fragile. The arrival of tourists will inevitably cause damage to the fragile ecology, and this damage is often irreversible.
Don't think so much, continue our journey. With the extension of G315, the scenery along the way has changed inadvertently. The appearance of Yadan on both sides of the road has changed from a ferocious devil to a delicate landscape bonsai, which has a taste of "dry landscape". Outside the car window, there are pieces of dry mountains and rivers connecting the sky and the earth.
Finally broke out of the dust circle! With the continuous ups and downs of the road, more and more vehicles are traveling together. Suddenly, many people appeared on the loess slopes on both sides of the road, and even stood in the middle of the road. We had to slow down. No need to ask, I arrived at the famous Internet celebrity "U-shaped highway" on G315.
A police car was parked by the side of the road, and the police uncle kept yelling with a loudspeaker, trying to drive away the people who "blocked the road to take pictures". It's just that he can only care about the south, but not the north. The police uncle was very busy, but people still went their own way. Seeing people happily standing in the middle of the road to take pictures, ignoring the large trucks coming at high speed, really sweated for them!
I didn't see a few cars along the way. I thought that I was the only one in the vast world. Could it be that people are all gathered here? I can't help but feel a little puzzled, and I also sigh at the power of Internet celebrities. In fact, it is not uncommon for many places to have similar "U-shaped roads".
Gradually, the "U-shaped highway" went away, and the world seemed to return to tranquility. In front is Xiaochaidan Interchange, from here we got off G315 and turned to Liuge Line. Not far ahead, there is a large clear lake on the side of the road - Xiaochaidan Lake.
Wandering around the lake, there are bursts of waves on the sparkling lake surface, layers of sapphire blue and malachite green, deep and transparent. On the other side of the lake, Qaidam Snow Peak stands majestically in the distance. I don't know how long it took, but suddenly I saw thick clouds hanging down, the water and the sky meet, and the sky and the earth are separated by water.
Here, there is no need to queue, pay for parking, and no one asks you to buy tickets. This is a lake as wide as the sea. This is an ethereal and quiet world. This is the world of freedom.
Leaving Xiaochaidan Lake and walking along Liuge Line for less than 2 hours is today's protagonist: Dachaidan Emerald Lake.
The constant tourist buses, the bustling crowds, the huge parking lot... All these remind us that we have come to a popular tourist attraction. I haven't reached the gate yet, but I already miss Mangya Emerald Lake.
If it comes, then enter it. Walk in slowly with the flow of people. The shuttle bus in the scenic area is a beautiful "little train" that takes tourists to several different Yanchi. The ponds are very small, neither emerald green nor transparent enough, and they don't look like emeralds at all. Instead, they remind people of rice fields and fish ponds in Jiangnan water towns. There are thick black mud piled on the "field ridges". Finally, I found a turquoise "mirror surface", and there were 7 or 8 tourists standing in front of it, queuing up to look in the mirror. Red clothes are the standard equipment for checking in at Emerald Lake.
Lilia felt a little rebellious, so she simply sat still. We walked casually, a little disappointed. Fortunately, I found the largest pool. Under the sunlight, the lake water shows different colors when viewed from different angles, either verdant, emerald green, or azure blue. Against the backdrop of snow-white salt flowers, it has the appearance of emerald.
After bidding farewell to Emerald Lake, we sailed to Dachaidan Town, where we will stay today. Dachaidan means Great Salt Lake in Mongolian. The altitude here is 3,200 meters. Fortunately, I don't feel high-reverse at all.
The sky is blue and clear; the clouds are white and rich. For us human beings trapped in steel and concrete, the vastness of the world is far beyond imagination.
In less than half an hour, we arrived at our hotel: backed by the snow-capped mountains and facing the desert, the plateau hotel is very beautiful!
(to be continued)
