2020.10.13 (D8), I came to Mangya from Dunhuang the day before yesterday, visited Aiken Spring and Emerald Lake yesterday, and plan to go to "Dachaidan" today. According to the electronic map, Mangya is 550 kilometers away from Dachaidan, and it takes 7.5 hours to drive. On the way, we mainly drive along the national highway G315, and only take the Liuge Expressway for the last section. National Highway G315 is a very popular self-driving road in recent years. On the way, you have to go through Land Yardang, Water Yardang, Shuangse Lake (West Taijinel Lake), Eastern Maldives (East Taijinel Lake), Wave Road, U-shaped Sky Road , X.J. made up his mind to arrange this trip to Gansu and Qinghai mainly because he saw the Internet celebrity report about the G315 National Highway.
Breakfast is still Roujiamo and wonton. X.J. bought two more Roujiamo on purpose. He said that almost the whole journey today is through no-man’s land. It is probably difficult to find a restaurant for lunch. At 8:55, "Pinghua Building" checked out and set off. Before leaving, I took a photo of the street view outside the window. In the picture was the staff dormitory and canteen of Qinghai Oilfield. Mangya is a city prospered by oil, and there are traces of oil everywhere. The small town is peaceful and tidy, which left a good impression on me.
After going out of the city, take the national highway G315 (Xisha line), follow the road you took when you came from Dunhuang two days ago, go backwards, drive through the three-fork intersection at 10:42, turn right from here to the provincial highway S303, leading to Golmud (360 kilometers) , we continue to go straight along the national highway G315, heading for Cucumber Liang.
At 10:47, drive past the "Old Mangya" parking area, which was originally the old town of Mangya. Later, Mangya Town moved westward, leaving only one Taoist class and one public toilet. From the "Old Mangya" to the front, there are deserts and Gobi deserts, and the roads undulate and wind along with the terrain, and you can only see Yadan and sand dunes as far as you can see.
11:34 Driving through the parking area of Cugualiang, the only building is a public toilet. "Cucumber Liang" is also a three-way intersection. The left-hand fork is the provincial road S306, which leads to "Lenghu". We came along this road from Dunhuang on October 11, and today we took the right side and continued along the national road G315 Go straight to Dachaidan (direction of Delingha).
Passing Cugualiang is still no man's land, the road goes straight forward, and the Gobi is endless. At 11:57, we saw "Yadan" appearing on the side of the road, and at 12:01, we drove past the "Yiligou Works Area", which was the first time we saw people living there since we left Laomangya.
After the "Yiligou Work Area", there is another flat river. Except for the endless national road and high-voltage power towers one after another, there are only cloudless blue sky and vast Gobi, which is exactly what we are today. The most frequently seen scenery along the way.
However, this situation will soon come to an end. Not far ahead is the Taijinel Lake area, which gathers the famous "Shuangse Lake (Xitaijinel Lake)" and "Shuishang Yadan (Crow Lake)" along the Internet celebrity national highway G315. ", "Oriental Maldives (Dongtai Jinel Lake)" and other attractions. According to relevant maps and satellite photos, the area where Taijinel Lake is located is northwest-southeast, stretching for nearly 130 kilometers, and can be roughly divided into West Taijiner Lake (North Lake), West Taijiner Lake (South Lake), Yahu Lake, and Dongtai Jinaier Lake. Lake Er, a total of four large areas of water. Because there is an underground salt layer here, these four major water areas are also saltwater lakes. The Taijiner River is the source of water in this area, and it is the lower reaches of the Naren Gol River, because the latter originates from the northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains, so it is the melted water from the glaciers of the Kunlun Mountains that created the large area of water in this area.
At 12:15, we saw a large area of water on the horizon in the distance, and soon after, we saw a large-scale salt and chemical plant "Minmetals Salt Lake". Looking at the map, we learned that we have arrived at the "Xitaijinel Lake" at this moment. The west side of "North Lake". There is a gas station here, and it is also the first gas station we have seen since we set off from Mangya.
Then it began to cross the large-scale Yadan landform area. Odd-shaped mounds flashed from the window from time to time, and there were many car tracks on the sandy roadside. Obviously, many tourists had driven into the Yadan area, but We are short on time today, so we only stop occasionally to take pictures. The lake should be far away from the road. We saw Yadan all the way, but not the lake.
Driving through the Yadan area, it was Yimapingchuan again. At 12:44, I saw a road sign, indicating that there was a simple road on the left side of the national highway leading to Lenghu and Dunhuang. At 12:56, I passed the "Yiliping Parking Area". From the map, "Yiliping" is located between the north and south waters of Xitai Jinel Lake. However, looking around, I still only see the desert , Gobi, endless, can not see any water.
At 13:03, we finally saw the lake water, and we have arrived at the South Lake of Xitaijinel Lake. The national road passes through the lake from the edge of the north side of the lake, forming a "water highway" with a total length of about 7 kilometers, which divides the lake into two waters, one large and one small: the south side is the main body of the lake, with vast waters and endless waters , the lake on the north side is relatively narrow and strip-shaped, and the scenery on the other side is clearly visible.
When we drove close to the lake, we saw a long line of cars parked on the side of the road. There was a large group of seagulls who were not afraid of people, vying for the food fed by passers-by. We bought two extra servings of Roujiamo in the morning, and it happened to come in handy at this moment. We got out of the car immediately to participate in it, and fed most of our lunch to the seagulls.
The seagulls I see in front of me are all red-billed gulls. I also encountered red-billed gulls in Kunming and Dali in Yunnan a few years ago. They breed in Siberia in spring and summer, and fly to Yunnan in autumn and winter. They may be at the moment On the way to Yunnan. These birds have been fed by tourists in Yunnan all year round, and it has become a habit, and they no longer see them when they pass through Qinghai. I went to the "Bird Island" in Qinghai Lake in the early summer of 1998, and saw many seagulls there. However, all of them were brown-headed gulls, which belonged to a different species from the red-headed gulls, and they were not as willing as the red-headed gulls. Get close to people. The brown-headed gull is a local seagull in Qinghai, and it breeds offspring by the lakeside of Qinghai. There are several other types of waterfowl on the lake at the moment, but they are all far away from the crowd. Seeing the red-billed gulls crazily robbing for food, they dare not come to mingle.
The colors of the lakes on both sides of the road are quite different, the north side is emerald green with yellow, and the south side is dark blue and black. Therefore, the lake area of Xitai Jiner Lake is also called "Mandarin Duck Lake" and "Double Color Lake". It has become a national highway G315 An Internet celebrity scenic spot along the line. I guess that the color difference of the lake water on both sides of the road should be related to the difference in the composition and concentration of salt in the water.
Shortly after driving out of this waterway, you will find the small town of "Xitai", where there is the "Xitai Industrial Zone" of the National Highway G315, a gas station, and a comprehensive processing enterprise of salt lake resources belonging to CITIC Guoan Group.
Passing through the West Terrace, and passing through a large area of Yardang, we arrived at the "Wusut (Water) Yardang" scenic spot at 14:37, which is also called "Wusut Yardang Geopark". Yadan, which should appear in arid regions, appears in a large lake here. This lake is called "Crow Lake". It is located between the East and West Taijinel Lakes. There are large and small mounds (Yadan) standing on the lake. The height is generally about 10-25 meters, and the highest can reach 50 meters. It is a rare water Yardang landscape in the world. It is said that this place was originally a dry Yadan, but later because of the diversion of the Taijiner River, a mountain flood broke out on the northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains, submerging this large area into Zeguo, thus creating this "Water Yadan" "A wonder.
"Wusut (Water) Yadan" is the first formal scenic spot we encountered when we entered Qinghai. It can provide catering, accommodation, and various tourist services. Tickets are 60 yuan per person, and tickets can be purchased with ID verification. Sightseeing cars are provided in the scenic area, and the round-trip fare is also 60 yuan/person. The one-way driving of the sightseeing car is about 5 kilometers: Visitor Center→Golden Beach→Xihai Fleet→Penglai Xiandao→Wanghaitai Wharf. I am over 70 years old and free of tickets, but I still need to buy sightseeing tickets.
Board the sightseeing car at 14:50, non-stop in the middle (because no one asked to get off), and arrived at the terminal "Wanghaitai Wharf" in about 10 minutes. There is a marina by the lake here, but there are no yachts docked. The signs on the roadside show that there are desert vehicles, camel rides, glider and other tourist services nearby, but they are all missing at the moment. It is estimated that Due to the off-season of tourism. From here, you can walk into the depths of Yardang. However, most of the tourists who come by car get off the car and only walk around, and then return to the visitor center by car.
The two walked to the lake and tasted the lake water. They felt that its saltiness was similar to that of Xiamen sea water. However, its water quality was much clearer than Xiamen sea water, and its colors were richer and more beautiful. We stood by the lake and watched. The color of the lake changed with the light angle, strength and depth of the lake, magically showing different hues such as dark blue, light blue, dark green, light green, light yellow, and so on. The sparkling water, the beauty of the water color is amazing, and it is hard to describe.
There is a slender peninsula near the pier, which is deeply inserted into the lake. The map of the scenic spot calls it a "sunrise viewing platform". However, in my opinion, the real "camera station" should be a small island in the isolated water at the tip of the peninsula. It should have been connected to the peninsula before it became an isolated island. Whether it is a peninsula or a small island, Yadan in the water is actually a mound, and the soil will not be soaked in water for a long time. The scenery in front of you should be different from a few years ago, and what you see in a few years will also be different from now. The peninsula is deeply inserted into the lake, and it is also an excellent place to take pictures of "Yardang in the Water".
Looking east from the "peninsula", you can see the "Penglai Fairy Island" in the distance across the water, which we just passed by by car. Leaving the peninsula at 15:25, feeling that it was too early, the two decided to experience the fun of strolling along the lake. They first walked for a while to Penglai Xiandao, and then took a car from there to return to the visitor center.
Wanghaitai Wharf is about 2 kilometers away from Penglai Xiandao. We watched and took pictures all the way, and it took us about half an hour to walk. While walking, I suddenly found that, for unknown reasons, almost all the Yardangs (mounds) in the field of vision were piled up and soaked in the lake water, but the arid land was endless and very flat, except for a few standing isolated peaks occasionally. Tourists also rarely choose to go on foot. Between the vast sky and the earth, at the foot of the tall mounds, only a few figures can be seen occasionally. Facing the vast sky and the earth, the shadows of people appear very small.
When we walked to "Penglai Fairy Island", we found that it was very difficult to take a bus, because all the sightseeing cars passing by were full, and no one was willing to get off the bus, so we had no chance to get on the bus, so we had to go one by one waiting. After finally being able to get on the bus, I dared not get off the bus halfway and returned directly to the visitor center. After getting off the car, we rushed to the parking lot of our self-driving car without stopping. On the way, we met a group of red-billed gulls. They wanted to ask for food from tourists, but they seemed distant, not as unscrupulous as they were in the "Shuangse Lake". We haven’t seen a single water bird in the entire Yardang Lake area. It is estimated that the local water birds have already flown south. This group of red-billed gulls is still a passer-by from Siberia to Yunnan, and they met us here by chance.
Leave "Usute" at 16:20 and stay for a total of 1 hour and 40 minutes. Continue to the east along the national highway G315, and there is a large area of Yadan in front of you, and then Yimapingchuan again. In ancient times, this place should have a large area of water, and the Yardang mounds clearly showed traces of horizontal sedimentation. The next scenic spot is "Dongtai Jinel Lake", which is called "Qinghai version of Little Maldives" on the Internet. It is located on the east side of Wusute Water Yardang Scenic Area, and it should be not far in front. However, we have been observing all the way since we set off from "Wusut", but we have never seen any road signs related to Jinel Lake in Dongtai. We only saw a piece of water in the distance on the right, shining in the sun However, there is no fork in the national road in this section, so we have to keep going. We drove past the "Qinghai Lithium Industry" intersection at 16:45, and arrived at the "Dongtai Service Area" at 16:54, watching the waters fall farther and farther behind us.
The "Dongtai Service Area" can be described as a transportation hub in this area. National highways G315 and G215 (connecting Lenghu and Dunhuang) meet here, and there is a fork road "Shige Line" nearby that connects Golmud. There are hotels, inns, restaurants, gas stations, and even a small supermarket in the service area. Thinking back now, if we could have inquired here at that time, we should have been able to learn about the "Qinghai Little Maldives". However, we were too confident and insisted that there must be signs of scenic spots on the roadside. After careful observation along the road, we found nothing. In the end, it missed the "Maldives". I found out afterwards that in fact, you can also use the electronic map to navigate Dongtai Jiner Lake. The National Highway G315 has an exit near the No. 875 road stele leading to "Maldives". This scenic spot is a "wild scene" and is open for free all year round. For this reason, there are no scenic spot signs on the roadside.
At 17:01, drive through the intersection of "Sebei No. 2 Steam Field", which is the starting point of "Shige Line", passing through Chaerhan Salt Lake to Golmud. We continue to drive eastward along G315, the road crosses the Gobi in a straight line, the terrain fluctuates up and down, and the road also undulates accordingly, thus forming the landscape of "wave road". At 17:13, I saw a reminder from the highway traffic police: 20 kilometers ahead is the Yadan landform scenic spot, and passing vehicles are required to drive slowly. However, compared with the several Yadans we have experienced before, this Yadan is not necessarily so beautiful. At 17:34, when driving through the "Hanhai" parking area, there was still only one public toilet.
The "U-shaped road" is a famous landscape on the G315 Golmud section of the National Highway. It is a special scene presented by the road going straight through the valley, going downhill first and then uphill immediately. The most spectacular "U Road" appears about 73 kilometers east from the Dongtai service area, where the national highway G315 passes through the Golmud section with the largest span, the steepest and the deepest valley. When the car goes downhill to the bottom of the slope and looks forward, the road ahead seems to plunge into the blue sky, and the vehicles going uphill seem to be going to the sky. Especially when shooting with a telephoto, this "climbing to the sky" effect will be more real. Therefore, this section of "U Road" is also praised as the most popular Internet celebrity on the section of National Highway G315 Golmud, and it is called "U-shaped Sky Road".
However, although the "U-shaped Tianlu" is an Internet celebrity, it is not a tourist attraction, and the national highway G315 is not a "tourist line" as it is called on the Internet. It is an important passage connecting Qinghai and Xinjiang, and heavy trucks roar past at any time. What's more, there is no mobile phone signal here, and the surrounding area is no man's land. Once an accident occurs, rescue is very difficult. Therefore, this area has become a key prevention area for the highway traffic police. It is strictly forbidden for tourists to occupy the road and park at will. However, the tourists we have seen are also relatively conscious, taking pictures on the side of the road, and no one blatantly occupies the road to pose for pictures .
The traffic police asked to "slow down and drive slowly", which is also convenient for me to take continuous pictures while sitting in the co-driver's seat. As the car goes downhill and then uphill, the whole landscape change of the "U-shaped sky road" is completely photographed by me . The feeling of "climbing to the sky" mainly comes from long-distance viewing. If you observe from a short distance, the slope of the road is not so exaggerated.
There are a total of two "U-shaped sky roads" on this road section. At 17:51, the second "sky road" passed through. Its span is smaller than the previous one, and the depression is shallower. The feeling is still very obvious. The traffic police also set up a safety warning at the bottom of the valley, "No parking, no taking pictures on the road." We also followed the rules and passed slowly without stopping.
Continue to drive on the Gobi Desert. At 17:55, I saw a long row of power generators on the far right. However, unlike other places where there are large fan arrays, there is only one long row of windmills here, which is probably still under construction. middle. 17:56 began to enter the mountain, the national road is no longer straight, but along a dry river, meandering over the mountain ridge. The bottom of this dry river bed is all red, but the surrounding mountains are all yellowish brown, with clear differences in color. Obviously, the upper reaches of this river should have crossed the red soil area.
18:06 After turning over the mountain ridge, the road under the wheels began to return to a simple and rough style. No matter whether the front is uphill or downhill, the national road is "going forward bravely" and will never meander. Thus, following the ups and downs of the terrain, the road passes straight through low ridges and high slopes, and a very strange landscape of stepped roads appears in front of us.
18:11 Drive past the parking area of "Xiaochaidan", where there is a large blue water surface in the distance in front of the left, which is Xiaochaidan Lake. Continue to move forward and arrive at the "Xiaochaidan Transportation Hub", where the National Highway G315 and Liuge Expressway G3011 intersect. We leave G315, turn into Liuge Expressway, and drive towards Liuyuan. There is still a distance from "Dachaidan" 46 kilometers. There is no toll booth at the intersection of the expressway. We neither need to pay the toll nor take out the card. We just follow the guidance of the road signs, turn right first, then turn left, turn a few turns, and get on the expressway inexplicably.
Driving north along the Liuge Expressway, Xiaochaidan Lake is on the right hand side. The lake is vast and blue. At 18:16, I suddenly found many cars parked on the far shore of the lake, and after careful observation, there were a large group of seagulls. Moreover, there was an exit of the expressway ahead, connected to a simple dirt road, so I hurried off the expressway and drove along this dirt road. Drive to Xiaochaidan Lake. The seagulls here are also red-billed gulls. It is estimated that they flew south from Siberia to Kunming and stopped here overnight. The tourists by the lakeside are also passers-by on the highway. When they saw the seagulls, they drove to the lakeside one after another. The seagulls are all "old rivers and lakes", and they don't show any panic when they meet people.
The huge lake is only surrounded by a large group of seagulls in this small corner. I was shocked by the huge lineup of red-billed gulls in Kunming Dianchi twice in 2015 and 2019. However, in terms of the size of the flock, what I saw at the moment It is not inferior to Kunming, the only difference is that there are many people and many birds in Kunming, but here are birds overwhelming, but there are not many tourists.
Everyone fed, and we also gave all the remaining Roujiamo to Seagull. I have always suspected that these birds have had the experience of overwintering in Kunming. They are like the red-billed gulls in Dianchi Lake in Kunming. They peck openly from our hands and are not afraid of people at all.
However, compared with the red-billed gulls in Kunming, I think the species of red-billed gulls here are more pure. The seagulls in Kunming have white faces and black faces. Obviously there are mixed species. The red-billed gulls here are all white-faced. There is no black face, and the "face makeup" is uniform, all of which are standard red-billed gull faces.
At 18:27, go north on the Liuge Expressway again. Looking from the road, Xiaochaidan Lake is actually not small. The water surface is vast and endless, and it feels like the sea. It is late autumn, and the dense reeds growing along the lake have all changed into autumn clothes, showing a golden color under the setting sun. The whirling autumn grass is swaying with the wind, accompanied by the blue lake water, and the towering mountains in the distance. The car is speeding all the way, and beautiful pictures come into view one after another. The lake and mountains are intoxicating, and the camera is in hand.
At 18:36, there was still 32 kilometers away from "Dachaidan", and a mountain ridge appeared in front of it, accompanied by Gobi and yellow sand, almost no grass grew. Drive through the "Tieshiguan Tunnel" and cross the mountain ridge, and there is another plain beyond the mountain. At 18:48, pass the intersection of "Dahua Chemical Industry", which is 12 kilometers away from Dachaidan. Most of the chemical companies in Qinghai are related to the salt lake. The main business of this company is also to develop the potash, lithium and boron resources of Dachaidan Lake.
I arrived at Dachaidan (Chaidan Town) at 18:56. There was still no toll booth at the exit of the expressway. I got off the expressway without paying the toll. Similarly, there are no tolls on the highway. At 18:57, enter the urban area through the intersection of Renmin East Road, take "Yinmaxia Road", pass through the intersection of Yihai Street and Innovation Street, and check in at "Shaibei Hotel" on Wucai Street at 19:02. "Dachaidan" is the abbreviation of Dachaidan Administrative District, which is a county-level administrative unit under the management of Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. It has two towns under its jurisdiction, "Chaidan" and "Xiteshan". Stationed in "Chaidan Town".
After a while, I went out for dinner, walked about 400 meters to the south, walked to Renmin East Road, and chose a restaurant opened by Hunanese. This place claims to be a place for locals to eat. I ordered braised pork and other dishes. X.J. said it was his The most satisfying meal I have eaten in Northwest this time. This restaurant has a very good business, and you must be seated at every turn. I returned to the hotel after 8:00 p.m., and the outdoor temperature was already below zero. I was most concerned about the heating of the guest rooms. I asked the front desk and learned that this place uses geothermal heating, and the heating has already started. Sure enough, the room felt very warm after returning to the room.
2020.10.14 (D9), according to the original plan, we are going to visit the "Dachaidan Emerald Lake" this morning. After lunch, we will go to Qinghai Lake via Delingha and Chaka. However, since we were still in Dunhuang five days ago, X.J. has been receiving business calls. An important project is not progressing smoothly. . Therefore, our itinerary had to be modified accordingly. We still went to Emerald Lake in the morning, stayed in the hotel in the afternoon and did not go anywhere, let X.J. deal with the conference call, and then set off for Qinghai Lake tomorrow morning.
There is no breakfast in Sunbei Hotel. After getting up this morning, I ate soy milk and oil cakes on the nearby roadside, and then drove to Emerald Lake after dinner. Dachaidan is geographically located in the west, and the sky is relatively late. Although it is already 9:30, it still feels like 7 o'clock in Xiamen. Walk along Wucai Street → Renmin East Road → Tuanjie Road, turn right after passing "Dachaidan Mosque", and drive on National Highway G215 towards Dunhuang. At 9:36, I saw the words "6 kilometers away from the Emerald Lake Scenic Area". At 9:40, I turned left and got off the national road, and drove into a fork road leading to the scenic spot.
Arrive at the gate of the Emerald Lake Scenic Area at 9:44. This was originally the salt lake mining area of the local chemical factory. On the way, I saw a thick layer of salt on the ground. The scenic spot is relatively mature, the gate is quite impressive, and there are obvious service facilities inside. Self-driving cars can directly enter the scenic spot, and "Scenic Spots are free during the Double Festival (National Day, Mid-Autumn Festival)" is posted at the gate. However, although the holiday has passed at this moment, the scenic spot is still free. Enter the scenic spot.
The scenic spot is located on the salt flat on the east bank of Dachaidan Lake, and the overall area is very vast. However, the real "Emerald Lake" is only located in the southwest corner of the scenic spot, with a relatively small area. "Dachaidan Lake" is a salt mine that has been developed a long time ago. Many old pits were left behind by salt mining in the past. After accumulating water, it became a large community of dotted and colorful salt ponds, collectively called "Dachaidan Emerald Lake". The way of visiting here is also similar to that of Mangya Emerald Lake. Tourists drive around the scenic spot in a clockwise direction. The starting point and the ending point are the gates of the scenic spot. According to the tour route stipulated by the scenic spot (there are road signs along the way), it takes a long detour to go from the gate of the scenic spot to the real Emerald Lake. Therefore, after entering the gate, we drove on a long salt shell road in the middle of the lake. There are salt lakes on both sides of this road in the middle of the lake, but the landscape is quite different: the lake on the right is completely covered by salt crust, and you can only see a piece of white flowers; on the left is a real lake, which is as horizontal as a mirror. Reflecting the mountains on the opposite bank, the reeds on the lakeside are golden.
At 9:51, we arrived at a T-shaped intersection. This was the first official scenic spot we encountered when we entered the scenic spot, and its sign was a white tent set up on the roadside. On the left and right sides of the T-shaped intersection are the two salt lakes we just saw along the way, and directly in front of it is the main water surface of Dachaidan Lake, with a wide view and a vast sky. However, the lake here should not be too deep. There are dense reeds growing in the center of the lake, which appears as a long strip from a distance, and the color is golden in late autumn.
X.J. flew the drone here, and the high-altitude image clearly shows the T-shaped intersection we are standing at the moment, and it also clearly shows that the three water surfaces separated by the T-shaped road are indeed very different. However, the water surface of the main body of Dachaidan Lake seen from high altitude is quite different from what we see on the ground. The bird's-eye view from high altitude shows that this lake is not actually "the sky is vast", but is divided into several lakes by roads and reed communities. Blocks to different lakes. The reed communities are not long strips, but clusters and patches, occupying a considerable part of the lake area in this area.
The photo below is the road we walked all the way after entering the gate. The building complex in the upper right corner is the gate of the scenic spot, which is adjacent to the main water surface on the other side of Dachaidan Lake. The real Emerald Lake is actually not far from the entrance of the scenic spot. The tour route planned by the scenic spot is to let us go there in a big circle first, and then take a shortcut to return to the gate of the scenic spot.
According to the guidance of the road signs, the next visiting route is to turn right at the intersection of T, bypass the lake covered by the salt layer and continue forward. The real emerald lake is still far ahead. In the third picture below, you can vaguely see a pair of pointed pillars in the shape of rockets. Going forward from there is the real Emerald Lake community.
After taking back the drone, we went on the road. At 10:13, we saw a very beautiful reflection by the lake. There were already several cars parked on the side of the road. We also hurriedly stopped here to take pictures. The right side here is still a white salt flat, and the left side is a green lake. Moreover, probably because the salt concentration in the water is too high, there are no reeds growing on the lake. X.J. flew the drone again. This location is not far from the real emerald community. They are a large group of tiny lakes with bright colors, like pieces of emeralds and gems scattered on the white salt flats. This large group of colorful lakes is the most beautiful in the whole scenic spot, and the Emerald Lake scenic spot is named after them.
Continue to move forward and arrive at the real entrance of the Emerald Lake District at 10:39. The two rocket-shaped columns are the signs of the entrance. It reminds us that the road is winding and winding, and it is getting better so far. The salinity concentration of the roadside lake water is obviously "upped to a higher level". Not only are there no reeds growing on the lake, but the bottom of the lake is also full of white salt crystals. Many salt domes gather water and form a series of salt ridges on the lake. The lake water in different areas also presents different shades of green.
X.J. flew the drone again. The third photo below is the road we drove here. The three-way intersection in the fourth photo is where we stopped to take a reflection. The last two photos are where we are flying the drone at the moment The location of the red car in the picture is our car.
The drone flew into the real Emerald Lake area, and the high-altitude images once again made us feel a strong shock. Although the lakes on the ground are still blue and green, the blue is also light blue, tile blue, azure, and dark blue. In terms of green, there are emerald green, emerald green, and dark green. Moreover, there is green in the blue, and yellow in the green, which is dazzling and colorful. The most peculiar thing is that in a small area, the four water surfaces are very close to each other, but their colors are completely different, and the magic seen is amazing. There is another pair of sharp pillars in the distance ahead. They are located at the other end of the colorful lake group. There are several such sharp pillars in the scenic area, all of which are set around the core area of the scenic area.
Entering the real Emerald Lake area at 10:45, just after arriving at the intersection, I saw a blue lake. The small lake is small in size, but it is crystal clear. The bottom of the lake is full of white salt crystals. The blue sky and white clouds are reflected on the lake. Can be called excellent. This water area is also the most popular check-in spot in the entire Emerald Lake Scenic Area. There are booths for renting out gorgeous clothes by the lake, and a fully transparent plastic boat is docked on the lake. Visitors can pay to take pictures in the middle of the lake. We also Take a photo of "Go Here" here.
What is even more amazing is that there are several other water surfaces just across the road. They are very close to the small blue lake, but the colors are completely different. The water bodies in the patches are extremely clear, with light blue in the dark green, and light blue in the light green. Suffused with light yellow, ice-clear and jade-run, too beautiful to behold. If the turquoise lake just now looked like a huge blue gemstone, then the water bodies in front of me were like yellow amber and emerald green, inlaid on the spotless white ground. Moreover, even in the same water area, the color tone displayed has magical changes. From near to far, from shallow to deep, the water surface successively shows different colors such as light yellow, light blue, yellow green, emerald green, emerald green, blue green, etc. Layered tones, whimsical, beautiful.
The drone also took off again, and the image sent back shows that the place where there are two rocket-shaped pillars is the place where we flew the drone last time, not far from where we are staying at this moment. From a high-altitude bird's-eye view, it can be clearly seen that the dotted colorful lakes actually occupy a large area. However, the tourists who come here are just strolling around the roads in the scenic area, and few people enter the depths of the lakes.
Go on, turn right, the vast water surface of Dachaidan Lake begins to appear on the left side of the road, and there are still colorful lakes on the right side of the road. At 11:13, I parked my car again at a formal scenic spot (a sunshade pergola is set up by the water). Although the water color of the small lake here is mainly green, mixed with blue and yellow, however, compared with the water surfaces I just visited before , here is to highlight the blue, fat, yellow and thin, and the overall color is green with blue.
The next scenic spot is another look. The lake water on the roadside becomes just one color, that is, clear and pure blue. The bottom of the lake is covered with pure white salt crystals, and the sunlight is strong at noon. The salt crystals at the bottom of the lake reflect the sunlight against the blue of the lake water, and make the lake surface emit light of different shades such as milky white, slightly blue, light blue, azure blue, and blue. Absolutely.
Return to the gate of the scenic spot at 11:23. This location is really not far from the Emerald Lake community. We just made a big circle to come here. However, such an arrangement in the scenic area can be considered painstaking. On the one hand, it can avoid the traffic congestion of tourists, and on the other hand, it can also allow tourists to drive all the way and feel the scenery of different styles. There is a stone tablet of "Emerald Lake" here, which is written in Chinese and Mongolian respectively. The small light blue ponds in front of the tablet are also clear, translucent and gorgeous. When we came to Qinghai this time, we had the honor to visit two "Emerald Lakes", one is in Mangya, and the other is here: the Emerald Lake in Mangya is vast in area, rich in emerald color, and has the style of "every lady"; Emerald lakes are all small, exquisite and colorful, which can be called "Xiaojiabiyu".
I left the scenic spot at 11:32 and returned to Dachaidan City at 11:49. I still chose the Hunan restaurant on Renmin Road for lunch. According to the owner of the restaurant, Dachaidan is geographically located in the west, and most of the local people's lunch time is around 13:30. When I was eating, I saw a distribution map of Dachaidan tourist attractions in the restaurant, so I took a photo.
After the meal, I returned directly to the Sunbei Hotel. My son was preparing for a conference call. I took a shower first, and then took a nice nap. I am over 80 years old, and I feel a little tired from the continuous running for nearly ten days. It is quite cold outside Dachaidan at the moment, but the heating in the hotel room is strong, and I can lie on the bed warmly and rest for half a day. A rare treat. After waking up, I took a few photos of the inside and outside the window. The hotel should have just opened, and the facilities are quite new. The town outside the window is also neat and clean.
For dinner, I went to Renmin Road and chose another restaurant to eat dumplings. X.J.’s conference call went well, so I was in a good mood. During the meal, I had a whim and discussed with me to shoot the starry sky. When he was young, Xiamen had a bright starry sky, and what he saw back then is still unforgettable to him. However, since Xiamen began to take off economically in the 1980s, the night has become brightly lit, resulting in the starry sky no longer being bright. Dachaidan is sparsely populated, and it is estimated that the starry sky will be less affected by the lights on the ground. This afternoon, I will recharge my batteries and have no other arrangements in the evening, so I can go to see the starry sky.
After the meal, the two drove out of the city and drove along the national highway G215 (red grid line) until there were no other lighting except for a few street lamps on the side of the road. It has become almost the same as Xiamen. Disappointed, he simply got off the national highway and drove into the wilderness until he could barely see his fingers when the lights were turned off. X.J. tried to poke his head out of the car, and suddenly heard him yell, "Sure enough, there is a starry sky". Except for the lights of Chaidan Town in the distance and the occasional car lights passing by on the nearby expressway 1-2 kilometers away, there is no lighting in this place. After getting out of the car and looking up, the eyes are full of bright stars, and the long-lost Milky Way also appears very clearly in front of my eyes. I hurriedly set up a tripod and took a few photos using telephoto and long exposure. However, the night in the wilderness was really too cold. We didn't wear enough clothes, so we didn't dare to stay for a long time. We just stayed for about 20 minutes and hurriedly closed the group and evacuated. I went back to the hotel to check the photos. This trip at night was really not in vain. The starry sky was shot well, and the Milky Way in the photos was clearer than what the naked eye could see.
