tell me about this trip
What does the Great Northwest look like in your mind?
Is it Qinghai Lake surrounded by golden rapeseed flowers?
Is it the deserted Gobi?
Is it the desert with the sound of camel bells?
Or the endless prairie?
Seizing the tail of the summer vacation, I finally realized the trip to the Northwest that I had been longing for. Along the way, various natural landscapes such as seas of flowers, lakes, deserts, Gobi, Yadan landforms, Danxia colorful hills, cattle, sheep and horses made me fall in love with the magical charm of the Northwest.
If you have the chance, you must come here in person!
Look at the beautiful scenery first, and then I will talk about it
The golden rapeseed flowers are still blooming beside Qinghai Lake
The glass ball lying beside Qinghai Lake enjoys the 15-degree breeze in August
In Chaka Salt Lake, the realm of the sky, the long-awaited sun lived up to expectations and painted the entire Chaka Salt Lake in blue and white. At that moment, the sky and the lake merged into one.
Emerald Lake is like a piece of emerald embedded in the earth. There are different colors in different weathers. There are pure milky white, crystal clear blue, and emerald green that people fall in love with at a glance.
The inaccessible Yardang Devil City gives people a feeling of desolation and grandeur.
Waiting for a beautiful sunrise in the desert camping is a happy experience
Climb barefoot to Mingsha Mountain, listen to the sound of camel bells, and climb to the top to watch the most beautiful desert at sunset.
Walking to Danxia, you can see red, yellow, orange, green, white and other bright colors everywhere. The colorful colors and perfect drawing lines form a colorful world.
In the endless Qilian Mountains prairie, flocks of cattle and sheep are running. Here you can also experience the thrill of galloping horses.
Itinerary and small tips
schedule:
Chartered car/carpool free travel: Most people who travel to the Northwest choose to drive or carpool/charter, or choose to travel with a group, but they must travel freely if they want to play freely. If you don’t want to drive yourself too tired, choosing a chartered car/carpooling is the most worry-free way to travel on the Northwest Great Ring Road. The six of us shared a car, found a reliable driver, and had a good time along the way.
D1: Xining - Kumbum Monastery - Laji Mountain (when we arrived at Laji Mountain, it was raining and the surrounding area was gray, so we didn't go up) - Qinghai Lake - near Chaka Salt Lake (Salt Lake Star Hotel near Suchaka)
D2: Chaka Salt Lake—Crossing the Qaidam Basin—Dachaidan Emerald Lake (Suzhou Dachaidan Yijing Hotel)
D3: Dachaidan - Yadan Devil City - Yangguan Scenic Area - Dunhuang (desert camping)
D4: Dunhuang - Mogao Grottoes - See also Dunhuang Performance - Mingsha Mountain Crescent Spring - Shazhou Night Market (Sumingyue Mountain Villa)
D5: Dunhuang — Zhangye Colorful Danxia (stay in Zhangye Hetu Travel Hotel)
D6: Zhangye - Qilian Mountains Prairie - Xining (End of trip)
Necessary items:
1. Sunscreen items: hats, sunglasses, masks, sunscreen...
2. Skin care products: body milk, face cream, mask, lipstick, etc. must be brought, the weather is very dry.
3. It is recommended to bring sports shoes and sandals. It is more convenient to wear sandals in the desert.
4. Clothes: All kinds of beautiful skirts and clothes. You can wear brighter skirts when you go to lakes and grasslands. You can wear skirts in the desert to make it cooler. You can wear some pants on the road for a cooler photo. However, everyone has their own preferences in dressing, so you can do whatever you think looks good~
Meet Kumbum Monastery
Starting from Xining, six of us, a reliable old driver, and a car, started our trip to the Great Northwest Loop...
According to our itinerary plan, the first stop is to Kumbum Monastery. If you are in Qinghai and you want to find the most secular place of faith, almost everyone will tell you to go to Kumbum Monastery.
At the end of August, the Kumbum Monastery was still crowded with people. Even if it rained, it seemed that it couldn't stop the people from wanting to go out. However, it is also very convenient to have an automatic ticket vending machine at the door, so you don't need to spend a long time queuing up to buy tickets.
Every time I go to these Buddhist places, I have a habit of not wanting to take pictures, and many places in Buddhist holy places have reminders not to take pictures, so I didn’t take too many pictures in Kumbum Monastery this time.
After checking the ticket to enter the temple, looking up, various buildings of different heights and sizes are gathered together. Passing through a Tibetan-style building to the square of the temple, the Babao Ruyi Pagoda is clearly visible in front of it. It is said that it was built to commemorate the eight great merits of Buddha Sakyamuni in his life.
Kumbum Monastery is the birthplace of Master Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, and one of the six major monasteries of the Gelug Sect. This temple has a history of more than 600 years. After years of baptism, its beauty and mystery are even more evident...
Kumbum Monastery is a sacred place for Tibetan Buddhist believers. Although I don’t know much about every allusion and building in the monastery, I followed the crowd of worshipers and walked into the incense-filled Kumbum Monastery. But more and more calm, in this thick Tibetan Buddhist culture, accept the purification of the soul.
Another advantage of "many people" is that we don't need to spend extra money to ask the tour guide to explain. When everyone walks together, there will be 2 or 3 guides speaking at the same time. It is really the best configuration for us who don't spend money. If you missed a point, you can make it up from another narrator.
Even if you don't believe in religion, the buildings, murals, pile embroidery of Kumbum Monastery are worth your visit. Shuttle through the major palaces of Kumbum Monastery and visit this treasure house of Buddhist culture and art. Every corner of the monastery shows the long history of Tibetan Buddhism and the wisdom of the monks.
The rainy Kumbum Monastery has added a layer of mystery. I heard that Kumbum Monastery under the blue sky and white clouds, with red walls and green tiles is another scene. So is this a reason for me to come again?
【tips】
1. Tickets are 70 yuan/person
2. In the temple, the turret and the prayer wheel are all clockwise.
3. In Kumbum Monastery, it is not allowed to take pictures in the scripture courtyard and the main hall.
4. When entering Kumbum Monastery, you must wear formal clothes, and you cannot enter in shorts or skirts.
Qinghai Lake, I will meet you eventually
I want to go to Qinghai Lake for a long time, but I always say that I don’t have time, or I’m waiting for someone to go with me. This time, without waiting for anyone or time, I put Qinghai Lake on the agenda alone with a few friends who met for the first time from all corners of the country.
Coming out of Kumbum Monastery, we set off for the long-awaited Qinghai Lake. From Kumbum Monastery to Qinghai Lake, all the way forward, the weather is ever-changing, cloudy to sunny, sunny to cloudy, just like this repeatedly. I can't help but feel a little depressed. I am very worried that when I went to Qinghai Lake, the weather was gray and I couldn't see the imagined scenery. But looking at the ever-changing scenery outside the car window, the depression in my heart was put aside for the time being.
The advantage of chartering a car is that you can travel more freely. When you see a place you like, you can stop and enjoy the beautiful scenery. You are not bound by time at all, and you don’t have to worry about chasing ducks. The scenery of each destination is beautiful, but the scenery along the way is even more fascinating.
The herd of cattle, sheep and horses accompanied us along the way, driving on the straight road, seeing rapeseed fields passing by, not far away is Qinghai Lake. Drive to the lake, surrounded by golden rapeseed flowers, and instantly enter a world of flowers!
Qinghai Lake in summer is the most beautiful season. I am glad to catch the tail of summer and come here. Although I didn't see the expected sunny day, I couldn't see the Qinghai Lake with the same water and sky, but I was already fascinated by this vast sea of flowers. Although it is the end of August, the rape blossoms here are still neat and picturesque, with thick colors and fragrance.
Speaking of rapeseed, everyone may think of Wuyuan at the first time. As everyone knows, the most beautiful rapeseed is in Qinghai. When the rapeseed is in full bloom, this is a fairyland on earth, so every summer here is the most beautiful and spectacular time.
When rapeseed flowers stretching for dozens of kilometers around the lake are in full bloom, the endless lake water and the yellow sea of flowers match each other, connecting into a piece of golden yellow and spreading to the distance, dotted with colorful wild flowers in Tibet, and the world surrounded by flowers is like It's like entering a dream, making people mesmerized!
Qinghai Lake is the largest inland lake in China and the largest saltwater lake in China. It is called "Kukunur" in Mongolian and "Cuowenbu" in Tibetan, which means "blue sea". Qinghai Lake is located on a plateau, showing different beauty every season, and the water temperature of the lake also changes with the seasons.
Walking to the lake, I saw that it is relatively large-scale and commercialized. Different types of props have been added to the lake for tourists to take pictures. You can ride horses and yaks. Every yak here is well-dressed and attractive to tourists. Note that you can take pictures with yaks for 20 yuan/person.
Even in the hot summer, the average daily temperature of Qinghai Lake is only about 15 degrees, making it an ideal summer resort. I remember that the temperature dropped a lot because of the rain that day. Standing by the lake, I didn’t feel cold, and I enjoyed all the beauty to my heart’s content!
Although the weather is not as expected, it has harvested a dreamland of lakes and sea of flowers. On the road to Qinghai Lake, you will often be touched by the beautiful and changing scenery, sudden changes in weather, clear lake water, flocks of cattle and sheep... and unexpected surprises!
【tips】
1. Tickets to enter Qinghai Lake are 10 yuan/person, and 20 yuan/person to take pictures while riding a yak.
2. Most of the rapeseed flowers next to Qinghai Lake are surrounded by local people, and you can go in and take pictures at will for 10 yuan/person.
Chaka Salt Lake, the Realm of the Sky
You say the white clouds in the sky are the tides of the Milky Way
no sweet lovesickness
How can there be drunk wandering and warm snuggling
You said the stars in the sky are just a thousand years of memory
no infatuated waiting
Where is the eternal flicker and inexplicable mystery
Stepping into the realm of the sky beautiful tea card
I see the sun, moon and stars sharing the sky
…
———— "Into the Realm of the Sky"
The song "Into the Realm of the Sky" has made Chaka Salt Lake the yearning of many people, and you can feel the beauty of Chaka Salt Lake in the soulful singing.
Chaka Salt Lake, also known as Chaka or Dabson Nur, is a natural crystalline salt lake located in Chaka Town, Ulan County, Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, and one of the four major salt lakes in the Qaidam Basin. "Chaka" is Tibetan, which means salt pond, which is the salt of Qinghai; "Dabuxunnur" is Mongolian, which also means salt lake.
Chaka Salt Lake is one of the "Four Scenic Spots in Qinghai". It is known as the "mirror of the sky" in China, and was rated as one of the "55 places that people must visit in their lifetime" by the National Tourism Geographic Magazine.
The longing for tea card stems from the photos sent back by my best friend’s trip to Qinghai a few years ago. At that time, I put the tea card on the itinerary. photo. As the saying goes, if you never forget, there must be echoes. After a few years, I finally have the opportunity to come here.
It rained the night before we came to Chaka Salt Lake. I was worried that it would continue to rain the next day and the trip was cancelled. Although it was still drizzling when we got up in the morning, we set off as usual.
After buying the ticket, I took the small train to the center of the salt lake. The salt lake I saw at this time was dark and gray. At that time, I was still thinking that it was hopeless to take pictures of the sky in such weather. Just take a look and go.
When you come to the center of Salt Lake, there are crowds of people, presumably this is the charm brought by the sky. We walked through the crowd and walked a little farther into the center of the lake, so that we could shoot the effect of no one.
Just as we were about to leave, the sky cleared infinitely. Under the sky is the endless and clean Chaka Salt Lake. The long-awaited sun lived up to expectations and painted the entire Chaka Salt Lake in blue and white. At that moment, the sky and the lake merged into one.
Is it like a dream? The Salt Lake at this moment is undoubtedly a fairyland for everyone, a holy place, like being in a huge mirror world, where everything is symmetrical, the blue and boundless sky, the endless mountains... just Even I seem to have copied and pasted it myself.
For a moment, you will be foolishly unable to tell which is the sky, which is the lake, and which is the phantom in the water...
Chaka Salt Lake photography is very affected by the weather, so as long as the weather is clear and there is no wind on the lake, you can always see the reflection of the snow-capped mountains through the lake, the endless pure blue sky, and the vast salt lake on the horizon. Can you tell whether the sky is reflected on the lake, or the lake water dyes the sky blue?
Blue sky, white clouds, lakes... are all the scenery you want to see! Maybe I am fascinated by the beauty here. I want to take a photo with Chaka Salt Lake everywhere I go. I hope the camera can record the most beautiful moments of me and Chaka. I will take it out when I get old. I will feel proud, I am also a person who has been to the realm of the sky!
In the Chaka Salt Lake, the sky is very low, and the big clouds are within reach. Walking in it, you feel like you are in the sky. This fairy-tale world is beautiful, but it is also very fragile, so don't hurt the reborn Chaka Salt Lake, let this beautiful sky realm last forever in our lives, wait for us, and then go to a dream appointment !
【tips】
1. The ticket is 60 yuan, and the one-way ride on the small train is 50 yuan per person. You can choose to take the small train or walk in there.
2. Walking barefoot on the lake will hurt the soles of your feet. You can wear shoe covers. If you think they are ugly, you can take them off when taking pictures. (I experienced the pain of wearing sandals without shoe covers)
3. The best shooting location for Chaka is in the depths of the salt lake. If you want to take a good photo, you can go deep without anyone else.
4. You can choose some bright colors for clothes matching, which will be more prominent when compared with the blue sky of the salt lake. (I saw too many people wearing red, so I wore blue and white of the same color as the salt lake, but I still like the effect, it blends with the salt lake)
Emerald Lake, the jasper left in the world
If Chaka Salt Lake is the realm of the sky, then Dachaidan Emerald Lake is a brand new realm of the sky. Some people may say that since they are all realms of the sky, there is no need to arrange both places in the itinerary. If Chaka Salt Lake is a lady, Emerald Lake is Xiaojiabiyu, the beauty of the two is different.
It was already noon when we came out of Chaka Salt Lake. In order to reach the Emerald Lake at the most beautiful time in the evening (Chaka is also about 400 kilometers away from the Emerald Lake), we drove towards the Emerald Lake after eating.
Arriving at Dachaidan, after a primitive gravel road, we came to Emerald Lake. The blue-green lake water and white salt crystals here blend together, quiet and peaceful, like a gem dropped by God.
Emerald Lake is named by the Qaidam people because the color of the lake is as beautiful as emerald. These lakes of different sizes, just like God overturned the palette, present the beauty here to the fullest.
Emerald Lake was originally the mining area of the Salt Lake Mining Team of Dachaidan Chemical Plant. After years of mining, it has the beautiful scenery it is today. The high-concentration brine in the salt ponds of different sizes, shapes, and depths is called "brine" locally. Due to the different concentrations of minerals contained, it forms a colorful landscape. When we look at the past like this, we see lakes one by one. If we "inspect" from the perspective of God, how spectacular would it be?
The color of Emerald Lake is not single, milk white, mint blue, emerald green... just like the emeralds inlaid on the earth, the white here is pure milk white, the blue here is crystal clear blue, here The green is the emerald green that I fell in love with at a glance. It may be that the sun was shining when we came, so most of the colors we saw were blue like the sky, and we didn't come across the clear green like the picture we saw before.
The photos taken here are not inferior to the Chaka Salt Lake in the sky. When the weather is calm, you can walk everywhere like a mirror, reflecting the blue sky and white clouds, and even the unreachable Qaidam Snow Peak is reflected in front of you. The mountains and rivers form a magnificent picture, which is beyond words. Being in the middle, looking at the figure at your feet, that kind of feeling can only be deeply experienced when you come here.
The current Emerald Lake has not been fully developed, and tickets are not required for the time being, but with the increasing popularity, it is already a must-see point for traveling to the Northwest, and the number of people is slowly increasing. If you want to take beautiful photos, you need to avoid the flow of people and keep looking for angles. There are many lakes here. You only need to find a lake with no one there, and you can take pictures here and there.
Just standing quietly by the salt lake, feeling the coolness of the plateau lake in summer, facing this vast expanse, with the breeze blowing across the cheeks, letting yourself go, enjoying the tranquility and comfort.
When encountering the salt lake at dusk, the sky and the salt lake changed into another exciting scene.
I think God loves this land very much, so he broke the precious gems and scattered them on this land. Nature has created such a beautiful emerald lake with uncanny craftsmanship and accumulated over time, which is impressive at first sight and unforgettable at first sight.
Yadan Devil City, desolate and magnificent
In the northwest of the Qaidam Basin in Haixi, Qinghai Province, there is a huge magical land called Yardang landform. Due to the strange and grotesque landforms, the erratic gusts, and the strange and eerie wind sounds due to the peculiar terrain, The rocks in Shangdi are rich in iron, and the geomagnetism is strong, which often makes the compass fail, resulting in the inability to distinguish the direction and get lost, so it is also called Yadan Devil City.
The Yardang landform is the lake deposits of the late Tertiary and early Quaternary 75 million years ago. Due to the uplift of the geological movement, the water body was shed. The salt and sand condensed during the period were sculpted by the westerly wind erosion. One of the typical Yadan landscapes.
Under the scorching sun, we drove towards Yadan Devil City. The car was speeding on National Highway 315. The desert beyond our eyes gave us a sense of desolation. I was thinking in my heart, if a person came here, would there be a sense of despair? I suddenly remembered that when I was eating at noon one day, I heard a tourist next door complaining, "What the hell is this place? It's deserted, no grass grows..." Hahaha, now that I think about it, how desperate the vast Gobi Desert must be. will say these words.
But the Great Northwest is sparsely populated. When the car pokes straight towards the sky, a wild feeling of the desert is as familiar as the picture of the movie. I like this kind of freedom and joy!
The car was parked in the parking lot on the side of the road, and we entered the devil city. When I saw Yadan Devil City for the first time, I was shocked by everything in front of me. The Yadan landform group stretching for dozens of kilometers without seeing the edge subverted my understanding of Yadan landform.
The Yadan landform here is so large in individual and overall scale, and its strange shape is really rare in the world. Its height is four or five meters low, twenty or thirty meters high, and the length varies from a dozen meters to several hundred meters. The whole is like an ancient city in the Middle Ages. There are streets, buildings, squares, sculptures... The images are vivid and wonderful. These masterpieces of nature can be called uncanny workmanship, incomparably wonderful and amazing!
We walked deep into the Devil City, climbed to the top of a relatively tall castle, and looked down. The inaccessible Devil City is desolate and magnificent, and the Yardang landforms look like islands standing on the rough sea. Fly, the momentum is like a rainbow.
There is no grass or tree here, no green, and the summer wind hits the face with sand and gravel. Being in this ancient city, you can truly realize how high the sky is, how wide the land is, and how small people are! This feeling can only be described by the word "shock".
Yadan Devil City, this is a magical land, Yadan and the devil, like a devil with a beautiful face, mysterious and tempting~
Yangguan, re-walking the Millennium Silk Road
Speaking of Yangguan, many people must immediately think of a poem "I advise you to drink more wine, and you will leave Yangguan in the west without an old friend." This masterpiece by Tang Dynasty poet Wang Wei can be described as a masterpiece through the ages. Wang Wei's poem is about Dunhuang. The famous Yangguan scenic spot.
Yangguan and Yumenguan echo each other. Since the Han and Wei dynasties, it has been an important pass leading to the westernmost frontier defense of the Western Regions. It is the only pass through the South Road of the ancient Silk Road. It has a very important position in the military. Because it is south of Yumen Pass, it is named Yangguan.
Go north all the way to Dunhuang Yangguan Scenic Area. Entering the scenic spot, there will be a tour guide who will take us to the museum for free and explain it. There are countless Yangguan unearthed cultural relics on display in the museum. To understand the history of Yangguan, just walk into the museum.
Coming out of the museum, we took a sightseeing battery car in the scenic spot to visit the Yangguan ruins.
The former Yangguan City has long since disappeared, but now Yangguan feels like an ancient city buried by quicksand. The quicksand here is vast, and on the endless desert, what is left is a beacon tower that has been "tortured" by wind and sand. There is a long pavilion with a stele corridor beside the beacon tower, and a stele of "Yangguan Former Site" in the south of the pavilion. There is a large green forest on the antique beach, and all you can see is yellow sand and red soil. You have been thinking about it for a long time.
In Yangguan, I can still vaguely see some remaining props here, sitting on the vast desert under the scorching sun, and the wind of the desert howling around. At this moment, the past is more than a thousand years old, as if I heard the drums and thunder, and I saw the hundreds of thousands of soldiers under the stage, the majestic and heroic, the horses rustling...
【tips】
1. Address: Yangguan Site on the west side of Nanhu Township, Dunhuang, Jiuquan City, Gansu Province
2. Tickets: 50 yuan/person + 10 yuan (battery car), which provides free explanation services.
3. Do a good job of sun protection, especially at the Yangguan ruins, where there is almost no sunshade
Mogao Grottoes, magical and great
I don't remember when I knew about the magical and great place Mogao Grottoes, but every time someone mentioned Mogao Grottoes, I was very yearning and wanted to take a look at the magic here. So this time when I came to Dunhuang, I had to take a look at this priceless treasure.
The Mogao Grottoes are located by the Daquan River 25 kilometers away from Dunhuang City. Looking up at the row upon row of caves, they are like honeycombs inlaid on the cliffs, magnificent and magnificent. Mogao Grottoes is undoubtedly a bright art pearl on the ancient Silk Road. Because of its unique artistic, cultural, historical and other values, Mogao Grottoes have also become a must-see resort for many people.
Before entering the Mogao Grottoes, watch two movies at the Mogao Grottoes Digital Exhibition Center. The first scene "Millennium Mogao" tells the past and present of Mogao Grottoes, and the second scene is the dome movie "Fantasy Buddha Palace", which tells the murals and Buddha statues in the key caves of Mogao Grottoes. The three-dimensional panoramic visual effect is better than reality. What you see in the book is more complete, delicate and shocking. After watching two movies and then visiting the Mogao Grottoes, the mood is different.
Due to thousands of years of wind, frost, rain and snow, today's Mogao Grottoes are already fragile and vulnerable. Due to the protection of Mogao Grottoes, there are only more than 20 caves open every day, and the number of tourists is also controlled within a certain number. After the ticket is checked in, each guide leader will take tourists to visit in batches, and each tourist is equipped with a pair of headphones (unfortunately, the headset I got that day was broken, so I had to get close to the guide along the way, or I really can’t understand it. to), and each team leader will only open 8 caves for you, that is to say, you can only see any 8 of them. Just a must.
The whole visit took about 2 hours, and I forgot about the caves I saw. But along the way, I was thinking that without these grotto murals, we would never know whether the stories about the peaceful times and social landscape recorded in the history books are true or false.
Fortunately, this time I didn't come in vain. When I visited the cave, I was really shocked by these exquisite murals. More than 700 caves, hand-painted Buddha statues, no similar cave roofs...I can't imagine how the predecessors did it?
It is not allowed to take pictures in the cave, so it is impossible to present the essence of it to everyone. Mogao Grottoes may disappear, so if you have the opportunity, you must go to see this world-class landscape, beautiful murals, the most beautiful flying sky, quiet and beautiful, just like a beautiful picture scroll.
【tips】
1. To visit Mogao Grottoes, you need to make an appointment and book tickets on the official website in advance. A-type tickets are 238 yuan per person (1 month in advance in peak season and 1 week in advance in off-season, choose the appropriate time according to your own time)
2. Sequence of visiting Mogao Grottoes: First go to the Mogao Grottoes Digital Exhibition Center to watch two movies, then take the scenic bus for about 20 minutes to arrive at the Mogao Grottoes scenic spot.
Mingsha Mountain has the roughness of desert yellow sand and the tenderness of clear spring
The beauty of Dunhuang is as distant and long as its name. In this small city in northern Saibei, there is not only history, but also the desert and the Wangqing spring. So when you come to Dunhuang, in addition to the must-see Mogao Grottoes, Mingsha Mountain Crescent Spring is also not to be missed.
6 kilometers south of Dunhuang, there is a strange mountain. It is said that the sand grains are composed of red, yellow, green, black and white, soft and round. If a person slides down the mountain, the sand under his feet will make a sound, and the footprints of climbing the sand mountain will disappear the next day. This is Mingsha Mountain.
We chose to enter the Mingsha Mountain Scenic Area in the evening. When we entered the scenic area, a spectacular picture came into view. The long camels carried tourists, winding forward in the vast desert, and there was no end in sight. This is my The most spectacular camel procession I have ever seen.
When you come to Mingsha Mountain, how can you not enjoy the fun of riding a camel. This is the first time for me to ride a camel. I feel that the camel is still very docile, so don't be afraid of hurting you. In the vast and boundless desert, the long camel team is a beautiful landscape in the desert. On the hunchback, listen to the sound of the camel bell, and enjoy your own time in the desert.
Speaking of Mingsha Mountain, one has to mention the accompanying Crescent Moon Spring, which is named after its shape like a crescent moon in a green basin surrounded by Mingsha Mountain peaks. Crescent Moon Spring is surrounded by Mingsha Mountain, but not covered by quicksand.
Along with the riding camel team, we came to the Crescent Lake. When you arrive at Crescent Spring, if you want to see the whole picture of Crescent Lake, you have to climb to the top of the mountain. I thought it would be easy to climb Mingsha Mountain barefoot, but after climbing for a while, I felt out of breath and the sand under my feet hummed. Only then did I realize that climbing in the desert is not easy. Pedaling in the soft sand, I can't make any effort at all. Fortunately, the scenic area is still very thoughtful, and a climbing ladder embedded in the sand is designed. With it, climbing the mountain becomes much easier.
Standing on Mingsha Mountain, overlooking the Crescent Moon Spring, the crescent-like clear spring is like a young girl, nestling tenderly in the arms of Mingsha Mountain.
Compared with the roughness of Mingsha Mountain, Crescent Lake is more tender. It is said that Crescent Moon Spring has been known as one of the "Eight Views of Dunhuang" since the Han Dynasty, and it is known as "the first spring in the desert". Therefore, when you come to Mingsha Mountain, you must come to Crescent Moon Spring.
Sitting on the top of the sand mountain, looking at the Crescent Lake and the endless sand dunes, I finally realized the desolation, vastness and infinity in the poem "the desert is solitary, the long river is full of sun". In Dunhuang, the sunset time is always very late, and it will not disappear on the horizon until 9 o'clock in the evening, so I always envy the long and interesting summer time in Dunhuang.
Mingsha Mountain, Crescent Spring, Shabushe Spring, and sand springs co-exist, cuddling each other for thousands of years. I have heard such a saying that "Mingsha Mountain cleanses the sex, Crescent Lake cleans the heart", which can give people a different enjoyment. I think it is because of the care of Mingsha Mountain and the company of Crescent Moon Spring that it has such a heart-warming gesture.
In Mingsha Mountain, in addition to enjoying the roughness of the desert yellow sand and the tenderness of the clear spring, camping in the desert is also a great enjoyment. The Crescent Spring Scenic Area is in the front mountain, and the camping is in the back mountain. We arranged to camp in the desert on the first day we came to Dunhuang. This is a desert camping worth cherishing and remembering.
The camping base we chose costs 200 yuan per person, including food, drink and fun, including sand boarding, desert motorcycles and other play items. The hot pot dinner for a large group of people, and the humorous host can make the atmosphere great. After the bonfire party, everyone put up a tent to sleep, and the atmosphere was very good.
But what made me most memorable this time was lying in the desert watching the stars and waiting for the sunrise in the desert. It is difficult to see such a large starry sky in the city we live in, so when the staff said that they could take us to a farther place to see the stars, we immediately signed up.
Lying quietly on the soft sand, staring at the bright starry sky with your eyes wide open. Just let time flow by under the starry sky, every minute and every second is shimmering.
The Milky Way in the desert is particularly shining, and the night makes every star seem to glow, and meteors also streak across the sky. At that moment, I feel that the entire desert starry sky is my own.
At 5:30 in the morning, the campers began to get up one after another. After packing up their things, they began to climb to the top of the sand mountain, waiting for a beautiful sunrise. Those who watch the sunrise consciously line up in a long line on the top of the mountain, either sitting or standing, facing the place where the sun rises, quietly waiting for the sunrise.
The light at 6 o'clock in the morning hits the endless sand dunes, changing wonderfully every minute. It’s just that the sunrise came a bit late this time, and the sky slowly began to turn white and brighten. We waited until a quarter past seven, and the red sun hadn’t leaped to the horizon, but we had to catch the last bus out of the camping base. So this time I watched the sunrise in the desert and left with regret.
Looking at the starry sky in the middle of the night, waiting for the sunrise in the morning light, every second feels different. Here, the desert camping, the starry sky, and the sunrise that I haven't watched have been fulfilled...
【tips】
1. Tickets for Mingsha Mountain: 110 yuan/person, 100 yuan/person for camel riding (you can choose to ride a camel or walk when you arrive at Crescent Lake, and the camel ride takes about 40 minutes)
2. Desert camping base: five-color sand camping base, 200 yuan/person fee, including food, drink and entertainment (some additional items need to be paid before visiting)
Shazhou Night Market, the bustling side of Dunhuang
Summer nights belong to the night market. Under the flickering lights, there is a rush of people, a dazzling array of goods, endless food stalls, full of fireworks, and all the flavors of life are in it.
It seems that every city will have such a night market. As night falls, the lights are blooming. Tourists from all over the world gradually gather in the dimly lit night market, making it extremely lively, and Dunhuang is no exception~
Shazhou Night Market, also known as Dunhuang Night Market, is located on Yangguan East Road in Dunhuang. It is a gathering place for Silk Road food and Silk Road handicrafts. It has distinctive local characteristics and strong folk customs. It is divided into different areas such as flavor snacks and handicrafts.
When you come to the night market, everyone has a different purpose. And it seems that we came to the night market this time just to eat. We have no choice but to eat wherever we can, so we went straight to the snack area.
Here are the famous snacks of Dunhuang, donkey meat yellow noodles, simmered noodles, stuffed skin, Dunhuang lamb haggis, grilled lamb chops, lamb skewers, etc. There are many varieties. I want to eat everything I see, but I hate my stomach is too small.
Strongly recommend the apricot skin water here, sweet and sour, especially thirst-quenching, the iced one tastes better, I fell in love with it after drinking it once (I am the one who drinks two glasses at a time), it is said that it is made from Li Guangxing in Dunhuang, The apricot skin water is not so delicious after leaving Dunhuang.
Of course, there are also a lot of handicrafts, local products, etc., you can browse slowly and choose a few gifts you like to take home. In short, if you want to eat delicious food, buy good-looking ones, and understand the customs of Dunhuang, you can come to Shazhou Night Market.
Colorful Danxia, colorful world
It is said that everyone has a colorful Danxia in their hearts. When you meet a colorful Danxia, you will have a unique colorful Danxia in your heart. With the yearning for the colorful Danxia, I came here, and I was in the colorful Danxia, and I can truly appreciate its magical charm when I am on the scene.
Zhangye Colorful Danxia Scenic Spot is located in Linze, at the northern foot of Qilian Mountains, in Sunan County. It is the most typical Danxia landform developed in the arid and semi-arid areas of northern China. It is the only complex area of Danxia landform and colorful hilly landscape in China. , with staggered layers, majestic momentum, and amazing scenes, it was rated as one of the seven most beautiful Danxia landforms in China by China National Geography magazine.
Early morning, evening, and after the rain are the best times to appreciate the beautiful scenery of colorful Danxia. We chose to enter the scenic spot in the evening according to the plan. There are 3 entrances and 4 viewing platforms in the scenic spot. Different entrances have different order of visits. The view is also different. We came in from the west gate, and the first thing we came to was No. 1 viewing platform. The scenery we saw at that time did not have a strong sense of visual impact. When I came to other viewing platforms, more and more bright colors appeared, just like the palette knocked down by God, falling on this endless hill, with strange shapes and colorful colors.
Walking to Danxia, there are hills rising and falling on both sides of the road, against the blue sky and white clouds, like an oil painting. The beauty of colorful Danxia is not only the danger and strangeness of ordinary Danxia, but also its color. Under the sunlight, red, yellow, orange, green, white and other bright colors can be seen everywhere. Perfect lines form a colorful world.
Standing on the top of the mountain and looking far away, it is like being surrounded by thick colors, lonely, desolate and beautiful, as if you are on another planet, and only at this moment can you appreciate the unique beauty of Zhangye Danxia landform.
The colorful hills stretching for hundreds of miles are like strips of gorgeous silk hanging in the hills, so harmonious, so natural, the bright and simple colors, the various shapes, against the sun, they are magnificent!
Where there is sunshine, there is endless yearning for life; where there are colorful Danxia, there is dazzling beauty!
Facing the afterglow of the sunset, the endless hills look desolate and magnificent, but the feeling at this moment is warm and long~! I think it is the color palette accidentally knocked down by God, which makes the colorful Danxia so shocking and beautiful! Love at first sight, great memories!
Qilian Mountain Grassland, a painting of alpine grassland
"Qinghai is blue, the Yellow River is yellow, and there is even the surging Jinsha River.
The snow is vast, the mountains are green, and the Qilian Mountains are a good pasture.
Here are herds of horses, thousands of cattle and sheep,
The horses are fat, the cows are strong, and the wool of the sheep is as bright as snowflakes. "
This ballad presents the beauty and richness of the Qilian grasslands under the reflection of the silver peaks of the snow-capped mountains to people. The vast and magnificent grassland, flocks of cattle and sheep... This is a fascinating grassland.
Before we knew it, it was the last day of our itinerary. From Gansu back to Xining, on National Highway 227, we passed through grasslands and canyons along the way, all the way is picturesque.
I couldn't see the rapeseed flowers, but I was caught by a large piece of highland barley. The yellow and green set off each other, which is a magical picture of nature.
After passing Qilian Mountain, we came to Qilian Mountain Grassland to fly for a while. For children who rarely see the grassland, they are still very excited to see the grassland at this moment.
The Qilian Mountain grassland is a high-altitude grassland, most of which are at an altitude of 3500-5000 meters. It is located in the Qilian Mountains at the junction of Qinghai and Gansu. The grasslands of Qilian Mountains are very vast. The grasslands, white clouds, cattle and sheep, and snow-capped mountains form a painting of alpine grasslands.
Summer is the most beautiful season of the Qilian Mountain grassland, and self-driving is the best way to experience the Qilian Mountain grassland. Driving on the road across the grassland, the sky is wild and vast. Looking at the herds of cattle and sheep on the grass, one can only sigh the nature of nature. charm.
In the grassland of Qilian Mountains, you can also experience the thrill of riding a horse and let yourself go~
The weather on the plateau is ever-changing. One second it was still blue sky and white clouds, and the next second there was hail. We had to take back our desire to fly on the grassland and run back to the car.
In this way, a hailstorm ended our trip~
there will be a period later
The six-day and five-night trip to the Great Northwest Loop has come to an end. Thanks to our reliable old driver Xiao Ma for taking us to appreciate the most beautiful scenery in the Northwest. Thank you for your care along the way, and thank you for the kindness we met for the first time. You, let us have a wonderful memory of this trip to the Northwest!
The Northwest is wild, deep, and boundless, and the Northwest is also warm and tender. Those places that have not been visited yet, those places that left with regret, one day I will come back again, and go to another wonderful trip to the Northwest. trip!
