Looking for Dreams in the Great Northwest——A place where the soul is closer to heaven

It has been more than a month since Daxibei came back, and I have not started to write travel notes, because I have too many good memories, so I am a little bit at a loss. This trip was difficult on the road, with an average of five or six hours of driving every day, to catch up with the road, the sights, and the light. The years borrowed from other people's lives, the warmth illuminates my youth.

There are always some places in everyone's heart where the soul arrives before the body. Daxibei is such an existence for me. It is very close to the sky, but far away from the world. Although I love going to the seaside for vacation, I am more yearning for grasslands, deserts, and Gobi, and I have a near-perverted obsession with Dunhuang and Qinghai Lake. Therefore, since I want to go to the Northwest, I must choose the Northwest Great Ring Road. This time, my companion is a good friend from high school. Because it is a trip of two girls, and considering that the Northwest travel route is relatively difficult, it is rare to choose to travel with a group. Of course, the group is not just casually. It is listening Based on a colleague’s suggestion, I chose a scarecrow trip that is more suitable for young people. I won’t introduce it in detail here, so as not to be suspected of advertising, but in fact, I really want to introduce such a good travel organization to everyone, okay in the next step The travel notes are interspersed with introductions.

Here are a few pictures that I am more satisfied with:

How to shoot jumps is also a skill learned on this trip

Western women

Afterglow of the desert sunset

Arou Daji

Battle of Jiayuguan

desert sunset

Boluo Zhuanjing Town

Fireworks by Qinghai Lake

tea in the rain card

tea card

Dawn of Qinghai Lake

schedule:

D1: Home - Xining

Because I chose to travel in August to catch up with the best season for Northwest tourism and the peak summer travel season, the air ticket price has risen a lot compared with normal times. The direct flight to Xining is too expensive. It just so happens that there is a direct flight from Ningbo to Lanzhou, which is cheaper than flying to Xining. Quite a lot, I bought the air ticket more than a month in advance. It turns out that the air ticket must be bought as soon as possible during the peak travel season. When I placed the order, it was 2000RMB/person for a round trip, and it was directly increased to 4000RMB/person after two weeks. Thumbs up. Lanzhou to Xining is still very convenient. Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport has an intercity railway to Lanzhou West (about 40 minutes), and then turn the train from Lanzhou West to Xining (1h20min). The two train transfers add up to less than 80RMB, and it takes 2.5 hours to arrive in Xining, which is very convenient. I arrived in Xining at about four in the afternoon. I packed my luggage and went shopping on Xining Street. The streets were filled with Muslims wearing hats and scarves, which gave me the illusion that I was in a foreign country. The most buildings on the street were actually mosques. , the first impression of this city is that the blue sky on the plateau is particularly blue, and the days are very long, and it doesn't get dark until around eight o'clock in the evening. After running around for a whole day, from Zhejiang Province to Gansu Province and then to Qinghai Province, the experience of crossing three provinces in one day is also unforgettable. After meeting with the big team, I rested early to preserve my strength for the next high-intensity journey.

plateau blue

Xining first meal

Highland barley cake

D2: Xining - Arou Temple - Drow Mountain - Qilian

Depart from Xining in the morning and cross the Qilian Mountains all the way. There are long-haired yaks and sheep on the alpine pastures. There are only a few vehicles on the empty asphalt road. Temple - A Rou Da Temple. It stands quietly in the grassland, just like its name, gentle but firm. There are few passing tourists here, and there is no hustle and bustle of the city. The only thing left in the world is tranquility and tolerance. Arriving at Tianjing Qilian Zhuoer Mountain Scenic Area in the afternoon, a sudden heavy rain trapped us on the mountainside of the scenic area. We hurriedly went down the mountain before seeing the beautiful scenery. This is the first regret of this trip. In the evening, I stayed at Brother Ma’s B&B in the Muslim hometown. After being drenched in the rain, I enjoyed the delicious hot pot from Brother Ma’s house. Listening to the story of Brother Ma introduced by the team leader, I learned about the origin of Brother Ma’s family and the scarecrows. It turns out that Brother Ma’s homestay only accepts the scarecrow team. , Brother Ma also gave us a lot of popular science about Muslim customs and habits. Everyone has gained a lot of religious knowledge and gained a lot.

western open road

Passing the rapeseed field

Prairie pasture

Arou Daji

Drow Mountain before the storm

Drow Mountain

Brother Ma Homestay

Brother Ma's delicious hot pot

D3: Qilian - Oboling Pass - Zhangye

Today, we continue to cross the Qilian Mountains, cross the Eboling Pass at an altitude of 3,685 meters, and arrive at Zhangye Colorful Danxia Geological Park in the afternoon. We were lucky. It was still cloudy when we first entered. In the evening, the weather turned out to be fine. Against the background of the setting sun, Danxia showed a variety of colors. Marvel at the uncanny craftsmanship of nature.

Colorful Zhangye

D4: Zhangye - Jiayuguan - Guazhou

Depart from Zhangye in the morning, go all the way along the Hexi Corridor, pass through the vast Gobi, and arrive at Jiayuguan, an important throat town, at noon. Beneath the majestic Qilian Snow Mountain is the ancient city of Jiayuguan, which together with the Great Wall at the foot of Qilian Mountain, constitutes the defense system of the western section of China. Climbing the tower, you can see the Great Wall like a dragon floating in the vast Gobi Desert, and the snow-covered Qilian Mountains are stretching in the sky. Arrive in Guazhou in the evening and check in, and the night of strolling around the small towns in the west has a special flavor.

Jiayuguan City Gate

West out of Yangguan

snow mountain in the distance

Jiayuguan City Wall

D5: Guazhou - Dunhuang - Mingsha Mountain Crescent Spring

Today is the shortest day of the journey, and I finally came to Dunhuang, and came to the Mogao Grottoes that I have been thinking about. Tickets for the Mogao Grottoes are the same as train tickets for the Spring Festival travel season, and one ticket is hard to find. Tickets are increased for 30 days and pre-sales start on the official website. Fortunately, I booked the itinerary early, so I was lucky to buy ordinary tickets. Those who can't get tickets can also grab emergency tickets. Emergency tickets can only be purchased within 30 kilometers of Dunhuang City, and the ticket purchase applet needs to be located. I think there is a big difference between emergency tickets and ordinary tickets. Ordinary tickets include two digital movies and professional explanations of eight caves (the eight caves are selected by the guides of the Dunhuang Academy according to the situation of the day, so maybe every time you go The caves you see are all different), the emergency ticket can only see four caves (fixed), and the four caves of the emergency ticket can also be seen with the ordinary ticket, that is to say, the ordinary ticket can be regarded as 12, There are only 4 emergency tickets. The special caves will also be open in the off-season. It is recommended that those who have a special complex for Mogao Grottoes choose the off-season to compare. There are fewer people and more things to see. We still have to queue for a long time this time. We really spent almost a day to experience the artistic treasures on the Silk Road. The exquisite murals and statues tell stories we don’t know. The history unfolds slowly like a scroll. I can only use one word to describe my mood at that time, That is shocking. At dusk, we came to Mingsha Mountain Crescent Spring Scenic Area. We climbed up the high hill together and sat on the top of the mountain to wait for the sunset in the desert. I especially like the night of Mingsha Mountain. Standing on the top of the mountain and watching the neon lights by the Crescent Spring slowly light up, followed by the whole Dunhuang night. A group of us formed a circle to watch the fireworks and sing together. The stars, then supported each other in excitement and fear and ran down the high sand hill, beautiful and real.

Mogao Grottoes

Murals on the exterior walls

desert road

Mingsha Mountain

Crescent Lake at nightfall

D6: Dunhuang - Delingha

Today is the longest day of driving. We traveled through the vast uninhabited land, thoroughly and fully feeling the vastness and vastness of the Northwest, the rolling desert road, the vast Gobi Desert, the strange Yardang landform, the steep Qilian Snow Mountain... ...On the way, we pass through an abandoned oil town, Boluo Zhuanjing Town, which is said to be the filming location of the movie "Nine-story Demon Tower". The weird graffiti in the courtyard give people a strong visual shock, and it is indeed the best choice for taking alternative photos. Arrive at Delingha in the evening and check in. This is a comfortable and comfortable small city. The famous poem "Sister, I am in Delingha tonight" by the poet Haizi makes it almost a holy place in the hearts of literary youths.

Wind power everywhere along the way

Boluo Zhuanjing Town

Ruins in Zhuanjing Town, Boluo

D7: Delingha - Chaka Salt Lake - Qinghai Lake

Today we set off from Delingha to the mirror of the sky - Chaka Salt Lake. Today did not continue the good weather of the previous few days. It was raining at the time of Chaka, and we did not really appreciate the beauty of the mirror of the sky. This is why The second biggest regret. In the evening, I finally saw the Qinghai Lake that I was dreaming of, but I couldn’t appreciate it because of the weather. Fortunately, we lived by the Qinghai Lake at night, and at least we can look forward to a good weather tomorrow. At 11 o'clock in the evening, the temperature by the Qinghai Lake was 9 degrees. The rain finally stopped. I was called downstairs by WeChat from the team leader. I wore three pieces of clothes and two pants to play fireworks in the howling cold wind. I was very happy to get new skills in taking photos. I made up for it today. It is a pity that Chaka Qinghai Lake is raining, but at least there are bright spots.

Tea card train

the reflection

fireworks

D8: Qinghai Lake - Xining

Get up at 6 o'clock to watch the sunrise, the clouds are too thick in the sky and only see the glow. Fortunately, it didn't rain. Qinghai Lake in the early morning is very quiet. Take a slow walk by the lake to see the sparkling lake surface, flocks of ducks playing in the water, and flying overhead The flock of birds and the mani heaps left by the unknown passers-by on the shore enjoyed this rare tranquility. When we were about to leave at noon, the weather turned better, and finally saw the beautiful blue lake as in my dream. From From light blue to dark blue, and then to blue, under the sunlight, the color of the lake is also changing. It is unparalleled in beauty. As the team leader Xiao Guo said, Qinghai Lake is really a place that I want to come back again and again. This behavior came for you, and it will come again in this life. After returning to Xining in the afternoon, I went to visit the Dongguan Mosque and Mojia Street in downtown Xining with my friends, and then had a breakup meal with my friends. This time the itinerary has come to an end.

sunrise at qinghai lake

Qinghai Lakeside

Shochu for the lake

birds in the morning light

mani heap

Northwest Grassland

grassland

Kanto Grand Mosque

D9: Xining - Home

Another day on the road, traveling across three provinces to return to my warm home. Here I want to talk about the bullet train from Xining to Lanzhou. It is really the most crowded bullet train I have ever taken. We bought the tickets late, and the tickets to Lanzhou are gone. We can only buy the tickets at the previous station, and then get on the train to make up for the ticket. , There are too many tourists in the peak season in the northwest, which is comparable to the Spring Festival travel season. There is no place to stand, and people are pushing in and out when getting on and off the bus. Finally, I can feel the atmosphere of the Spring Festival travel season.

At the end of the journey, I still want to praise our scarecrow and team leader. Most of Daodao's itineraries are destinations and group tours, even outbound tours. Daodao's teammates have an age limit, 16-40 years old, and the collision between young people will be much more exciting. They pay more attention to some local cultural experience Interactions with teammates, such as the popularization of religion at Brother Ma’s house, music sharing among teammates, and sharing of interesting travel stories, etc., they will also continue to create surprises for teammates during the journey, such as drinks that suddenly appear on the top of Mingsha Mountain and sound system, self-made fireworks at Qinghai Lake at night, etc. This time there are 2 team leaders and 17 teammates. Xiao Guo of the neighboring team is a novice team leader. It is said that we are her opening business and her assessment route. If you pass the assessment, you can officially step into the ranks of team leaders. Xiao Guo is a part-time team leader. Her main business is to open a B&B in Shanghai. She is a wonderful person. She shares the apartment with her tenants. She likes to experience different kinds of life and meet all kinds of people. This is why she signed up for Daidao as a part-time team leader. reason. During the trip, she will tell us stories about some interesting tenants she met. Although she is not very familiar with some tasks of the tour guide, it does not affect our travel experience. The deputy team leader, Lei Lei, is from Hulunbuir, she is very proud, she is the type of Northeast girl I especially like, she is the examiner of Xiao Guo's assessment this time, and she is a travel expert. Before picking up our group, I just came back from Africa for a month. I didn’t go home and pulled us up and left. I was jet lagged along the way. In the sharing session of the trip, I heard her talk about some of her previous experiences in India. Very interesting. Well, this is the end of Amway. In short, it is an unforgettable journey that can be remembered for a long time.

In the end, I put a few group photos. This time, many of the beautiful photos were taken by Xiao Guo. Special thanks to her. A team leader who can take pictures should be standard for group tours, perfect.