Nine. Color. Gannan + Desert + Yellow River Self-driving Tour

In the midsummer sun, my friend and I, an SUV, a car full of snacks, and a good mood, galloped on the Gannan Line and the Yellow River, entered and exited from Lanzhou, and planned to go south to Jiuzhaigou and Seda...

Ah Yi He Nine Colors Gannan
Ah Yi, the place where I seek my dreams
Endless Mysteries Endless Galleries
That is the western highlands, a paradise on earth

One day in August 2018, the two of us stepped out of Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport and started .

Nine Colors of Gannan, our definition is Jiuzhaigou, Seda and the three places south of Gansu, not just the Nine Colors of Gannan Prefecture. Later, because Jiuzhaigou was closed and I couldn’t go there, I obediently followed the standard travel team route and crossed Labrang Monastery, the first bend of the Yellow River Jiuqu, Wacheta Forest, Seda, Nianbao Yuze, and return to Lanzhou. Then continue to drive to the Shapotou Tengger Desert and the Yellow River Scenic Area in the north of Lanzhou for 3 days before returning to Lanzhou Ending the pleasant journey. The "extra" 3 days were originally planned to play Jiuzhai Huanglong.

I feel that this journey is a bit strenuous, as if it is non-stop, but the scenery is on the road, and what comes into view is a moving picture of nature! Sitting in the car is comfortable and carefree, no matter the weather outside the window is sunny or rainy.

In addition to the photos, I would like to share with you the experience of self-driving along the road, and I hope it will be helpful to you who are preparing to travel.

Here are some cute photos:

Yes, you can also choose a trip to Gannan to make a trip of your own.

The Gannan line is characterized by long distances and rugged roads. Let alone Lanzhou is far away from your home, the distance between scenic spots is also relatively far. The driving time is long, the road is difficult to walk, and some routes have to go back and forth. It rains in the sky (it seems like it rains every day) and encounters the most terrible road construction and traffic jams. I don’t advocate rushing for time and self-driving novice people to go to Gannan. This is also left to your consideration~

This is how we got here~

D1 Yichang - Lanzhou - Linxia

D2 Linxia - Lab Leng Temple - Ruoergai

D3 Ruoergai-Tangke Yellow River First Bend-Wachetalin-Shujingsi Town

D4 Shujingsi Town - Seda County

D5 Seda County - Seda Buddhist College - Seda County

D6 Seda County - Banma - Lianbao Yuze - Jiuzhi

D7 Jiuzhi-Maqu-Linxia

D8 Linxia - Lanzhou

D9 Lanzhou Zhengning Road Snack Night Market

D10 Lanzhou - Shapotou

D11 Tonghu Park/ Jinsha Island/ Shapotou/ Yellow River/ Tengger Desert

D12 Shapotou - Lanzhou

D13 Lanzhou Aquarium/Gansu Provincial Museum/Botanical Garden

D14 Lanzhou - Yichang

Excluding round-trip air tickets, the expenses for two people are 1,000 yuan per day, because the rented car already costs 500 yuan per day including refueling. There is no need to worry about food and accommodation along the way.

Next, please take a look at the route we have traveled. It seems too tight, right? We missed a few popular scenic spots in order to hurry. But we went to the most representative and most difficult to visit Sertar, and verified the Sertar You don’t need to turn back on the return journey, but continue to cross the Lianbao Yuze Mountain, and arrive at Jiuzhi and Langmusi areas smoothly. Yes, there are one or two locations that are somewhat inconsistent with the navigation, and you have to check the map and the set kilometers repeatedly. Whether it is reasonable, so as not to go wrong.

Also, another feature of the Gannan Line is that it passes through the three provinces of Gansu, Sichuan, and Qinghai. You will step into two provinces (such as Langmusi), or even three provinces (Jiuzhi County). This is quite interesting.

Although I am not a Buddhist, I have longed for the Buddhist architecture and the small red houses all over the mountains. As a travel lover, I must see it with my own eyes.

Please refer to the route map this time, h=hour, km=kilometer (a total of 2000 kilometers, took 8 days)

every day

Surprise-Itinerary Introduction:

D1 Yichang - Lanzhou - Linxia

Departure! The long-awaited trip started from Yichang. The flight to Lanzhou was originally scheduled to arrive at 4 or 5 o'clock, but it suddenly arrived at 1:30 in the afternoon. Without any doubt, we decided to set off by self-driving in the afternoon to buy time. So after arranging to pick up the car near the airport, I went on the road that day. Drive along the expressway and you will arrive at Linxia, the first stop. Check in at Hehuang Pearl International Hotel. The only thing that surprised me was that I thought there was a superhighway right after I left the airport. I didn’t know if I was going the wrong way, or I couldn’t avoid entering the urban area of Lanzhou, so I took the opportunity to stop and ate a bowl of authentic Lanzhou beef ramen.

D2 Linxia - Lab Leng Temple - Ruoergai

The show started, and without much effort we drove in the morning to the famous Buddhist "Tsinghua University" - Labuleng Monastery. I heard that the admission of students in higher education institutions is strict. It takes only ten or twenty years to graduate! We followed the guide to visit some colleges and universities for free activities, for fear of being dragged to listen to books.

Because the parking lot is very far away, when you leave, you blindly look for a car, ignoring the method of looking for food first and then looking for a car. It's really stupid. You can't park there anymore. The street is full of people and cars. If you want to eat, the door nothing!

A large number of snacks in the carriage come in handy, and it is also a pleasure to eat while on the road. Yes, I arrived at Ruoergai very late, and my friends were starved.

Leaving Labrang Monastery, we set the navigation to Ruoergai Prairie, hoping to have a chance to see the prairie. This idea is soon unrealistic because we encountered a serious traffic jam, and there was a car queue that we had never seen in our life. At least there were It was several kilometers long, and it was strange that there were big cars queuing up. I didn't know the reason at the time, but I followed the small car in front. Occasionally, a rival car came over and had to give way. This went on for an hour or two. After crossing the long traffic queue, I found that the road ahead was being repaired, and it took a while for the big cars to pass after fresh asphalt had just been laid. I was lucky to get away soon, it started to rain, and the sky was very dark. The signs of the prairie and the International Wetland Park appeared from time to time, and we couldn't care less. We only wanted to find a hotel to stop in. My friends immediately searched and locked the nearest one The hotel is only 20 kilometers away from Zoige County. After the decision was made, the car was speeding in the dark, and the rain was fortunately not too heavy. A light appeared before the destination. It turned out to be Huahu Lake. There seemed to be many inns here. We passed without stopping. Arrived at the hotel booked at 8pm. When I was eating dinner, I thought back to the driver of the cart on the mountain. I didn't know when I would get down to the county seat, and I was helpless.

D3 Ruoergai-Tangke Yellow River First Bend-Wachetalin-Shujingsi Town

I specifically wrote the two place names of Tangke and Vache, because I am afraid that other people will go wrong. The navigation indicates that it takes 3 hours to get to the first bay of the Yellow River from Ruoergai, but it takes more than 1 hour to go to Vache. That is wrong, the Yellow River Scenic Area is on Vache Road. Please note.

If you decide to go in the direction of Jiuzhaigou, Ruoergai will have clear signs to guide you. Jiuzhaigou is sometimes closed after the earthquake, presumably to allow construction to proceed. Anyway, we have all been to Jiuzhai Huanglong, so this time we went straight to Seda.

The full name of the Yellow River Scenic Spot is the First Bend of Jiuqu of the Yellow River in the world. Its reputation and development scale correspond, and it is a must-see scenic spot. If we compare it with the nine bends and eighteen bends in Xinjiang that we have been to, I still think that the bends in Xinqiang Bayinbulak are more beautiful, and its "nine-beaded sunset" should be the best in the world.

We hurried through Vachetalin and the next Hongyuan Prairie, hoping to settle in before we got hungry. As we wished, the car stopped at six o'clock in front of the largest hotel in a small town, which is the town of Shujingsi. Most of the time today I walked along the small river and through the forested area. The road condition was okay but it was long and curved. In the morning, I was still delayed by an hour due to road construction.

There are several restaurants in this small town, mainly for truck drivers to stop by. I can't remember the name of the hotel, but the owner will remember me as a guest, because their son's ID card was lost, and I happened to check it back at the door.

D4 Shujingsi Town - Seda County

Searching for Seda is the focus of this trip. When I knew that the town of Shujingsi was not far from Seda, I was overjoyed and puzzled by the travel notes given to my predecessors. The closest stop to Serta County should be Guanyin Bridge. After passing Guanyin Bridge for 6 hours, foreigners, including Hong Kong and Macau residents, may not be able to enter. . . . Later, we arrived at Seda in 8 hours. We seemed to see some bridge scenic spots along the way but didn’t pay much attention to them. Anyway, Sima Pingchuan arrived at Seda County and stayed in a quite fashionable hotel. We asked the foreign guests at the front desk if they could visit Seda Buddhist College. , the front desk said of course. I feel relieved.

I also asked whether it is better to live in a Buddhist college or live in a county like us. Basically, unless believers want to live in a Buddhist college, it is convenient for tourists to live in a county. Both buses and social vehicles can drive into the scenic spot, which is only a few kilometers away anyway.

D5 Seda County - Seda Buddhist College - Seda County

In the light rain, we arrived at Seda Buddhist College, the full name of which is Larong Temple Wuming Buddhist College in Serta County, located in Sichuan Province. The altitude is 3600 meters. Countless crimson cabins stretching up and down are spectacular. About 5,000 monks live there. The courses of the Buddhist Academy are divided into short-term and long-term. The long-term is 6-year general courses and 13-year advanced courses. Fortunately, I visited the appearance of the little red house, which also fulfilled my wish. Since we two ordinary people came to the quiet place of Buddhism, we also "climbed" along the steps to the top of the mountain to have a look, panting like cows along the way, and rested several times. But I saw the monks, all of whom were as light as Yan, brushed past us. Fortunately, we walked up the mountain with hard work, and happily went down the mountain in a road car. The trip could have been more perfect if we watched Sky Burial. Alas, I never thought that the celestial burial ground was not within the scope of our mountaineering, but on the hillside between the edge of the Buddhist Academy and the river. On the way back home, we saw a lot of people and cars crowded towards the small hill. However, we were too hungry before lunch at three o'clock, so we had to blame ourselves for not doing our homework well. Missed the sky burial site, and later missed the water burial site, just passing by a bridge full of people somewhere. Forgot it was there now?

D6 Seda County - Banma - Lianbao Yuze - Jiuzhi

I'm going back today. I consulted the locals before departure, and Seda County can go back to Lanzhou without going back. So we went clockwise to continue our journey, and found that there were not only roads but also very good road conditions and sparse vehicles. We went through the Banma and Awancang Wetlands very smoothly and arrived at Jiuzhi County. The scenery along the way was beautiful, and we stayed in the car all day except for occasional stops to rest.

D7 Jiuzhi-Maqu-Linxia

Strange to say, it was originally planned to return to Lanzhou from Seda County for at least 4 days, including a night at Langmusi. It never occurred to me that the road from Maqu to Langmusi would be guarded by two thugs who wanted to buy money for the journey and said what tickets to buy. Of course, it is auspicious for us to avoid it, abandoning Langmusi and taking the direction of Linxia. We arrived in Linxia safely before evening. Unexpectedly, Jiuzhi returned to Linxia on the day of his start today, only more than 100 kilometers away from Lanzhou.

D8 Linxia-Lanzhou

I visited the scenic spot of Bafang Shiba Lane in the morning, and drove back to downtown Lanzhou easily in the afternoon. This time I can stay in a big hotel and have a good rest.