foreword

I once dreamed of walking across the world with my sword and seeing the prosperity of the world.” Xu Wei’s singing has infected many people. In the final analysis, it all comes from the desire in my heart, especially for me. How many nights of tossing and turning , The distant picture came to my mind, I told myself, since I have a dream, I should go after it boldly.

It is said that I am a foreigner who wanders the world, but they do not know that I am just a passer-by among all living beings. I walked across mountains and rivers with a backpack on my back, and crossed rivers. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. The traveler waits there, looking up devoutly at the clouds opening, the clouds rolling, the wind rising and the wind falling, my footprints step by step, leaving traces of what I have walked, the loess flying, hitting me, that is the breath of the earth.

Born in nature and growing up in nature, with a sincere heart, I slowly unlock the secrets of nature, and the mountains and rivers are only at my feet. A few years later, I still walk between heaven and earth. The present and the future are under my control. I am a lonely man with a backpack on my back, and I am about to go to another country - Ningxia.

about the author

@carrying a backpack go

Post-90s Professional Travelers

Dance graduate student

Well-known travel blogger

Hotel sleep tester

contracted photographer

Travel experts and travelers on major OTA platforms

Author signed by several self-media platforms


Weibo: Go with a backpack

shooting equipment

Body (dual body does not need to change the lens back and forth conveniently)

Nikon D810 Nikon

D7100

millet 6

Lens:

【Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED】

【Tokina AT-X 16-28mm f/2.8 PRO FX Nikon Mount】

Required items

1. Cards: ID cards, bank cards, credit cards, driver’s licenses (if you have them), bring them well, and bring other discounted documents together. But be careful to bring some cash with you. Although the Internet is very developed now, not all places can accept credit card or WeChat payment.

2. Ticket category: Determine the travel time, choose the means of transportation in advance, whether it is an airplane, high-speed rail or train, it is best to download an app, and you can book tickets anytime, anywhere.

3. Digital category: including mobile phones, charging treasures (remind that if it is an airplane, you can only bring up to two charging treasures, not too large), various chargers, photographic equipment (wide-angle, tripod and so on), USB data Wire.

4. Clothes: Decide what clothes to bring according to the length of time. Check the weather in Ningxia in advance. The weather in the mountainous areas of Ningxia is relatively changeable, and it will be a bit cold. It is reminded to bring thicker clothes.

5. Other categories: basic toiletries, personal supplies, etc.!

6. Medicines: equipped with heat-clearing and detoxifying medicines or granules, band-aids, cold medicines, etc.

"A must in China, a grand view in the Northwest" - Zhenbeibao Western Cinema

I have been to this "familiar" land countless times through the lens of various famous directors at home and abroad, and this time I finally embarked on the journey in person to reveal its reality outside the lens.

In the open wilderness of the northwest suburb more than 30 kilometers away from the urban area of ​​Yinchuan City, there are two ancient castle ruins, which are the well-known ancient city of Zhenbeibao in China. The castle is now a cultural relic protection unit in Yinchuan City, and it is now the location of Huaxia Western Film and Television City.

The two castles were garrison fortresses set up during the Ming and Qing Dynasties to defend against the invasion of Fucheng (Yinchuan City) by various ethnic groups north of Helan Mountain. Zhenbei Fort also got its name. The local people call them "Old Castle" and "New Castle". According to local chronicles, the old castle was built in the 13th year of Hongzhi in the Ming Dynasty (1500), and the new castle was built in the fifth year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty (1740).

The two forts, one in the south and one in the north, face east from the west. The old fort next to the east side of the Yanshan Highway has been completely eroded by wind, leaving only broken walls and ruins, and its shape still exists. 200 meters to the north is Newcastle. The city of Newcastle is relatively complete, and the city walls are relatively intact. There used to be turrets at the four corners of the city wall, but now the foundations are still faintly visible.

With the flags waving in the wind, walking into this western film and television city, you can see the solid color of thick loess everywhere. The tower-shaped buildings built of loess, the buildings built of loess, and the high city walls built of loess all have a primitive roughness and mystery. Walking in it seems to be in the background of martial arts novels or western cowboy movies, so that visitors standing here have a sense of incompatibility and contrast similar to time travel caused by clothing.

The unique, majestic, desolate, tragic, dilapidated, and undefeated scene of the ancient castle is maintained and utilized here, highlighting its sense of desolation, loess flavor, and primitive and folk aesthetic connotations. It retains its special aesthetic value, allowing film artists to give full play to their imagination and creativity in this western scenery.

In the 1960s, Zhang Xianliang, a writer who was still working on a farm, discovered it and introduced it to the film and television industry in the early 1980s. So far, "The Wrangler", "Red Sorghum", "Yellow River Ballad", "The Yellow River", "The Old Man and the Dog", which won international and domestic awards, as well as the famous films "Journey to the West" and "New Dragon Inn" have been filmed here. , "Against the Cold", "The Lonely Guard", "Great Dunhuang", "Fire and Yellow Sand", "Qiao's Courtyard", "Old Persimmon Tree" and other nearly 100 film and television dramas.

Among the many film and television cities in China, Zhenbeibao Western Film City is characterized by simplicity, primitiveness, roughness, desolation and folk culture. It is one of the three major film and television cities in China and the only famous film and television city in western China. The number of films produced here, the number of rising stars, and the number of international and domestic film and television awards won are all the highest among film and television cities in all parts of China. It has the reputation of "Chinese films go to the world from here". And because the topography of the ancient castle and the interior scenes of the film studio represent the village and town style of the old Northwest China, it is known as "a must in China, a grand view of the Northwest". It is the product of the combination of the cultural landscape of historical relics and modern film and television art, and it is the best location shooting base for films and TVs with western Chinese themes and ancient themes that are well-known at home and abroad.

Now in the two ancient cities of Zhenbeibao, the original scenes and props of some films have been preserved and restored for tourists to watch. The scenes exhibited in the old castle include the real scene of the "Blacksmith Camp" in "The Ballad of the Yellow River", the moon gate, the brewing workshop, the room of Jiu'er (played by Gong Li), the sedan chair that Jiu'er took when he got married, and the wine-filled vase in the film "Red Sorghum". Vats, bowls, and the "Bandit Nest" from the movie "Operation Pluto."

There are earthen houses and street scenes in Xinbao, and the real scene of Liu’s deep house compound in the film "Five Kui", as well as film and television service facilities such as film archives and screening halls. When you walk among these film and television scenes and linger among props that are indistinguishable from real and fake, you seem to have come to a dreamlike movie world, which will make you fascinated, surprised and refreshed.

Now there are also diversified services such as film and television production, catering, shopping, pottery, riding and shooting for tourists. Its most prominent service is to allow tourists to act as stars to perform freely, record them into discs, and enjoy them in their personal home theaters. So when I put on the clothes of Zhizunbao, one of them put on the clothes of Fairy Zixia, and I took the sword, behind me was the tower where Zhou Xingchi and Athena Chu had stood, which made me addicted to "Journey to the West".


How to get there:　　

Zhenbeibao Western Film and Television City is located in the open wilderness in the northwest suburb of Yinchuan City, 35 kilometers away from Yinchuan City.

1. Near the Nanguan Mosque in the urban area of ​​Yinchuan, there is a minibus that goes directly to the film and television city. The first bus is around 7:00, and the last bus is around 17:00, every ten minutes. The whole journey takes about 1 hour and the fare is about 8 yuan

2. From the end of April to the end of October every year, there are direct tourist buses to the film and television city at Yinchuan Railway Station and Xinyue Plaza (Beijing East Road Xinyue Plaza Bus Tourism Terminus), with one bus a day, and the frequency may be increased during holidays.


Tickets:

Ordinary ticket: RMB 80 (January 1-December 31 Monday-Sunday)

Half-ticket: Primary and middle school students and college students with valid certificates

Free of charge: Children under 6 years old or under 1.2 meters in height, elderly people over 60 years old, disabled, active soldiers, and retired military personnel with valid certificates.

Repeating the steps and traces of life of the ancients——Helan Mountain Rock Paintings

Helan Mountain Petroglyph Scenic Area - Repeat the steps and traces of life of the ancients.

There is a Yinchuan World Rock Art Museum in the scenic spot, where you can see the most representative boutique rock painting catalogs, rubbings, demoulding replicas, oil painting imitations, real objects, and petroglyphs from 31 countries and more than 200 regions around the world. Original works of art produced at the same time.

It is the only petroglyph museum in China and the largest petroglyph museum in the world. The huge surface sculpture in front of the museum is the most representative rock painting of human face among the rock paintings of Helan Mountain. After being enlarged in equal proportions, the rough and simple lines implicitly contain the implication of modern oil paintings and sculptures, which is really a pity for the flash of human civilization.

In the hinterland of Helan Mountain, which is more than 200 kilometers long from north to south, there are more than 20 remains of rock paintings. The scenery of the mountain pass is elegant, with strange peaks and barriers, gurgling springs flowing out of the ditch, and rock paintings with unique carvings and individual graphics dotted with stars on the rocky walls extending on both sides of the ditch.

The portraits of people are simple and strange. Some heads have horns, some have feathers, and some wear pointed or round caps. The petroglyphs depicting women, some wearing headdresses, and some wearing hair buns, are elegant and elegant, reproducing the ancient women's pursuit of beauty thousands of years ago. Some have big ears, high noses and hairy faces, some have bones in their mouths, and some have striped or curved lines on their faces. There are also several facial features resembling a standing human figure with bent arms, legs spread apart, and a long knife at the waist, showing the image of a totem witch.

The composition of animal graphics is rough, vivid and lifelike. There are running deer, blue sheep with protruding horns, galloping horses, dogs wagging their tails, figures of flying birds and beasts, pictures of some human hands and the sun, and scenes of primitive religious activities . The art form of the picture is rough and vigorous, the composition is simple, the posture is natural, and the realism is strong. The subject matter of Helan Mountain rock paintings is very extensive, that is, it breeds the rich imagination of the ancients, and also has the mysterious atmosphere of primitive religion, giving people a feeling of truth, kindness, solemnity and innocence.

In ancient times, Helan Mountain was the place where the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Turkic, Uighur, Tubo, Dangxiang and other northern minorities lived, lived and multiplied. They chiseled the scenes of production and life on the rocks of Helan Mountain to express their yearning and pursuit of a better life, and reproduced their aesthetic views, social customs and life interest at that time. Therefore, the Helan Mountain rock paintings provide us with extremely precious cultural relics for us to understand and study the history, culture, economic conditions, customs and customs of ancient nomadic peoples, and it can be called a precious national art gallery.


Tickets for adults:

RMB 70 (January 1-December 31 Monday-Sunday)

Free of charge: Children with a height of 1.3 meters and below, elderly people aged 65 and over, retirees, disabled people, active soldiers, and journalists with valid certificates.


Evening breeze blows, the sea of ​​stars shines——Suyukou National Forest Park

After visiting the rock paintings, we went deep into the Helan Mountains and went straight to Suyukou National Forest Park. In order to shorten the climbing time, we decided to take the cable car up, which can save energy and allow us to see most of the mountains from a high perspective.

Ascending slowly from the foot of the mountain, the green and tall trees are in sight in an instant, and the green gradually becomes the background color in front of the eyes. Upwards are more and more steep and exposed rocks.

On the slings in the mountains, there are also extreme sports experts playing unicycles and challenging to cross the suspension cables without safety measures. Seeing them, I hold my breath in horror and give them a thumbs up in my heart for their extreme sports spirit.

From then on, looking down has a different feeling. Among the mountain streams dotted with green, pedestrian trails, streams and waterfalls are distributed along the low places. But when the cable car is close to the end, just look up, you can see the top that the ancients had worked so hard to reach, and you will feel a kind of blissful mood in your chest.

The cable car goes directly to the beautiful "Qingsong Ridge". Standing on the top of the mountain, one is already in the vast forest. Looking down at the Baizhang cliff, you can see the lush greenery; the ancient pines stand between the cliffs, and the residual snow remains on the top of the mountain. The landscape is so diverse that it makes people linger and forget to return, returning to nature suddenly, intoxicated with nature, transcending selflessness, and feeling of unity between man and nature. Looking around, the trees are verdant, the sun is shining everywhere, the clouds are full of mist, and the weather is myriad. The famous words of Yue Fei, a famous anti-gold general in the Song Dynasty, "drive a long chariot and step through the gates of Helan Mountain" seem to be still ringing in his ears, and finally he himself is outside the fortress in the poem, and understands the grand mind of a person with rivers and mountains in his heart.

Standing here, you can see the Suyukou high mountain cliff plank road. It is said that the construction of the plank road lasted three years, and it is the longest alpine cliff plank road with the largest height difference in Northwest China. On the nearly vertical cliff, it climbs from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain, with a height difference of nearly a thousand meters. Although I haven't experienced it personally, I can still imagine the feeling of walking in it, and I can't help but sigh the power of the people who made the stone steps on the rock.

We also walked back to the "No. 1 Cable Bridge in the World". The Helan Mountain Canyon Cable Bridge is more than 200 meters long, only 2 meters wide, and the deepest point is more than 100 meters away from the bottom of the valley. This pedestrian cable bridge is currently the world's first cable bridge built between mountains and valleys, so it is known as the world's first cable bridge. Before walking up, I was attracted by the modern appearance of the white bridge body of the straightened parallel crossing chain bridge from a distance. Walking up, there are empty mountain streams on the left and right, and there is an echo when shouting, and the very stable cable bridge made me walk out of the feeling of "slightly swaying".

We have to stay at the top of the mountain for one night. It is the exciting time at night, and we will carry out the key activity of this trip-stargazing.

Shooting starry sky tips:

1. The equipment and tools needed to shoot the starry sky: A SLR camera with full manual function (manual focus and manual exposure functions are required) A lens with a relatively large aperture is best A stable tripod Flashlight ·Shutter release

2. Selection of shooting location and time selection: ·If you want to shoot gorgeous and charming starry sky effects, choosing a shooting location becomes a very important factor. It should be as far away from light pollution and industrial pollution areas as possible. The more suitable location is the outer suburbs of the city; the best shooting location is a high altitude area. If you happen to travel to Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia and other places, then the shooting conditions are the most suitable . · Another very important problem in shooting stars is the interference of moonlight. There are several moon phases in January, namely, dark moon, first quarter moon, full moon, last quarter moon, waning moon, new moon, etc. During the full moon period, due to the high brightness of the sky at night, it is easy to cause the starry sky to be dim or be imaged by the light of the moon. The most suitable time is ten days before and after the dark moon. We can find out from the calendar that the 15th day of each month in the lunar calendar is the full moon, and then 15 days forward or backward are the days of the dark moon (that is, there is no moon). On the basis of this date, the forward or backward 5 days are the best time for shooting.

3. Find the Milky Way: Due to the rotation of the earth, all celestial bodies rise in the east and set in the west just like the sun when looking at the outer space from the earth, and the same is true for the Milky Way. If you observe the night sky carefully on a clear night with good air quality, it is not difficult to find a long strip of flocculent cloud-like material, which is where the Milky Way is located. It spans the entire night sky and disappears from the horizon on both sides. If you can clearly see the veins of the starry sky, it will be easier to shoot and the effect will be very good. If it is difficult to find the trace of the Milky Way with the naked eye, we can also use the small software of the mobile phone to solve this problem. Apple mobile phones and mobile phones using the Android system can install corresponding star-finding software (such as star walk, star map), and compare them with the mobile phone. It can be found in the densely populated constellations displayed on the screen.

4. The basic method of shooting stars and the Milky Way: Adjusting the lens to shoot the starry sky requires the manual exposure and lens focusing of the camera in our hands (that is, the M gear). Find the AF/MF switch, adjust to the MF end, and then adjust the focus ring to the center of the infinity (∞) mark on the focus scale in the focus frame. ·Camera internal parameter setting aperture and shutter value setting: As the starry sky itself is dark, the requirements for shutter speed are relatively high if you want to shoot a still starry sky and Milky Way. In order to ensure relatively accurate exposure and the brightness of stars, it is best to use a relatively Shoot with a wider aperture. The aperture is preferably above F2.8, and F4 is the bottom limit. The ideal aperture value is to drop one stop from the maximum aperture of the lens to ensure better image quality, and use a large enough aperture value to ensure that the light enters. It is advisable to keep the shutter speed within 30 seconds, slower than 30 seconds will cause the trajectory of the stars to change. ISO recommends 3200-6400, which can be lowered or raised according to the actual situation.

5. Choice of starry sky lens: Nikon 14-24mm F2.8 and Zeiss 15mm F2.8 are good starry sky photography lenses. Large-aperture fixed-focus wide-angle lenses, such as Sigma 14mm F1.8, Laowa 12mm F2.8, etc., are all powerful tools for starry sky photography. Of course, these lenses also have disadvantages such as high price, poor distortion control, and being too heavy. You still have to consider them comprehensively according to your own situation and ability.

It is spacious enough and has less light source pollution, making it an ideal place for shooting starry sky and stargazing. After setting up our small tent and setting up the tripod, we quietly waited for the night to come and the stars to appear.

Fortunately, I prepared a cold-proof jacket in advance. The top of the mountain is really cold at night. The date selected for shooting the starry sky is also very important. At the end of the month we came, the moon was very small, which had little effect on the original color of the starry sky. Because the moonlight will darken your starry sky. If the moonlight is bright enough, the resulting Milky Way may have no color at all. Especially in summer, when the weather is clear and there are few clouds at night, it is a good time to watch the entire Milky Way.

On the peak platform of the mountain away from the bustling lights, since the sky is dark, the night has not yet been fully drawn, the stars seem to be lit up one by one, and slowly twinkle all over the sky. This kind of experience is really wonderful. It is rare to have such a quiet night waiting for the stars in daily life.

When the night is finally fully drawn, the beauty of the starry sky is fully shown to us. The little light from the tent seemed so small against the background of the wilderness and the broken stars in the dome. Just looking up is the Milky Way extending from the top of the mountain across the night sky. I really want to use my eyes to contain all the stars, and it fits well in my eye sockets. Nothing can match their beauty, shock and beauty coexist. At this moment, I admire the imagination of the ancient Greek people very much in my heart. The milk of the goddess Hera splashed out in this amazing milky way.

The wind is still blowing, it is very late to look at the sky, but I still don't want to rest, I am attached to the sky at night. I feel that my soul has been purified, and a kind of pure joy without any utilitarian thoughts is lightly sweet in my heart. People, living in this world, the most important thing is to live smartly, openly, and happily. Really want to do, it is not easy. But at this moment, at this night, with the evening breeze blowing, the sea of ​​stars is bright, and countless small stars are inlaid in the night sky, you can temporarily stop thinking about sad and troublesome things, ignore those inexplicable emotions, and only have the joy of seeing the starry sky, How magnanimous this joy is. Traffic information: Bus You 2 arrives at Suyukou National Forest Park Station after 29 stops.

Tickets:

60 dollars

Children under 1 meter in height are free of charge, children between 1 and 1.3 meters buy a ticket for 30 yuan, seniors over 60 years old buy a senior ticket for 30 yuan with a valid military officer certificate

Note: Tickets include all line attractions, eco-cars, insurance, and museums in the scenic area;

Fees other than tickets include: Sunshine Cableway, Canyon Cable Bridge, Alpine Zipline, and outreach activities.

The History of the Rise and Fall of the Western Xia Kingdom——Xixia Museum

The Xixia Museum is the first museum in China that presents the history of the rise and fall of the Xixia Kingdom with the Xixia Royal Mausoleum as the background.

The Xixia Museum has a unique shape, the outer wall is beige, and the appearance is two-story pavilions. There are 5 pavilions on the roof, which are octagonal and pointed. The shape reflects the strong Xixia architectural style, which not only has the momentum of modern architecture, but also echoes the ruins of the mausoleum area. It is the first Xixia thematic museum in my country.

The museum gathers fine works of Xixia historical and cultural relics, including national first-class cultural relics such as portrait steles, heads of civil servants, small stone horses, carved dragon columns, Kaling Pinga, Thangka, silk paintings, clay statues of Buddha heads, Arhat heads, etc., as well as Xixia cultural relics. , Chinese incomplete steles, Buddhist scriptures, Xixia porcelain, official seals, Xixia coins, Xixia building materials, etc.

Together with large-scale sand table models, pagoda models, miniature landscapes, figure statues, copied murals, plates, photos and other auxiliary exhibits, using real objects, charts, paintings, photocopied pictures, models, sound and light and other means to present people with real images Shows the history of the rise and fall of the Xixia Empire.

The museum displays the essence of Xixia art, and people can appreciate the glory and splendor of the Xixia Kingdom here. The last remnant of a dynasty—the Western Xia Royal Mausoleum The last remnant of a dynasty There has never been a dynasty like Xixia, which flourished for a while but suddenly disappeared. Her mystery, in addition to the prosperous culture, is also known as the "Oriental" under the Helan Mountain. The Pyramids of the Emperor

Xixia Mausoleum, also known as Xixia Emperor Mausoleum and Xixia Emperor Mausoleum, is the tomb of emperors and royal tombs of Xixia Dynasty. The Royal Mausoleum is located in the west of Yinchuan City, Ningxia, adjacent to Helan Mountain in the west and Yinchuan Plain in the east. There are nine imperial mausoleums and more than 270 burial tombs of princes and marquises, with a grand scale and a well-organized layout. Each imperial mausoleum is an independent building group in a vertical rectangle facing north and south, and its scale is comparable to that of the Ming Tombs. All of our shooting locations this time were completed in Shuangling.

Walking into the cemetery, the most striking thing is the tall cone-shaped earthen building, which is the "Tai Tomb", commonly known as "Haowang Tomb", and it is the largest one in the entire cemetery. After thousands of years, although the ground buildings have been severely damaged, the towers and mausoleum towers of the cemetery are basically intact. From these incomplete above-ground buildings, we can vaguely guess the grand scale and neat layout of the Xixia Mausoleum thousands of years ago. The surface is covered with gravel and coarse sand, and the fine sound of sand and gravel can be heard when stepping on it. In fact, it is the solid foundation, poor water retention of sand and gravel, and good natural drainage conditions that made the Western Xia Royal Mausoleum successfully survive the turmoil in the history of Northwest China. Several major earthquakes have allowed the cemetery to be relatively well preserved as a whole.

The main purpose of coming to the Xixia King’s Tomb this time is to shoot the starry sky. When I first came into contact with starry sky photography a few years ago, I saw the starry sky map about the Xixia King’s Tomb. One day I will also be able to come here to take a group of starry sky photos. Today I finally got my wish and set foot on this land.

The sunset in Ningxia is more than an hour later than that in the eastern coastal areas, so the sun is the gentlest at about 19 o'clock in Ningxia, and this is also the best time for portrait shooting. Old-fashioned people may think that taking pictures in front of the mausoleum is an unlucky symbol, but for us young people, it doesn't matter if the sky hasn't fallen~

Backed by mountains and fronted by plains, the vast mausoleum area is also a good place for stargazing at night. At dusk, the sun gradually sets on Helan Mountain, and the thin clouds have a transparent texture like a cicada's wings, as if disappearing in an instant, turning into a hazy veil at night. Standing in the vast wilderness, I only feel that my body and mind are quiet, and I feel a sense of independence from the world. The moon is in the mountains, tonight, also in Xixia. The moment of standing is just a moment in the vicissitudes of life, as if the time is just a dream of Zhuang Zhou, and it will be a thousand years after waking up from the dream.

Here, I unlocked the beautiful photos of Hoshino with the lighting with the camera. SLR delayed photography, using flashlight to draw handwriting, the final image has beautiful light trails, matching the charming starry sky, which has a special charm.

The Xixia Mausoleum under the night sky also showed a rough face different from the daytime. The deep blue sky that has settled is like a dark blue velvet skirt, and the jewel stardust on the gorgeous skirt is dizzying, and the main body of the huge royal tomb in the background is very small, as if it is in a watch posture. Quietly watching this primitive vast land.

Time-lapse shutter line + large aperture ultra-wide-angle lens + long-time exposure, the final photo taken has a ring-shaped star trail formed by the tailing of the stars caused by the rotation of the earth, and beautiful rings scattered around Polaris. During this process, you must Make sure the tripod is stable. Coupled with the foreground of headlights and flashlight fill-in light, the bright torch light going straight contrasts with the deep and dark starry sky background, and the final image has a mysterious sense of being in the vast universe and being with the starry sky.

"The Yellow River is great, the Yellow River is beautiful" - Yellow River Tower

The trip to Yinchuan is over, and along the highway we come to Qingtongxia City, the second stop of the trip to Ningxia. After getting off the expressway, the first scenic spot to visit along the way is the Zhonghua Yellow River Tower. Zhonghua Yellow River Building is located on the west bank of the Yellow River in Qingtongxia City. The main building is 100 meters high. Installed with golden glazed tiles, the overall style is magnificent. Looking from a distance, it is resplendent and resplendent in the sun, which is very eye-catching.

The large archway of the Yellow River Tower is the main entrance of the Yellow River Tower. On the main plaque on the front of the archway, there are four characters "Dazai Huanghe" written; The Yellow River, unremitting self-improvement, and virtue; the beautiful meaning of the Yellow River, the prosperity of the country, the peace of the people, and the cleanliness of the river. These two sentences represent the beautiful wish of Qingtongxia City to be grateful to the mother river and build the Yellow River Building. On the arc-shaped square in front of the entrance of the steps of the Yellow River Tower, there are twelve bronze totem poles, and the contents of the totem poles are selected from the twelve zodiac signs. On the large steps at the entrance of the main building of the Yellow River, the image of Tie Niu in Tang Kaiyuan was enlarged and reproduced. The Tie Niu's head is north and tail is south, the eyes are wide open, and it looks like a heavy load. The image is lifelike and lifelike. In this way, the iron ox is in front and the Yellow River Tower is behind, forming a unique landscape.

The Yellow River in the world is rich in Ningxia, plugged with the Pearl of Qingtong Gorge

Then walk into Qingtongxia Yellow River Grand Canyon Scenic Area. Here is the Qingtongxia Hydropower Station, which is known as the "Pearl on the Top" in middle school geography books. Built in 1958, the "old predecessor" of the hydropower station has an average annual power generation of 1.35 billion kWh, providing continuous power support for Ningxia.

"There is Dujiangyan in the south, and Qingtongxia in the north." It is the earliest pier-type hydropower station in the upper reaches of the Yellow River in my country. It is a comprehensive water conservancy project that focuses on irrigation and power generation, and takes into account multiple benefits such as flood control and snow prevention. Its completion ended the history of water diversion without dams in Ningxia for more than 2,000 years. The first of the nine main canals, including Qin Canal, Han Canal, and Tanglai Canal, gathered in Qingtongxia, making full use of the water resources of the Yellow River to implement artesian irrigation, which greatly promoted Ningxia. The overall development of industry, agriculture, and economy and society has given it the reputation of "the Yellow River in the world is rich in Ningxia, and the Pearl of Qingtong Gorge is plugged with it". From this point of view, it has "accomplished many achievements", so it has become a symbol of self-esteem and self-improvement of the Chinese nation, and it is also one of the bases for patriotic education.

The architectural style of Dayu Cultural Park is obviously different from that of the Yellow River Tower. It imitates the architecture of the Han Dynasty. The overall layout is strictly symmetrical according to the central axis, and the overall building height increases step by step from west to east, forming a rigorous and orderly layout.

On the axis, there are piers, squares, archways, entrance gates, bell towers, drum towers, Mingtang, and main halls. The auxiliary buildings on both sides serve as architectural and cultural extensions and visual extensions on the main axis. There are Hetu Luoshu, Kyushu Garden, and Dayu statues. The most eye-catching thing on the other side of the river is the statue of Dayu standing tall.

One of the ancestors of the Chinese civilization, standing majestically on the bank of the Yellow River, watching the river flow endlessly. As a collection of Chinese history and culture, Dayu has walked with the Chinese civilization for thousands of years, living endlessly, "the sky covers its sky, and the earth carries its yellow." His standing is a monument belonging to the Chinese nation.

The 108 Towers are located on the west bank of the Yellow River Grand Canyon in Qingtongxia. The entire scenic area is dominated by the 108 Towers. It is one of the largest existing ancient tower groups in China. The 108 Pagoda is a Buddhist monument built in the Xixia period, and it has been more than a thousand years. Now there is the Tallinn Museum in the north. One hundred and eight stone pagodas are arranged in a tower shape from high to low, which is very spectacular from a distance.

The scenic spot condenses the origin and development of Buddhist culture in the Western Regions through the ruins of ancient pagodas, sculptures, indoor paintings, inscriptions and text descriptions. After the establishment of the Xixia Dynasty with the Dangxiang family as the main body, Buddhism became its main religious belief. Xixia Buddhism, which has a history of less than 200 years, not only occupies a certain position in the history of Chinese Buddhism, but also has distinct regional and ethnic characteristics, and is an indispensable and important part of Chinese Buddhist culture.

The number 108 is the most auspicious number in Buddhism. It is taken from 36 Tiangang stars and 72 Earth evil stars. The sum of the two numbers is 108. Another saying is that there are twelve months in a year, 24 festivals, and 72 hou. The sum of the three numbers is also 108. Buddhism believes that there are 108 kinds of troubles in a person's life, and viewing the 108 pagodas can relieve people's 108 kinds of troubles. It is said that as long as you go up the tower and turn around the tower three times, you can eliminate troubles and bring auspiciousness and good luck. So even under the bright sun, there are still many people holding umbrella turrets.

The landmark building on the golden bank of the Yellow River - the Chinese Yellow River Altar

At the exit of the canyon is the landmark building of the Golden Bank of the Yellow River - the Chinese Yellow River Altar. It is backed by the Helan Mountains, Niu Shou Mountain stands across the river, the arm of the Wanli Yellow River is on the left, and the mouth of the Qingtong Gorge is on the right. The Yellow River and the beach cleverly form a Tai Chi Bagua diagram. It occupies an extremely wide area, which is breathtaking. Standing in the middle, thinking about the thousand years, the scene of the ancients waiting for the altar to worship the river a thousand years ago seems to be right in front of you.

Here, every sculpture, every casting, and every building has gone through layers of approval and checks before it is settled, and even a bridge, a corridor, and a step have a unique charm.

The Chinese Yellow River Altar has a wonderful conception, exquisite craftsmanship, magnificent appearance and rich connotations. It makes up for the shortcomings of "the eighth floor of China, the Yellow River has no share", and gathers the hearts of the grandsons of Yan and Huang at home and abroad.

The birthplace of Chinese prehistoric archaeology - Shuidonggou

Shuidonggou is the earliest Paleolithic cultural site excavated in China, and is known as "the birthplace of Chinese prehistoric archaeology" and "the historical witness of cultural exchanges between China and the West". It is a national key cultural relic protection unit, a national 5A-level tourist attraction, and a national geological park.

Over the past 80 years, after six archaeological excavations, more than 30,000 stone tools and dozens of ancient animal fossils have been unearthed in Shuidonggou. Among them, some stone products, tools and stone tool production and repair techniques that form the basis of Shuidonggou culture can be compared with the stone tools in ancient human habitats in Europe, West Asia, and North Africa. It is really a wonderful thing to think about it when we are separated by more than half of the earth, but the culture tends to be similar.

The Shuidonggou site records the historical witness of ancient human beings multiplying and fighting against nature, and contains rich and precious prehistoric materials. It shows people the picture scroll of the survival of ancient humans 30,000 years ago, and is the only Paleolithic site that has been officially excavated in the Yellow River area in my country so far.

The feature of the scenic spot is to experience various means of transportation in the scenic area, such as sheep carts, mule carts, yak carts, camel carts, camel rides, tractors, desert assault vehicles, etc., it is almost all the transportation methods that cannot be used in the city. . There are also children's experience projects such as drilling wood to make fire, archaeological experience, etc., which not only make children full of interest, but also help children cultivate a rigorous historical and archaeological spirit from an early age.

The Shuidonggou area is also a Grand View Garden of military defense buildings such as the ancient Great Wall, beacon towers, castles, ditches, and piers in the Ming Dynasty in northern my country. In the protected area, the Great Wall winding to the east, towering piers, simple and mysterious castles, and winding and deep trenches are dizzying. It makes people think of "soldiers with spears galloping to battle fortresses, and generals chasing soldiers with swords". heroic scene. Now there are live performances on the ancient battlefield in the scenic spot, where you can see the open and unrestrained beauty of riding a horse and swinging a whip. The Yardang landform created by nature makes this place full of majestic and peculiar charm of barren valleys. After thousands of years of wind and sand erosion, there are 20 scenic spots such as Devil City, Wotuo Ridge, Motian Cliff, Duanyun Valley, and Tamarix Ditch. There are many strange landscapes of soil and forests, which make people wonder.

The Ming Great Wall is an earth-rammed Great Wall, and it is the most complete section of the Great Wall site in Ningxia. The Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty extends from the west to the small dragon head of the Great Wall where the giant dragon enters the Yellow River, which is called the confluence of the two dragons, and to the east from Yanchi. Standing on the Great Wall, you can have a panoramic view of the Mu Us Desert in the north and the Shuidonggou Scenic Area in the south.

The Zangbing cave twists and turns in the hanging wall, connected up and down, and connected left and right. There are many forks in the cave, turning left and right, and there is no end for a long time. It is really like a maze. Generally, it is difficult to walk if you are not familiar with the situation in the cave. go out.

In addition to the tunnel, there are earth houses on the left and right in the cave, which can be used for people, and they are probably dedicated to the leaders of the army. There are also food storage rooms, wells, kitchens, etc. in the cave. As long as a certain amount of food is stored, within a corresponding period of time, the soldiers hidden in the cave can still survive without leaving the cave. Because the Tibetan soldier cave is more than 10 meters above the bottom of the ditch, it may not be afraid of flooding. Over the years, even if there is a mountain torrent, the Tibetan soldier cave has never been flooded. We are amazed at the wisdom of the ancients.

transportation

Shuidonggou is located in Shuidonggou Village, Linhe Town, Lingwu City, Ningxia. It belongs to the scenic spot on the east bank of the Yellow River, 19 kilometers away from Yinchuan City.

Shuttle:

There are buses going directly to Shuidonggou at 8:30 am and 14:30 am at Beimen Tourist Bus Station in Yinchuan City, and the one-way ticket is about 12 yuan per person. Note that the return time is sometimes not fixed, and the specific time needs to be confirmed with the driver after getting on the bus.

tickets

Ticket: RMB 60; Ticket + VR project: RMB 268; Ticket + Beijiang Tiange performance: RMB 240 (January 1-December 31 Monday-Sunday)

Reed clumps, birds and egrets flying among them - Sand Lake

The last stop we ended with a trip to Shahu. Only when I arrived at Shahu Lake did I realize that there is such a miracle in the world. The long yellow sand meets the green lake water. There are also meadows and reeds in the lake, and birds and egrets fly in it. .

The organic combination of sand, water, reeds, birds and mountains constitutes a unique and beautiful landscape, which combines the beauty of the south of the Yangtze River with the magnificent scenery outside the Great Wall. It is a rare cultural tourist attraction in the world.

There is also an international sand sculpture garden here that has hosted many sand sculpture competitions at home and abroad. It sounds incredible to make sand sculptures lifelike, and there are still many sand sculpture works preserved.

Here you can not only experience sandboarding, camel rides, desert karting, desert motorcycles and sand mountain cableway sand projects, but also experience seaplanes, water flying fish, dragon boats, self-driving motorboats and other water projects, and now there are hot air balloon rides project experience. It's really a "heaven and earth" experience all over the place, and it also marked a perfect end to our trip to Ningxia.

Tickets in peak season (April 1-October 31) 60 yuan/person Off-season (November 1-March 31) 40 yuan/person Transportation Shahu is located in Pingluo County, about 50 kilometers northwest of Yinchuan City. ①Yinchuan-Shahu 1. Yinchuan Tourist Bus Station has opened a special line for Shahu tourism. There are two buses every day at 9:00 and 10:30. The ticket price is about 15 yuan/person, and the journey takes about 40 minutes; 2. At the Yinchuan Tourist Bus Station, take the shuttle bus bound for Shizuishan City (Dawukou District). Shizuishan City-Shahu 1. At the bus station in Dawukou District, Shizuishan City, take the bus bound for Yinchuan (via Shahu Lake), and arrive at Shahu Lake in about 20 minutes. There are many buses every day. 2. Take a taxi from downtown Shizuishan (Dawukou District) To the scenic spot, the fare is about 30 yuan ③Pingluo County-Shahu is at Pingluo Ximen Station, take the special line bus to Shahu, the fare is about 5 yuan, every hour