Three days before the National Day, Qiuqiu and I temporarily decided to take the Qingan-Gansu Great Ring Road, and we were both lucky enough to get a ticket. Started this journey of walking and walking.


【Route & Itinerary】


Travel days: 6 days

Departure point: Departure from Xining

Transportation: chartered car

Per capita cost: 3500 (excluding major transportation)

Route: Departure from Xining - Dachaidan - Dunhuang - Zhangye - return to Xining


schedule:

We arrived in Xining on the night of September 30th, watched the military parade at the hotel on the morning of the 1st, and ate local food in Xining in the afternoon. The official itinerary started on the 2nd.


Let me talk about traffic first:


Because I have traveled to the Northwest before, I understand that I must charter a car. But this time there were only me and Qiuqiu, so from an economic point of view, it was impossible to charter a car by ourselves, so we chose the online chartered route lazily.

Advantages: save trouble and worry, the price is not bad, and the total price is 1980 yuan per person including accommodation.

Disadvantages: The people in the car are randomly arranged, it depends on luck, um...we are not so lucky. Therefore, it is still recommended to find like-minded people to charter a car, you can find a local driver, they are very experienced in routes and weather.


stay:

This accommodation is also included in the chartered car route and arranged together, so I saved a lot of worry. As for the accommodation conditions, it can be regarded as a clean and fast hotel. I think it is acceptable for those who do not have high requirements for accommodation, but if you have high requirements for accommodation, you should consider it carefully.


diet:

The diet in Northwest China can be regarded as heavy on taste, mostly beef and mutton, and the taste is relatively light, especially those who cannot eat spicy food may not be used to it. The food portion is large, it is recommended that multiple people share meals together, otherwise two people will be full for a meal!


weather:

Traveling to the Northwest on National Day, because the temperature difference between morning and evening is large, it is basically necessary to bring clothes for the four seasons. It is recommended to wear multiple layers in the morning, and then take them off as the temperature rises.



【Travel Notes, Start Here】


This time, because it was a temporary trip, I didn't do my homework at all in advance. The chartered car route I found on the platform was also the "cheesiest" Qinggan Great Ring Road. Here I want to say, vulgarity is vulgarity, but it is the most convenient route that old drivers have traveled for many years. While not going back, it also includes the surrounding essence attractions.


The night before the departure day, the better the driver, the better. We will be picked up at the hotel at 7 am on the 2nd, and the trip will officially begin. In addition to me and Qiuqiu, there are 5 other people in our car. In this kind of chartered car, it depends on luck who you meet, so it is recommended that you find friends you know in advance.


First stop: Xining-Chaka


Kumbum Monastery, visit time 2-3 hours; recommendation index: ☆☆☆☆


Kumbum Monastery is one of the six major monasteries of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism and the birthplace of Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug Sect. Driving from downtown Xining, you can get to the vicinity of Kumbum Temple in about half an hour. Tickets: 70 yuan/person, sightseeing battery car: 20 yuan/person (sightseeing tickets are basically necessary, because the parking lot is still quite far from the actual entrance of the scenic spot. of)

If you are a novice like me who knows little about Tibetan Buddhism, it is recommended to find an explanation. There is a fee-based explanation in the temple, 160-250 yuan. If you think it is expensive, you can also listen to it after other explanations, otherwise it will be a lot Things really don't know where to look, including some taboos.

As a non-religious Xiaobai, my intuitive feeling is that it is very contagious. You can see Tibetans prostrating their heads everywhere, and old people turning scriptures. Respectfully.

The three artistic wonders of Kumbum Monastery: Butter Flowers, Duixiu, and Mural Paintings are also of high appreciation value.



Qinghai Lake, recommended index: ☆☆☆☆☆


It is about 100 kilometers from Kumbum Monastery to Qinghai Lake, and it takes more than 2 hours to drive. On the way, we will pass by scenic spots such as Riyue Mountain and Daotang River, but the actual viewing is not strong, so we didn't go there.

Qinghai Lake is very big. After all, it is the largest inland lake in my country. You can see a blue lake from a long way on the road. Qinghai Lake has an official scenic spot, which is the Erlang Sword Scenic Spot. The ticket for the peak season is 90 yuan per person. After entering, you can't go directly to Erlangjian, and you need to take a battery car for an additional charge. And there are many people on holidays.


So the master of our chartered car suggested that we go to the area where Tibetans charge to see Qinghai Lake up close. Due to tourism development, the local Tibetans are also very economical. There are also some swings and hanging chairs by the lake for tourists to take pictures (free of charge). Of course, there are also chargeable photo props such as yaks, horses, and camels.


Personally, I think Qinghai Lake looks better from a distance. The blue sky, lake water, and rapeseed flowers are more layered. When you look up close, the lake is very large, but it is actually similar to the seaside. So if you take pictures, it is recommended to take pictures on the road to look better.



Chaka Salt Lake, recommended index: ☆☆☆


One hour is enough time to play in Qinghai Lake. Because of the weather, we are going to Chaka Salt Lake that afternoon.


The original plan was to go to Chaka Salt Lake the next morning, but depending on the weather, the next day was cloudy, and the scenery of Chaka Salt Lake is particularly affected by the weather. It is best to have sunny days and sunshine for several consecutive days It is good-looking, because the crystallinity of the salt lake is good, so that you can see the scene of "the realm of the sky". If it is cloudy continuously, the lake surface is basically gray, which is not good-looking.


It is more than 200 kilometers from Qinghai Lake to Chaka Salt Lake, about two hours' drive, and we arrived at the scenic spot in the evening.


Here we must complain about the planning of Chaka Salt Lake Scenic Area:

1. The parking lot is the ticket gate at the entrance of the scenic spot. There is a certain distance from the actual "Salt Lake" to play, about 3 kilometers, so if you don't want to waste time and energy to go there, you must choose the transportation in the scenic spot.

2. There are two kinds of battery cars and small trains in the scenic area. The small trains are expensive, 50 yuan per person for one way! (The battery car is not sitting) You must know that the adult ticket is only 60 yuan/person (because the scenic spot was built with aid from Zhejiang Province, so the people of Zhejiang are exempt from admission with their ID cards)

3. Scenic spot tickets and small train tickets cannot be bought at the same time, and you need to queue up twice.


Anyway, it gives people the feeling that the scenic spot is designed like this, purely for making money, which really makes people feel bad. Moreover, due to various Internet celebrity promotions on Douyin and Weibo, Chaka Salt Lake has too many Internet celebrity characteristics, and there are many tourists. The actual scenery is not as good as the various PS and filters on the Internet.

We were very lucky when we went, the weather was good, so the crystallinity of the lake was very good, and it might be because it was evening, so there were not too many people.


One of the salt lakes in the Emerald Lake, the crystallization is very solid, and the bottom is full of salt


The second stop: Dachaidan-Emerald Lake, recommended index: ☆☆☆☆☆


Because I went to the tea card in advance the day before, the next day's itinerary schedule is relatively ample. Chaka is more than 500 kilometers away from Dachaidan, where the Emerald Lake is located. The scenery along the way is so beautiful that we asked the master to stop many times to take pictures.


We arrived at Dachaidan at 3:00 in the afternoon, because the sun was still too hot, so we rested at the hotel for a while before heading to Emerald Lake.


Personally, I think Emerald Lake is much more beautiful than Chaka Salt Lake!


And because it is an undeveloped scenic spot, there are no tickets, battery cars and other scenic spot routines. The car can be parked directly by the lake, and it is right to play. Emerald Lake, like Chaka Salt Lake, is also a group of salt lakes. It is composed of many large and small salt lakes. The name is not an official name. It is taken by the locals themselves because the lake is like emerald.


The "main lake" (the one with the best color) has a lot of people there, and there are also many people doing photo business, so it is basically an area where you need to find an angle to get a clean background. Therefore, I suggest that you can go to the nearby lakes to play. There are few people and quiet, and you can shoot whatever you want.


Tips for taking photos are this kind of natural landscape with a clean background color, high purity, and warm tones that look good when photographed, and bright red, wine red, and ginger yellow are the best.




The Yadan landform under the morning glow is very beautiful~~


The third stop: Dachaidan-Dunhuang Yadan landform + drunk beautiful road, recommendation index: ☆☆☆☆☆


The third day is basically small attractions, and the scenery along the way, there are surprises and slots.


The surprise is the Yadan landform and the "drunk beauty road".


Because I want to watch the sunrise at the Yadan landform, I set off at 6 o'clock on the third day. The Yadan landform is also called "Devil City". It is a place that will pass by during the itinerary. It is a wind-eroded landform. Because it is a saline-alkali land, there is no grass around it. It looks desolate, but it feels like a wonderful creation of nature. The weather was very good on the day we went, and we saw the full sunrise, and the morning glow was also beautiful, with gradients.


After leaving the Yadan landform, our destination for the day is Dunhuang. The most beautiful scenery in the Northwest is really never wrong on the road. "The most beautiful road" is what you will pass by on the road. Because of the continuous terrain, the undulating road is very suitable for taking pictures, so you can see tourists posing for pictures everywhere on the road. If you are lucky, you can still see wild camels on the road. The old driver can tell whether there are wild camels nearby by looking at the footprints on the ground.





Oil Town, Yangguan, recommended index: ☆


Okay, here comes the rant. The oil town was built in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China due to oil exploitation, and corresponding living quarters were also built in conjunction with oil exploitation, including schools, supply and marketing cooperatives (that is, canteens), hospitals, and government agencies. Then as the underground oil disappeared, gradually this small town built due to mining gradually disappeared, leaving behind some dilapidated buildings from the last century, so some film and television dramas have been filmed here, such as "Western Wind" ", "Nine-story Demon Tower" and so on.


It is also because of the filming, so there are people around who start to do business, and tourists are charged to visit, which seems to be 20 yuan per person, but in fact there is no specific ticket.


To be honest, they are all dilapidated old houses with nothing to see, so we just went in and walked around and then came out.



The second thing I want to complain about is also the most worthy of complaint about this trip-Yangguan. To put it bluntly, it is based on the poem "Going out of Yangguan in the west without an old friend" and the history of "Zhang Qian's going out of the fortress" to build an "antique" scenic spot. The ticket + bus ticket is 60 yuan in total. It is not recommended, no any taste.


Fourth stop: Dunhuang


(a sunrise that didn't wait)


Desert camping, recommended index: ☆☆☆☆


This is the second time I have camped in Entropy, but this experience is quite different from the last time. Last year, I was in the Alxa Desert, which was arranged by us. The camping place was deep in the desert far away from the living area. , and the weather was relatively good, so the starry sky at night was very beautiful, and I saw a beautiful desert sunrise the next day.


However, it is not so convenient to arrange washing and eating by yourself. In addition, the temperature in Inner Mongolia is lower in October. The temperature of the sleeping bags we prepared is not enough, it is very cold!


This time it is covered in the chartered car itinerary, and it is a camping arranged by the travel agency, so the advantage is that there are enough sleeping bags, and there are some desert activities: sand boarding, desert motorcycles, dinner is a unified arrangement of self-service hot pot, after dinner And bonfires.


To be honest, the entertainment project that I had no hope for, ended up laughing and saying my stomach hurts. It was the kind of earthy, earthy desert dance, so earthy and unique, so I laughed from the beginning to the end. The night in the desert actually makes people feel desolate and lonely, but because there are many people and the excitement is very good, it dilutes the low mood.


Of course, the camping arranged by the travel agency must have shortcomings. The main reason is that the camp is on the edge of the desert, close to the living area, so the light pollution is serious at night, and the starry sky cannot be seen.


So I personally recommend going to the deep desert to camp by yourself.


Someone in the camp can ride a motorcycle to take you to the depths to take pictures of the starry sky at night, but the fee is more expensive at 100 yuan per person, because the cloudy weather is not suitable for that day, and I mainly want to slowly look at the starry sky instead of just going to take a picture. So I didn't go.


At night, everyone’s tents were tied together and there was no sound insulation, so we chatted in our respective tents. Now that I think about it, it’s a good memory. It’s a good memory.



The next day I got up early and simply packed up the tent and returned the sleeping bag, then went to climb the highest sand dune and wait for the sunrise. Unfortunately, it was cloudy and the clouds were too thick. I waited for 40 minutes, but I still couldn't wait for the sunrise. Although I was a little regretful, I didn't because I had seen the beautiful sunrise in the desert last year. Especially tangled.



Mingsha Mountain Crescent Spring, recommended index: ☆☆☆


Yes, you read that right. I don’t particularly recommend the famous Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Lake. The reason is actually very simple. If you look at the desert, this kind of scenic spot that charges tickets is definitely not as good as the wild desert.


As for the Crescent Lake, because it needs to be protected, it is surrounded and cannot be approached. If you want to see the panorama, you can only climb to the relatively high sandy slope opposite. The real scene is not as good as the online photos.


But maybe it has something to do with the time I went there. The Crescent Spring is in the Mingsha Mountain Scenic Area. Tickets are 110 yuan per person, which can be visited twice. There are camel riding, sand boarding and other items in the scenic area, which are charged.

The general recommendation is to go in the evening, you can watch the sunset, and then watch the night view of Crescent Lake, which is more beautiful. Because we just left, the tickets we bought for Mogao Grottoes were in the afternoon, so we could only choose to go to Crescent Lake in the morning. If it's sunny, you can't go to the desert in the morning, especially in the sun. We happened to be cloudy that day, so we basically didn't do the sun in the past, which is not bad.


If you want to go, my personal suggestion is to go there at 5 or 6 pm, watch the sunset in the desert, and then look at the crescent spring with lights in the evening.




Mogao Grottoes, recommended index: ☆☆☆☆☆


If there is any place that must be visited on this trip, the Mogao Grottoes must be the first choice for me.


Tickets for Mogao Grottoes can be booked on the official website. There are 5 types. The best is the A-type ticket, which seems to be 230. It can be booked one month in advance, and it is necessary to grab it in the peak season. Ticket A can visit 8 random caves, with manual explanations, and 2 multimedia introductions to watch. The visiting experience is the best. (It is said that after reading my own 8, I can also read other people's, not sure)


Because we just walked away, we didn’t book A ticket, so we bought B ticket. B ticket can be booked on WeChat one day in advance at 100 yuan per person. The condition is that the location must be within 30 kilometers from Dunhuang, and you can watch it fixed There are no video introductions for the 4 caves.


In order to protect the cultural relics in the Mogao Grottoes, you can't take pictures or stay, you can only watch it in a pilgrimage. Although the viewing time is really short, it is understandable. After all, every breath we take and everyone's entry will cause certain damage to the Mogao Grottoes, and these damages are irreversible.


It is recommended to do some homework in advance before visiting, and have a little understanding of murals and Buddha statues, but even if you don’t understand, I believe you will be shocked by the murals in the grottoes. The bright colors, the exquisiteness of the murals, and the aggressive look and feel are not exaggerated. I really got goosebumps and wanted to cry, it's a cultural treasure. In addition to the Buddha statues and murals in the Mogao Grottoes, which must be blown up, as a 5A scenic spot, the infrastructure is also relatively in place, and the viewing experience is not bad.


The sitcom "See Dunhuang Again", recommendation index: ☆☆☆☆


"Encounter Dunhuang" is an unplanned sitcom, which can be regarded as a surprise. This drama is one of the large-scale immersive sitcoms of the "See You" series directed by Wang Chaoge (in addition to See You, there are also impression series "Impression Lijiang", "Impression Liu Sanjie", etc.), and the ticket price is more expensive: 368 yuan / People, if you have time and conditions, you can go and see it.


The whole play takes less than two hours to tell about the history of Dunhuang. The lighting, music, and choreography are all top-notch. The only complaint is that the quality of our audience is not up to date: it is written on the ticket that photography is prohibited, and there are still many People held up their mobile phones to take pictures there, which greatly affected the experience, and some of them took care of their children and couldn't discipline them well, so they couldn't complain.


The fifth stop, Dunhuang-Zhangye


The itinerary on the fifth day is relatively loose. We depart from Dunhuang at 9:00 in the morning, pass by the Jiayuguan Great Wall ruins, and go to the Colorful Danxia Scenic Spot in the afternoon.


Jiayuguan, recommendation index: ☆☆ Because of the lessons learned from Yangguan, I have no interest in this kind of "relics", so I didn't buy a ticket to go in, so I looked outside from a distance. However, there is a large reed marsh at the entrance of Jiayuguan Scenic Area, which is very suitable for taking some small and fresh photos. However, my temperature was not high that day, and I was wearing a down jacket, and I couldn't bring up the nature of taking pictures at all.


Zhangye Danxia Geopark, recommended index: ☆☆☆☆


Danxia Geopark, tickets 74 yuan / person, including the scenic bus. The Danxia landform is formed by accumulation of rocks, and after long-term weathering and erosion, it has developed unique color levels, which can definitely be called a wonder of nature.


As far as the traffic flow of the National Day scenic spot is concerned, Danxia is the place with the most "holiday" impression in this itinerary. In fact, it is not because of the large flow of people, but because in order to protect the geological environment, the tourist routes of the scenic spot are relatively fixed. Take a bus at a fixed place and go to a fixed viewing platform, so it seems a bit crowded.



Friendly reminder, don't climb over the guardrail just to take pictures! You must know that the damage to the special geology caused by stepping on your foot will take more than 60 years to recover. On the same day, some tourists were caught and fined for climbing over the guardrail, and they would be blacklisted if they were serious.


The sixth stop, Qilian Grassland


The last day is the return trip from Zhangye to Xining. Although there is no so-called "scenic spot" along the way, it is definitely so beautiful that I can't bear to sleep in the car. Along the way, it is accompanied by "wow, so beautiful" and "it's amazing". Excited to return to Xining.


Qilian Snow Mountain, Biandukou Grassland, recommended index: ☆☆☆☆☆


On the 6th, a sudden heavy snowfall in the Qilian Mountains caused many cars to be blocked on the road, and they were all trending on Weibo. Many people were stuck on the road for more than ten hours. We were super lucky. We were still in Zhangye on the 6th. When we returned to Xining and passed Qilian Mountain on the 7th, we not only saw the beautiful Qilian Mountain after the snow, but also the traffic was not affected by the snow.


It can really be called a surprise trip. Although the grass on the prairie has withered and yellowed this season, the snow-covered prairie also has a different kind of beauty. In short, the gift of nature is the best ratio.



【Food articles】


The two most important points of my travel destination are beautiful scenery and delicious food, and both of them are available in the Northwest.


Northwest cuisine emphasizes taste, mainly beef and mutton, with few green leafy vegetables.


The most memorable thing I ate this time was actually the potatoes here! How to put it, it probably satisfies all my fantasies about potatoes. The local method is called "Kang Potatoes". I roughly infer that after the potatoes are cooked, they are sliced ​​and deep-fried, and then fried with various side dishes, so the potato skin Browned and crispy, the inside is dense and delicious. Coupled with the lack of water and long sunshine in the northwest, the potatoes here are very powdery and sandy.


In addition to letting me eat potatoes for four or five days in a row, the old yogurt in Xining is also something I can't forget. You don’t need to go to the so-called food festivals or night markets, just encounter a family in a small alley by the side of the road. The price is affordable, only 3 yuan/bowl.


I can't help but think of the so-called old yogurt at 15 yuan per bottle that was cheated by the West Lake. In addition, all kinds of haggis soup, highland barley noodles, and kang pot lamb chops are also delicious. It should also be reminded that the dishes in Northwest China are very substantial. Any two dishes can be eaten by two people. Therefore, it is best to share tables with multiple people.




There is also Dunhuang, which I have to mention. It is a treasure land. The cantaloupe on the roadside costs 2 yuan a catty, which is sweeter than first love~~ There are also grapes in Dunhuang. It costs 3-6 yuan a catty, and the cheaper grapes only cost 2 yuan a catty. The dates in Dunhuang are also very sweet. It is no wonder that Dunhuang was also called Guazhou in ancient times. If you are a foodie and bring your stomach to Dunhuang, you are sure to be right.



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