Start the trip to Qinghai on August 22, 2020.
Rest in the hotel in the morning. Before that, I had to travel every day, which was quite hard. In the afternoon, take a bus to the old town of Xining, and first visit the Dongguan Great Mosque. The Great Mosque is a famous building in the ancient city of Xining. It is located on the south side of Dongguan Street in Xining. It is one of the great mosques in Northwest my country. The temple is magnificently built, sitting west and facing east, with the architectural characteristics of Chinese classical architecture and national style, with carved beams and colorful eaves, resplendent in gold and jade, and the hall is spacious, tall and bright, which can accommodate more than 3,000 Muslims to worship at the same time. The hall and the entire temple are simple and elegant, solemn and solemn, full of strong Islamic characteristics, and a national key cultural relic protection unit. Maybe it's not open because of the epidemic, so I can only look at the appearance.
After leaving the Dongguan Mosque, I went to see the Nanguan Mosque, which is newly built. On the way to Xinlu, I passed the Shuichengmen mosque, but none of them opened the door.
After watching the Xinlu Mansion, go back, looking for a place to eat, and want to taste the local cuisine. The big temples we saw were all in the old town, where Muslims gathered. The guide said that Mojia Street is a place where local delicacies are concentrated. It was a bit far away, so I went to Dongxiang Handchow Food City, a place frequented by locals, to eat. I ordered a rib and 2 bowls of Heyan noodles. After eating, I asked the boss Only then did I know it was Gansu cuisine. Dongxiang County belongs to Linxia Prefecture, and the delicacies that were not tasted in Linxia can be tasted in Xining.
On the way to the bus station after dinner, I bought a big steamed bun (a bit like Lieba, the outer skin is very hard) at the steamed bun shop and prepared to eat it on the road.
On August 23, today we will visit Kumbum Monastery first.
Kumbum Monastery in Xining is located in Huangzhong County, about 30 kilometers southwest of Xining City. It is the birthplace of Tsongkhapa, the founder of my country's Lamaism (Tibetan Buddhism) Gelug Sect (Yellow Sect). It is one of the six famous temples of the Yellow Sect. It was built in the Ming Dynasty and lasted more than 400 years. It is an ancient architectural complex with more than 30 towers and monk houses, and has become the activity center of Tibetan Buddhism in Northwest China, and is also well-known throughout the country and Southeast Asia.
There is an expressway from downtown Xining to Kumbum Monastery in Huangzhong, so it is very convenient to drive. There are a lot of tourists going to the scenic spot, and they have to wait for a long time to park in the scenic spot. Tickets are 70 yuan. Kumbum Monastery is a 5A scenic spot. It doesn’t feel as big as Labrang Monastery, but the scenic spot has complete service facilities, clear signs on the tour map, and introductions for each scenic spot. Just follow the tour route. Today is Sunday and there are many tourists. From the entrance to the farthest scenic spot is all the way uphill. It is very tiring to see all the scenic spots. We enter the scenic spot at 10 o'clock and leave the scenic spot at 2 o'clock in the afternoon to visit the scenic spot for 4 hours. The sights are gone.
After coming out of the scenic area, I drove back to the hotel to rest, and I was going to visit Beichan Temple in Xining. I checked it online, but it was closed and not open. I checked again and there was another Nanchan Temple in the urban area. The location is Lilac Park. The temple is not open, but you can climb to the top of the mountain to overlook the whole picture of Xining. As expected of a provincial capital city, there are many high-rise buildings and a strong modern atmosphere.
On the way back to the hotel by bus, there was a serious traffic jam. We got off at Tangdao 637, where a food festival was being held. Seeing that many noodle restaurants have Pao Zhan Noodles, because I was curious about the name of the opposite side, I entered a noodle shop and ordered 2 bowls of Pao Zha Noodles and half a portion of chicken. The Pao Zhan Noodles are named for their resemblance to a firecracker. They are boiled first and then fried. The taste is okay, but the taste of the chicken is too ordinary. After eating, the rain stopped, so I walked around the food court first, then walked back to the hotel, and bought food and fruit at the roadside supermarket. I will go to Qinghai Lake tomorrow. The food and accommodation conditions will be poor, so I will prepare in advance.
On August 24th, today we will go to the Heima River in Qinghai Lake to stay, and visit the ancient city of Dangar and
Riyue Mountain Scenic Area. After breakfast, leave Xining and navigate to the ancient city of Dangaer. This section of the road is a high-speed road and arrives at 9:20.
Dangar Ancient City is located in Huangyuan County, Qinghai Province, on the north bank of the Yellow River, on the shore of the West Sea, at the source of Huangshui, 40 kilometers away from Xining City. Known as "the throat of sea Tibet" and "the capital of tea and horse merchants". Dangar, which is the Mongolian transliteration of "Dongkeer" in Tibetan, means "white conch". The ancient city of Tanger was built in the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty and has a history of more than 600 years. It is an important economic and cultural hub and military town in western China, and it is also an ancient historical and cultural city.
From Fengsheng Street in the ancient city to the old street, because there are few tourists due to the epidemic, some shops on both sides of the street are not open. There are still some old buildings in the ancient city, and you need to buy a ticket to enter. We're just looking at Street View.
From the ancient city to the Riyue Mountain Scenic Area, I didn’t take the high-speed 106 National Highway. I arrived at the Riyue Mountain Scenic Area at 11:40. The ticket is 40 yuan. After buying the ticket, you can drive into the scenic area. If you want to go in the direction of Qinghai Lake, it is recommended to drive to the visitor center, finish watching the Huangyuan Ancient Road Museum, then drive along the Tangfan Ancient Road to the parking lot of Princess Wencheng Temple, visit and visit, and finally go to the Chiling Ruins to climb the Sun Moon Pavilion and finish watching You can go directly to Qinghai Lake without detours.
Riyue Mountain is located 40 kilometers southwest of Huangyuan County, Xining City, Qinghai Province, and belongs to the Qilian Mountains. The Riyue Pass where the Qinghai-Tibet Highway passes is 3,520 meters above sea level. Riyue Mountain is a very important dividing line in my country's natural geography.
The dividing line of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is also the dividing line between the agricultural area and the pastoral area in Qinghai Province, and it is the only place to enter the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Riyue Mountain is also the boundary between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo. According to legend, Princess Wencheng once passed through this mountain when she married Songtsen Gampo. Looking westward from the top of the peak, she felt the melancholy of being far away from home, and she couldn't help taking out the "Sun and Moon Mirror" given by the queen when she was leaving to look at it, and the charming scenery of Chang'an suddenly appeared in the mirror. The princess was full of grief and joy, and accidentally missed, and broke the "Sun and Moon Mirror" in half, which happened to land on two small hills. The east half faced west, reflecting the afterglow of the setting sun, and the west half faced east. According to the rising moonlight, Riyue Mountain got its name from this.
Leave the Riyue Pavilion and walk towards Qinghai Lake, and then stop again to look back at the Riyue Pavilion and the grassland, it is so beautiful.
Walk towards Qinghai Lake at 2:00 p.m., about 70 kilometers, do not take the high speed, continue to take National Highway 106, along the way are grassland landforms, beautiful scenery, different from what I imagined, I thought it would be desolate. After walking for a short time, we could see the blue light of Qinghai Lake from a distance. We entered from the east of Qinghai Lake and walked along the south bank. The more we walked, the more cars there were. Gradually, we parked on the side of the road to see the scenery. Yes, the locals plant rapeseed flowers on the side of the road to attract tourists, and tourists have to pay for entry. We also parked in the largest sea of rapeseed flowers, went in and took a look, 10 yuan/person, still far away from the lake, distant mountains, lake water, rapeseed flowers, so poetic and picturesque.
Going forward, there are flocks of cattle and sheep in the pastures on the roadside. After passing the Erlang Mountain Scenic Area, I didn't go in (the ticket is 100 yuan), and I don't think it is necessary. Parked at a scenic spot that can walk to the lake (10 yuan/person), and walked to the lake. The lake is too big to see the side at a glance. Unfortunately, the clouds are too thick to cover the sun, and the color of the lake is much inferior.
Continue to walk forward and soon arrive at Heimahe Town. Instead of staying first, continue along the west bank of Qinghai Lake to the sunrise viewing point. There is a campsite on the side of the road. Affected by the epidemic, only 1 or 2 RVs are parked there , Self-driving tourists still stay in the Heima River. It is already 7 o'clock in the evening when they get here. It is dark and late here, and the wind is very cold by the lake. Back to stay in Heimahe, it was dark. I thought that Heimahe is a town by Qinghai Lake, and the accommodation conditions would not be too bad, but the actual experience is too ordinary. The temperature here is low, and the room is quite cold Yes, because the accommodation fee is cheap due to the epidemic. Tomorrow morning, I plan to go to the best sun viewing spot to watch the sunrise, and then go to Chaka Salt Lake.
I got up at 5:30 in the morning on August 25th to pack my things. The locals said that the time to watch the sunrise was 6:30 in the morning. I set off at 6:00. The east turns yellow at half past one, the sun first appears at 6:45, and the sun rises at 6:55.
After watching the sunrise, the guy selling food by the lake said that there were a lot of locusts in the lake, and they would swim over if they were fed something. Sure enough, they threw food into the lake, and the locusts swam to the shore, and there were a lot of them.
At 7 o'clock, we started to walk towards Chaka Salt Lake, or take the Jingla Line (106 National Highway), and climbed over the rubber mountain at an altitude of 3,817 meters on the way.
A high mountain has no high antipathy. After crossing the rubber mountain, we stopped at the rubber mountain station and rested for a while. We arrived at Chaka Sky No. 1 Scenic Spot at 9:20 when the altitude was below 3100 meters. Chaka Sky No. 1 Scenic Spot was invested and constructed by Qinghai Chaka Sky No. 1 Cultural Tourism Co., Ltd. through the Ulan County People's Government in 2015. Tickets are 60 yuan and bus tickets are 40 yuan. There are quite a lot of tourists, especially the female tourists who are dressed up beautifully. They all want to take the most beautiful photos here. Generally speaking, wearing light-colored and bright skirts is good for taking pictures. To take good photos, you must have good weather. The sky is blue today, with almost no clouds, and the photo effect is not very good. You can rent shoe covers (10 yuan) to take pictures in the water. Tourists are concentrated in the 1 and 2 scenic spots, and the first scenic spot is not allowed to enter the water.
After playing the second scenic spot, take the traffic car out of the scenic spot. There are a total of 8 scenic spots in the scenic spot. If you don’t look at the back, you have to take the traffic car to the end. . From Sky One to Chaka Salt Lake, the two scenic spots are not far away, and we arrived at the scenic spot at 1 pm.
Chaka Salt Lake is as famous as Kumbum Monastery, Qinghai Lake and Mengda Tianchi. It is one of the "Four Scenic Spots in Qinghai". 55 places to go". Chaka Salt Lake Scenic Spot is still famous and has more tourists. Tickets are 60 yuan, and the one-way small train in the scenic spot is 50 yuan. The fare of the small train is really expensive, and the experience of taking the small train is even worse. We took the small train directly to the core scenic spot. Enthusiastic, I didn’t go to the scenic spots behind, the train was too slow, the speed was about the same as walking, and it was too far away if I didn’t sit. When we returned, we walked to the ticket office of the sightseeing battery car. People) go out of the scenic spot by battery car.
At 4:30 p.m., take the expressway from Chabakou to Delingha for accommodation. "Delingha" means "golden world" in Mongolian. Established in 1988, Delingha is the seat of the Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province, with an altitude of 2,980 meters.
The Cha-De Expressway is different from the ones we have run before. It is not so standardized. There is only one service area for the 200-kilometer journey, but there is a parking place in the middle. When we arrive at the hotel at 7:30 in the evening, the sun has not yet set. I can feel it. The temperature is obviously high, and I don't feel cold in short sleeves. In the evening, I went to the food court downstairs for dinner. The owner of the hotel recommended a restaurant. I ordered mutton and rice in kang pot, plus a bottle of beer. The cost was 112 yuan, and the taste was not bad. After dinner, go around the surrounding area. The urban lighting project is good. The Bayin River passes through the city. The river is clear and swift. The small town is clean and beautiful. I should stay in Delingha for another day. Walk along the Bayin River and take a look at Delingha during the day. It is not easy to get here, so I have a little regret.
On August 26, after visiting Jinel Lake in Dongtai and Shuishang Yadan, I rushed to Dachaidan for accommodation. The itinerary was quite tense.
Depart from the hotel at around 8 o'clock, go to Dongtai Jinel Lake for 324 kilometers, take the Dexiao Expressway and turn to National Highway 315, take the expressway from Delinghaxi at 9 o'clock, and the road to Dachaidan is an expressway, which is a unique expressway in the Northwest, two-way The lanes are far apart, there are no guardrails, there are few service areas, and there are not many cars. It is easy to walk, but pay attention to the road signs. You should go to the direction of Golmud. When you get distracted, you go to the direction of Dachaidan. Fortunately, there is a road in the middle of this expressway. The road can go to the opposite lane, and this detour will take an extra half an hour. Walking in the direction of Golmud for a while, there is Little Qaidam Lake on the side of the road, stop to take pictures, but there is still a distance to go to the lake, the lake is blue from a distance. Going further is National Highway 315. The road is very well repaired, and there are few large trucks. I thought it was desolate and there would be few vehicles on the road. I didn't expect there to be so many self-driving cars. It is really not easy to build this road. The road along the way is deserted and not a single grass grows. It is so desolate. The scenery is on the road. There are several Internet celebrity check-in points on National Highway 315. Vehicles are passing through the Gobi Desert, with Yadan landforms on both sides. People stop to take pictures from time to time. There are too many vehicles. It is still very dangerous to stand in the middle of the road to take pictures. It is probably rare. Seeing such a scene, there are warning signs on the side of the road, and there are traffic police patrol cars shouting non-stop, but they still can't stop the enthusiasm of tourists to take pictures. Arrive at Jinel Lake in Dongtai at 12:30 noon.
Dongtai Jinel Salt Lake is located in Golmud City, Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. The color of Jinel Lake in Dongtai is different from that of Qinghai Lake. Due to the high copper content, the lake water presents a bright green color. Located deep in the hinterland of the Qaidam Basin, the Dongtai Jinel Lake area is a super-large lithium deposit dominated by brine, and the shore is covered with white crystals. Now it is the mining area of Qinghai Lithium Factory, and it is not yet a scenic spot with complete facilities. There is no water, and there is only one public toilet. No charge. The road to the scenic spot is very hard with salt, and the pits are very difficult to walk, and there are still many tourists.
There is East Taijinel Lake and West Taijinel Lake, which is more than 60 kilometers apart, not very far away, but it is farther away from Dachaidan Town where we will stay. Wusute Water Yardang Geological Park is 20 kilometers away from Dongtai. The Yardang landform on this section of the road is quite obvious, with various shapes and shapes. When we approached the scenic spot, we saw a lot of cars parked on the side of the road. We also parked here. Asked For a moment, walk a little way in from here and you can stand on a high place to see the whole picture of Yadan on the water, and we didn't go to the scenic spot.
Wusu Te Yadan Geopark is located in the northwest of the Qaidam Basin in Qinghai. After tens of millions of years of geological movement and changes in time and space, it has bred and formed the largest and most spectacular Yadan community in the world. The Yadan community is rich and varied. , all over the lake, is the earliest water Yardang landscape discovered in the world. There was no water here, but one year a mountain torrent broke out, and the Nalengele River, which originated in the Kunlun Mountains, was diverted and flooded this area, forming the water Yardang landform.
Leave Water Yadan at 3:00 p.m. and walk back, stop on the road to see the Yadan landforms on both sides of the national highway.
Not long after turning into Liuge Expressway from National Highway 315, I saw a gap in Xiaochaidamu Lake (Xiaochaidan Lake) Liuge Expressway heading towards Dachaidan Town. Drive out of the gap and drive along the dirt road to the lakeside. For people traveling in the northwest, going to Xiaochaidan Lake should not be in the plan, but they will definitely be attracted by it when they see it, and they want to get close to him. We will be close to 6 pm when we arrive, and we will see Xiaochaidamu at this time The lake is completely different from what I saw in the morning. The water and the sky are the same color, and the lake is crystal clear. It is so beautiful. I really want to take a walk in the lake. Unfortunately, it is salt water, so I endured it and did not enter the water.
It is not very far from here to Dachaidan Town, and we arrived at the hotel at 7:00 pm. It was early and the sun hadn't set yet. It was a hard day to drive more than 500 kilometers today. Fortunately, it went smoothly. The route and time must be planned for the northwest tour. The scenic spots are far apart, so we must give up some things to avoid the situation of not going to the village and not going to the shop.
Dachaidan Administrative District is a county-level administrative area set up by Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. It manages Chaidan Town and Xiteshan Town directly under the autonomous prefecture. Its management agency is Dachaidan Administrative Committee, which is the People's Government of Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. "Chaidan" is a Mongolian language, meaning "salt lake". Before arriving in Dachaidan, I thought it would be desolate, and the accommodation conditions were worse than that of Heima River. I didn't expect to find that it was a completely modern place when I arrived. The small town is not big, but it is much taller than Heima River. The accommodation conditions are better than expected. There are many restaurants and supermarkets on both sides of the street. It is very convenient. Walk around the town at night and finish your meal by the way.
On August 27, I went to Dachaidan Emerald Lake first, then rushed to Dunhuang to stay, and visited the oil town along the way.
Dachaidan Emerald Lake is located in Dachaidan Town, Dachaidan Administrative District, Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. It is a unique salt lake style in Dachaidan. It is a magnesium sulfate subtype salt lake with an area of 15 square kilometers. It is an undeveloped virgin land with original scenery. , is also one of the most representative scenic spots in the area. Because the salt bed alternates with light green, emerald green and dark blue lake water, which is crystal clear, the locals call it "Emerald Lake". Emerald Lake The salt ponds with different shapes and different depths are like pieces of crystal clear "emeralds". It was the mining area of the salt lake mining team of the former Dachaidan Chemical Factory. After years of mining, it formed a pit and became the beautiful Emerald Lake today. Standing by the lake, the mirror-like lake reflects the blue sky, white clouds and snow-capped peaks, like a fairyland.
The scenic spot is still under construction and no tickets are charged. The road leading to the scenic spot is very hard with potholes. The scenic spot is very large and can be entered by car. There are 2 lakes at the entrance that are very beautiful. As you continue to go in, the lake is bigger and the scenery is more beautiful. Personally, I think that Emerald Lake is more beautiful than Chaka Salt Lake and Dongtai Jinel Lake, and has richer colors. It looks good no matter how you shoot it, and you don’t need to edit it at all.
Leave Emerald Lake at 12:00 noon and start towards Dunhuang, go to the oil town on the way, more than 360 kilometers, take the Liuge Expressway and turn to National Highway 215. There is a section of high-speed road construction, the sidewalk is particularly difficult to walk, full of potholes, dusty, about 10 kilometers, driving very slowly, and it takes a lot of time, after this section of the road, re-enter the high-speed road and enter Gansu again soon, take the 215 National Road, road repair It's very good, traveling through the valley, there are a lot of curves, and it's downhill all the way, so you need to concentrate on driving, and arrive at the oil town of Aksai at 3:40 in the afternoon.
The oil town is located in the old county town of Aksai in Jiuquan, Gansu. It used to be an oil mining base with more than 100,000 people. Oil workers lived and worked here, and it was a prosperous scene. The town we see today has been fixed at that time, leaving only ruins and mystery, a ghost town without people. Until the movie "Nine-story Demon Tower", this town was known and mentioned again, and the ticket was 30 yuan.
I left the oil town at 5:00 p.m. and went to Dunhuang. I originally planned to go to Yangguan Scenic Area by the way. Because the road ahead was difficult, I wasted some time and went straight to Dunhuang. I arrived in Dunhuang City at 7:00 p.m. and checked into the Xiyingke Hotel. The temperature here is higher, and I don’t feel cold even wearing short sleeves. It gets dark even later, and it’s not completely dark at 8:30. I went to the nearby old restaurant in Dunhuang and ordered donkey meat with local specialties, stewed beef brisket, and a bottle of beer. It cost 135 yuan and tasted good.
