Why is it called 2.0?
Because this is the second time we have come to Qinghai, and through this trip, we have a new and more complete understanding of Qinghai.
In the autumn of 5 years ago, I walked into Qinghai for the first time. At that time, my knowledge was limited to Qinghai Lake, Chaka Salt Lake and Kumbum Monastery. At that time, the car could drive directly to the edge of Chaka Salt Lake. You can see the Milky Way looming when you look up. Wearing ripped jeans, standing by the lake to take pictures of the starry sky at 0°C night, the cold wind is blowing, which is the icy stimulation that even a long down jacket cannot resist.
Recalling the starry sky five years ago, this is my version 1.0 of Qinghai.
The goal of 2.0 this time is Golmud, which is located in the hinterland of Qinghai. I have always been fascinated by the place name "Golmud". This is the second largest city in Qinghai, and it is also a traffic artery linking Tibet, Xinjiang, and Gansu Last year, I accidentally discovered this route extending from the surrounding area of Golmud. Upward is the Haixi Line, and downward is the Qinghai-Tibet Line Hoh Xil. From one wasteland to another, 5 super beautiful and very distinctive roads run through it. , this journey will start from these 5 roads...
Trailer ↓
5 roads
Affected by the epidemic, the company's holidays have been shortened by more than a little bit this year, and the originally planned ten-day itinerary has been abruptly condensed to nine days. 5000+ kilometers, the whole journey is self-driving, starting from Chongqing, passing through Aba in western Sichuan to Jiuzhi County, Qinghai, and then starting the journey across the wilderness road.
* There is a picture in the [Itinerary] section at the end of the article, marking the route and the location of the five roads that are mainly described.
After passing the G0615 Dema Expressway, the highest expressway in the world, you will be awakened by the matcha-green grasslands and river valleys early in the morning, accompanied by the Animaqing Snow Mountain along the way.
After passing the Huashi Gorge, and then passing the blue Donggicuona Lake, Delingha is just ahead.
Starting from Dachaidan, set foot on the Haixi line that exploded this year, drive on the G315 Internet celebrity highway, pass Dongtai Jinel Lake, Xitai Jinel Lake, and Shuishang Yadan...
Then cross the Mars Highway No. 1, leaving footprints in the vast Yadan group, and experienced a slightly absurd "Martian Rescue" on the way.
Arrive at the ruins of the Cold Lake No. 5 oil base, looking for clues of those years.
Then set foot on the Qinghai S305 Wasteland Highway, the straight road, the white salt flats, and the Yadan Group at sunset are all amazing.
Arrive at Mangya, the farthest end of the itinerary, witness the "air crash scene" at the famous "Aiken Springs Airport", and then dry it in the Emerald Lake.
Turn south and go to Golmud to start the most anticipated G109 Qinghai-Tibet Highway in this journey, pass through the Kunlun Mountains, and go to Hoh Xil to overlook the snow-capped mountains and Tibetan antelopes.
Finally, return to Chongqing via Aba.
PS: This journey seems to be going through desolate places, but it is completely safe, there are wide roads, and there are many tourists in peak seasons. Take a family tour with your family~!
【G0615 Dema Expressway】
The first impressive road after entering Qinghai is the Dema Expressway, from Delingha to Malkang. This is a great highway. It is currently the highest expressway in the world. The "Snow Mountain No. 1 Tunnel" on the Dema Expressway "The highest construction altitude is more than 4,800 meters, and it is also the highest expressway tunnel in the world! Most of the roads are located in the Sanjiangyuan Ecological Reserve, with beautiful scenery, such as grasslands, lakes, snow-capped mountains, glaciers, river valleys, and Gobi.
At present, only the section from Delingha to Jiuzhi has been repaired. There is almost no service area for more than 600 kilometers. The people are sparsely populated and the supporting services have not kept up. It is best to go to the Huashixia Town in the middle to refuel or go to the toilet. There are also many restaurants in Huashixia Town where you can eat. Although there are few service areas on the Dama Expressway, parking ports are set up every short distance, where drivers can take a short break or stop to take pictures.
The altitude is high, the oxygen is thin, the engine of the car does not burn enough, and the speed is also very slow, just like the car also suffered from altitude sickness. On the expressway, the accelerator pedal is pressed to the bottom to climb the hill but the speed is still slow... When finally turned over the mountain and started to descend Slopes, when I was about to ride the mountains and rivers, I encountered a section of frozen soil, which was repaired every once in a while, and there were pits. You must pay attention to safety when driving, and slow down. Although it is not easy to walk, the beautiful scenery is worth it.
Through the thick fog to see the snow-capped mountains
Dema Expressway can see a sacred mountain almost all the way from Jiuzhi to Huashixia section: Animaqing, also known as Maji Snow Mountain, which means "Grandfather Dama God's Mountain" in Tibetan. The main peak, Maqing Gangri, is 6282m above sea level and is covered with snow all the year round.
When we set off in the morning, we often encountered thick fog in the valley on the road, but we were lucky enough to be able to see the snow-capped mountains. Before the arrival of the fog, we had a close contact with Anima Qing. The weather was very good that day, there were no clouds, and the snow-capped mountains were always in front of us. any occlusion. There is an underpass of Armaniqing Snow Mountain on the expressway, but it was closed when we passed by. It is estimated that the snow mountain will not be allowed to go there recently.
When you are about to pass through the snow mountain tunnel, you can see a small glacier landscape. These photos were taken through the window glass, there will be some reflective discoloration.
The seagulls in Donggei Zona Lake are not afraid of people
At noon, I finished up in Huashixia Town, and when I drove on the Dema Expressway again, a blue lake was in front of me. Donggetsona Lake, also known as Toso Lake and Black Sea, is on the edge of the Dema Expressway, very close, but there is no formal exit to go down, but there are some dirt roads in both directions of the road to go down to the lake. , you can pay special attention, we have walked in both directions of the Dema Expressway, and there are more dirt roads in the direction of Delingha, so it is easier to find. The road near the lake is relatively poor, it is best to use a four-wheel drive off-road, otherwise you can only stop farther and walk over.
Scenic facilities are already being built next to Donggeicona Lake. The tourist center buildings have been erected. There are also many excavators working and repairing roads. Soon, this place will also become a beautiful and regular one on the Dema Expressway. It's time to rest.
There are a lot of mosquito-like insects by the lake. They don't bite but are quite annoying. It is better to prepare some mosquito repellent water.
The reflection in the sky is very beautiful!
There are many seagulls inhabiting the lake. They are not very afraid of people. They are very leisurely when they are close to the kind that they are too lazy to fly. When we arrived, there happened to be a group of people coming down from the highway to the lake. When they saw seagulls parked on the shore, they threw stones at them, in order to make them fly up and take pictures... My God, what kind of brain damage is this? Seeing this kind of thing, I can't help but stand up and act as a moral guard. Speaking of this, there are still many people who throw garbage everywhere and from the car during this trip, and the wicked will take it for themselves.
After leaving Donggetsona Lake, cross the Gobi and arrive at Delingha. From Delingha, you can reach Dachaidan town via the German-Small Expressway. Prepare for the next trip. The German-Small Expressway is also a magical road. There is no toll, and it can be understood as an expressway with good road conditions. Along the way, you will pass Xiaochaidan Lake, alien ruins, etc., and the most classic landscapes of the Qaidam Basin are already along the way.
[G315 Internet celebrity highway]
315 is very popular this year. I can omit 10,000 words if it is so popular. Anyway, everyone has described it in various gorgeous languages. In fact, the roads in the Northwest are similar with minor differences. 315 is very similar to the roads in Xinjiang. Sometimes it looks like the Bailifeng District road section in Hami. When the Yadan Group appears, it looks like Karamay Uerhe. The Yardang group along the 315 is mostly in the shape of a whale back, which is particularly vivid in the wilderness.
Aerial photography is very shocking. When I was enjoying the aerial photography on the screen, my dad had already climbed to the top of the mountain without knowing it. By the way, I took a picture of him as a landscape, which was quite beautiful.
There are a lot of 315 people in the peak season. As long as you go to the densely populated Yadan area, many people stop to take pictures, but fortunately, the place is large, and you can still find scenes without people if you dig hard.
The color of Dachaidan Emerald Lake is very dreamy
Most of the tourists who take the Qinghai Ring Road start from Xining, from the starting point of 315 to the west, and this time we use Dachaidan as the first stop to start the journey across Haixi. Dachaidan town has become a tourist destination in Haixi. It is an important distribution center, and there are many tourists in the peak season. The town is not big at first, and the hotels and restaurants are basically gathered on one street. When it comes to meals, people follow the crowd, and the summer vacation has become a golden week.
Dachaidan Emerald Lake is nearby, less than half an hour's drive away. It is a "heritage" left by a factory. Salt pits of different sizes and depths are distributed irregularly. Under the sunlight, there are colorful colors, green and blue. Yes, very nice.
Scenic facilities are being built here, but they are not yet completed. There is no ticket, and cars can drive inside. Remember to drive all the way inside, not just in the entrance area. There are many people there, and there are no people inside. It looks better when photographed.
I heard people say that there is a parking fee here, but maybe we arrived earlier and didn't encounter it.
It doesn't matter if you don't have a drone. Standing on a high place and shooting down, you can also take very dreamy photos, such as this:
This piece of salt pit is blue, very similar to the color of Dongtai.
Near the entrance of Emerald Lake, there are some things that are very suitable for taking pictures. Looking out from these small platforms, there is a large area of reeds, which can be used for artistic photos.
The color of my mom's clothes matched the table perfectly.
The U-shaped road is on the hot search again
There are several sections of the U-shaped road on 315, the most popular one should be the stele of road 780, which is known to almost everyone who travels to Haixi. This road is located before Jinel Lake in Dongtai. There are two roads from Dachaidan to Dongtai, one goes up and passes through Nanbaxian Yadan to Dongtai, and the other goes down, first take a section of the expressway and then go to Dongtai. If you want to see the U-shaped road, you must go down 315 State Road.
The U-shaped road is really popular. Once we get to that section, it is full of cars and people. The road is in good condition, and the cars actually drive very fast. Moreover, this section of the U-shaped road has a lot of traffic and is quite dangerous. Now There have been several accidents, and the local traffic police have also strengthened their patrols to drive away. In fact, there are other beautiful road sections on 315. Find a place with few people and few cars. Although it is not as three-dimensional as 780, it can still be photographed. .
The wavy road photographed in the car has a lot of traffic in peak season.
Choose a section/period with fewer cars (in the late afternoon, there will be fewer cars on the road), and when shooting "road blockbusters", you must pay attention to safety. In fact, there are people behind me in these two pictures, and I p dropped them.
Jinel Lake in Dongtai set the whole Qinghai on fire
A piece of Tiffany blue waters has set the whole of Qinghai on fire. The former Dongtai was actually not so beautiful. This year, it is said that because of the rising water level, the blue color is revealed, and it has become today's "China Maldives".
Before I arrived at Dongtai, I could see a touch of blue from a distance on the road. It was indeed very beautiful, but it was also particularly sun-dried. The shore of Dongtai Lake is a large salt flat, pure white, invincible reflection of the sun, I was directly sunburned in Dongtai that day, and the skin that was not covered by clothes was completely darkened, and it was useless to wear sunscreen.
The Dongtai is very large, and the aerial photography is beautiful, and it is also very good to take pictures directly with the camera. The following picture is an aerial photography with only adjusted brightness. Feel if the online picture is deceiving you.
There are many tourists in Dongtai, and the local government has begun to intervene in the management. There is a sign when entering Dongtai, and you can drive directly to the location near the lake. There is now a parking lot by the lake. You need to register your identity information to enter. The car charges 10 yuan, which is a conscience price. After parking the car, walk to the lake.
There are a lot of people by the lake, you need to keep walking towards the salt bridge in the middle of the right, the number of talents gradually decreases, the farther you go, the fewer people, but you need to wade in the middle (the wading place is not deep), the water in Dongtai contains a lot Minerals, some people say they can cure athlete's foot, and some people have red and swollen legs and feet after stepping on them, so don't try to go into the water with bare feet. I choose high-top shoe covers.
In fact, in addition to the main entrance of Dongtai, there are still many openings that can drive the car directly to the area where there is no one. This is what we found after we left Dongtai and continued to move forward. A dirt road, you can drive directly to the lakeside where there is no one.
"Plateau Marathon" at Xitaijinel Lake
Xitaijinel Lake is also known as "two-color lake". National Highway 315 passes through it. The lakes on both sides are of different colors, one side is blue and the other side is green, which is also very suitable for aerial photography.
This section of road is not only suitable for aerial photography with cars, but also suitable for shooting slow motion running. For example, the second scene of the video at the beginning has a feeling of a lonely road. In order to complete the clip of my running in Xitai, I ran back and forth at least 3 times -4 times, nearly 100 meters each time. Although I have high altitude lung disease and haven't encountered altitude sickness, I didn't like running. I really made it hard for myself.
Originally, there were quite a lot of cars on 315, but there were fewer cars at this section of Xitai. It may be because many people stopped to take pictures. Don’t park too far to the side. The soil next to it may be loose at all. Be careful. slide down.
If you don’t have a drone, you can try to get out of the sunroof of the car to take videos and photos. It’s also very good, but the wind is a little bit strong.
Encountering strong wind and sand in Yadan on the water
The full name of Water Yardang is Wusute Water Yardang Geological Park. It has finally arrived at a formal scenic spot. There is a pretty good hotel in the scenic spot called: Wusute Yardang Hotel (also called Water Yardang RV Camp). There are also RVs in the hotel room. I booked a standard hotel room more than a month in advance. The environment is ok. After all, it is expensive, and there are very few people living in this area. It is very good to live here.
Shuishang Yadan is located between East Terrace and West Terrace, because we have to travel the next day, so we took pictures of the West Terrace first and then returned to Shuishang Yadan to settle down.
When I first arrived at Shuishang Yadan, there was a strong wind and dust, and the wind blew until the evening, so there was no plane here, and it was very beautiful to take pictures with a camera.
Water Yardang ticket is 60 yuan, sightseeing car is 60 yuan, a total of 120 yuan per person, both of which must be bought when entering the scenic spot. In fact, you can see the water Yadan as soon as you enter the scenic spot. The sightseeing bus route is about four or five kilometers. We drove to a place where Yadan is relatively dense, and we will pass through several stations on the way. After we sat at the terminal station, we planned to walk all the way back while taking pictures, but the wind was too strong, and the dust blowing up was still a bit painful...just Just wandered around for a while.
As the sun sets, the color of the sky becomes softer. Watching a sunset on Yadan on the water is also a must experience.
This location is walking straight south from the hotel, and then to the water’s edge, only a few hundred meters away. If you want to shoot Yadan + starry sky at night, you can also choose this place. The finished product is still very beautiful. The day we arrived was around the 15th day of the lunar calendar, the moon was as bright as a bright light, and we didn’t need to use a flashlight to walk at night. We didn’t have a chance with the starry sky, so we didn’t get a good shot.
For the selection of the room type of Yadan Hotel on the Water, if you don’t have any obsession with the RV, you should choose the standard room, the price is not much different, and the standard room is still much better than the RV. If you really don't have a room and can't live in a hotel, you can also camp in the parking lot of the scenic spot. I saw a lot of people doing this, and camping here is safer and cleaner.
Opposite the hotel is a "Food City" in the scenic area, where dining problems can be easily solved, halal restaurants, noodles, naan and fruits.
【Mars Highway No. 1】
"Mars No. 1 Highway" is an unpopular road that does not exist in group travel routes, but because there are already a lot of content about it on the Internet, it seems that many people know it, but in fact it is known by outsiders but not in the local area. People don’t necessarily know about such a path. Why you say that will be discussed later.
The origin of the name "Mars Highway 1" is actually very simple. This area is the largest Yardang landform group in the world, and it is also the most Mars-like place in the territory of China. This road runs through it. In fact, this road is a dirt road that has not been fully built. One end is between the 953 km and 954 km road signs of National Highway 315 (a short walk west of Xitai), and the other end is Lenghu No. 5 Petroleum The base site is about 7 kilometers further north, with a length of 88 kilometers, which can be navigated on the map.
Mars Highway No. 1 crosses the Yardang landform group all the way, and there are few people, the scenery is particularly spectacular, and there are also a lot of crossing enthusiasts here. Since the completion of the Mars camp last year, more people have come to this road.
For this trip to take pictures, I specially brought a plaster statue of a small spaceman. Others took pictures of this place as cool and outer space, but I added a sense of cuteness to this place. (My villain is actually 25cm tall, with foam on my face...)
On the way, you can see a large area of Yadan in the distance.
I believe that there should be friends like me who were a little confused about this route and the locations of several points before going. I drew a sketch for you. This picture is absolutely accurate, and the lines are all feasible.
This is the intersection from G315.
**About the road conditions: Mars roads are all dirt roads. The section from G315 to the fork in the Mars camp is not bad, but the fork in the Mars camp is particularly difficult to walk. At least you need an SUV, otherwise it is easy to scratch the chassis. From the Mars camp The section of the Mars Highway 1 that continues to the Cold Lake at the fork is impossible to describe because we haven't walked it.
Mars camp check-in "drop"!
From the entrance of the Mars No. 1 highway on G315, drive about 28 kilometers and there is a bifurcation (with road signs). If you drive 13 kilometers to the left, you will arrive at the "Mars Camp". If you do not turn and continue north, you will continue to cross Mars Highway No. 1 arrives at the Lenghu No. 5 oil base site and completes the crossing. From the No. 5 oil base site, continue to drive northward for about 15 kilometers, and you will arrive at Lenghu Town. Of course, as shown in the map above, if you come out of the Mars camp and walk northward for a section of dirt road, you can directly branch off to Provincial Highway 305, and you can also reach Lenghu Town.
What kind of place is "Mars Camp"? I think it is a popular science education base + hotel. The educational significance is greater than that of the hotel. Every year, the Mars camp holds a lot of popular science education activities, especially during the summer vacation. Children are invited to participate in the summer camp here and learn about the universe in the place that most resembles the Martian landform. Knowledge. Another identity here is the capsule warehouse hotel, which can accommodate less than 100 people in total, and there are some tents outside that can provide accommodation. The price is quite expensive, and accommodation can be booked on mainstream travel websites.
The design of the Mars camp is very technological. Looking down from the sky, it seems that we have really arrived at a base on Mars. When we arrived, the inner warehouse was doing disinfection work, so we couldn't go in to take pictures, but everyone should have seen it on many online pictures. It's really cool.
You can rent this kind of spacesuit in the Mars camp. The price is not cheap, it costs a few hundred yuan for half an hour, but it’s okay for taking pictures. This is not me.
The absurd version of "The Martian" next to the Russian Bo Liang
Go straight north from the Mars camp, there is a fork in the road to go to Erbo Liang Yadan, but because we are short on time, and we heard that Erbo Liang has been closed, we have not passed, and we are going to go directly to S305 to Lenghu. , The dashboard of the car started to alarm the engine oil. Dad immediately braked and got out of the car to check. I saw his face gradually turn green and his pupils dilated. He broke down and said: Oops, there is an oil leak!
Engine oil leakage can be big or small, most of the time it is a major event, without oil, the car will not start at all, and the engine will be burnt as soon as it is started, the consequences are unimaginable. Our situation at that time was that the engine oil was flowing down like a faucet...
Generally, in this case, the chassis is knocked, and the knock is severe, which is why it leaks. But our car is only half a year old, and the chassis is very high, so we didn't get knocked at all just now, which is really unbelievable. My dad immediately got down to look at the chassis. It was complete, without any scratches. The oil was dripping along the edge of the chassis guard. I couldn't find the reason. There were no tools to disassemble it, so I had to start calling for help.
There are no shops in the front of Buba Village. In the vast Yadan, there is no 4G signal at all. Only the domestic mobile phone of my father and I can make calls. From 114 to the insurance company to 110, I have experienced various surrounding big cities. None of the tow truck hotlines knew the distress of the Mars Highway Mars camp... In the end, the insurance company and 110 were very helpful. Master Che found our location and drove over to check directly.
It took more than an hour to make a phone call, and waited for more than an hour for the car repairer. The sauna in the car gradually calmed us down. At the beginning, I even wondered if I was going back to Chongqing... Later, I gradually calmed down, kept in touch, communicated calmly...
When the car repair guy from Lenghu came to us in a white pickup, it was like stepping on colorful auspicious clouds. The final inspection found that it was caused by the installation error of our car maintenance master, and there was no problem at all with the car... It made us laugh and cry, but fortunately the problem was not serious, and we could move on. Thanks to the traffic policeman, the car repairer from Lenghu, the insurance company, the mobile signal and domestic mobile phones.
Therefore, if you encounter problems, you should still seek help from 110!
After the end, my dad took a group photo with the little brother who repaired the car (both "black"). The little brother who repaired the car is from Shaanxi. He is very simple and honest. He opened a car repair shop in Lenghu called "Shaanxi Auto Repair". If there is any problem with the car, you can go to Lenghu to find him, and you can also call 110 to find him. He said that there are cars breaking down on the road here every day, and everyone must be extremely careful when coming here.
Exploring the secrets of Lenghu No. 5 oil base
The "barren land" of Qaidam has always been a famous "treasure bowl" in China. In addition to a large amount of salt, it also contains precious oil and gas resources deep underground.
"The first batch of land reclamators were "one roll of luggage and one pot. The former camels fought in the desert, grabbed Kunlun snow when they were thirsty, and ate barley buns when they were hungry." "Under the revolutionary drive, finally in 1958, the "Dizhong Four Wells" opened a new chapter in the development and development of the Qaidam Basin oilfield. With the discovery of the oilfield, a large number of geological exploration workers and oil workers came to the cold The lake was concentrated, and a vigorous oil battle was launched. Later, some family members also came.
The oil field brought the first major development of Lenghu, and since then there has been a town of Lenghu on the map of China. "-From the Internet
This is the Lenghu No. 5 oil base, which is not on the app on the map. Searching the oil base site can only find the site about 20 kilometers from Lenghu to Dunhuang. I wanted to take a picture of the No. 0 boundary marker on Mars Highway 1, so I simply walked a few kilometers inside to have a look here. (The No. 5 base is located 7 kilometers away from the entrance of the cold lake end of the Mars No. 1 Highway. It can be seen through the satellite map. There are many washboard roads in this section, which hurts the car. Please drive slowly.)
The oil town ruins here are not limited to the "No. 5 Oil Base". It is said that this area had a population of 100,000 people when it was the most prosperous, and then it was gradually abandoned with the relocation of the base.
The roadbeds on the streets are still there, and there are rows of houses, factories, schools, and even movie theaters. Walking in them, you can feel the prosperity of the year, but the roofs of the buildings are basically gone, and they are silent in the wind and sand. There are slogans left over from that year.
This is the masonry covered by sand between the factory buildings, and you can see what the road looked like back then.
【Qinghai S305】
The only way from Lenghu to Manya Huatugou is Qinghai Provincial Highway 305. This road is the provincial highway from Huatugou to Dunhuang. Strictly speaking, when it is close to Huatugou, 305 is actually already Merged with 315. 305 is a relatively unpopular wasteland road. It passes through salt flats, Yadan, Gobi and other landforms along the way.
If you are taking the Qinggan Great Ring Road, you will basically take this route.
God's perspective on the salt flats
Between the branch road of the Mars camp on 305 and the cold lake, there is a large salt flat, which looks very beautiful and spectacular at high altitude, because the repair of the car was delayed, we arrived close to the sunset that day, and the sunset covered the salt flat The photo is a bit yellow, the wind is very strong, the plane is swaying in the sky, it is not bad to be able to take a straight shot (cover your face), but the final effect is not bad.
The salt flat is very white, like an endless snow field. This section is the most beautiful section on 305 in my opinion.
Running wildly under the sunset of Yadanqun
From the salt flats to the west, you will soon arrive at a large piece of Yadan landform. The Yadan here is relatively large, and you can take a very spectacular scene. When passing by, the sun was setting and Yadan showed a gorgeous orange color. , In order to catch up with the last moment of the setting sun, we parked the car on the side of the road and rushed towards Yadanqun. Because the light was already dark and we couldn’t see the road clearly, we didn’t dare to drive the car rashly for fear of getting stuck.
The day before at Yadan on the water, the sun was covered by clouds when half of the sun set, and today’s is still perfect.
The road in the middle of the picture below is 305.
Starting from Lenghu, pass through Provincial Highway 305 and then turn to National Highway 315 to Huatugou. The whole journey is more than 200 kilometers. It was already late at night when we arrived at Huatugou. Ours will be an even more magical landscape.
"Air Disaster" at Aiken Springs "Airport"
Aiken Spring is also known as "Eye of the Devil", "Eye of the Earth" and "Eye of the Cliff". The "Angel's Eye" written on the big stone standing at the entrance of the scenic spot may feel that this name is more auspicious, but in fact Aiken is in In Mongolian, it means devil...whatever, it is actually a rather strange-looking geothermal spring.
The earliest record about Aiken Spring comes from the Russian explorer and traveler Purzhevalski, who introduced Aiken Spring in the Gas Basin in "Towards Lop Nur" written by him during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty. How amazing it is.
You must bring a drone when you come here, otherwise you really won’t realize how amazing it is. Currently, a viewing platform is being built next to Aiken Spring, which has not yet been completed. This is for friends who don’t have drones.
Because there are too many drones here, and there are more than ten or twenty drones in the sky at the same time. Some friends jokingly call it "Aiken Springs Airport". You need to be careful when flying drones. It is best to have a good eye to help watch. Airplanes, to avoid "air crashes", when I was flying the plane, I was reminded of the signal interference of the remote control many times, which made me dare not fly higher. We also witnessed the bomber that day, a plane fell directly from the sky into the water near the spring and rolled a few times.
Look carefully, the ground of Aiken Spring is also very magical!
Aiken Spring is still not a scenic spot. It is generally recognized that the road is difficult to walk. Many other guides have repeatedly emphasized that the road is difficult to walk and hard to find. In fact, there is no need to worry. There are too many people going to Aiken Spring at present, so the local government has also begun to intervene in management. Follow the map of Gaode (navigate to the gate of Aiken Spring Scenic Area) for a while, turn left from 315 and enter the dirt road. You can turn off the navigation, walk along this road, there is no fork road, there is a road sign every 10 kilometers, and you can get there within about an hour and a half from Huatugou.
As for the road conditions, I saw that there are still cars driving past (but not recommended, there are still places where the chassis will be knocked). The road is not very bad, it may have been rebuilt by the government, but there are many sections of washboard roads. , hurt the car, drive slowly. The car can be driven to the parking lot, and then walk about 400 meters to the edge of Aiken Spring.
Exposure and perfunctory filming of Emerald Lake
When we arrived at Mangya Emerald Lake, it was another clear afternoon with no shade from the sun. Mangya Emerald Lake is actually the "heritage" of the factory, much larger than Dachaidan Emerald Lake. Dachaidan's is exquisite, and Mangya's It is vast, and the colors here are relatively uniform, all emerald green and white, which can be called "emerald".
It's still not a scenic spot, no tickets are charged, cars can drive in, you can go down into the water to take pictures, it's beautiful, and it's shocking to take aerial pictures with a plane. It's not far from Huatugou Airport. There is a height limit of 120 meters for aerial photography, but it's enough up.
There were not many people in the afternoon. After taking a few photos from the plane, I hid in the car and watched my mother take pictures in the water. The sun was so bad that I was tired from playing the previous two days. In the end, I left a photo with the lake.
Mangya In addition to Aiken Spring and Emerald Lake, there are two characteristic landscapes of Gasikule Lake and Qianfo Cliff. I have seen too many lakes along the way, and I was tired that day, so I didn’t go there. From Emerald Lake On the way back to Huatugou, we passed Youyuangou, Qianfo Cliff is in Youyuangou, but the car was not allowed to go up, and a security guard stopped us, saying that we had to have a pass, so we took a photo at the foot of the mountain and went back to the hotel Trimmed.
【G109 Qinghai-Tibet Highway】
Start the return journey from Mangya, and come to Golmud, the original destination of this trip.
Golmud is the second largest city in Qinghai, and it is also the main road connecting Tibet, Xinjiang and Gansu. Here, there is a great road and a railway: Qinghai-Tibet Highway, Qinghai-Tibet Railway, Qinghai-Tibet Highway opened to traffic in 1954, is the highest altitude in the world The asphalt road with the longest line is also the shortest, best and safest road to Tibet. You can see grasslands, salt lakes, Gobi, snow mountains, deserts and other landscapes. You can get close to the Hoh Xil Nature Reserve, one of the four major uninhabited areas.
Before setting off for the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, we first arrived at the Chaerhan Salt Lake not far from Golmud City. The Chaerhan Salt Lake has always been famous. We thought it was already a very mature scenic spot, but it turned out that it was still there when we went this time. Trial operation does not require tickets, but the transportation car needs 50 yuan/person (to be honest, it is really expensive).
Chaerhan Salt Lake is located in a large potash fertilizer plant. You need to take a bus to get in (every 40 minutes). The factory is still working. In fact, there are not many places where you can play and take pictures. The significance of popular science is more important than play. Meaning, the Wanzhang Salt Bridge is the biggest highlight of the Chaerhan Salt Lake. It is at the end of the traffic car and is suitable for aerial photography. The whole salt lake is the color of mung bean soup. I heard that the colors seen at different times of the day will be different. It should be light. relationship.
The area around the salt lake is also white, the weather is good, and it is quite sunny.
The beautiful light and shadow passing by Kunlun
At the same time 10 years ago, I took the Qinghai-Tibet Railway train from Lhasa back to Chongqing. When I passed Hoh Xil, I heard the introduction on the radio on the train. I realized that Hoh Xil looked like this. After passing through the Kunlun Mountains, I seemed to ignore it. This time Only then seriously understand.
Starting from Golmud, the first thing that catches the eyes is the Kunlun Mountains. There are almost no plants on the stone mountains, and the bare ones are steep. The sun shines on the clouds and forms shadows on the mountains, which is very atmospheric and spectacular.
Soon after entering the Qinghai-Tibet line, you can see Yuzhu Peak and Yuxu Peak. Yuzhu Peak is 6178 meters above sea level, and Yuxu Peak is 5980 meters above sea level. The Snow Mountain Observation Deck is related to these two peaks.
Pay tribute to nature in Hoh Xil
There is a group of Tibetan antelope sculptures at the Kunlun Mountain Pass that says Hoh Xil Nature Reserve, telling everyone that Hoh Xil has arrived.
Next to the group sculptures is the monument to the martyr Sonam Dajie. Anyone who is familiar with Hoh Xil knows him. In July 1992, Sonam Dajie organized the first armed anti-poaching team in China. He has always been active in The Hoh Xil area carried out ecological conservation work to protect the Tibetan antelope. On January 18, 1994, Sonam Dajie died in the fight against poachers, protecting Hoh Xil with his life.
Before my father arrived, he had agreed that he must bow to the martyr Sonam Dajie.
After that, on September 10, 1997, the Sonam Dajie Nature Reserve was established at the foot of Kunlun Mountain on the east side of Hoh Xil. Today's protection station has a simple exhibition hall for tourists to visit, most of which are photographic works. There are also many car stickers on the outer wall of the protection station. I guess this should be a souvenir left by the travelers in the past. The golden Tibetan antelope sculpture in front of the protection station allows people to see the two standing horns from far away. Here, there is a sense of solemnity and shock.
As the border area of Hoh Xil, the Qinghai-Tibet Highway can actually see only the tip of the iceberg in Hoh Xil, but along the way, you can already see many animals: wild donkeys, pikas, and the familiar Tibetan antelope, and some people have photographed them Wolf. We photographed a lot of sheep, and we kept looking for animals all the way, almost blind. Maybe there are a few photos of Tibetan gazelles, and those with short horns can't be distinguished, ashamed...
The Qinghai-Tibet Highway is accompanied by the Qinghai-Tibet Railway all the way. I have to marvel at the greatness of the road builders who built such a huge project almost at an altitude of 4,000 meters or more. What we saw the most that day were freight trains. The Qinghai-Tibet Line is also the lifeline leading to Tibet. The busiest line into Tibet shows how significant the Qinghai-Tibet Highway and Qinghai-Tibet Railway are.
Our final destination for the day was the Hoh Xil Tibetan Antelope Observation Deck. My myopic eyes can’t see the Tibetan antelopes in the distance. I see, indeed, the hillside opposite the viewing platform is full of Tibetan antelopes. There is a previous data that the population of Tibetan antelopes has recovered from less than 20,000 in 1997 to more than 70,000. There should be more now, thanks for the protection. efforts of district workers.
We stopped at the viewing platform for a while and then turned back. The Tuotuo River and Tanggula Mountain are far away. There is not much time to move on and look forward to the next departure.
We also met a few hikers near the viewing platform. Everyone dragged a trailer and led a dog. They were very stylish and persistent. I hope they have a safe journey.
There are still some things to say about the Qinghai-Tibet Highway. There are some dirt roads on the Qinghai-Tibet Highway that can enter the Hoh Xil Reserve, but there are signs at the openings: unauthorized entry into the reserve is prohibited. Please do not trespass consciously or unconsciously. No-man’s land It's not a joke, and the Tibetan antelope is a particularly timid animal, and its blood vessels are prone to rupture when it is frightened. Please be sure to provide a beautiful and safe living environment for these elves on the plateau.
The supporting facilities along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway are good, there are quite a lot of toilets at rest stops, and the 4G signal is also very good, so there is no need to worry about "losing contact" at all, as long as you don't trespass in the protected area.
=A good scene on the road that cannot be ignored=
After talking about the 5 most classic roads along the way, other scenery along the way cannot be ignored.
From Mangya to Golmud, we passed Provincial Highway 303. This road also has its own characteristics. Along the way are Wutu Meiren grassland and Golmud Populus euphratica forest, but Wutu Meiren is basically surrounded by barbed wire, and the Populus euphratica forest is also closed, so it is not meaningful to play. Big, starting from Mangya in the morning, you can arrive in Golmud after noon.
Back to Aba, starting from Chongqing, passing through Aba Prefecture in western Sichuan, going straight to Qinghai, and finally returning from the original road of Aba Prefecture. This time the protagonist is Qinghai, but the good times are on the road, and the Aba line is not bad.
After passing by Miyaluo, Dagu Glacier, Emotang, Hongyuan Grassland, Lianbaoye... But it is awkward to go there in this season, and it is the rainy season, there are not many amazing things, if it is in the red leaves season in autumn or spring During the flowering season of the grassland, the scenery along this line is super beautiful.
= What did you eat along the way? =
I lived well along the way, and I ate a lot. I ate countless meals of ramen. I have to say that the noodles in Daxibei are really delicious!
Checked in several delicious local specialty restaurants, which are also loved by local people.
Jiuzhi County? The super large pot of yak meat soup pot, the last dish was finished, but the meat was not finished.
Mangya Huatugou? Big Beard Restaurant, ranked No. 1 in local reviews. The dishes are very delicate, with Qinghai-style cassock meat (like beef in the dough), dog pee (a kind of lettuce oil smell but the boss It is said that this is a kind of Qinghai special spice-flavored cake, in fact, it tastes better when it is cold the next day), there are also Qinghai jelly stuffed skin and so on.
Golmud? Qinghai soil hot pot, with meat, meatballs and various dishes. I tasted Qinghai's characteristic Gaiwan tea (with red dates, walnuts, fruit roses...) It actually smells like roses, which is not bad. But what I like more is the Qinghai local beer that I drank that day. There is a high-alcohol highland barley white beer that tastes very good.
Golmud? Zhenhua Hand Catch King. This store is ranked top in Golmud. The store is very large, but the service is orderly and worthy of praise. His specialty is hand-caught lamb (lamb chops). You can order half a catty, and there are also fried Stir-fried sheep tripe and so on, we also tasted the barley cake, it was not bad! Moreover, the price of this store is affordable, half a catty of hand-caught lamb chops costs about 40 yuan.
=Itinerary=
Sketch, combined with the table below, I know you can understand.
The following table was made before the trip, and it was slightly changed later. The itinerary is correct, but there is a little difference in time. Generally speaking, it is not an easy itinerary.
= Some TIPS =
1. During the entire itinerary, the highest altitudes are the Dema Expressway and the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, with a maximum of about 4800. Because you just pass by and don’t live at this altitude, altitude sickness is not easy to happen, but you still have to pay attention to your physical condition at all times.
2. Haixi Natuo, there are really no toilets on the road. Occasionally, you will encounter the sign of the toilet a few hundred meters ahead, but they are all fake. The sign has been erected, but the toilet has not yet been repaired. Over there The conditions are relatively limited, the sanitation is poor, and you need to be mentally prepared.
3. Except for the Mars Highway and Aiken Springs, the road conditions in other places are not bad, but it is best to use an SUV or above to take this route, in case it hurts if you bump into it.
4. Haixi is too popular. The accommodation of Dachaidan, Mangya and Shuishang Yadan needs to be booked in advance, especially Shuishang Yadan, one month in advance is not too early.
5. There is almost no network signal on the road in Haixi, so check the map location in advance and remember the approximate, then download the offline map, don't be a headless chicken.
6. Without a drone, it is really meaningless to go to Haixi. It is generally windy there. The drone I use is DJI air2, and its wind resistance is relatively stable.
7. It is recommended to bring self-heating rice, enough drinking water, and an appropriate amount of tap water (for washing hands and feet). The conditions on the road are limited, and people's livelihood issues need to be resolved.
8. Haixi is very dry, it is best to bring a humidifier and various moisturizing products, nasal spray, nose oil, eye drops, lipstick, hand cream...
Warning: If it is not a no-man's land, don't use the no-man's land as a gimmick!
When you walk on 315, 305, or the Mars Highway, or the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, you say that you are crossing no-man’s land, isn’t that ridiculous... There are such good national and provincial highways, and there are many residents around, and tourists also visit during peak tourist seasons. Many, not all places that look desolate can be called no man's land. This kind of content is too much, and it can only make some readers who really don't understand think that it is not difficult to cross no-man's land. If they believe it, they go to the real no-man's land, such as Hoh Xil Lop Nur Altyn Qiang Tang, the consequences would be unimaginable, and such cases are not unheard of.
Including the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, it is not considered "crossing" Hoh Xil, because Hoh Xil is bounded by the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, so it can only be counted as a side view.
Please also learn to distinguish and not be misled by the content of eyeballs.
=THE END=
I am Quack, a social animal who dreams of traveling around the world. This article is over and I will continue to work. Goodbye!
