D1, departure from Nanjing at 12:59 noon, sleeper to Xining.

D2, Arrive in Xining at 16:34, visit Xining Dongguan Grand Mosque, Yudai Bridge Mosque, Mojia Street Food City, and stay in Xining Xingguang Family Hotel.

D3, visit Kumbum Monastery, Qinghai Lake, live in the wooden house of Heima River Grassland Style Garden.

D4, visit Chaka Salt Lake, Keluke Lake, Xiaochaidan Lake, Emerald Lake, and live in Chujian Apartment in Dachaidan.

On D5, visit Qinghai Yadan Landform, Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Moon Spring, and stay in Dunhuang On the Road Theme Inn.

D6, visit Mogao Grottoes, Jiayuguan Pass City, Cantilever Great Wall, stay at Jiayuguan Silk Road Huayu Chain Hotel.

On D7, visit Jinta Populus euphratica Forest, Ejina Heicheng Ruoshui Populus euphratica Forest Scenic Area, and live in a cozy home of Populus euphratica in Ejina Banner.

On D8, visit the Ejina Populus euphratica Forest Scenic Spot, and live in the cozy home of Populus euphratica in Ejina Banner.

On D9, visit Pingshan Lake Grand Canyon and stay in Zhangye Jintian Business Hotel.

On D10, visit Zhangye Colorful Danxia Scenic Area, return to Xining, and return to Nanjing on a sleeper at 21:05 p.m.

Self-driving tour of the Northwest has always been a wish of mine. It can be implemented smoothly this year, thanks to Lebin and Pistachio for joining. When it comes to self-driving tours, here are a few issues that everyone is more concerned about. The first is the choice of vehicle. The road conditions in Qinghai, Gansu, and Inner Mongolia, as far as we drive by ourselves, ordinary cars can do the job. There is no need to rent off-road vehicles or SUVs. We rented a new Chevrolet Cruze in Shenzhou. Dachaidan Emerald Lake has a section of about 5 kilometers of road with some bumps, but the rest is completely manageable. The second is the road conditions. The cities here are basically connected by expressways or national highways, and there are few vehicles in the land. Unlike the completely closed expressways in the mainland, the expressways here are basically built on the desert or Gobi desert. There are no anti-collision barriers on both sides of the road. Wide open and an absolute pleasure to drive. It should be noted that the basic speed limit of the road here is 70~80km/h, which is mainly based on interval speed measurement, supplemented by fixed speed measurement points. At the beginning, we basically drove at the speed limit prompted by the navigation. Going away at a speed of more than 100km/h, I did as the Romans did, and followed the local vehicles to maintain the same speed, because the local vehicles will not be so stupid as to know that they will be fined for speeding and still drive like this. Another issue is the road toll. Our trip caught up with the end of the National Day holiday, so there was no road toll for the section from Xining to Heima Lake. Next, we made an appointment for the whole journey from Heima Lake to Dunhuang to Ejina and then back to Xining. 3100 kilometers, the total toll is 332 yuan, refueling is 1285 yuan, when it comes to refueling, one thing to remind everyone, the distance between the gas stations in the Northwest is relatively long, usually there is no gas station for more than 100 kilometers, so the fuel level in the fuel tank is low At 50%, it is necessary to refuel in time to prevent accidents.

This trip, the bulk of the consumption is the ticket fees of scenic spots, accounting for 1/3 of the entire trip cost, reaching 1,200 yuan per person. The accommodation is basically based on family hotels or chain hotels. The per capita accommodation fee for eight days is only 559 yuan. It is looser and more convenient for washing and so on.

Well, after explaining the precautions, let's get to the topic.

We set off from Nanjing at 12:59 noon on October 5th and boarded the K376 train from Shanghai to Xining. After 27.5 hours of bumpy rides, we arrived in Xining on time at 16:34 pm on the 6th. Arrive at each station early and wait a few minutes at the station. Special thanks to the fruit and stewed vegetables prepared by Pistachio, which made us arrive in Xining without any worries.

After leaving Xining Station, the hotel we booked was 800 meters away. After turning on the mobile phone navigation, we found the hotel and put down our luggage. Since the distance was less than two kilometers, we decided to walk there.

After turning the intersection, a big river appeared in front of our eyes. This is the Huangshui River. It is very rare to see such a fast-flowing river in the city.

After walking for more than 10 minutes, you can see the huge dome of the mosque and two tall towers standing on the street lined with high-rise buildings. Xining Dongguan Grand Mosque is currently the fifth largest mosque in the world and the largest in China. Built in the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, it is a typical Han-style palace-style building. It was built by the court at the request of the general Mu Yingzuo in the early Ming Dynasty. The Dongguan Mosque is the highest institution for the study of Islamic scriptures and enjoys a high reputation at home and abroad. Every Friday, those who attend worship will pray in the street. At that time, the entire Dongguan Street will be under traffic control and motor vehicles will not be allowed to enter. Due to the limited space in the mosque, tens of thousands of Muslims have to pray in the street. The streets are densely packed with Muslims. The scene is very spectacular.

The Great Mosque in Dongguan suffered a lot of fate. It was demolished and rebuilt many times in history. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, because of local armed rebellion, the imperial court would demolish the temple after suppression and destroy the spiritual support of the local people. In peaceful times, it would be rebuilt again. Since today is Saturday, we did not catch up with the spectacular scene of thousands of people praying, but in the worship hall, we can still see Muslims coming to worship one after another. Muslims are the only religion in the world that does not worship idols. The hall of worship is empty, and there are no statues in Buddhist temples. The ground is covered with carpets, which is convenient for believers to take off their shoes and enter worship.

After coming out of the mosque, we walked to Mojia Street Food City in Xining not far away.

The restaurant was full of diners. We went to Ma Zhong’s hand-caught mutton at the back, and ordered his famous hand-caught mutton and mutton soup. The hand-caught mutton was tender and refreshing, and it was very delicious.

On the way back to the hotel from the food city, I saw a Muslim woman making dumplings in the store, and took a few photos out of curiosity.

The Yudai Bridge Mosque is located on our way back to the hotel. The minaret in front of the gate is said to be very old. The mosque was also built in the early Ming Dynasty and is currently the second largest mosque in Xining.

Due to the relatively narrow geographical location, it is difficult to take a panoramic view. When we entered, there was a Muslim elder at the door who guided us for free. Regular Muslims have 5 fixed prayer times a day, which are morning prayer, noon prayer, canary prayer, evening prayer and Isha prayer, that is, once in the morning before the sun comes out, and once around 1:30 in the afternoon. In the afternoon, the shadow of a person is the body. One and a half to two times, once in the evening after the sun goes down, and once about two hours before the evening prayer. Due to the different daylight hours in winter and summer, the five prayer times a day are also different in different seasons. The electronic display at the entrance of the Yudai Bridge Mosque has an accurate notice of today's prayer time.

Since we entered at around 7:58 p.m., which coincided with today's Isha prayer time, we could see many believers worshiping in the worship hall.

On the morning of the 7th, we went to Shenzhou Car Rental Xining Railway Station to pick up the Chevrolet car that had already been booked. The 8-day lease period, plus deductible, totaled 1193 yuan. After picking up the car, we went straight to Kumbum Monastery.

Kumbum Monastery has a history of more than 600 years. It is the birthplace of Master Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism in my country. It is one of the six major monasteries of the Yellow Sect in Tibetan areas. cultural relics protection unit.

It is best to spend 160 yuan to invite a guide to visit the Kumbum Monastery. When I was exchanging tickets, I saw a girl who hired a guide alone, so I suggested that we join a tour guide, but when I called the rest to the door, the girl But we couldn't wait to leave first, but we had no choice but to take the way of rubbing the tour guides, and we had several groups of tour guides. Fortunately, there are a large number of tour guides in Kumbum Monastery, so it is not very obvious to rub.

The Eight Treasures Ruyi Pagoda, located in the square in front of the temple, is the most famous sight of Kumbum Monastery. It is said that these eight pagodas were built to commemorate the eight great merits of Buddha Sakyamuni in his life.

The Great Golden Tile Hall is the most splendid building in Kumbum Temple, the roof is covered by gold and silver cast tiles. There is a big golden pagoda inside, wrapped in gold and silver, surrounded by various gemstones. It is said that this pagoda is worth hundreds of millions, and it is wrapped with the sacred tree when Master Tsongkhapa was born. The entire Kumbum Temple has this pagoda first, Then the whole temple was built.

When you visit Kumbum Monastery, you must not miss her three wonders, namely murals, pile embroidery and butter flowers. The lifelike ghee flower sculpture is made of ghee by craftsmen counting nine cold days. In order to prevent the ghee from melting due to the temperature of their hands, the craftsmen soak their fingers in biting ice water from time to time.

It took us two full hours to visit Kumbum Monastery. After we came out, we found a dumpling shop on the street and ate his special beef dumplings, which tasted good.

After coming out of Kumbum Monastery, the car drove for about an hour, and we arrived at Zongkalaze Scenic Area. This is the place where Tibetans worship the mountain gods, known as the Temple of the Gods, the ticket is 20 yuan, we did not go in. Because the temperature in the mountain pass was very low, we were all shivering from the cold. After taking a few photos, we retracted into the car and continued towards Qinghai Lake.

After reading other people's guides, the ticket price of Qinghai Lake Erlangjian Scenic Area is more than 100 yuan. In fact, it is similar to the scenery seen in the herdsmen's pasture. The cost performance is not high, so we gave up decisively.

Along Qinghai Lake, there are many pastures surrounded by barbed wire fences by Tibetans. Many Tibetans built simple tents and wind horse flagpoles in front of their pastures, and some even put props such as classic cars, and erected the slogan of Qinghai Lake. , to attract tourists to visit.

Since the tourist season has passed, the prices for Tibetans have also dropped significantly. We entered two pastures and were only charged 20 yuan in total.

In order to attract tourists, the Tibetans specially planted late-blooming rapeseed, which gave us an unexpected surprise.

We drove the car to the lake, jumping and jumping with excitement.

The sky is blue, the fields are vast, and the wind blows the grass and the cattle and sheep are low. As the winter is about to enter, the cattle, sheep and horses seize the last chance to eat and eat, and try to fatten themselves to survive the winter. Go to the place, don't forget to have a bite while the sheep run.

We stayed by the Qinghai Lake for more than an hour, and continued to drive towards the direction of Heima River, where we are staying today.

Throughout the afternoon, we almost kept going along Qinghai Lake, with endless scenery along the way.

At 18:20, we finally arrived at today's destination - Heima River. In the process of looking for the wooden house in the Grassland Style Garden, I experienced some twists and turns. The reason is that the wooden house is not on the side of the road, and there is no sign. After navigating to the address, you have to drive into an alley to get there.

Fengqing Garden is composed of dozens of independent log cabins. The wooden houses are connected by wooden plank roads. There are independent toilets and hot water supply. It is considered a relatively comfortable hotel in Heima River. At the beginning, there is no cold water supply, and the hot water is relatively small. , After calling the boss to reflect, the supply of hot and cold water will be normal soon.

The sun is about to set, and the light and shadow behind the wooden house are not bad for shooting.

Dinner was served at a local hot pot restaurant near the inn. The food was quite enough for the four of us. The only downside was that the beef was a little less and the tofu skin was too much.

At night, due to the three electric blankets and the heater, we were all woken up by the heat. We got up in the middle of the night and drank water several times. Finally, we had to turn off all the electric blankets to relieve it. There was no embarrassment of freezing into dogs as mentioned in other guides.

Get up in the morning on the 8th, set the destination "Panchen Lhaze" in the navigation, and set off. The car quickly left the main road and drove onto a small road. The cars in front came one after another, all of them came to watch the sunrise. After 15 minutes, the car arrived at the river beach to watch the sunrise, and many cars had already parked around. The lake is also full of tourists waiting for the sunrise.

Heimahe Sunrise is one of the top places to watch the sunrise in China. Today we were unlucky, the clouds were thick, and the sun could not be seen all the time, but the sun still showed a blush through the clouds, and it was pretty good to shoot. Tasteful.

We stayed by the lake for about half an hour to see if the sun could not come out, so we resolutely left and went to Chaka Salt Lake.

After driving for more than an hour, we arrived at Chaka Salt Lake Scenic Area. According to the guide, you need to walk about 4 kilometers to enter the depths of the salt lake. Today is a heavy task. We hurry up, buy a small train ticket of 50 yuan per person, and sit directly in the depths of the salt lake.

Sitting on a small train that is ventilated on all sides, I was really frozen like a dog. The key is that today's weather is not good, the sky is covered with thick clouds, and the lake is blown by strong winds. There is no door to see the "mirror of the sky".

Chaka Salt Lake was rated by National Geographic as "one of the 55 places a person should visit in his lifetime" and "the most beautiful starry sky in China", but whether you can see the beauty of the sky mirror depends on your character. Generally, in the morning and evening when the rain is over and the sun is shining, you can only be lucky enough to see it when the weather is calm.

After the train arrived at the end, we got out of the car with our necks curled up. The lake was so white that we couldn't see any reflections. After taking a few simple photos, it was considered a visit here. We walked back along the road paved by the big salt shop. When we passed the salt sculpture square, we found that the salt sculpture here had melted and fell off because it was not maintained in time. It looks like it took 2 or 3 hours to visit the scenic spot thoroughly, but we only spent less than 1.5 hours to get out.

After leaving Chaka Salt Lake, we set off for Delingha.

The reason why Delingha is famous is due to a poem "Sister, I am in Delingha tonight" written by the famous poet Haizi in 1988.

Sister, tonight I am in Delingha, the night is shrouded

Sister, I only have Gobi tonight

At the end of the grassland, my hands are empty

Can't hold a single teardrop in grief

Sister, tonight I am in Delingha

This is a desolate city in the rain

except those who pass and live

Delingha... tonight

This is the only, final, lyrical.

This is the only, last, prairie.

i give stone back stone

let victory win

Tonight the highland barley belongs only to him

everything is growing

Tonight I only have the beautiful Gobi, empty

Sister, I don't care about humans tonight, I only want you.

The loneliness and despair revealed in the poem are still moving to read.

The Keluke Lake Tourist Area is dozens of kilometers away from Delingha, including two lakes, Keluke Lake and Tuosu Lake. The two lakes are called lovers’ lakes. The lake is a freshwater lake, while Tuosu Lake is a saltwater lake. Keluke Lake is rich in fish and shrimp, among which the Chinese hairy crab is famous.

When we were strolling by the lake, we saw many people fishing by the lake, but their catches were all crabs, which shows that there are many crabs in the lake.

The lake is covered with reeds, and it is also beautiful against the blue sky and white clouds.

This is the sculpture of the legend of the lovers of the two lakes.

After coming out of Keluke Lake, we did not go to Tuosu Lake, nor did we go to the alien ruins next to it, but the Qiulin on both sides of the road attracted us.

Next, we headed to Dachaidan Town, where we will stay today. The navigation settings pass through Xiaochaidan Lake. Although it takes dozens of kilometers, the scenery of Xiaochaidan Lake is definitely worth the extra time and fuel costs.

When the navigation approached Xiaochaidan Lake, we all opened our eyes wide, looking for the gap in the fence mentioned in the guide, so that we could drive the car off the highway and drive to the lake. The hard work paid off, and we finally discovered this gap when we were approaching the navigation target.

Xiaochaidan Lake is a saltwater lake. You can see the white salt-alkali beside the lake. People walk up it like walking on rice crust. Every step you take, you can hear the sound of salt-alkali cracking under your feet.

The lake is blue and blue, and there are water birds living on the lake. We drove the car to the lake and took a nice photo of it as a backdrop.

After coming out of Xiaochaidan Lake, the car drove around the lake for a further distance and found that the scenery was beautiful, so we stopped and opened the double jump to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

The next road to Emerald Lake can be described as a bouncy car. Not long after the car passed Dachaidan Town, it drove onto a gravel road full of potholes. The road was full of large and small potholes, and it was almost impossible to avoid them, so we had to drive hard.

When we arrived at the Emerald Lake, we saw that many vehicles had parked by the lake. The time was around six o'clock in the evening, and the light was just right, suitable for taking pictures.

Emerald Lake is a part of Dachaidan Lake. It was originally a mining area formed by mining salt lakes. Under the influence of mineral concentration, the color is sometimes emerald green and sometimes sky blue. If the weather is clear, this beautiful lake becomes a crystal clear "land of the sky".

Although the wind is still blowing, because the Emerald Lake is composed of small ponds, you can still see the effect of the mirror of the sky, making up for the regret we left in Chaka Salt Lake.

Emerald Lake has not yet been developed into a tourist attraction, so there is no entrance fee, but relying on the word of mouth of tourists, it has gathered considerable popularity here. Rolled to almost black.

We wandered here until the sunset and Xishan reluctantly left.

In the evening, I stayed at Chujian Apartment in Dachaidan Town. This is a family hotel remodeled from two bedrooms and one living room. In the master bedroom, there is a wedding photo of the young couple. The hostess was very reassuring to us, and let us just close the door when we left the next day. Of course, we can't do things without quality. Dinner was kang pot beef in a restaurant in the town. The fried potatoes in it were very delicious, but in the end they were not enough to eat, and everyone even picked up mutton skewers.

On the morning of the 9th, we set off early to go to Nanbaxian Yadan in Qinghai. The reason why it is called Nanbaxian is that in the 1950s, 8 female geological team members lost their way here and died. The beach was renamed Nanbaxian.

Going to the Xisha line where the Southern Eight Immortals pass, the road extends straight on the Gobi Desert, with no end in sight at a glance. Of course, we must not forget to show off.

After arriving at the Yadan landform set by the navigation, I saw that there was no scene in other people's pictures around me, so I drove off the road and drove into the Gobi Desert. The vast Gobi Desert is full of ruts driven by cars. After we drove along a wider rut for a short period of time, we had to give up and return to the road due to scratches on the chassis.

On the way back to the Liuge Expressway, we saw a good view on the hillside by the side of the road, so we stopped and climbed up the saline-alkali-covered hillside to take a few photos.

The following Liuge Expressway, known as the most beautiful highway in China, is indeed a first-class scenery. Driving has become a kind of enjoyment, and the speed of the car has increased without knowing it. Although the speed is super fast, the driving control of the vehicle is normal, and there is no feeling of drifting. The road conditions are really good, the road is flat and straight, the view is wide, and there are no other vehicles.

After turning over Dangjin Mountain, I originally planned to go to the filming base of the movie "Nine-story Demon Tower", but who knew that the navigation brought us to Zhuanjing Town, Boluo. After asking, I found out that more than 20 kilometers had passed. It should be set as the old county seat. In order to hurry up, we had to give up this missed scenic spot.

At the beginning of 3:00 pm, we arrived at the foot of Mingsha Mountain. First, we found the reserved on-the-road theme inn in the village, put down our luggage, and walked to the Mingsha Mountain Crescent Spring Scenic Spot not far away.

There is a bend of clear spring, with lingering ripples, as green as emerald. The spring is in the quicksand, which is quite strange because it never dries up in drought, and the sand does not fall when the wind blows. Crescent Lake is said to be a tourist attraction in the Han Dynasty. The reason why Crescent Lake has not been buried by yellow sand for thousands of years is because of the unique terrain of Mingsha Mountain, which allows the wind to blow from bottom to top, and the yellow sand keeps moving from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain. This also caused another spectacle, that is, no matter how many tourists left footprints on Mingsha Mountain the day before, they all disappeared without a trace the next morning.

Visiting Mingsha Mountain, you can ride a camel, 100 yuan per person, we chose to hike, or rent the shoe covers provided by the scenic spot, 15 yuan a pair, we did not rent, because the big deal is that the shoes are filled with sand and then poured out.

I walked around the Crescent Spring in a big circle, but I still couldn’t find the best angle for photography. I don’t know why, it may be that in order to protect the Crescent Spring, the surrounding area of ​​the spring was blocked with ropes to prevent tourists from approaching.

We sat and waited for about an hour by the Mingyue Pavilion promenade by the Crescent Lake, and then began to climb Mingsha Mountain, preparing to take pictures of the sunset.

There is a rope ladder in the sand that leads directly to the top of the mountain, so it is not particularly strenuous to climb. After climbing to the top of the sand mountain, I found that there is another universe on it. There are entertainment items such as sand boarding, beach motorcycles and off-road vehicles.

The wind on the top of the mountain is very strong. When tourists walk by, the sand brought up is blown all over their bodies and faces. It is said that Mingsha Mountain is a good place to watch the sunset, but according to my observation, because the sand mountain in front is very high and blocks the sunset, it is not ideal for shooting.

As the saying goes, "Going up the mountain is easy and going down the mountain is difficult", but in Mingsha Mountain, it is easy to go down the mountain and it is difficult to go up the mountain. Because when going up the mountain, you climb one step and down half a step, but when you go down the mountain, you take one step and then down half a step, so it is particularly labor-saving.

The seemingly steep sand hill takes less than two minutes to walk to the foot of the mountain with big strides. All four of us tried the thrill of rushing down from the top of the mountain, which was really enjoyable.

However, it took some effort to pour the sand in the shoes at the foot of the mountain.

In the process of walking out, seeing the sunset and the scene of the camel returning is very poetic.

In the evening, I planned to go to the famous Dunhuang Shazhou Night Market to have dinner. I was afraid that there would be no place to park, so I called Didi Taxi, but after a long time, no one took the order, so I had no choice but to drive there by myself. After the navigation set up the parking lot, it was hard Scalp drove over, but fortunately, after arriving at the night market, I happened to find a parking lot for a unit on the side of the road.

Dunhuang Night Market is currently divided into old and new, and the two sources of tourists are obviously different, one is bustling, and the other is empty. We ate the famous apricot skin water at Pinyuan Noodle Restaurant, which was sweet and sour, very refreshing. We ordered radish and mutton dumplings, which tasted weird.

On the morning of the 10th, we got up and went to the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes Digital Exhibition Center to catch up with the Mogao Grottoes at the earliest 8:00 today. Since we booked tickets online one month in advance, we visited the normal process of eight physical caves and two movies.

After watching two movies, we took the bus to Mogao Grottoes. In front of the cave, the tour guide gave everyone a headset, and about 30 of us followed the tour guide to visit 8 caves in turn. There are about 50 caves in Mogao Grottoes that are open all year round, and the caves that each tour guide leads tourists to visit are different, so although there are many people, they are in order.

The Mogao Grottoes were first built in the pre-Qin period of the Sixteen Kingdoms. After the construction of the Sixteen Kingdoms, Northern Dynasties, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Xixia, Yuan and other dynasties, they formed a huge scale, with 735 caves and 45,000 square meters of murals. , 2,415 clay colored sculptures, it is the largest and richest Buddhist art site in the world, ranking first among the four major grottoes in my country.

Before visiting the grottoes, General Tie guards the door. The tour guide opens it after he arrives, and locks it after he leaves. There is no lighting in the cave, and it all depends on the tour guide's cold light. In order to protect cultural relics, photography is prohibited in the cave.

There were originally murals painted outside the Mogao Grottoes, but they are still vaguely discernible. Under many murals, there are murals from the previous dynasty, layered on top of each other. Because of the special geographical location, there is no place for later generations to build grottoes, so the original murals can only be painted out and repainted.

After coming out of the Mogao Grottoes, we also visited the exhibition of cultural relics of the Tibetan Scripture Cave. The cultural relics of the Tibetan Scripture Cave have been plundered by the great powers, and there are very few left. The history of the Mogao Grottoes is like the inscription inside, which is a history of blood and tears of the Chinese nation. .

In the Mogao Grottoes area, the small garden scenery here is also very tastefully designed.

Before we left, we also visited the Dunhuang Cultural Relics Exhibition Center. The cultural relics inside were obviously exotic due to the geographical location of Dunhuang on the ancient Silk Road. There are also 8 caves that are replicated one-to-one, which can make up for the lack of tourists visiting the physical caves.

After coming out of Mogao Grottoes, we continue to Jiayuguan. When passing by the rest area in Guazhou, I found that there are a lot of vendors selling fruits here. It is worthy of being called Guazhou. The cantaloupe we bought is sweet and fragrant.

When we arrived at Jiayuguan, it was close to 5 o'clock in the afternoon. Jiayuguan is located in the middle of a narrow valley. The city walls on both sides of the city pass cross the Gobi desert. Historically, it was known as the Throat of Hexi. Because of its dangerous terrain and majestic buildings, it is known as the most majestic pass in the world and the key to the border. Jiayuguan is the transportation fortress of the ancient "Silk Road", known as one of the three wonders of the Great Wall of China (Shanhaiguan in the east, Zhenbeitai in the middle, and Jiayuguan in the west).

In the early Ming Dynasty, Song Guogong and General Feng Sheng chose the central part of the Hexi Corridor on the way of his triumphant return. It is connected to Jiuquan in the east, Yumen in the west, Heishan in the north, and the throat of Qilian in the south - the west foot of Jiayuyuan. Build customs. Guancheng was built in 1372 (the fifth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty). It is the starting point of the west end of the Great Wall in the Ming Dynasty. It is the most spectacular and well-preserved ancient military castle along the Great Wall in the Ming Dynasty.

In ancient times, after leaving Jiayuguan, it was the vast Gobi, saying goodbye to the homeland of the Central Plains and entering a wild land.

We took a symbolic step out of Jiayuguan and passed through the customs. After leaving the customs, stand on the high Gobi desert around and see the magnificent momentum of Jiayuguan. Under the setting sun, the city of Guancheng seems to be shining with golden light.

After leaving Jiayuguan, we went to the Cantilevered Great Wall. Here and Jiayuguan are pass tickets, no need to buy tickets again. The cantilevered Great Wall seems to be a fake historical site that was later imitated. Because of the high terrain, the three of them gave up halfway up the climb, and I was the only one who insisted on climbing to the top of the mountain.

Tonight, we stayed at Silk Road Huayu Chain Hotel in Jiayuguan. This is the most cost-effective hotel in our itinerary. It only costs 77 yuan per room, which is really cheap.

At 5:30 in the morning on the 11th, we set off to the Jinta Populus euphratica Forest Scenic Area, 80 kilometers away, to start our autumn feast.

You can drive in the scenic spot by car, but the fee is 30 yuan, which is cheaper than taking a battery car in the scenic spot. We went straight to Jinbo Lake.

When I arrived at Jinbo Lake, I was amazed at the first sight. A large area of ​​artificially planted Populus euphratica forest has golden leaves. Against the blue sky and lake water, it is as bright and bright as the sun. It is really a golden armor all over the city.

There are flocks of white geese swimming in Jinbo Lake, facing the morning glow, it seems to have the feeling of evening when shooting.

There are many tourists around, and many women wear brightly colored clothes, posing with heads high, and they have become the scenery in other people's cameras.

After we took a photo around Jinbo Lake, we walked to the dry land next to it. The Populus euphratica forest here is also very beautiful and has a unique scenery.

The shadow of Populus euphratica forest reflected in the lake is very beautiful. After shooting, I simply shot the reflection. Does it have a dreamy feeling?

After wandering in the Populus euphratica forest for more than two hours, we left and rushed to Ejina.

Before 4 o'clock in the afternoon, we came to the Ejina Heicheng Ruoshui Populus euphratica Forest Scenic Spot. Here is really a sea of ​​people. There are three floors in the line waiting for the transportation vehicle in the scenic spot, and it is hard to get on the bus and go to the ruins of the black city.

The ruins of Heicheng have been rebuilt, without the taste of the ancient city, and several famous ancient pagodas are also being rebuilt, and the towers painted with brand new white paint in the sun look nondescript.

The Ruoshui River under the city wall looks peaceful and blue, very beautiful.

After visiting around, we took the scenic traffic bus to Populus euphratica Forest Scenic Area. Different from the Populus euphratica forest in Jinta, the Populus euphratica forest here is all wild, which looks more desolate and simple. I climbed up and down to take a lot of pictures of Populus euphratica.

At around 6:10 in the evening, we are going to go to the strange forest scenic spot to take pictures of the strange forest in the sunset. Due to the large number of people in the scenic spot today, even though the traffic cars were dispatched one after another, we still spent more than an hour waiting for the traffic cars. By the time we arrived at the strange forest, the sun had completely set and the sky was basically completely dark. Unwilling to give up, I walked into the strange forest against the flow of people, and barely took a few silhouettes of the dead Populus euphratica forest. Against the crescent moon, I still had some taste.

Tonight, we stayed at the Ejina Banner Populus euphratica Warm Home. This is also a renovated inn with two bedrooms and one living room. The decoration is relatively new and the facilities are complete. Since this is the only place we stayed for two days in this trip, So everyone was busy washing clothes at night, asked the landlord for laundry detergent, and threw all the accumulated dirty clothes into the drum washing machine and stirred them up.

The room rate is 550 yuan per night, which is the most expensive accommodation on our itinerary. According to the landlord, fortunately, we have booked it a month in advance, otherwise the current price must be more than this.

On the morning of the 12th, we hiked to the Populus euphratica Forest Scenic Spot not far away. There are a total of 8 bridges to visit in the Ejina Populus euphratica Forest Scenic Area. The Populus euphratica Forest Scenic Area is very large, so you need to set aside a whole day to visit it. We first started to visit from the first bridge. I was attracted by the sunshine in the desert before entering the scenic spot. Under the backlight conditions, the silhouettes of Populus euphratica forest and camels are still very attractive to shoot.

Then go to the Reflection Forest of Erdaoqiao. The leaves of the Populus euphratica forest here have almost fallen, and we have missed the best viewing time. Because the age of the trees in the Populus euphratica forest varies from high to low, and the leaves fall first and then, so although most of the Populus euphratica forest has fallen back to its roots , but there are still many Populus euphratica with golden leaves, especially the Populus euphratica forest near the water. The leaves are basically intact, and the golden leaves are reflected in the water.

Populus euphratica forest has a strong vitality. It is said that "it will not die if you live for a thousand years, it will not fall for a thousand years after death, and it will not die for a thousand years after you fall." On the upper and lower levels of the same poplar tree crown, there are different shapes of leaves and twigs. The leaves on the top are like willow leaves; the leaves of the mature branches become oval or triangular, just like birch;

After coming out of No. 2 Bridge, we took a bus to No. 7 Bridge. There is shallow water here. The fly in the ointment is that the leaves of Populus euphratica forest have basically fallen.

After a quick visit, we drove to the Badain Jaran Desert with 8 bridges.

The Badaoqiao Desert Landscape Raiders said that it is suitable for sightseeing in the sunset, but learning the lesson of waiting for the bus yesterday, we came to the Badaoqiao Scenic Area to check out the spots in advance. If the scenery and time permit, it is not bad to come again before the sun sets.

The Badain Jaran Desert is not as imposing as the Mingsha Mountain. The sand dunes are generally not high or steep, and it is easy to climb to the top of the sand dunes.

At the top of the dunes, I switched to a telephoto lens and captured a picture of the oasis in the distance.

There are deserts, and camels are indispensable. Although there are not as many camels in Mingsha Mountain, there are still camel teams traveling around the sand dunes from time to time.

After getting out of the 8th Bridge, we took a car to the 4th Bridge Scenic Area. The car stopped at the Folk Custom Garden to drop off the passengers. Because we didn’t make a detailed guide, we didn’t get off the bus in time, so we missed the visit to the 5th and 6th Bridges.

The scenery guide of the 4th Bridge is said to be the most important thing, but because of aesthetic fatigue, we can no longer find her unique beauty, and it feels that the scenery seen in the front is not bad.

Since it was still early, we decided to walk from the 4th bridge to the 3rd bridge. The 3rd bridge is mainly the desert red willow scenic spot. At present, the red willow has not completely turned red, so there is nothing particularly attractive to play.

At the entrance of the third bridge, there are scenic spot staff responsible for checking tickets, and the scenery at the bridgehead looks good. After walking a few steps, some herdsmen’s free-range camels were eating leaves and branches, and we photographed them curiously.

After returning to Erdaoqiao, this is also a more suitable place to shoot sunsets, so we decided not to go to Eighth Daoqiao, and waited for the sunset here. While waiting for the sunset, we saw a group of women in brightly dressed clothes taking vibrato videos , Douyin is really popular recently.

Around 18:20, the last rays of afterglow cast on the branches of Populus euphratica forest, dyeing the branches golden.

The sun has finally set, and the sky is a blush, perfect for shooting silhouettes.

Today, I walked more than 30,000 steps, and walked more than 20 kilometers in total, ranking first in the circle of WeChat friends. After leaving the gate of the scenic spot, my wife couldn't continue walking anymore, so I took a taxi and returned to the inn.

At 5 o'clock in the morning on the 13th, we checked out on time and set off for Zhangye.

Driving in the dark night, the spirit is highly nervous, because many drivers on the opposite side have their high beams on, so they can't see the road clearly at all.

When it was on and on, a red glow appeared in the sky, and the red glow became redder and redder, and finally the sun finally burst out.

With sharp eyes, I found camels in the Gobi Desert, so I put on a long lens and took a few shots. As we drove on, a hunchback appeared again by the muddy roadside.

Today's weather is cloudy, it doesn't look very clear, it's gray, I originally planned to hurry up and go to the Colorful Danxia Scenic Area, but after checking the weather conditions, I decided to go to the Pingshan Lake Grand Canyon Scenic Area first, and then go to the Colorful Danxia Scenic Area tomorrow morning .

At around 1:00 p.m., we successfully arrived at the Pingshan Lake Grand Canyon Scenic Spot and took the scenic spot bus to the Grand Canyon.

Pingshan Lake Grand Canyon is one of the most beautiful landscapes in Zhangye Landform Landscape Grand View Garden! It has been praised by "Chinese Geographic Magazine" and well-known Chinese and foreign geological experts and tourists as "comparable to Zhangjiajie", "comparable to the Grand Canyon of Colorado", and a new discovery on the Silk Road!

We walked down the steep steps to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, where there are many unique traces of wind and water erosion, many of which are very peculiar like Buddhist shrines.

It takes about 3 hours to walk all the tour routes on foot. After we came out of the Grand Canyon, we went to stay in Zhangye City and went to the famous Ganzhou Night Market for dinner in the evening.

First of all, I ate the famous Zhangye specialty fish noodles. The noodles are hand-kneaded into thin strips. It is probably because the shape of the noodles is thick like a small fish in the middle, so it is called fish noodles. It is my favorite type. After coming out of the fish noodle restaurant, we grilled a large skewer of squid tendons, ate lamb skewers, and drank sweet yogurt at the end.

In order to ensure that we leave the colorful Danxia scenic spot before 11 noon, we set off on time at 6 o'clock in the morning on the 14th. When we arrived at the north gate of Colorful Danxia Scenic Area, the sun had just risen.

Colorful Danxia is known as one of the "Seven Most Beautiful Danxias in China". Because Zhang Yimou's film "Three Guns Surprise" was filmed in the scenic spot, after the film was released, the colorful Danxia scenic spot became famous and became a tourist attraction visited by domestic and foreign tourists. The Danxia landform group is famous for its large area, concentration, staggered bedding, steep rock walls, majestic momentum, peculiar shape, and colorful colors. There are red, yellow, white, green blue, and the colors have undulating waves along the mountain. There are also some that are inserted from the top of the mountain to the root of the mountain, like a slanted colored cloth. Under the sunlight, it seems to be covered with a layer of red gauze.

We took the scenic traffic car and first visited the No. 2 viewing platform. The best time to visit the colorful Danxia is around sunset in the evening. Since we arrived in the morning, most of the scenery is backed by the sun, and the colors in the backlight are not very bright.

As the sun gradually rises, the color of the Danxia landform gradually becomes brighter. Although it is not comparable to the light and shadow in the evening, it is better than no sunlight.

After visiting Observation Deck No. 2, we then visited Observation Deck No. 1, No. 3 and No. 4 in turn.

On Observation Deck No. 4, the sunlight spreads on the brightly colored land, which is very pleasing to the eye.

After returning to the parking lot from Observation Deck No. 4, it was just over 10:30. We boarded the car and set off to return to downtown Xining.

At around 1:30 in the afternoon, we arrived at Biandukou at the foot of Qilian Mountains and started to cross Qilian Mountains.

Due to the altitude of Qilian Mountain, the mountain is covered with snow, so we inevitably got wild in the snow.

After passing through the Dabanshan Tunnel, which is the highest in Asia, we gradually left the peak of Qilian Mountain and started heading for the valley on the south slope. The autumn colors on both sides of the road are beautiful.

Snow water from the Qilian Mountains flows into the Heiquan Reservoir continuously, and the scenery upstream of the reservoir is also extremely beautiful. Due to the inability to park casually, the open water surface of the reservoir was not photographed.

In the evening before the Shangning Expressway, we had dinner in a small roadside town. Since it was all beef and mutton for the past few days, everyone’s mouths were full of sparks, so we ordered a large plate of chicken at night, and changed the taste. The Pao Zhan noodles that have been eaten but not finished, feel that they are not much different from ordinary noodles.

Before returning to Shenzhou to rent a car, I need to fill up the gas. I searched the gas station along the way on the Baidu map in advance, but when I arrived, I found that the gas station was under renovation and closed. I found another one, and there was a long motorcade lined up at the door, so I had no choice but to move the car slowly patiently.

When I refueled and rushed to Shenzhou to rent a car, it took less than an hour to leave the car. I urged the staff to go through the formalities of returning the car, but the bank credit card could not be recognized. I was so anxious that I ran to the counter and swiped the savings card again. It was successfully completed. At this time, it was less than half an hour before the driving time at 21:05. Fortunately, the car rental point was near the railway station. The ticket was picked up quickly, and boarded the sleeper train back to Nanjing. After 29 hours of bumps, I arrived in Nanjing. , ended a pleasant journey to the Northwest.