When it comes to the most beautiful self-driving road in China, where do you think of? Some friends will recommend National Highway 318 (Sichuan-Tibet Line), which is known as the temple of self-driving. Some friends will also recommend the Duku Highway in Xinjiang, which is a major traffic artery connecting southern Xinjiang and northern Xinjiang. Along the way, Gobi, hills, canyons, snow-capped mountains, grasslands, rivers, and lakes alternately appear, which is really beautiful.
But here, the 315 National Highway that I want to recommend to everyone is actually no worse than the Sichuan-Tibet Line and the Duku Highway, although its reputation is far less than that of the Sichuan-Tibet Line and the Duku Highway, and the tourists who really come here for self-driving travel are not counted. There are many, but the scenic spots along the way are really dense and magical.
National Highway 315 starts from the west of Xining, the capital of Qinghai Province in the east, and ends in Shache County in Kashgar, Xinjiang in the west, so some people also call it the Xisha Line, with a total length of 3063 kilometers. , over the Altun Mountains, across the Qaidam Basin, bypassing Qinghai Lake. Like a black ribbon, it strung together strange natural scenery such as desert, Gobi, saline-alkali flat, saltwater lake, etc. The scenery along the way is picturesque and beautiful.
This national road connects Qinghai and southern Xinjiang. It extends from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to the hinterland of southern Xinjiang. On the way, there are not only the majestic Kunlun and the vast Gobi, but also the Taklamakan Desert, the Altun Mountains, and the magical Qaidam Basin. The scenic spots are dotted all over, Kumbum Monastery, Qinghai Lake, Water Yardang, Delingha Alien Site, Hari Hatu, U-shaped Highway, Xitaijinel Lake, Emerald Lake, Water Yardang, Devil's Eye, Dachaidan Lake wait.
We have not walked the whole road, but we have walked through the section from Golmud in Qinghai to Mangya. There are many beautiful scenery on the way. Here are a few representative scenic spots:
Chaerhan Salt Lake
Chaerhan Salt Lake is not far from the city of Golmud, just on the edge of National Highway 315, and is located in the south of the Qaidam Basin. The salt lake is more than 160 kilometers long from east to west, 20-40 kilometers wide from north to south, and the thickness of the salt layer is about 2-20 meters. , with an area of more than 5,800 square kilometers, almost 56 times that of Chaka Salt Lake. It is the largest natural salt lake and the largest soluble potassium-magnesium salt deposit in China. The salt reserves in it can be used by all people for 1,000 years. The water of the salt lake is as emerald as emerald, which is a good place to take pictures and check in.
U-shaped road
On the way from Golmud to Jinel Lake in Xitai, there is a "U"-shaped road at 757 kilometers away from National Highway 315. In recent years, it has become the most beautiful Internet celebrity road in Qinghai. It looks like a U shape.
Because there are too many people taking pictures here, which caused many traffic accidents, it is now forbidden to stop and take pictures on the road. In order to capture the charm of this road, we tried to use a drone to take aerial photos here, but there was no What I thought of was that during the aerial photography, Yufan and a friend’s drone collided in the air, causing the friend’s drone to fall on the road and disintegrate. It was able to continue flying, but a lot of sand got into it, and then it had to be sent for repairs.
Dongtai Jinel Lake
Continue on through the U-shaped road, and after about an hour and a half, you will come to Dongtai Jinel Lake, which is one of the most popular scenic spots in Qinghai in the past two years. Because of the high copper content, the lake is mint green and sometimes high-grade Tiffany blue, but unfortunately, when we arrived, the beautiful scenery here has disappeared, and what is presented in front of us is the endless Gobi , can only be seen by raising the drone, there is a blue lake far away.
Taijinel Wild Luxury Town
Next to Jinel Lake in Dongtai, there is a wild luxury town in Taijinel, which has projects such as the Lonely Star Gobi Wild Luxury Hotel, Utopia International Self-driving Camp, etc. It is said to be a key cultural tourism project introduced by Qinghai, with an investment of 2.6 billion, including Salt Lake Yardang villas, dome star rooms, luxury RVs, wild luxury tents, etc. are the best tourist transfer stations and rest places in the surrounding area.
Yadan on the water
Going forward, you will find the only water Yardang landform in the world——Wusut Water Yardang. The landform here is strange, mysterious, fantastic and magnificent, and the atmosphere is myriad. It is said that there used to be no water here, but later, due to heavy rains, mountain torrents were caused, and the Nalengele River, which originated in the Kunlun Mountains, was diverted, and the river flooded this area, thus forming the current water Yardang landform.
The small islands on these lakes are in various poses, some are like animals, some are like ships. From a distance, they look like thousands of horses galloping, or like thousands of ships sailing out to sea, which is very magical. If you look down from the air, it is another beautiful scene, like the Qinghai version of the Maldives.
West Taijinel Lake
Not far from Water Yadan and Dongtai Jinel Lake, there is a large salt lake. National Highway 315 passes through the lake, forming a 3-kilometer-long water road that splits the lake in half. What is surprising is the lake on both sides Half blue, half green, very distinct and completely different. Known as "half sea water, half flame", this is the famous Xitai Jiernai Lake.
Mangya Emerald Lake
Mangya Emerald Lake is located in Mangya City, Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai Province, not far from Huatugou in the urban area, just beside National Highway 315. It is a large artificial salt lake with an area of over 40 square kilometers. The lake is as green as emerald. its name. It is adjacent to Kunlun Mountain in the south and Altun Mountain in the north, and has become a popular scenic spot for self-driving tours.
Devil's Eye Aiken Springs
Aiken Spring is not far from Emerald Lake. It also belongs to Mangya City. It is located in Moheer Brook Village, Huatugou Town. It is called "Earth's Eye" or "Devil's Eye". It is a geothermal fountain with an oval shape. There is no grass around the spring and forms a reddish-brown circle. The bubbling spring water is like a huge "eye". When I went there, there was no fire. There were no drones back then, so there were only a few pictures taken on the ground.
Qimantag Desert
This desert is located at the foot of Qimantag Mountain, the remaining branch of the Kunlun Mountains, which is inaccessible. It takes about 2 hours to drive from Huatugou. Because it is inaccessible, even local friends can’t name it. Let’s call it Qimantag here. Desert it. It is not uncommon for some deserts to exist in the vast Gobi Desert in the Qaidam Basin. What is strange is that this desert is surrounded by the Chekelik Grassland with rich water and grass on one side and the towering Kunlun Snow Mountain on the other. In the middle of grasslands and snow-capped mountains.
National Highway 315 is very long, Yufan has not traveled all the way, and there are still many places that have not been visited. Even so, the above-mentioned scenic spots are all good places that people yearn for, so it is comparable to the Sichuan-Tibet line, The Duku Highway is the most beautiful self-driving road in China. It is not an exaggeration at all. If you have the opportunity, you can really experience it yourself.
