——One day in 2019, my friend and the head of the third group were sitting in a Xinjiang barbecue restaurant on Yulin Road, drinking Wusu and eating naan, and the boss handed over a large plate of fresh kebabs. When I mentioned that someone made an appointment to go to Southern Xinjiang, I was very hesitant. After all, the travel cost is not low and it takes a long time. The third group leader asked where to go? I reported only a few that I remembered in the plan, such as Dahai Road, Tarim River and Dali Yabuyi. The three regiment leaders immediately brightened up:
"I have been to Dali Yabuyi with yaks. The origin of the herdsmen there is a mystery. They have been isolated from the world for a hundred years. It was not until 59 that they accidentally learned of their existence. The county ran into the desert to find them and registered them. But the first one to be discovered was the Swede Sven Hedin".
So, the three leaders began to popularize the Swede Sven Hedin and their scientific research stories. The next day I went to the provincial library to find some related books, and for the first time systematically read relevant information such as Lop Nur, Haidao, Loulan, Taklamakan, the 1927 joint scientific expedition documentary, etc. A week later, I told my friends that I would definitely join their October trip.
Have you ever explored places where stories happened in history because of a book? I decided to do this once, that's right, the target is southern border, desert desert no man's land...
(The pictures and videos in this article are partly from my fellow teammates)
Set off
On the evening of October 17, 2019.
The busy Shuangliu Airport has always been a good place to transfer to the western plateau and Xinjiang. At night in the late autumn of October, the airport not far from the center of the city is brightly lit, and there is a constant flow of cars on the ground. I was one of them who hurriedly joined other team members one hour before takeoff, and my image was not good:
With two suitcases in the left hand and a bag in the right hand, with a camera and a tripod on the shoulder, he ran into the security boarding level in the hazy night, and talked on the phone for a long time before boarding and seated, across the motherland In the early morning of the 18th, 4 hours later in the western region, we arrived at Diwopu.
The organizer of the scheduled outdoor business team transferred a few cars to pick up people to a business hotel not far away. I was really tired from the overnight raid. After completing the cumbersome check-in unique to Xinjiang, my travel partner and I went straight " Touch into the room assigned to ", simply wash and fall asleep. I thought that this good night's sleep would only be woken up when the sun was high. When Diu Diu opened the window and let in a strong cold air, accompanied by the exclamation of the southern baby who had never seen snow, it rubbed against me. I also stood in front of the window: Urumqi, the first snow in 2019, was truly presented in front of my eyes.
My trip to Xinjiang has never been smooth. Only in the 18 and 19 years after my resignation did I come to North Xinjiang and South Xinjiang once by chance. Therefore, I am full of expectations for the future itinerary...fantasy.
baggage preparation
October 18, 2019.
In order to save a few dollars, I chose a midnight flight one day earlier. According to the plan, on this extra day, first, I need to wait for teammates from other regions to come to meet up. Second, I have to meet and get to know the teammates who have already arrived. Diudiu and I plan to hurry to the Xinjiang Museum to catch up on cultural knowledge. After all, we are novices in the land of Xinjiang: I am here for the second time, and she is here for the first time. If you don’t have many opportunities to come to Urumqi, the museum is very worth visiting, you can get a lot of common sense, and you can have your own judgment and cognitive basis in the future journey.
In the evening, I was planning to go to the Grand Bazaar, such as a folk dance in the square, but our teammates are basically here. Friends who plan travel routes and invite me to join the group strongly recommend going to a restaurant near the inn to meet with other teammates and business. The team leaders met and recognized their faces.
According to the agreement, the food and lodging needs will be arranged or provided by the leader of the group or purchased in a unified manner, and the individual will add a little bit that is inconvenient and necessary to carry from thousands of miles. On the day of departure, I found that many teammates had bought brand-new cotton quilts and stacked them on the back pockets of the two Raptors in the convoy.
I seem to have misunderstood something...
Camp at Nurga Canyon
October 19, 2019.
The team did not choose the morning for departure, and I didn’t understand the specific reason. In short, it took some time to wait in the room, and it took some time to cooperate with several master drivers to stuff a huge amount of luggage and some photography equipment into the seemingly impossible. in a limited number of vehicles. After a simple lunch, pass through the living area after the airport and get on the expressway to Changji. The goal: Nurga Canyon, the place where "The Great Qin Empire" was once filmed.
Many canyon photography enthusiasts who come to Xinjiang may have been to Anjihai, but they may not have been to Nurga. This place is bare and desolate, with ravines and precipices, numerous mountains, and rich soil surface colors. It is close to the city, and it is only two hours past Urumqi. The team leader proudly said that there was an "exclusive exclusive" camp, and led the team into the depths of the valley, throwing the car on the high hill, and pointing back to the bottom of the valley passing down the slope: tonight Camp below...
"Then what are you doing here?"
When you see the beautiful scenery for the first time, as long as you have a mobile phone in your hand, you will definitely be eager to try and excited. You can shoot me and I will shoot you. After a short walk with Diudiu and the two sisters in the same car, I thought we should go down to the campsite to help with the logistics. At that time, Diudiu and I had no idea that the companion who was changed to another car group because he didn’t smoke, and the driver who changed the car with us in Nurga because of some professional photography needs of others, started with 5 people in a car The joyful "doing chores" experience of the entire trip runs through the entire itinerary from beginning to end.
The advantage of the business group is that they will prepare a lot of outdoor supplies for customers, such as tents needed for camping, a large tent with green canvas for more than 20 people, more than ten small tents for two people, and a gas stove with pots and pans A full set of bits and pieces, and the silver raptor of the little lady who is the deputy team leader has been changed to dual fuel of CNG and crude oil, which can be connected to gas for cooking and cooking. If there are many people in the group, it is necessary for the big guys to help in order to successfully complete the cumbersome process of setting up camp, burying pots and cooking, and pulling out camps. More than 60% of the teammates in the team have traveled with this business group to Xinjiang for many times. They are familiar with the characteristics of the group. Even I was poisoned by friends who poisoned, raised grass and recruited me as early as August. Lop Nur artisans cook barbecue in the naan pit, so for this long-awaited dish, I have to work hard to do all kinds of chores within my ability.
Busy until late at night, only the camp lights in the silent valley radiated light for a certain distance. Many teammates who had enough food and drink went back to the camp to rest first. The small bench listens to the people who are a little bit drunk taking turns knocking on the cup to transmit sound and brag about the calf, telling stories about heroes who recall the past. The distant mountains are dotted with splendor and splendor. Maybe it’s been a long time since I’ve entered the life in the sky, maybe the beautiful scenery and delicious food have ignited the beautiful longing for the distance, even though I brought the wrong sleeping bag this night (a bad guy in the team at the stage of preparing materials at home emphasized to me that a sleeping bag of 0-10 degrees is enough) Well, I mistakenly believed her words and really only brought 0-degree down. However, even the later Southern Xinjiang wilderness required at least minus 10-degree sleeping bags. I understood why those teammates who had traveled back and forth many times before departure from Urumqi Everyone will buy a cotton quilt) It was hard to sleep because of the cold, I still wrote in the memo on my mobile phone tremblingly: The first day of traveling with my group and teammates went smoothly.
The night in the frontier wilderness is really cold, the low temperature makes me seem to overlook something...
(Nurga Canyon under the afterglow of the setting sun, the dry autumn is not very transparent)
(The industrious little bee works hard and eats deliciously)
Mirage of Kumtag
October 20, 2019.
The clock in Xinjiang is "slow", and you can sleep late and wake up late, even if the bed is not warm, it is a reason to be lazy. I rolled over in a thin sleeping bag, and I refused to go out to see the colorful lights of sunrise even though the "best photography madman" Lady Moonlight shouted eagerly outside the tent. Of course, the consequence is that we missed 100% the excitement of how the goat driver in the mountains drove his flock with difficulty and almost knocked over the big tent of our camp.
Until the sun couldn't find where it had gone, the rest of the sleep-loving people woke up and packed their luggage in an orderly manner. After breakfast, everyone cleaned up the camp carefully, and everything returned to the way it was when we first arrived yesterday.
The craftsman recommended by the team leader that there is a reservoir nearby. The depth of the canyon is comparable to that of Anjihai. You can watch and shoot before leaving. This kind of temptation was very popular with the old mages, so they turned over the tall and short mountain bags, bounced the people in the car up to the top of the car, and then fell down, and the wheels rolled up the dust and scattered their hooves.
Looking at the lack of water in the reservoir, there is still a long block. Most of the teammates got off the car and walked to take a detour to take pictures of the spectacle. I just took a chance to ask Yueguang who planned this route for consultation: What is our itinerary?
Moonlight was a little depressed. She said that she had told me several times that she was going to southern Xinjiang. However, for a person like me who is a complete novice to Xinjiang, how could I remember what she had to say after a day until I visited it in person? A string of place names full of exotic features, anyway, follow along, she can't sell me alone. But at any rate, I understand that Nurga is an additional stop, and it will be an extra stamp for the team members who have repeatedly traveled to Xinjiang after checking in in Dushanzi, Anjihai and other canyons.
Going out of Nurga, we have to turn back and go to Osaka City Shanshan, and Kumtag is the starting point we are going to. There is no words to rush all the way, but: never underestimate the difficulty of the team, it is almost dark when you arrive in Kumtag, don't mention the mirage, just be careful not to fall into the sand trap. Going back to Shanshan quickly, looking for a hotel to wash up and rest is serious.
Mysterious Sea Road (1) (2)
October 21, 2019.
(1) First experience in the desert
Shanshan is a county seat, if you don't think about history books and historical novels. Of course, for the few of us who came to the Frontier Basin from an inland basin, it still has many places that make us feel rare, such as grapes, cantaloupe, oil and mines.
Stayed comfortably in a hotel for one night, had a normal dinner, realized Diu Diu’s wish, went to a nearby farmer’s market, bought a cantaloupe that was out of season, bought a few bunches of grapes that are not fresh, and provided for the rest of life Add some.
A car of senior photographers went to a nearby park to shoot the subject of camel dunes in the morning light. Most of the people in the group turned back to the location of the mirage scenic spot in Kumtag again, and walked along the several grape air-drying houses that were not clearly seen last night after dark. I can really see the looming sea in the distance of the desert, but it is not, just a false refraction phantom.
This place is a favorite place for outdoor drivers in Urumqi. The modified two-wheeled, three-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles rush into the desert from time to time. We are new here, and the car is not our own. We step on the sand dunes on the edge of the desert to protect ourselves from the sun, take a picture of our shape, and use it as an upcoming desert crossing experience.
When you don’t want to expect anything, there is a 80% chance that you will get something by accident. We entertained ourselves and took pictures while waiting for the senior photographers to return. We saw a wonderful sand washing performance, which originated from strangers...
(2) Haidao, here we come
The carload of people from the subject shooting came back a little later. While waiting, a car of friends from Henan, the team leader craftsman, has traveled more than half of China with a full set of equipment. Next, we will join our not-so-small team, and drive together to the road with countless legends and anecdotes. The Great Way of Things—a place that many people yearn for. When I was free, I read a lot of information on the Internet, and the more I read, the more I "planted grass", and it was because of this that I was persuaded by the moonlight to come to participate in this long desert journey.
The process of our getting off the Hami Expressway and entering Haidao was not particularly smooth. The road full of gravel made the convoys farther apart from each other. Mr. Ma accidentally blew a tire while running behind the convoy, and there was no spare tire! The replaceable spare tire was on the front car of the convoy, which happened to be a place with no signal, so I had to go to another car to catch up with the front car to get the spare tire.
After going back and forth, the car was repaired and started again. After twists and turns for a long time, I finally saw the wind-eroded marine sedimentary rocks. After passing by a dust-laden horse from the hometown of Sichuan A, one pile after another was huge. Yardang "architectures" with vivid shapes and resembling dilapidated palaces followed one after another. So far, the best way for the road ahead is to open Aowei and move forward according to the trajectory. Of course, most of the time, it is still according to the command of the team leader craftsman, to the place where they often go with the group.
In front of the wonderful scene, some people are busy climbing high, some people are busy taking aerial photos, but it is a pity that we have not had time to cheer. Seeing the bright and good weather, the face changes in an instant, and we come from the bustling place, but it is a pity that we are late after dusk. With a sigh, go back to the camp and make arrangements for tonight's board and lodging, and then consider night shooting and Chaoyang.
However, this is not a calm night. The Dahai Road, which was shrouded in darkness, really told us, this ancient silk road that started in the Han Dynasty and was gradually abandoned due to the harsh environment, what is the harsh environment!
The lights in the camp were brightly white, and most of the people went out to create with their cameras. Weiwei and the other beauties sat around the charcoal stove and learned how to kebab. A number of red-labeled Wusu, on the dining table made of simple tables, the leftover paper bowls and paper cups are gathered in the center to sit in a row, and one person and two bottles of NSNM drink by themselves with the skewers, and listen to the craftsmen chatting about the story of breaking into Lop Nur , the past years of ups and downs, desert wilderness, and survival of the fittest, such as how Yang Liuchun, who was walking in Qiangtang, found the food in the broken car he abandoned, so that he could continue his life and continue his journey. At the exciting place, a strange wind whirled without warning, and everyone hurriedly stopped the cups in their hands, picked up and piled up the easy-to-fly things with heavy objects, and suddenly heard someone startled in the big tent. Huh, the edge of the tent was blowing up, so I quickly picked up stones and shoveled soil to re-press the skirt of the tent. Unfortunately, the sand was full of hands and I didn’t have time to wipe it off, and the small tents that were not firmly nailed to the ground were blown up and collapsed by the wind. Running and running... The strong wind drove almost all the teammates who were shooting nearby back to help. Everyone gathered firewood and made flames, and it took half an hour to restore the camp to a stable appearance.
Diudiu and I came back from a symbolic wash under the simple conditions, and found that our car was gone. We asked why: the tent set up by the two handsome guys who helped drive the car was taken by someone in the team. It’s not easy to argue , simply drove the car to other places outside the camp and directly lived in the car...
Hey, this is really hard to say.
Go on in the desert
October 22, 2019.
(1) Treasure hunt
At night, a dozen or so women crowded into the big tent, lying on the ground through two layers of cushions, and could almost hear the movement of sand running. Sister Four Leaf Clover shook my exaggeratedly thin down sleeping bag, shook her head and sighed, then completely unzipped her super thick down sleeping bag and made it into a thick quilt, covering me in half, and covered her daughter's filial oversized The pure velvet scarf made into a long pillow is also divided in half for me. It was a warm and grateful night, and I slept so well that in the morning, when the moonlight beckoned me to go out to take pictures of the sunrise, I continued to refuse decisively, and I wanted to continue to yearn for the warmth of the duvet.
The weather on this day was poor, because the team decided to strictly follow the planned itinerary and would not stay for another day to wait for the weather to change. After hearing about it, Diudiu and I rushed out before breakfast and quickly browsed the "Natural Park" with a radius of 300 meters near the camp. building". I was just happy to be called to stop, but I sincerely thank the handsome guy Guo in our car. He occasionally caught a glimpse of the photographers on the way back to the camp, and even the people in the car didn’t see who the two silly girls were. When I felt that I was not in the same team as my teammates, in line with the principle that outdoor people in Xinjiang are different from others: no man's land resolutely does not ignore any living people who run orders. After returning to the camp, I drove out and "picked up" the two of us back. Although neither of us would really get lost here.
Leaving the camp near the pagoda, the long convoy marched at the bottom of the super open dry riverbed between the huge rocks on both sides. It was desolate, isolated, uneasy...all the adjectives that can be found in the story books of the Western Regions can be applied. In Journey to the West, Master Tang died in Tongtianhe while learning scriptures. Among them, Tongtianhe, where Monk Sha was subdued, is probably here?
On the way, I passed by the Esquesial ruins of Devil City, sweeping away the rare human presence, there are many tourists here. The itinerary of the team is to get off here to "sing". Fortunately, we ignored the itinerary under the leadership of the group members who had been here, and got off the car directly to visit the "Sanjianwu" ruins opposite the rest area, without leaving a single point Pity. Satisfied, we left the crowd and continued our lonely mileage, and walked south again into the desolate and empty desert, and there were occasional small car traps. Passing a certain black gravel river beach, while the team leader and many great drivers were tossing about the problem of getting stuck in the car, Miss Xia and Mika, who could recognize the precious stones, instantly became the "golden" consultants for a large group of us to "make a fortune" dream, Counting the steps, pulling the ground under your feet, burying your head in treasure hunting, and then happily seeking the consultant's negation. It seems that every tourist from the mainland will fall in love with this strange activity, even though they may not hold even a decent opal in their hands at the end, they pat the sand and leave with a smile like a 200-jin child.
(Group treasure hunting, picking up stones, the process is more important than the result)
Xiti Sandstorm in Xiaonan Lake, Level 10+
From the afternoon of October 22, 2019 to the 23rd.
Our next goal is to stay overnight in Xiaonan Lake, not the Lop Nur that we mistakenly thought before (I will believe what others say casually). Strictly speaking, the place where the satellite cloud image shows a big ear is far away from our current location. ), looking around the desolate and uninhabited surroundings, according to the team leader, if you go to Lop Nur, it will only be more desolate.
During the journey to Xiaonanhu, the car got stuck and the towing business was frequent. The whole convoy drove carefully, but tried to minimize the wasted time of parking, because they didn’t want to arrive at the camp too late. However, the troublesome natural astronomical phenomenon of Xiaonan Lake still did not let us go. The flowing sand with a height of more than one meter was neatly arranged like an attacking camp, sweeping quickly by the wind, and howling. When I was young, I heard the geography teacher talk about Taklamakan Lop Nur, and quicksand, flying sand, and sand dunes, which are as far away as heavenly books. When I really come to the scene on this day, I understand in seconds: touch sand to form soldiers, and the power of nature is formed in the desert. times terrible.
Xiaonan Lake is known as the Holy Land of old photography masters. It was probably bluffed by the sand blasts that met many times along the road. When we arrived at the beautiful first scenic spot, we and the other two-car group members started to retreat and tried to talk to the leader. Discussion: Can we give up the camping plan at Xiaonan Lake tonight and go out to stay in Hami, and come back tomorrow to continue shooting and playing. Of course, the leader, who is extremely persistent and stubborn about outdoor life, did not agree. They have experienced similar situations many times, and they don't think there is anything to be afraid of. After a short rest and shooting, the convoy rushed to the Yardang landform, with rich shapes like bamboo shoots inserted on the sand surface like a labyrinth, and stopped at a large flat and wide bunker with a low height of 1 or 2 meters. Under the two or three natural Yadan "Zhaobi", there are indeed traces of camping many times, and a lonely local dog hid temporarily because of the arrival of the convoy (I didn't ask how this dog came to Xiaonan Lake, Xinjiang friends said most The incoming convoy will leave some food for it).
Looking at the sandy ground, I realized that there were rocks under the shallow layer of sand when I set up the camp and nailed the ground, and it was difficult to fix the tent properly. Relying on the stone wall to barely set up the big and small camp tents, during which some quarrels occurred unexpectedly. Teammates from all over the world had different demands and understandings, but the disadvantage of asymmetrical exchange of information could be regarded as a conflict broke out, a little chaos After that, as the deputy team leader greeted the most important thing in no man's land to help wash vegetables and cook, it slowly calmed down. I'm the only unlucky bastard trying to be a good person and do good deeds, with one index finger I got a little harm in the conflict, I don't have to do anything, I stay up late into the night, rubbing against the warm duvet of Sister Clover, sleep, sleep, wake up It's gone.
However, there are obviously one and two lessons that the desert has to teach us.
The sound of the wind outside the tents fluctuated, and the sleepy bugs slowly attacked every tent. Suddenly, the wind outside suddenly intensified, even mixed with some sharp sounds. "Crack", the strong iron pipe in the center of the big tent slowly hit me and my partner next to me. Before the feeling of "no pain" was felt, the whole green canvas tent was lifted from the top of my head to my body. Fall forward to the left. As soon as I raised my head, a strong wind from the South Lake with some sand in it poured into my neck...Would you like to exfoliate the dead skin without water? That's it.
The painful wind and sand hit the face and hands, and slammed against the "Zhaobi" behind the camp, and the whistling wind and sand could almost be seen on both sides of the stone wall. The headlights of the car were almost fully turned on, and a group of people found their thick coats in a panic and got up in embarrassment. Some hats disappeared, some clothes disappeared, some scarves disappeared, and some tents (small double tents) flew away. Only then did I realize that there were still people "buried" in the tent, having fun secretly.
According to the arrangement of the team leader, we went back to each car, and only then did the few of us find that the handsome guy Guo was sitting in the back row of his handsome black raptor...Among the pieces of broken glass, the stones from the violent sandstorm smashed the few seats behind. A piece of glass, the handsome Guo who hid in the back row and planned to make do with it for the night, harvested a pair of trouser legs worth a thousand pieces of glass shards in a panic.
The sandstorm this night is conservatively estimated to have passed level 10.
(no brothers, no off-road)
(The only image left by the tenth-level sandstorm that night, and then it was a mess...)
Leave no man's land for a while, and start to face up to my itinerary...
October 23, 2019.
The city lights visible to the naked eye in the distance, and the hazy big moon slowly rising. Wrapped in quilts that were rescued from the gravel and still lacking in temperature, they were all nestled in their respective cars. I shook my index finger, which began to show the pain crazily, and tore off half of the wrapped bandage to let the swollen skin breathe (thanks for the gift Tiger bone paste and the two older sisters who helped wrap the bandages), cold and irritable almost uttered the three-character scriptures, numb looking at the moon even more leaking, unable to sleep and looking forward to the dawn, sour and long.
The sky finally brightened, and a hurricane that came and went suddenly wiped away all the glitz, caressing, and noise of last night.
The group members who calmed down in the morning included packing up equipment and supplies, walking to find rocks, going out to shoot, and looking for lost luggage. Sister Clover's super thick shawl was found by Xia after walking several kilometers for treasure hunting. Several floor mats and tent cloths were also picked up after running 2 or 3 kilometers. After cleaning up the garbage in the camp again, leaving steamed buns and other food for the stray puppies, I gave up the original Dananhu itinerary, left the desert and no-man’s land and entered the Hami highway. I only had lunch and found a small shop at an unknown crossing to satisfy my hunger. They were all driving tirelessly, and finally arrived in Korla in a rosy sunset and checked into the hotel.
I followed the team all the way, I didn't know the southeast, northwest, and I opened the map to describe our itinerary for the first time: what we have passed, what we will soon-to be honest, it is not very scientific, and there are some twists and turns. A good scenic spot included in the itinerary.
Internet celebrity Huludao, everyone is here hahaha
October 24, 2019.
Before I went to Huludao, I had seen a lot of works of old mages, and I yearned for it because I didn’t understand it.
We had a good night's rest in Korla, and the next day we bought delicious roasted whole lamb and naan with sesame seeds, and went to the new Internet celebrity spot: Huludao. According to the team leader, the accommodation was not very easy to decide, so we parked the car at the sandy pier where the reed flowers were floating around, and told the ferryman that we were a group of "craftsmen" and wanted to stay on the island! After crossing the river ditch, you still need to line up and transfer to a truck to reach the shore of the inner island, and then take a ten-person tin boat to really enter Huludao, which has accommodation, catering, and filming services. Every autumn, Populus euphratica and sand dunes attract many tourists. This place is privately contracted, and the conditions are poor. The consumption price is really expensive. Our dinner is just right when the leader and deputy leader are busy lighting a fire and making some supplements.
There may finally be a shooting scene that can show our talents. We are busy pressing the shutter all night and morning, and there is nothing to show except the works.
Leave Regrets: Tarim Populus Euphratica Reserve
On October 25, 2019, I remember one very, very regrettable thing about this trip:
Get up in the morning and leave Huludao. We plan to go to Luntai via Tarim Wetland Park to rest overnight, and then go to Hotan area along the Taklamakan Highway. However, on this day, a sister who left the group early due to physical discomfort was sent away, and then we were almost exhausted running all day. The road was specially arranged to pass through the Populus euphratica Reserve in Tarim. Unfortunately, we have been rushing forward, and it is said that we are going to take pictures of the dead and immortal Populus euphratica and the bright moon. In fact, we saw the beautiful scenery of super Populus euphratica at the end of October outside and inside the protected area along the way from Yuli to Luntai. We did not stop to take pictures, and traveled to a small hotel in Lunnan with great regret. The immortal Populus euphratica withered forest was probably not filmed because of time.
Silently mark it down, and create opportunities in the future. Be sure to travel around Korla alone. Populus euphratica at the end of October is too worthwhile to meet and shoot thousands of miles away.
(Looked through all the information, including those shared by the group members, and only borrowed the video of Brother Wang taking our backs and sent it to a fat circle of friends...)
See the Miracle—Desert Oil Highway
October 26, 2019.
The Taklamakan Desert Oil Highway is a place that has been known for a long time. It is better to travel thousands of miles than to read thousands of books. I have seen with my own eyes: the earliest desert road in China, the longest road built in the flowing desert in the world, and the road that divides the Taklamakan, the sea of death, into two!
We started from Lunnan and crossed the Taklamakan Highway to Yutian County in Hotan. We thought it would be a long and boring day. When we walked into this black road in the long yellow sand, we realized that it was a day of popular science knowledge. rich!
(Service area in the tower. Above picture: Riders leading their pets, bottom left: Unimog, bottom right is the famous slogan: only desolate desert, no desolate life, fighting the sea of death)
(There are spectacular highway protection belts on both sides of the road. Occasionally, wild animals such as hares can be seen, as well as birds that should not appear here, such as carrier pigeons. Occasionally, they fly into the Taklimakan Desert area by mistake. Flying out, the clever birds found along the highway, survived and even reproduced tenaciously on the little food left by the passers-by)
Dali Yabuyi, the place where Sven Hedin tells stories
October 27, 2019.
The inspection at the Yutian checkpoint last night was relatively detailed, and I had an intuition: some of the ethnic identity officers on duty were not friendly to mainlanders! After the camera portraits were collected, the procedures were followed by the holders of the certificates. Even if the good people were frank, there was a slight delay. Fortunately, we arrived at the scheduled hotel, and it was not too late to unload our luggage and enter the house to pack up. It has been simple for several days, and suddenly there is a relatively clean and comfortable residence, and the requirements of Wuzang Temple have increased: go out and find a restaurant for a meal, "Wusu" barbecue Xiyuchun, and sleep until dawn when you go back.
The work and rest time in Xinjiang is a few hours later than that in the mainland (the official index is 2 hours, and I will wait 4 hours for the folks). It is normal to eat at 12 o'clock in the evening and leave at 12 o'clock in the morning. Get ready, refuel, line up, and today we are going to a place that used to only exist in the story: Dali Yabuyi.
The windbreak forest of Populus euphratica passing by outside the car, the uniform pink residential courtyard, and the residential area of Yutian County, turning right and gradually moving away from the residential area of the county, a new road that was unexpectedly built is straight and dark, and there are many colorful Populus euphratica in the desert on both sides , it would be great if there is a chance to stop for aerial photography. There is an inspection and registration station at the end of the road, and on the left rear side there is a newly built community village composed of townhouses, schools, hospitals and other buildings. Each of us needs to submit an ID card, and pay a fee of 10 yuan for a photocopy of the ID card, and then let us continue driving inside. The dirt road raised dust that covered the sky, and we went to the opposite bank of the river for a few times, and finally found dense rut marks on the bank, which confirmed the correct route to enter the village. We started for several hours against the sandy wind. Exploring the secret desert dwelling of the Keriya people.
Drivers who are not used to driving on sandy roads in the mainland either show cowardice or get stuck in these places. The big brothers from Henan who fought with us in Haidao and other places have already left, and new friends who jumped in the queue came again. Driving too much needs expert guidance or brothers dragging it if necessary. Climbing up and down, getting stuck in the car at any time, A pulls B, B pulls C, C pulls up A again, we passed by many semi-abandoned huts of the shepherds in the village, crossed the sand dunes, walked through the woods and walked the river, and finally entered the Sven The old village of Dali Yabuyi described by Hedin.
At this time, the sun was setting.
(No brother don't come here, hahaha)
(Only it can travel freely by bicycle: Unimog, the most common expensive bus in desert areas. The main highlight is in the last few seconds)
The former home of the Creans, the center of a century of solitude
October 28, 2019.
Looking at the slightly dilapidated village with many empty houses, I can't connect with the following words that have been circling in my mind for a long time:
In the hinterland of Kalamakan, a dead desert without water, there is a tribe of nomads who have been isolated from the world for hundreds of years; The descendants of Loulan, perhaps a new tribe intermarried in Tibet and Xinjiang, have a mysterious origin.
Due to Internet rumors, we were worried that we would not be able to enter smoothly. The team leader contacted us in advance and paid the travel registration fee. When the team entered the village, a girl who could speak Chinese (the official version of the foreign tourism liaison officer) received us and arranged men and women in 2 separate places. Residential houses are borrowed. In the evening, we prepared dinner with the ingredients we brought in, and hung up our own camp lights. First, Master Xia took the radio and played dance music. Later, the boss who stayed overnight found the audio equipment. A group of people relaxed rarely, and followed the village. Watch the lively Creyans dance their dance, continue to grill skewers with Wusu and enjoy Xinjiang-style supper. In the past few days, a program team from CCTV happened to come in to shoot, accompanied by staff from the Yutian Culture and Tourism Bureau. After chatting with them, I learned that the village is busy relocating now. Due to the support of poverty alleviation and aid projects, the local government is relocating outside. A new community village was built next to the checkpoint at Malukou. The living environment of the old residence continues to be transformed and the value goal of development cannot be achieved. To have a new life and be able to get rid of poverty and become rich, the living environment outside is obviously more suitable. After self-recommendation and selection in the village, only more than 10 families are left to engage in tourism in Dali Yabuyi Industry. Because it is allowed to open to the outside world, the previous information about the refusal to enter and the situation similar to Loulan's situation in the Internet is wrong, and there is no need to spend exorbitant fees. Normal tourists can come in and follow the rules.
In the dark and quiet Taklamakan Desert, this usually small and remote village at night has little light, not far music, and the noise can't even surpass the laughter of Populus euphratica forest.
The houses in the village are all built with dry toilets outside the houses, so it is better not to get up at night. Although the inside of the house is simple, it is very clean. Most of the bedrooms are connected to several suites, covered with woolen carpets, sifted fine soil sprinkled on the kang, dried (flower firewood) grass leaves, and cotton-padded sheets. There are piles of quilts stacked up near the Kang table, and when there are many guests, it looks like a big shop, very lively. In the small room where I live at night, there is an extra set of iron sheet coal stoves. The smoke pipes go out of the wall. It is warm enough to live with five or six people. Only when I wake up suddenly at night, I always feel that I can squeeze the dirt on my feet when I stretch my legs. , It's over, it's hard to fall asleep again.
Get up early in the morning, and there are not many secrets in the village at a glance. Many group members take advantage of the time before breakfast to watch the village committee’s flag-raising ceremony. The difference is that they can only participate after strict registration of documents (with a camera monitoring system , must truthfully report the situation of the visitor to the relevant department). The Tarim River flows outside the village. There are forests all around the village, which can be used for grazing but also produce few medicinal materials. There is also a well in the village. This is probably the confidence in the book to describe that they will not live in isolation for a hundred years. However, the water quality of the wells is not good, it is yellowish green. On the day I went to Nurga Canyon, I temporarily took the car of the team leader craftsman. He gave us a "science popularization": the team carried a lot of boxes of drinking water, so that there is no water or drinking water along the way. It is not safe to use, especially the well water in the Keriya village behind may have echinococcosis. The speaker doesn’t care about the listener, and when he was helping the cook, I asked him whether he should still use his own water for cooking and washing vegetables.
The ancient village that I have been looking forward to for a long time, most of the people have already moved, and I can’t find the mystery in my imagination. In fact, it is difficult for everyone to adapt to the earth kang with the smell of sand floating in the air. We decided to leave and return on the 28th. In Yutian County, the record of staying for one more day and camping on the way back was rejected.
On the return journey, there was a small accident on the new road along the river bank. The trailer repaired the car and looked for oil. We were unable to help but were able to stop for a short time and took some good photos. Shooting and playing in southern Xinjiang, you can't be greedy for too much, you have to eat slowly to get results.
(In the future, it will be purely a tourist area, which is also very good)
Edge Xiaochang Station, Vientiane all-encompassing city
On the 28th, we left the old village of the Keriya people and went to Yutian County to rest for a night. On the way, we met several Keriya families who moved by truck. They also left the village to their new residence at the intersection of the highway. To this day, I still can’t forget the night of singing and dancing. The young natives in the village who came to hear the music danced and sang with us, and couldn’t hide their jealous and unwilling eyes. In fact, who wants to live a better life, but whoever has a choice will leave the barren With falling behind, it is easier to give up than to stick to it, everyone is the same.
October 29, 2019.
Shandong brother said goodbye to Kashgar in one car, and temporarily jumped in the queue to go to Dali Yabuyi with three cars and Tie Ma brother in a car and returned to the mainland. The rest of us continue to return to Luntai along the desert oil road and then go to Shaya. Too long trekking mileage, tiredness after a long day of travel, God knows how bad everyone's mood has been brewing. Under the comprehensive game of "shortening the distance with tomorrow's Tarim River Shaya Populus euphratica forest", "driving a little longer", "I'm really tired and don't want to continue driving", the team leader decided to rest in a desert on the side of the road In the spontaneously formed station near the oil exploration team, I still don't know what the name of this boundary is?
The exits and entrances are all double-leaf iron gates, and there will be guards to lock them at night. There are some shed-like houses outside the gates, and the inside of the gates is much richer. It looks like a small town. There are also hotels in the world. Hotels are built like simple sheds, with one standard room and one standard room. The style and configuration are like a guest house. The accommodation is charged according to the berth. The bathrooms are common dry toilets in the desert. Some are incapable of accepting them. It really looks like a western gold rush movie. The fringe town in the middle, all-encompassing. There are so many choices for what the restaurant sells, including hot pot, Chinese food, noodles, and even roasted chicken. The Chinese restaurant we went to later was a typical Sichuanese restaurant that has traveled all over the motherland and even Southeast Asia to make Sichuan cuisine bloom everywhere. As a family, although they are not so particular about adapting measures to local conditions, the dishes served on the table are indeed Sichuan-style. Don't look at the fact that the furniture in the store is patchwork and decoration is not particular. The boss laughed and said that the rent would cost hundreds of thousands a year on this condition. It can be seen that the business in the station may really be "prosperous", and the seller is stronger than the buyer in the desert.
A very long journey, some unpredictable sudden, a small spark can ignite a group of good-tempered people at an unknown moment, from Xiaonanhu until tonight, the last argument broke out in our group, from all directions Everyone has different expectations for the distance, and nothing major happened, just more players and more games, after venting, the years calmed down immediately. Hastily spent the late supper, each took a break, took back the brief hustle and bustle we made, and everything sank into the silent night in the desert.
Perhaps the sudden visit of our group this night will leave this small world in the desert with a little boring life and a little isolated information for several days of conversation, and it can also be regarded as the benefit of a trip. Thanks to the folks in the Sichuan restaurant for their hometown dishes made with simple principles. They are the winners who have gone through years and life.
(Going out from the old village, a section of the beautiful Keriya River was recorded in the bright sun)
Bright colors on the way home, Populus euphratica in the Tarim River
October 30, 2019.
A small argument divides the rest of the team into two groups, and I just go with the flow
There was a video advertisement in Shaya County: Brother, have you ever been on a fishing boat on the Tarim River before? I don’t know if my brother went to see it, but my sister decided to like it after I took a trip and saw it, especially the bridges across the Tarim River, which are great locations for filming!
(A park worthy of Mark, I will go again if I have a chance!)
The swans in Korla are so fat, come back
The team returned to Korla and formally disbanded as agreed. It was planned to return to Urumqi and prepare to take the high-speed rail and transfer to the bus to Diwopu Airport. Here is a reminder that the high-speed rail in Xinjiang strictly limits the total weight of tourist luggage, which is very unfriendly to photographers, so you have to find a way to share the quota with your own team. Recommend another worthwhile scenic spot in Korla: the Peacock River, where the swans flying over the winter will eat naan without fear of people, fat like a big white goose.
Our ups and downs, thousands of miles of desert trip, for me, according to Tu Suoji's reference book to see the world's first "Southern Xinjiang" trip, officially ended. No matter what, it is a precious experience to go out safely and return to the capital. Thanks to the partners who are on the same road.
fat swans
