I have followed my parents who are soldiers since I was a child, and I have been to some places for work reasons, and I know that the outside world is very exciting. After work, I often have the opportunity to travel. After having a child, I will take him to know the outside world every year on vacation and public vacation. Playing is one aspect, mainly to let him increase his knowledge. I am a casual person and don't like to be controlled, so traveling is basically free. When I have time after retirement, the destination of the trip is determined by the cheap air tickets to go there, and then I book a hotel, do a strategy, and make an appointment with a few friends before setting off. I have basically visited all the great rivers and mountains of the motherland, except Qinghai and Gansu. Thinking that the epidemic has almost passed, and the air tickets to the Northwest are cheap, I immediately started booking air tickets. Every time I travel, I put safety first, so I never travel by car, which is neither safe nor tiring. When visiting the local area, if public transportation is convenient, take public transportation, or charter a car if it is inconvenient, so that you can enjoy it easily without spending a lot of money. This time, I did not go clockwise on the Northwest Ring Road, because I chose to play it backwards considering that planes, trains, and cars can seamlessly connect.
Day 1
On June 20th, after more than an hour of flight, I arrived at Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport at 14:45, and then transferred to the city railway to Lanzhou Railway Station. Arrive in Zhangye, take a taxi to the hotel. I usually book a chain hotel, which is economical, clean and hygienic. And choose a hotel in the city center or near the snack street, which is convenient for eating and visiting. You can book with confidence if the hotel’s online rating is around 4.8 points. Newly opened or newly renovated hotels are the first choice. The facilities of such hotels are relatively new. This time, the hotel in Zhangye is right next to the Bell Tower. After putting down our luggage, we went to eat at the nearby snack street. We ate the local snack, rubbing fish, which was very delicious.
Chatting with the little boss during the meal, the boss said that it will rain the next day, we are very lucky, the Zhangye Geopark in the rain is the most beautiful, just like washing with water, the layering is very clear.
Day 2
On June 21st, it really rained when I got up in the morning, thank God for your care. Because the train went to Dunhuang in the evening, we stored our luggage and asked about a better breakfast restaurant near the front desk. The front desk recommended us to eat the local beef rice, which tastes good.
After dinner, I took a taxi to the West Bus Station. There is a dedicated bus to Zhangye Geopark, which costs 30 yuan per person. The staff at the station said that there is a bus back to Zhangye before 6:00 p.m. All the way to the scenic spot. Scan the QR code to buy a ticket to enter the park, and take a scenic tour bus to visit each scenic spot. As the hotel owner said, the scenery in the park is as beautiful as washing.
Due to the epidemic, there are very few tourists, so we can take pictures as much as we want. After visiting all the scenic spots, we went back to the place where we got off when we came back, and saw that there was a bus back to Zhangye, just get on the bus and show the round-trip ticket to the master. On the way, I told the master that we still want to go to the Great Buddha Temple and asked him to get us off the car nearby. Hurrying quickly, I finally managed to enter the temple before closing. In the temple is the largest indoor reclining Buddha in China. It has been nearly a thousand years ago, and it is often said that it sleeps for a thousand years. There is a couplet outside the Hall of the Reclining Buddha, which is very well written. The upper couplet reads: The Sleeping Buddha often sleeps for thousands of years without waking up. After coming out of the Great Buddha Temple, I walked to the famous Sunji Fried Firecracker Restaurant in Zhangye, and ate the classic stewed pork firecrackers. After dinner, I went shopping and eating in the pedestrian street near the hotel. I went back to the hotel at 10:00 p.m. and took a rest in the hotel lobby. Then I took a taxi to the train station and took the train to Dunhuang at 00:32. When I was at home, I went to the train station window to buy. I got 6 lower berths, got a good night's sleep, and arrived in Dunhuang at 7:30 the next morning. In fact, if you only stay in Zhangye for one day, you should go to the Great Buddha Temple first and then go to the Geopark.
Day 3
On June 22nd, we arrived in Dunhuang at 07:25 in the morning. As soon as we got out of the station, a young man chased us and asked if we wanted to take a car? He said that his car was a seven-seater commercial vehicle. When he asked the price, the young man said honestly that he was giving someone away. The young man on the road asked us how to arrange our itinerary? Do you want to rent his car? His quotation was a total of 180 yuan including pick-up at the train station and pick-up to Mogao Grottoes and Mingsha Mountain, and the deal was made again. To be honest, it is very cheap. The young man said that there are fewer tourists this year due to the epidemic, otherwise it would not be so cheap. Alas, it's not easy. Arriving at the hotel early in the morning, due to the lack of people due to the epidemic, the hotel had vacancies, and we were checked in immediately. In particular, this chain hotel located in the center of Dunhuang is the most cost-effective hotel in our entire trip. Each standard room 41 yuan, the beauty at the front desk said that she got the price wrong at the time, and after I realized it, I placed the order. What should I do if I ask the boss? The boss said that since the order has been confirmed, he will stay at the order price. Integrity, like the simple Northwesterners! After entering the room and washing up, I went downstairs to have breakfast, and the young man came to pick us up to Mogao Grottoes. On the way, I deliberately asked the master to go to the bus terminal first, and bought a bus ticket to Dachaidan the next day (the train is not available yet), and there is only a bus from Dunhuang to Dachaidan at 9 o'clock every day. When I was doing a guide before, I learned that tickets for Mogao Grottoes need to be reserved online one month in advance. On the official reservation website, I can see that there are still more than 1,000 tickets, but when I want to make a reservation, I can’t enter the reservation page. Let’s talk about going to Mogao Grottoes. If you can’t do it, you can buy various package tickets sold by travel agencies. When you arrive at the Mogao Grottoes scenic spot, there are still few tourists due to the epidemic, so you can buy tickets as you go. Tickets are divided into A-type tickets and B-type tickets. A-type tickets watch 8 caves and movies, and B-type tickets only watch 4 large caves. I personally think that Mogao Grottoes are the most worthwhile attractions on the Northwest Ring Road.
After the Mogao Grottoes came out, the chartered car master took us to eat local special snacks, donkey meat yellow noodles, the taste is average, and the price is super expensive. After lunch, we went to Mingsha Mountain. Because of the scorching sun, we didn’t go sandboarding because we were afraid of the sun. We couldn’t bear to harm animals and didn’t ride a camel. We took a battery car and went straight to Crescent Lake. After taking some photos, we went back to the hotel.
In the evening, I ate mutton stewed cakes at the snack street near the hotel, and bought local small watermelons in the supermarket, which were super sweet and delicious.
Day 4
On June 23, I got up early and took a taxi to the bus station, and then took the shuttle bus across the no-man's land to Dachaidan. This section of the road is also recognized as the most beautiful road. As soon as the car left Dunhuang, it entered the desert area. There was a road that could not be seen at a glance in the yellow sand, especially the yellow graded line in the middle of the road, which was particularly dazzling against the backdrop of the blue sky and white clouds. It was so beautiful. Arrive at Dachaidan around 4:00 p.m., arrive at the inn for a short rest, and charter a car to Xueshan Hot Spring to soak in the hot spring. Snow Mountain Hot Spring is located at a high altitude, so it is a bit high after arriving. In addition, the indoor hot spring water temperature is high, but the outdoor hot spring water temperature is very low, and it is still cool outside. After soaking indoors for a while, my partners felt dizzy and left immediately. This hot spring is not recommended, and the price/performance ratio is extremely low. Back in Dachaidan Town, I went to a very popular restaurant to eat mutton in kang pot. I felt that the side dish potato was better than mutton.
Day 5
On June 24th, I slept until I woke up naturally. After breakfast, I chartered a car to Emerald Lake. The scenic spot is still under development, so no tickets are required. There are many large and small salt lakes in the entire scenic spot. The most beautiful Emerald Lake in the legend is only the size of a standard swimming pool. The photos taken are very beautiful. If you drop by, you can go and have a look. It is not recommended to go there.
It was after 1:00 when we returned to the inn. We originally planned to stay in Dachaidan for one more night. The next morning, we took the Dachaidan-Xining train to Delingha (Wednesday is Xining to Dachaidan), which only leaves once every Thursday. This train cannot be found on 12306, just get on the train and buy a ticket. Everyone felt that there was nothing interesting in Dachaidan, so they decided to leave immediately. After talking to the innkeeper, the boss also readily refunded the room fee for us, and praised the simple Northwesterners again! The bus from Dachaidan to Delingha only runs at 4:00 p.m. every day, and the bus to Delingha is around 7:00 p.m. There is no car to go anywhere, so I decided to stay in Delingha for one night. After going to Chaka Salt Lake from Delingha according to the original plan, I could just catch the train from Chaka to Xining on the Dragon Boat Festival (this train only runs on holidays and weekends, departs from Xining in the morning, arrives at Chaka at noon, and arrives at Chaka in the afternoon Return to Xining around 5 o'clock). Some of my companions have been to Chaka Salt Lake. I feel that the scenery of the Salt Lake is similar. The Chaka Salt Lake is just bigger than the Emerald Lake. It just happened to catch up with the Dragon Boat Festival holiday. I was afraid that there would be too many tourists, so I decided to go directly to Xining the next morning. The itinerary was shortened, and I immediately contacted China Southern Airlines, the return flight, to inquire about flight rebooking. I was told that each person only needs to pay a rebooking fee of 19 yuan, and the money was changed immediately. For this Northwest Ring Tour, I didn’t intend to go to Qinghai Lake. I have been to too many of the most beautiful lakes, such as Sailimu Lake in Xinjiang, Tianchi Lake and various measures in Tibet. I feel that the scenery is similar, and I don’t plan to cycle around Qinghai Lake. , so I decided not to go to Qinghai Lake.
Day 6
On June 25th, I took the train to Xining early in the morning, and took a taxi to the hotel we booked near Mojia Street. After checking in, I went to Mojia Street to eat hand-caught mutton and drink Qinghai old yogurt. In the afternoon, take the bus to the Grand Mosque.
Due to the epidemic, the Great Mosque was closed to the public. After taking a few photos, I walked along the path next to the mosque and entered the snack street behind the mosque. Most of the customers on this street are locals. I found that the yogurt here is 3 yuan a box, and the city center is 6 yuan a box. The sweet fermented grains made from highland barley are delicious and cheap. I bought yogurt and various local snacks in several popular shops.
Day 7
On June 26, I got up early and took the bus downstairs to the train station, then changed to the 909 special bus to go to Kumbum Monastery. During the tour, the lama in the monastery told us that we should hold the wooden pole and turn the prayer barrel clockwise 7 times.
After getting out of Kumbum Monastery, go to the place where you got off and take No. 909 bus back to the urban area.
Day 8
On June 27th, after sleeping until I woke up naturally, I went to the train station to take a train to Lanzhou, and took a taxi to the hotel in the city center. After checking in, I went to the nearby Ma Youbu Restaurant to eat beef noodles.
In the evening, go to Zhengning Road Night Market Snack Street, specifically to drink Ma Ye's milk egg fermented glutinous rice that has been served in "A Bite of China". Remember it is No. 68 Zhengning Road Night Market Snack Street.
Day 9
On June 28, get up early and walk to the first bridge of the Yellow River.
Then it was shopping and eating, and went back to the restaurant to eat Gaodan stuffed skin.
In the evening, go to Ruji BBQ to eat mutton skewers, which is enjoyable.
Day 10
On June 29th, I naturally woke up and went to Wu Mu Le, which was also recommended by the locals, to eat beef noodles. My friends felt that it was not as delicious as Ma Youbu’s. Indeed, as the online reviews said, the service attitude was not good. . After dinner, go back to the hotel and take a taxi to the train station, then take the city railway to Zhongchuan Airport to take the flight home. The trip ended perfectly.
Summarize
Traveling due to the epidemic is a lot of trouble. You have to check your ID card at any time, show your health code and take your temperature. But this is also responsible for travelers, and due to the epidemic, there are very few tourists in all scenic spots, and all scenic spots can be enjoyed to the fullest, and food, accommodation and transportation are also cheaper than usual. As long as you pay more attention to precautions every time you go out, it is safer to wear a mask of.
