I have already discussed with my elder sister to go out to play in the summer vacation, but the destination has not been determined yet. Before departure, I decided to go to Zhangbei Grassland, Summer Resort and Beidaihe. The specific itinerary, route, accommodation, and meals were all decided by me. As the butler of this trip, I felt a heavy responsibility and a glorious mission. Everything is ready, let's go~~
The ingenious Yingxian Wooden Pagoda
On the first day, the itinerary was relatively tight. It was more than 530 kilometers from Jincheng to Yingxian County, Shuozhou. It departed at 9:00 am and arrived at 6:00 pm. Yingxian Wooden Pagoda is a tall building in a small county, and the outline of the wooden pagoda can be seen from a distance when driving on the expressway. The booked hotel was very close to the wooden pagoda, but after a long day of driving, everyone was exhausted and had no energy to go shopping, so they went to bed early after dinner. It is worth remembering that the self-service dumpling restaurant opposite the hotel has its own characteristics. It has a complete range of dishes and the price is affordable. It is very good for 21 yuan per person.
Maybe it was because I was too excited, or maybe I didn’t adapt to the new environment. I couldn’t fall asleep early the next morning, so I walked alone to the small park on the south side of the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda. A heavy rain at night washed the roofs, streets, and vegetation extremely clean. Walking slowly on the tree-lined road, the moist air is refreshing and refreshing. There is only a wall between the small park and the wooden pagoda scenic spot, and the outline and structure of the wooden pagoda can be clearly seen from outside the wall. The most amazing thing is that there are countless swallows hovering around the wooden tower, flying high and flying low, never far away, adding a touch of mystery to the wooden tower. The wooden tower is being repaired, and only the first floor is open to the public. It takes up to half an hour to tour around, and the corresponding 50 yuan ticket is indeed a bit expensive.
Yingxian Wooden Pagoda was originally called "Shijia Pagoda". It was built by the Liao people in the Northern Song Dynasty. It is more than 900 years ago. Leaving aside the fact that the wooden tower has no rivets or nails, a pure wooden building with a height of 67 meters and a weight of more than 2,600 tons is supported entirely by wooden beams and columns and various exquisitely designed brackets. Snow and rain, floods, earthquakes, gunfire and shelling are still standing, which is enough to make people sigh for the wisdom of the ancients. There are many plaques inscribed by emperors and celebrities hanging on the pagoda. The highest point is the "Supreme Divine Works" of Yongle Emperor Zhu Di, and the lower part is "Wonders of the World" by Zhu Houzhao. In Chinese history, there were quite a few brothers who fought against each other in order to fight for imperial power, but judging from the ruling effect, there are many heroic and wise emperors among the final victors. I think Zhu Di is one of them; as for Ming Wuzong Zhu Houzhao, he is called It is a "world wonder".
None of us have studied ancient architecture, and after a week of impressions of wooden pagodas, it seems that only emotion remains.
The majestic Yungang Grottoes
The Yingxian Wooden Pagoda is only 80 kilometers away from the Yungang Grottoes in Datong, and it takes about an hour to drive. We set off from Ying County, there was a slight delay on the road, and it was almost noon when we arrived at Yungang Grottoes.
There are four famous grottoes in China, namely Mogao Grottoes, Yungang Grottoes, Longmen Grottoes and Maijishan Grottoes, but the "Illustrated World*National Geographic Series" only listed Yungang Grottoes as "the 100 most beautiful places in China" , which shows the influence of Yungang Grottoes. The parking lot of Yungang Grottoes is very large, and it is next to the gate of the scenic spot. This alone is much better than Longmen Grottoes. The parking lot of Longmen Grottoes is still more than one kilometer away from the scenic spot. It is not far or close. If you encounter hot or bad weather, you have to take a shuttle bus. You know why the parking lot is set so far away~~
Entering the Yungang Grottoes Scenic Area, pass a short street with carved stone pillars on both sides, pass through a newly built temple in recent years, and walk another 200 to 300 meters to reach the core scenic spot. The temple is neither grand nor exquisite, but it provides a place for people to enjoy the cool and rest in the hot summer. The Yungang Grottoes were built in the Northern Wei Dynasty, more than 1,500 years ago. Before that, I knew very little about the Second Jin Dynasty and the Southern and Northern Dynasties. I just read the historical stories by chance and learned about the "five random China". In order to appreciate the grottoes, I made up some knowledge of the Northern and Southern Dynasties before the trip, so I wanted to combine knowledge and action.
If the impression corresponding to the county wooden pagoda is emotional, then the impression of Yungang Grottoes is shocking! Dozens of grottoes, large and small, are lined up on the mountain range that stretches for one kilometer. The stone walls and even the top of each grotto are engraved with various Buddha statues. These statues are tens of meters high and only a few centimeters small. They are natural in shape, dignified in description, and have different expressions. Even if you don't know art, you can appreciate the value of them. I really don’t know how much time, manpower, and material resources it takes to build such a huge and complex project by relying entirely on manpower to excavate and carve more than 1,500 years ago, and how many people have worked hard, spent their youth, and sacrificed their lives for this~
In comparison, the scale of the Yungang Grottoes is similar to that of the Longmen Grottoes, and most of the cave sculptures are well preserved, and the carving difficulty is significantly higher; both the Yungang Grottoes and the Maijishan Grottoes have exquisite murals, but all the statues in the Yungang Grottoes All are stone sculptures, and most of the Maijishan Grottoes are clay sculptures. In addition, the Yungang Grottoes were created by the Xianbei people in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and the sculptures obviously have the cultural color of ethnic minorities or Western Regions, which is also the uniqueness of the Yungang Grottoes.
Xu Xiake said: When you return from the Five Sacred Mountains, you don’t look at the mountains, and when you return from Huangshan Mountain, you don’t look at the mountains. Judging from the three grottoes that have been through, it is okay not to go through Yungang Grottoes, Longmen Grottoes and Maijishan Grottoes.
The Real Grassland Road
Maybe it’s because I’m ignorant, the first time I heard about Zhangbei Grassland Road was criticized by netizens because of the card fees here, as a poor traveler, I was also indignant about it. But soon Zhang Bei canceled the toll and returned the road to the people, which can be regarded as a change of evil and return to the good. What's more, the reputations of "China's Route 66" and "Grassland Road" are too loud on the Internet. If you don't drive by yourself, it means "you are not a hero if you don't go to the Great Wall".
It was already evening when we arrived at Zhangjiakou from Yungang Grottoes, and we had a rest at the scheduled Super 8 Hotel for one night. Early the next morning, I got up and walked around the streets near the hotel, taking a few photos as souvenirs.
The so-called Grassland Road is actually a section of provincial road from Yehuling in Zhangbei to Huapiling in Chongli District, with a total length of 132 kilometers. Because this place is located at the edge of the Xilin Gol prairie in Inner Mongolia, coupled with Zhangjiakou's special geographical location of "two winds a year, one blows half a year", it has formed a mountain with continuous mountains, undulating ravines, winding roads, and many windmills. Meadow scenery. This kind of grassland scenery is still very attractive to people who stay in reinforced concrete cities all day long. However, as the reputation of "Grassland Sky Road" has grown, the number of self-driving tours has increased sharply, and the disorderly operation of various restaurants and vendors on both sides of the road has caused shocking damage to the grassland.
As far as the scenery is concerned, the Zhangbei Grassland Road, known as "China's Route 66", is quite different from the scenery along the Huapiling to Chengde Expressway, and it is even different from the Qinghai Lake Ring Road. But the most important thing about traveling by car is to be happy, as long as you are in a good mood, there are "grassland roads" everywhere.
Extravagant summer resort
Overnight at Hetang Yueshe Hotel in Chengde City, the conditions are average, the price is quite expensive, and there is no parking lot. The only advantage is that it is very close to the Summer Resort, and it only takes about 5 minutes to walk.
An unexpected heavy rain fell from the sky and lasted until ten o'clock in the morning of the next day, which disrupted our travel rhythm. Seeing that there was no hope of the rain stopping, he braved the rain and went to the Summer Resort. In fact, based on my previous travel experience, there are more benefits to visiting the park on rainy days during the summer vacation. One is the cool weather, the other is the fresh air, and the third is that there are fewer tourists.
The Summer Resort was built in the Kangxi and Qianlong years, also known as the Rehe Palace. Referring to the national trend of high in the west and low in the east, the villa is divided into four parts: the palace area, the mountain area, the lake area, and the plain area. Passing through the Li main gate, you first enter the palace area. The entire palace area is built with nine courtyards around an axis, which is roughly the place where the emperor listened to the court, handled state affairs, and lived in the harem. This kind of architectural structure is almost the standard configuration of imperial palaces, yamen, and mansions, and there is nothing special about it. The only unforgettable thing is the luxury of the Danbo Jingcheng Hall. The beams, columns, doors and windows of the main hall are all made of golden nanmu, so it is also called the Nanmu Hall. At present, there are tens of thousands of a small string of golden nanmu bracelets on the market. Even 300 years ago, the construction of such a huge nanmu hall was very expensive. It is combined with the "Danbo Jingcheng" plaque hanging in the middle of the hall. Quite ironic.
Behind the palace area is the mountain area and the lake area. The mountainous area covers a large area, and it takes about 30 minutes to take a scenic transportation bus to browse around. The mountainous area has deep grass and dense forests, lush and verdant, and occasionally a few sika deer are playing in the forest, which does not look like a closed garden at all; standing on the top of the mountain, you can have a panoramic view of the Little Potala Palace and the Panchen Lama Palace. The car driving in the jungle is like riding a roller coaster, sometimes high and sometimes low, sometimes urgent and sometimes slow, we hold on to the handrails with fear, but the driver is not in a hurry or panic.
Compared with the mountain area, the lake area is another scene. There are eight lakes of different sizes distributed in the whole area. The lakesides are full of small-leaf lotus flowers. Several young lotus plants are still budding in the lotus leaves. The breeze is blowing and the blue waves are rippling; There are small bridges between them, pavilions, terraces and pavilions scattered among them, light boats and boats passing through them, and the misty rain on rainy days, as if you have entered Zeguo, a water town in the south of the Yangtze River.
We did not visit the plains, because the next place to go is the Magnolia enclosure, which is the real royal hunting ground.
Magnolia Paddock with beautiful scenery
From Chengde to Mulan Paddock for more than 200 kilometers, the road encountered heavy rain and passed through Paddock County to rest for one night. The next morning, the sky was still covered with dark clouds. Standing in front of the hotel and looking far away, the mountain peaks in the distance were shrouded in a layer of mist, and the mountainside was surrounded by a few wisps of floating clouds.
Mulan Paddock is the royal hunting place of the Qing Dynasty and is part of the Bashang Grassland. The so-called "Mulan" means "whistle deer" in Manchu, which is a way for people to pretend to be a male deer to cry, to lure the female deer to approach and shoot them. Mulan Paddock is now also known as Saihanba Forest Park, which is integrated with Yudaokou Grassland Forest Park for joint development and operation.
The Mulan Paddock in summer is extremely beautiful. The sky was still covered by layers of dark clouds just now, and there was a tendency of black clouds to overwhelm the city and rain, but after a while, the clouds opened to see the sun, and a pleasing tile blue was revealed from between the clouds. The vast grassland is green and dotted with countless star-like wildflowers. Moon Lake, Seven Star Lake, and Sun Lake are scattered in the vast grassland, with shimmering waves and beautiful scenery. Pieces of white birch forests are wrapped in green makeup, verdant and verdant, which is an excellent place for taking pictures.
Between Mulan Paddock and Ulan Butong Grassland in Inner Mongolia is the birthplace of the Luan River, and the scenery is acceptable. Cross the bridge and enter the territory of Inner Mongolia. Because of time constraints, we did not go to Ulan Butong. We had a good experience in Saihanba, and Ulan Butong is roughly the same.
Overnight in Saihanba, the hotel owner strongly invited us to eat hot pot at his house. After seeing the recipe, only the soup base and small ingredients cost more than 100 yuan, so he decided to change the restaurant. O(∩_∩)O~
Unforgettable Nandaihe
Reluctantly left Saihanba, drove to Qinhuangdao, just happened to be restricted by Shanhaiguan and Beidaihe. At the same time, netizens generally reported that Nandaihe had better sand quality and was more suitable for sightseeing, so they directly set their destination on Nandaihe. After traveling for half a day, we arrived in the evening. The booked hotel is close to the beach, only about 10 minutes walk.
After dinner, the family walked to the beach. At this time, it was nightfall and the moon was rising. Tourists rushed to the seafood night market in groups, and the noisy beach gradually calmed down. Stepping on the soft and delicate sand with bare feet, the sound of tides can be heard from time to time, and the body and mind become extremely relaxed and calm after a tiring day. Suddenly I remembered two lines of Su Dongpo's words. One is "Ye Lan, the wind is quiet and the pattern is flat. The boat will pass away from now on, and the river and the sea will send the rest of my life." . " The direction of the heart, the environment is born from the heart.
In order to watch the sunrise by the sea, we read the weather forecast in advance and learned that the weather in Nandaihe was fine the next day, and the sunrise time was 4:57. So at 4:30 in the morning, we got up and rushed to the beach, looking forward to the sun rising. At the beginning, it seemed that there was a lot of hope, but it was quickly covered by the clouds, revealing a ray of light that made people want to stay bored and reluctant to bear it.
I got up too early in the morning, caught up on sleep in the morning, and went to the beach near noon. When I went to Qingdao, Yantai, and Rizhao, I just walked on the shore or built sandcastles with my son, and didn't go swimming in the sea. This time I couldn’t help but went to the sea at noon and had a good time. I didn’t feel too much sun in the water. I still felt a little chilly when I came out of the water. In the evening, my shoulders and arms began to turn red, and the pain was unbearable. It wasn’t until a few days later that the skin peeled off. Recovered as before, it seems that swimming under the scorching sun is really not suitable for swimming.
Started the return journey from Nandaihe, rested for two nights via Tianjin and Xingtai, and arrived home smoothly on Sunday afternoon.
