Every year, go to at least one place you've never been
don't care about the end
but caring about the people and things on the way
And those beautiful memories and scenery
This is a passage forwarded by Master Niu on WeChat. Yes, Master Niu is the person we met on the way and left us with good memories. He is a passionate person, a funny person, and a talkative person. Through his eloquence, we learned a lot about local customs and customs, and felt the passionate "temperature" of Turpan.
At 7:05 in the evening, it was still sunny in Turpan, and Master Niu came to pick us up at the train station.
As soon as he got on the bus, he said that the days in Turpan were very long, and the sun didn’t set until after nine o’clock. He suggested that we should not rush to the hotel, and said that he would take us to see what the tourists in the group could not see. The real and most beautiful place in Turpan A real vineyard.
Let's be vigilant. There are always rumors on the Internet that chartered car drivers are abducting girls. Is there any danger waiting for us? My mind immediately turned: I read a lot of travel notes when I was doing my homework, and I chose Master Niu based on the best comments from netizens; and there are photos of him on the Internet; A special reaction; besides, we are father and daughter. Turn on your phone GPS while taking his advice, send a WeChat message to your family, and let him know…
Later, it turned out that we wronged him, but it was all necessary, and it also showed that we did our homework well (under bragging).
This is what he took us to visit, a vineyard in a certain part of Xinjiang (he is a Han nationality, and settled in Xinjiang after serving as a soldier). The grape corridors here are layered on top of each other, and the pieces are connected, and the frames are connected, lush and green, shaded by the sun, and fruitful.
Seedless white grapes that are crystal clear like jade, bright green in color, sweet and sour in food, are called "Chinese Green Pearls".
The numerous clusters of grapes are very attractive, but it is a pity that they will not ripen for a month or two.
Xinjiang is the largest grape producing area in my country, and the grapes in Turpan account for more than 90% of the grape planting area in Xinjiang. It can be called "the world's grape botanical garden".
On the driving road, you can see adobe buildings everywhere, shaped like watchtowers, with a color of earthy yellow, with dense holes in the walls, like beehives. This is the drying room where local farmers use the hot wind from Huozhou to dry raisins. , also known as "shade room". This wonderful building, reasonable in structure, ingenious, simple and scientific, is the crystallization of the wisdom of Turpan people.
*
The time to play was very fast, and it was 9:30 in the evening. It was time to have dinner. Master Niu said that he would take us to eat the most down-to-earth roasted whole sheep in Turpan, which is eaten by the locals——Xingfu Road Aihedan Wood Roasted Whole Lamb sheep.
When it comes up on a plate, it's mouth watering just looking at it. It is said that it is Genghis Khan's favorite dish in the palace, and it is also an indispensable delicacy in the imperial banquet of the Yuan Dynasty. Sure enough, the color is yellow and bright, the skin is crispy and the meat is tender, and the fragrance is unusual.
Of course, when you come to Xinjiang, kebabs are also a must-eat. Xinjiang's most local mutton skewers are burnt and buttery in color, slightly spicy with fresh fragrance, not greasy or smelly, and the meat is tender and delicious.
Gray smoke floated up and blew along the street, as if the whole city had the smell of Xinjiang: the smell of meat, cumin, pepper and burnt salt.
*
After eating the fragrant and spicy mutton, there is a box of Xinjiang old yogurt, which is simply too refreshing.
Back at the hotel, let’s eat the watermelon delivered by Master Niu... All the exhaustion of the car will disappear without a trace with the sweet and delicious melon juice. At that moment, only happiness will replace the tiredness.
*
*
2014.06.23
I have known Xinjiang's naan for a long time, but I have never tasted it. Master Niu said that he knew which stall had the best naan, so he went down to buy it himself. Today we will first go to the ancient city of Jiaohe, naan is our breakfast.
Naan
Ah, I also bought Xinjiang special baked buns, pure mutton stuffing.
*
Jiaohe is the oldest name of Turpan.
The ancient city of Jiaohe is located on a Liuye River Xinzhou in Yaerjigou, the western suburb of Turpan. It is named after the confluence of two rivers surrounding the city in the south of the city.
When the ancient city of Jiaohe was about to disappear forever, people suddenly discovered its beauty. This year, it has just successfully applied for World Heritage.
Jiaohe City is the capital of "Cheshi Qianguo", one of the 36 countries in the Western Regions. It was built earlier than the Qin and Han Dynasties, but was unfortunately destroyed by the continuous wars in the Yuan Dynasty in the first half of the 14th century.
After 2,300 years of ups and downs, Jiaohe Ancient City has become the world's largest, oldest and best-preserved city of adobe architecture.
Its magic is that most of its buildings are basically dug out from the surface of the platform by the method of "reducing the ground and leaving the wall", which is a city "carved" out of the raw soil.
Central Avenue.
It, East-West Avenue and some secondary roads divide the whole city into residential area, storage area, monastery area, government office area...etc.
East-West Avenue
Big Buddha Temple - the most magnificent temple in Jiaohe City. After the chaos, only Taki remained.
The central pagoda is 8 meters high and 13 meters long at the original site.
These relics tell people how prosperous Buddhism was in Jiaohe in those days!
Residential area - doorway
Residential Area - Wells
Residential area - open window
Under the double blow of spirit and material, Jiaohe City finally completed its annual rings of history and became an abandoned city.
The ruined but still majestic city, in the endless weathering and erosion, uses the remaining holes to bloom its former exquisite splendor.
It has existed for 2,300 years, and it still insists on confronting the wind and sun.
"Climbing the mountain to watch the beacon fire during the day, drinking horses and crossing the river at dusk". A feeling of nostalgia arises leisurely.
After thousands of years of vicissitudes, the main structure of the city's architectural layout is still miraculously preserved.
Jiaohe is known as "the most perfect ruin in the world", and it really lives up to its name.
*
Today's second stop is the Karez Museum.
Did you know that in Turpan, every Karez well has a name, some are named after the person who dug the well, some are named after the animals and plants, and some are named after the geographical location, the taste of the water and so on.
The Karez Museum is built on the basis of a Karez called Miyimu Aji, and Miyimu Aji is the host who excavated this Karez. Miyimu Aji well is the most typical and famous Karez well in Turpan. It has a history of more than 800 years. It has a total length of 25 kilometers and can irrigate more than 70 acres of land per day. A section of well channel downstream of Miyimu Aji Well.
The wise ancients dug underground canals from the ground to divert water from the aquifers under the high mountains in the north to irrigate the oases in the southern basins. This is the cause and principle of the construction of Karez wells. She sent the snow water from the Tianshan Mountains to the Grape Valley in Turpan, so the grapes in Turpan are extra sweet.
Standing in the corner of the huge Kaner Well, watching the cleared groundwater being diverted to the houses, who would be afraid of the extreme heat and cold of the Gobi? Human beings live by the mountains and live by the water.
When excavating the Karez well, in order to ensure that the wells and ditches are dug in a straight line to the water source in the mountain area without deviation, the stick positioning method and the kerosene lamp positioning method are used during excavation. The wisdom of the working people!
In this way, in the vast Gobi desert in Northwest China, Karez has bred piece after piece of paradise of life. Together with the Great Wall and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, it is known as the three major projects in ancient China.
What is the genius dog exploring? Well, a life full of curiosity must be wonderful, rich, dazzling, and even enviable. Let it be with us all the time.
Karez is "the source of life of the oasis". Up to now, the local people still live on this water source. Therefore, when visiting, tourists are strictly prohibited from touching the water source. They rely on this water source for cooking and drinking in the morning and use it in the afternoon. Laundry, etc., have a fixed time to open for use, so rigorous.
Well, let's try a lunch made from this pure qanat water too.
"Hexi Naiwa" is eaten by local people from Xinjiang. Authentic no doubt!
Lamb shank pilaf. There are red carrots, yellow carrots, onions and raisins in the pilaf. The rice grains are distinct and chewy.
The big leg of lamb, the meat is soft and glutinous, not at all firewood, delicious.
The biggest feature of Master Niu is that it allows you to eat the most friendly and authentic local food, rather than the kind of "noble" hotel with a false name. The second is that he has a lot of "private" scenic spots that surprise you, in addition to yesterday's vineyard, and today's... temporarily kept secret hahaha.
On the way to Grape Valley, I saw a very Xinjiang-style residential gate. These colorful gates, it is said that different colors and patterns have different meanings, so magical.
*
Walking into the scenic spot from Yingzui Cliff of Grape Valley, you will see the people's canal from Tianshan passing through the valley. This canal is also called Buyiluk River, and its main water source is snowmelt in the mountains.
The stream is gurgling, and the grapes on both sides are full. Strolling along the grape corridor is like visiting the gardens in the south of the Yangtze River.
What is this written about? Uighur text: grape ditch. Congratulations, "guess" is right, hahaha.
Beautiful Xinjiang girl.
Of course, since we saw the most authentic vineyard yesterday, when we came here, we immediately saw traces that were obviously designed for tourists to visit.
But there is one place that has always fascinated us, and that is the Wang Luobin Music Art Museum.
Passing through the promenade of the Grape Valley, you can see the bronze statue of Wang Luobin standing in front of the Music Art Museum from a distance.
The melodious melody of "In That Faraway Place" seems to be rippling in my ears again, the fatigue all over my body has faded away, and we who are intoxicated by the beautiful music have long forgotten that we are in this faraway place...
In the art gallery, we saw many little-known cultural relics. The manuscript of the composition of Wang Luobin's first work "Yunyou" was quietly placed there, which became the foreshadowing or footnote of his life's wandering.
The desert, the solitary smoke, the long river, the setting sun...a strong and hearty old man.
"Half Moon Climbing Up", "Mayila", "The Girl of Daban City"... From his songs, we can't perceive his ups and downs, and we can't feel the slightest bit of boredom of life and hatred of ugliness. Flogging only engraves on people the most eternal and precious things in human nature.
Although the old man is gone, he left behind to sing eternal songs.
*
Flame Mountain is our last scenic spot of the day.
I believe that many people know about the Flame Mountain in Xinjiang because they watched "Journey to the West". Whether it is a novel or a TV show, the Flame Mountain has left a very deep impression on people. After the pill furnace, it fell into the territory of Xinjiang today, forming the red mountains seen by later generations.
The Huoyan Mountain is suitable for viewing from a distance. Because of the dense weather, the Huoyan Mountain is very red from a distance, but it is not so clear when entering the scenic spot. Therefore, we did not go in. From a distance, the Huoyan Mountain is really magnificent.
No grass grows, no birds are seen, under the scorching sun, the red sandstone is shining, the hot air is billowing up, and the clouds are lingering, like a burning flame. Although it is obvious that he is frozen, it is also very visually impactful.
Most of the tourists take pictures here, and it also means that the great sage came here for a visit. Master Niu, we also took a group photo, which cannot be refined, ha.
Huoyanshan is the hottest place in the country, and the heat here is a decisive dry heat.
The huge golden hoop thermometer informed the heart of the high temperature of 65 degrees, and the preparation from the heart to the body gave a buffer to people who are afraid of heat.
There are many statues in the story of "Journey to the West" in the scenic area.
iron fan princess
bull devil
These are artificial landscapes that we are not interested in.
In fact, the real essence of Huoyanshan lies on its backside. Ah, I accidentally revealed Master Niu's "private collection" attractions.
When Master Niu's car drove here, we had already opened another door of Huoyan Mountain.
There is also a group of statues of Tang monks learning Buddhist scriptures from master and apprentice. The whole statue is earthy gray. In fact, this is the real filming location of the TV series "Journey to the West".
remember? Where has this lonely pavilion been seen in "Journey to the West"?
Although there is no clear layering of the front of the Huoyan Mountain, the landform is more abundant.
On the high part of the mountain, there are horizontal slashes, and from the middle of the mountain, there are vertical ravines. The upper part is the result of weathering, and the lower part is the trace of running water.
Although there is no grass on the surface of Huoyan Mountain, many valleys in the mountainside are shaded by greenery and gurgling streams. It is a "flower and fruit dock" and "oasis" in Huozhou.
The road is built along the mountain, with a tall Flame Mountain on one side and a narrow river valley on the other. On the other side of the valley is a mountain as high as the Flame Mountain.
In fact, the scene in front of you is the epitome of the thousands of years of geological changes in Huoyan Mountain.
Every wonderful freeze frame enriches our life.
We like to travel, and the trip to Turpan was a day full of surprises and dreams. We recorded every moment with our hearts, and we can still remember it with a smile after a long time.
Farewell to Master Niu, we took the train to Liuyuan with a lot of harvest...
