Ningxia, "Crossing the South of the Yangtze River", "Oriental Pyramid". It doesn't look big on the map, but it has a mysterious Xixia culture;
Here, Genghis Khan failed to conquer many times, and finally died with regret;
Here, one side is desolate and the other side is rich. At the same time, there are deserts, Gobi, the Yellow River, oases, ancient castles, seas of flowers...
Here, there are towering rocks in Saibei, an open world, and a strong wind;
Xixia is looking for traces, I walked slowly from here.
Due to the epidemic last year, I haven't had a long-distance self-driving tour for a long time. It coincides with this year's May Day holiday adjusted to five days, five days is enough time to go out. After the Qingming holiday, I began to think about where to go. At first I wanted to go to southeast Zhejiang and see the small towns in the south of the Yangtze River, but considering the relatively simple scenery, I skipped it. I also considered going to Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, but the epidemic broke out in Ruili again, so I skipped it for safety reasons. The daughter-in-law said that it is better to go west, and I said yes, then let's go to Ningxia to see the relics left by the Tuoba family in Xixia.
The working hours in the first half of this year were too busy, so I didn't have much time to do strategies, and I didn't check Xiaoou before departure. This is Xiaoou's third trip with us after Nine Colors Gannan and Xilingrad Grassland. On the afternoon of April 30th, I stopped by my hometown to see my parents. I found a more professional car factory to conduct a comprehensive inspection of the car. In the evening, I went to the supermarket to prepare all kinds of food and drink.
It was just dawn on May 1, and the two children were woken up. The children were more excited, and finally they were going to see the long-awaited desert and camels. In fact, the journey is far away, so let's give them a thought first.
As usual, we set off after eating old tofu from our hometown. Last night, my daughter-in-law said that the last row of seats should be raised one by one, so that he can row two by one, so as to save things on the way. This also verified what the daughter-in-law said. The harmonious scene of the two children did not last long. They quarreled because of the content they watched on the IPAD. They resolutely separated and played their own ways.
I went out early, and there were not many vehicles on the road. The Donglu Expressway also cleverly avoided the provincial capital cities along the way, but I encountered a rear-end collision with a vehicle shortly after passing Xingtai, which was congested for a while, but the rest of the time was relatively smooth. Near noon, I was thinking about which service area to go to eat. My wife saw a signboard of Pingyao Ancient City and said, let's go to Pingyao Ancient City first and eat there.
When we arrived in the ancient city, the parking lot was basically full, and there were probably a lot of tourists. As soon as the car stopped, someone came over and asked if they needed a guide. Nuoda's ancient city, I thought that if there is no tour guide, I don't know where to go. The tour guide heard that we were just passing by halfway, so we don't recommend buying tickets. He will take us to visit the ancient city and tell the history of the ancient city. Following a shuttle bus, we entered the ancient city and successfully avoided the place where the tickets were checked.
The ancient city of Pingyao is listed as the four best existing ancient city walls in China together with Xi'an City Wall in Shaanxi, Jingzhou City Wall in Hubei, and Xingcheng City Wall in Liaoning. It was rated as the most complete ancient county in China by the World Records Association. The plane layout of the entire city looks like a tortoise. There is a saying that "playing in the water in front of the tortoise, the mountains and rivers face the sun", so Pingyao is also commonly known as "Turtle City". The city retains the basic style and features of the county town in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and is famous for its ancient and clumsy building techniques and excellent materials.
Tian Yuan Kui, one of the hottest restaurants in Pingyao. The door face is very grand, it feels like a rich family, and the environment is very distinctive, Shanxi folk customs. There are also many people dining in the store, but fortunately there is an empty seat. Tasted local specialties: oat noodles, 栲栳栳, Pingyao bowl tray, knife-sliced noodles, beef canned noodles, etc.
After the meal, I followed the tour guide to visit the ancient city. Some people once left such a comment: "Lijiang is a pure and beautiful girl, with a watery aura that is compelling; while Pingyao is a Gone with the Wind with a deep heritage, and it has weathered the wind and rain without being frightened or humiliated." And I think Lijiang is a young woman, while Pingyao is like a simple and strong young man. The layout and buildings in the city all reflect the solidity and simplicity of the northern people.
Due to time reasons, the tour guide may also want to pick up the next wave of tourists as soon as possible. After staying in the ancient city for less than 2 hours, we left the ancient city. Maybe I like women more, Gucheng didn't leave a deep impression, and I don't have the urge to come back next time.
Continue on the road, the cars are less and less as we go west, the children are asleep, and I feel a little sleepy, so I quickly drink a bottle of Red Bull to dispel the sleepiness. The original plan was to go to the ancient city of Wubao, which is the most well-preserved thousand-year-old county town in Northwest China so far, and stay in Suide at night. But considering that the children wanted to see the desert as soon as possible, they ran west more on the first day, so that they could reach the desert earlier the next day. We gave up this scenic spot and continued westward, arriving at Jingbian, Shaanxi before it got dark. I chose the top-ranked restaurant——Wang Hulin Pork Ribs Restaurant.
Jingbian County is not big, but the most hotels in the county are hotels. I feel that Jingbian does not have a lot of tourism resources, and I have never been able to understand this problem. Later, I checked the strategy and saw that there was a dragon boat Danxia landform nearby, Wave Valley. Decided to check it out tomorrow morning.
We stayed at the Jingbian Diamond International Hotel, with two big beds of 1.8+1.5, which is more comfortable to sleep on.
The hotel's buffet breakfast is not bad. After dinner, we set off towards the valley of waves.
Jingbian Longzhou Danxia
Popular science: The local people in the scenic area are commonly known as "Hongshamao". Jingbianzhou Danxia shows a wonderful world made of sandstone carved by wind, water and time for millions of years. Some are like flowing water, some are like clouds, and some are like spinning tops, just like a unique geological park. Comparable to the wave valley of Arizona in the western United States, it is called "China's wave valley".
Stop the car, follow a local guy, and take us into the most beautiful area of Wave Valley.
When I came to the Wave Valley, I saw that the red stones showed a flowing water like a mudslide, rushing into the gully in circles and bends. This kind of stone is similar to a kind of sandstone, which has been severely weathered and detached. Walking on it, if you don't pay attention, you will be slipped by the red fine sand attached to the skin.
The more you walk in, the more shocking you feel, as if you have entered another magical world. Quiet, mysterious, beautiful, smooth lines, like colorful waves passing by, fingerprints of time, annual rings of the earth, I have to feel that this hard and rough rock can express such tenderness with texture, which makes people appreciate The natural world is so amazing.
Pass through Shaanxi and enter Ningxia. The expressway in Ningxia is red, and there are almost no vehicles on the road. When I was resting, I looked through Moments and saw the blowout tourism in the eastern coastal areas, with nowhere to rest my feet. I thought it would be more reliable to go west during the holidays.
Maybe this idea didn't last long before the reality broke through. I planned to go to No. 66 North Changtan Road in Zhongwei, Ningxia, but there were too many tourists, so the local traffic police closed this section. Passing through the Yellow River along the way, the people who grew up by the Yellow River did not have much feeling for the Yellow River. Instead, we passed a saline-alkali land, forming a salt lake, and stopped to take pictures.
Since noon, the wind has become stronger and stronger, and it has also left a shadow on the following desert trip.
tengger desert
The Tengger Desert, the fourth desert in my country, is also known as the Sahara in China. The sand here is fine and golden, and it is more wild than other highly developed deserts.
The hotel we stayed in is located at the junction of Alxa League in Inner Mongolia and Zhongwei in Ningxia. We stopped the car, took out some luggage, boarded the hotel’s desert off-road vehicle, and entered the hinterland of the desert.
I rented a tent similar to a yurt with two beds inside. After putting down the luggage, the children began to have fun.
You are the wind and I am the sand, when it blows...in your mouth...in your eyes...it's all sand.
The wind in the desert was really too strong, but this did not affect the children's interest. They had a great time climbing, sandboarding, and jumping on the trampoline.
There is no electricity and no water in the desert. Dinner is local noodles. The soup is too spicy for the children to eat. Originally, I came here to eat roasted whole lamb, but due to the heavy wind and sand, the barbecue was cancelled. All the food I brought was in the car, and I only kept two bottles of eight-treasure porridge with me.
It was getting dark gradually, and the outside temperature dropped sharply, mixed with wind and sand, I felt cold in the tent, and felt more and more uncomfortable.
If there are no children, we can still pay attention to it, the children will not be able to stand it at night, and finally decided to go to the city. It was already 8 o'clock in the evening, and the hotel housekeeper was contacted to arrange a vehicle to send us out of the desert.
On the way, I looked for hotels from various apps, and once again felt the power of the May Day holiday. Either the hotel had no rooms, or it cost thousands of yuan, and even the most common Hanting rose to more than 900 yuan. It is best to find a four-star hotel with vacancies at an acceptable price and drive there.
On the way to the hotel, the children had fallen asleep. When they arrived at the hotel, they woke up the older ones, hugged the younger ones, carried their luggage, and checked in. When I washed my hair, my body, and my clothes were all covered with sand. I have been to the desert several times and I have never been so embarrassed. Be sure to check the weather before going to the desert next time.
When I wake up in the morning, the wind outside is much less. After eating the hotel buffet, the watermelon in Ningxia is really sweet. This morning I will take a desert road X751. The total length of the road is 220 kilometers, and it is a road from Zhongwei to Alxa League Left Banner. At first, it was a vast desert, and a few or a dozen camels were scattered in the desert for food. As the desert gets smaller and smaller, and then there is the Gobi. On the way, you will pass through Helan Mountain, where you can enjoy the scenery of Helan Mountain. The middle part is the grassland, where you can see the vast grassland and the horses and sheep raised by herders.
Driving here, you will feel the different desert style along the way. At a glance, you can see the vast and boundless desert. The ever-changing desert patterns are continuous, and the uncanny craftsmanship of nature is amazing.
There are no cars on the road, so you can stop and take pictures at will, but the wind and sand are too big, so you can only enjoy the beauty of nature in the car.
Western Xia Royal Tombs
The Xixia Dynasty is an indelible memory in Chinese history. Now the yellow sand covers up the glory at that time, but the tombs of the Xixia kings still leave us with historical relics. The Mausoleum of the Western Xia Kings, bordering the Helan Mountains in the west and the Yinchuan Plain in the east, is one of the largest and most complete imperial cemeteries in China, as well as the largest existing cultural site of the Western Xia Dynasty. The Xixia King's Mausoleum has witnessed the glory of an empire. As one of the largest and best-preserved imperial cemeteries in China, the Western Xia Royal Mausoleum is not only the carrier of Western Xia culture, but also a witness of multi-ethnic exchanges. reputation.
Visit the Xixia Museum and follow the explanations in the museum to walk into the history of Xixia. The Xixia Dynasty was mainly established by the Dangxiang nomads. They have their own language and know how to buy and sell economically and reciprocally. They are the smartest among the early nomads. The Xixia Royal Tomb Museum truly and vividly shows the history of the rise and fall of the Xixia Kingdom.
The child asked why I came to visit this, regardless of its history, I just wanted to see the "Oriental Pyramid". Wind and sand erosion, the passage of time, our chances of seeing them will become less and less.
Zhenbeibao Studios
Zhenbeibao Western Film City is characterized by its simplicity, primitiveness, roughness, desolation, and folkization. The main scenic spots are composed of redundant film and television shooting landscapes such as Ming City, Qing City, and Old Yinchuan Street. This is also the largest film and television city in northern my country. It is the filming location of a large number of movies and TV series such as Red Sorghum, Great Dunhuang, Journey to the West, New Border Town Prodigal Son, Guanzhong Swordsman, Yellow River Ballad, etc.
To visit the movie theater, it is best to avoid the holidays. When we arrived here, it was already past 4 o'clock in the afternoon, but there were still a lot of people in the scenic spot, messy and disorderly.
Maybe when there are few people around, walking in the cinema, being in a movie scene that has traveled through thousands of years, and encountering the love story between Fairy Zixia and Zhizunbao, it seems as if you are in a classic story.
Yinchuan, a mysterious place, maybe because of time reasons, maybe because of the holidays, I can't feel the mystery of this city this time, and I can't go deep into this city.
I wanted to taste the most famous red willow branch barbecue in the area, but there was no parking nearby, and I was told that I would have to wait at least 2 hours to eat. I searched for many restaurants, but couldn't find a suitable one, so I decided to stay and order takeaway. The mutton skewers in Daxibei are really delicious. After eating it once, I was not satisfied, so I ordered it again. The only thing was that it was colder outside, so I didn't go to buy watermelon again, so I kept talking about it for several days after I came back.
The morning in Yinchuan was very quiet. Last night, I temporarily decided to go across the Loess Plateau to see Hukou Waterfall. I set off early in the morning, but I couldn't find a place to eat breakfast in the urban area. I got on the expressway and got down at the nearest service area to have breakfast.
After the meal, we headed all the way to the southeast, passed the Loess Plateau along the way, and were once again shocked by the magic of nature. Due to the high speed, I failed to experience the majesty of the Loess Plateau personally, so I will leave some ideas for going there again in the future.
Arrive at Hukou Waterfall in Shaanxi in the afternoon, get off the car and enter the core area of Hukou Waterfall, you can hear the roar of the waterfall from a long distance. Upstream of the waterfall, the water surface is wide, and the yellow river water flows over the rocky riverbed to the mouth of the pot. The closer the distance to the mouth of the pot, the more rapid the flow of water. When I arrived at Hukou, I saw that the galloping river was like a thousand troops and horses. Sure enough, the scenery is spectacular. The roaring and galloping Yellow River, fearless of dangers and obstacles, its indomitable spirit and endless spirit, isn't it the 5,000-year heritage of our Chinese civilization?
Faced with this situation, the tourists stopped the hustle and bustle, stopped laughing, concentrated their minds, and felt this unusual gift from nature.
The hotel we booked was the Educated Youth Wenyuan Hotel. It is said that it was invested and built by the educated youth in Beijing who jumped in the queue at that time. This hotel will be very large and very distinctive. The hotel lobby is decorated in the style of a five-star hotel. Except for the front desk, the staff are all wearing military uniforms that were once popular, and there is a shining five-pointed star on the door of each room. Inside the hotel, there are solid wood beds, tables and chairs, and lime brick walls. It was warm in the house. It's just that the hotel's food is average, and dinner is a little expensive.
There is a former residence of educated youth in Beijing near the hotel.
On December 21, 1968, Chairman Mao issued a call that "it is very necessary for educated youth to go to the countryside and receive re-education from the poor and lower-middle peasants." In 1969, six educated youths from Beijing lived here. They came to Yangjiazhuang to jump in the queue and go to the countryside, where they ate, lived and worked together with the villagers, and worked hard for socialism together. In order to welcome the educated youth, the people of this village built this cave dwelling for the educated youth.
The huge slogan on the cave dwelling brought the people who came here into that era.
In the evening, there is a performance in the hotel. The cultural performance tells the story of the educated youth going to the countryside, which is in line with the characteristics of Northwest China: enthusiastic, unrestrained, and simple.
During college, I studied the literature of educated youth for a while. Looking at the performance in front of me, I recalled the stories of educated youth in the book, as if I was also in that era.
In the last bonfire party, everyone was led by the drumming lady in front, and the atmosphere reached a climax.
The last day is on the road. In order to avoid the rush hour of the return journey, we seldom stopped along the way, and returned home safely at 4 pm, ending the trip.
