Previous: Zhangjiakou, Xilin Gol, Baiyinxile, Inner Mongolia Prairie, Tianlu, Cier Mountain, Yunquan Temple


In my mind, there are some places that, if possible, must be visited once in this life, including Tibet, Xinjiang, Zhangjiajie, Inner Mongolia Grassland, etc. This year, I was fortunate to travel to the hinterland of the Inner Mongolia Prairie with my neighbor, Big Brother Sun and his family. Impression Quite deep, hereby record.


schedule:

Day 1: On June 16, take the train from Qingdao to Beijing, and then charter a car from Beijing to Zhangjiakou

The next day: On June 17, drive from Zhangjiakou to Xilingrad Grassland

The third day: play in the grassland on June 18

The fourth day: Return to Zhangjiakou from the grassland on June 19, and travel to Tianlu

Day 5: Play in Zhangjiakou City on June 20

Day 6: Return to Beijing by chartered car from Zhangjiakou on June 21, visit the zoo and climb the Great Wall

Day 7: Visit the Forbidden City and Military Museum on June 22

Day 8: Visit Nanluoguxiang and Houhai Boating on June 23, and return to Qingdao by train at 5:55 pm

Accommodation

Zhangjiakou City: Xinhua Building

Inner Mongolia Grassland: Home of Herdsmen (will be highlighted)

Beijing: Park Plaza Hotel


first day:


We bought the train tickets from Tongcheng with our passport number in Singapore. To save time, we went to the train station one day in advance and exchanged the round-trip train tickets with our passports. We departed from Qingdao on the G180 at 8:30 in the morning on June 16. In order to avoid losing our luggage during the journey, we brought an oversized suitcase this time, as well as a box of dried seafood and a box of fresh seafood, which were quite heavy. Hired a Little Red Riding Hood at Qingdao Railway Station, asked him to push the luggage to the fast entrance, and let him put it in the compartment where the luggage is stored. Although it cost 60 yuan, 20 yuan a piece, a bit expensive, but it is still worth it of. When we came back from Beijing, we got on the train late, and the luggage storage room was full, so we had to put it at the junction of the two cars. It took some time to get out of Beijing when we arrived at 12:00 noon. The elevator space is very small, it can only accommodate three or four people and a few pieces of luggage at a time, and those who want to use the elevator usually bring their families with them, take care of the old and the young, or carry large luggage, so the elevator There was a long queue, and some people even had a verbal dispute.


Finally got out of the station, waited for a while, Mr. Sun helped us to contact Mr. Yu, he came to pick us up, he drove an ordinary car, and I couldn’t tell what brand it was, and the interior of the car was quite old. The most terrible thing is that there is no seat belt in the back row, which really made me a little worried along the way, but luckily I arrived smoothly. We still took Master Yu’s car on the return trip. Although we changed to a better car, there was still no seat belt in the back seat, and Master Yu himself basically didn’t use seat belts. It seems that safety awareness in this regard needs to be strengthened.


It had just rained in Beijing that day, so it was not as hot as expected, but Zhangjiakou was even cooler, and even felt a little cold when I got off the car. We arrived in Zhangjiakou City at about three o'clock in the afternoon, and then stayed in the family room in Xinhua Building recommended by Brother Sun in the city center. The room was unexpectedly good, divided into two rooms, one double bed and two single rooms. There is a bed for one person and a desk, but the room rate is only more than 300 RMB per night. The price/performance ratio is very good, and the breakfast is also available. There are porridge, pickles, and steamed buns, which are very suitable for our northern appetite.


At 6:30 in the evening, Brother Sun came to the hotel to pick us up for dinner, and introduced Brother Liang who also came from Singapore to us. Brother Sun's family has many relatives, so two tables were held in two private rooms that night. This Muslim restaurant is very famous in Zhangjiakou. It occupies a large area and has two floors. The location of the hotel is also in the city center, only 5 minutes walk from Xinhua Building.



A photo of me and Boss Ding

The one in the middle of the table is the first delicacy I really recommend: sheep tail. Originally, I didn't eat mutton, and felt that mutton had a strong mutton smell, but this mutton tail not only does not have a trace of mutton smell, but also has a rich aroma, moderate fat and thin, the flesh and blood are separated, and it melts in the mouth. I couldn't help but devour several sheep tails. The finished mutton tail not only kept its perfect shape, no bones were broken, but there was no shredded meat on the bones, which showed how well the mutton tail was stewed. The day before we left Zhangjiakou, we came to the Muslim Hotel again and tasted the sheep tail again. The first time we ate it dry without soup, the second time we soaked it in soup, but no matter how we ate it, the taste was the same. . According to Brother Sun, the boss has his own ranch, so the mutton in his restaurant is directly provided by his own ranch, and the meat quality will be particularly delicious.


The second one is sheep scorpion. This is the first time I have eaten sheep scorpion. Compared with the tail of sheep, the meat of sheep scorpion is a bit thicker, but my husband is a gourmet. He once ate sheep scorpion in a restaurant opened by a Chinese in Singapore. According to He said it was the best sheep scorpion he had ever eaten, bar none.

The third is the doornail, which is actually fried beef buns. Because the size of the buns is the same as the doornail on the gate of the Forbidden City, it is named doornail. The doornails are fragrant, oily but not greasy, with good looks, content and taste. On the way back to Zhangjiakou from the grassland, we also had a meal of steamed buns in Xilin Gol. The big Mongolian steamed stuffed bun was also a so-called beef steamed stuffed bun.


So if you have the opportunity to come to Zhangjiakou in the future, you must come to Muslim Restaurant and try sheep tail, sheep scorpion and door nails. In addition, you must drink the milk tea here to relieve the greasy, lose weight depends on it, it tastes great.



the next day

On the morning of June 17th, after packing and checking out, I met Brother Sun and the others in the parking lot, and drove all the way to Inner Mongolia at 9:30. Including the relatives of Brother Sun’s family, we have a total of 16 people, so Brother Sun’s cousin Gang Gang specially borrowed an 18-seater diesel-burning van to accommodate all of us and our luggage. The road condition of the expressway is particularly good, and there are very few cars. The straight road leads to an unknown distance.

nice scenery on the road


Gangang is a transport soldier in the army, and his driving skills are not so good. Even so, we didn't arrive at our destination until about four o'clock in the afternoon, especially the last section of the road. If we hadn't just driven, we would definitely get lost. The hospitable big brother and the beautiful and capable sister Ximei have been waiting for us because we hope to see how they kill the sheep. Although it was a bit cruel, it felt very shocking. It was the first time in my life that I knew that sheep could be killed like this. The eldest brother just used a small knife to cut a small opening in the abdomen of the sheep, then reached in to find the artery in the heart, and directly cut off the artery with his hands. There was no bloody scene, but the sheep couldn’t do it after seeing it. The big brother even took out the heart of the sheep, the so-called heart out, I think. This method of killing sheep can retain all the blood of the sheep to make blood sausage, which is also a unique delicacy.



The children were attracted by the beautiful scenery and couldn't wait to run up the hillside to take pictures. Bai Yun seemed to have been lonely for a long time, attracted by the children's laughter, falling from the sky, watching them running happily.

The beauty of the grassland is like a big movie in a casual shot. Brother Sun told us that compared with other grasslands, the grassland here is particularly beautiful because of its hillsides, undulations, layers, and changes.


It’s really not easy to prepare dinner for 18 people. We didn’t start dinner until nearly 8:00 pm. The highlight of this evening is the hand-meat meat made from the sheep that was just killed in the afternoon. As the name suggests, don’t worry about the image. Let us grab it with our hands, eat meat with big mouthfuls, and drink with big bowls. According to Sister Ximei, because there are more than 40 kinds of Chinese herbal medicines in their pasture, their sheep can be said to have grown up on herbs. Even the feces of sheep can be compared to Liuwei Dihuang Wan. Accompanied by the beautiful and loud Mongolian song of the eldest brother, in the frequent toasts of sister Ximei, and in the fragrance of grassland white wine, my husband and brother Liang were completely drunk. We did not let down the good wine, lamb and hospitable host in the grassland .


Although I no longer live in a yurt, there are no toilets or shower rooms here. Fortunately, the weather is very cool, so it doesn’t matter if I don’t take a shower. It's just that I'm not used to going to the toilet, so I can only find a place that no one can see and solve it on the spot. But Sister Ximei said that she will apply in the second half of this year to install the toilet. If she comes again next time, she will not have this problem. Then there is sleeping. Although there are a lot of people we go to, Sister Ximei’s house has many rooms and many beds, so we can still sleep if we squeeze together with our clothes on.

The big heated kang in Sister Ximei’s house slept six of us, and it didn’t feel crowded at all.


third day

June 18th was a busy and fulfilling day. After breakfast early in the morning, Miss Ximei took out the Mongolian costumes specially bought for us and asked everyone to change into them and take pictures as souvenirs.

Notice the horses on the hillside? Big brother and his ranch used to raise military horses for the army, so their horses are very tall and handsome. But based on this, it is absolutely impossible to ride such a horse without special training. Although the eldest brother found the most obedient horse later, all of us just sat on the saddle, and the eldest brother led the horse and let the horse turn around in two small circles.

The only son of the eldest brother works in the city. When he heard that we were coming, he drove back specially and showed us the correct opening posture for riding a horse. He flew onto the horse with his body slightly tilted, and his hips barely touched the saddle. The horse gallops rapidly on the grassland, disappears behind the hillside in the blink of an eye, and reappears from the top of the hill after a while, swooping down quickly. How can it be called "handsome"?

After taking the photo, Gangang drove the car, and the eldest brother showed the way and took us to a nearby Naoer (nao, Mongolian, meaning lake) to go fishing. But unfortunately, Naoer refused to let him in because he was building a platform specially for fishing. So we turned around and went to an education base next to it, which contained some animal and plant specimens, as well as some old utensils and tools. The stuffed animals are very realistic, and it also let me know for the first time that the wolves on the grassland are really big. On the way back to the big brother’s house, we saw a birch forest, so we stopped the car quickly. We picked up a lot of birch branches and prepared to light a bonfire at night.

Beautiful Nao, although the sky is a bit cloudy

The prairie wolf specimen is so realistic

beautiful flowers on the prairie


After lunch, because I didn't sleep well the night before, I took a long nap, maybe three hours. When I woke up, I found that the children hadn't slept, and they sawed the birch branches into small pieces. And set it up, ready for the bonfire party at night. Under the guidance of Uncle Gangang, the son also had a good time driving a van.

The piled firewood and the yurt at Sister Ximei’s house

This is the flock of sister Ximei’s family. The pasture of Ximei’s family has 7,000 mu of land, which is divided according to the standard of grazing one sheep per ten mu of land. This avoids excessive eating of the pasture, and only sheep can be raised. Raising goats is said to be because goats eat grass so fiercely that they will pull out the roots to eat.

Sister Ximei's vegetable field, so that sometimes there will be no fresh vegetables to eat.

The highlight of today's dinner is kebabs. The mutton used is from the sheep that was slaughtered just yesterday. My husband once again showed his strong food skills, and the kebabs were well received.


It was getting dark and the moon came out. This was the first time in my life that I saw a red moon rising gradually.

When it fully rose, the red moon became very bright again.

Brother Sun is very experienced in lighting bonfires. After a while, the blazing bonfire started to burn. We set off the fireworks brought from Zhangjiakou and danced the shapeless Mongolian dance around the bonfire. What a rare experience!

roaring bonfire

brilliant fireworks

After dinner and the children fell asleep, the men continued to drink, and we women gathered around a table and played mahjong until three o'clock in the morning. After getting up early the next day and having a quick breakfast, Miss Ximei drove a car with us to Xilin Gol to visit her sick father-in-law. So far, the trip to the grassland has drawn a perfect end. Thank you big brother and sister Ximei for your hospitality!

On the morning of the departure, Brother Sun's wife photographed the beautiful grassland in the morning light.


The beautiful and capable sister Ximei is a kind person. On a rainy autumn night seven years ago, a self-driving couple from Shanghai lost their way on the grassland. They followed the lights of Sister Ximei’s house, but hesitated at the door for half an hour and dared not come in. Welcomed by the owner. It was Sister Ximei who saw their car lights, opened the door, greeted them warmly, invited them to dinner and drinks, and kept them overnight without taking any money.

This is sister Ximei's wechat avatar, it's even more beautiful than Jingmei.


fourth day


June 19th, beautiful sky road


On the way back to Zhangjiakou from Xilin Gol, Ganggang deliberately made a detour to let us appreciate the beautiful scenery of Tianlu. Due to time reasons, we only walked a part of it, and it already felt beautiful. And we came a bit early, and the flowers haven't bloomed yet. If July comes, when all the colorful flowers are blooming all over the mountains and slopes, I don't know how beautiful it will be!

beautiful sky road


There will be a relatively wide piece of flat land at intervals beside Tianlu for everyone to rest, take pictures, and there are also businesses where everyone can ride horses and camels. However, the folk style here is relatively tough, and it is not easy to bargain. It only takes about 50 yuan to ride a camel for about one minute, which is a bit expensive. But the children still enjoy it, especially when the camel gets up and kneels, there is a little stimulation.

fifth day

On June 20, we went to see the exhibition hall of the 2020 Winter Olympics in the morning. Zhangjiakou is a very suitable place for skiing, and there are many ski resorts. After the promotion of the Olympics, people who come here to ski in the future should be able to A lot.

In the summer ski resort, there are some inflatable facilities for children to play.

In the afternoon, Brother Sun and his family specially took us to visit the Yunquan Temple on Ci'er Mountain. Speaking of the grandma temple on Ci'er Mountain, Brother Sun said that it is quite effective. If you want to ask for a child, you can take a stone from the bottom of the mountain, worship here devoutly, and you will conceive and have a child when you go back. That's what my daughter asked for. Brother Sun and his wife will come to Ci'er Mountain and Yunquan Temple every year when they return to Zhangjiakou to fulfill their wishes and pray for blessings. What impressed me deeply is: 1: This temple is "the first Buddhist temple outside the Great Wall". At this time, I suddenly remembered that Zhangjiakou is the "beyond the Great Wall" often mentioned in master Jin Yong's martial arts novels. It turned out that my concept of "beyond the Great Wall" was very vague, and today I finally stood on the land of "beyond the Great Wall".

The second is that this pagoda, which looks like a copper cast, has densely packed Buddha statues and exquisite carvings. To me, copper-cast thousand-pagodas like this seem to be uncommon, although the number of temples I have visited is also very limited.

The third is the couplet at the gate of Grandma’s Temple:

The first couplet is: Couples have a good relationship and a bad relationship.

The next couplet is: The debt collection and repayment of children's Harajuku debts will come from the debtor

Everyone's interpretation of this couplet should be different, and the deep meaning in it should be realized slowly.

Ci'er Cave


The fourth is the natural mineral water in the water cave

There are three famous caves in Yunquan Temple, namely Wind Cave, Water Cave and Ice Cave. Now all three caves have doors and are locked. Brother Sun said that the water in this water cave is extremely clear and sweet, better than any bottled mineral water, so we specially brought a few empty mineral water bottles to fill the water. After giving the staff a little money, they opened the door and fetched a bucket of water for us from the cave. It was really cool and sweet to drink, especially after washing hands and faces with this water, the heat from our body was completely blown away. Dispelled, very refreshing. The water in the water cave really deserves its reputation and is worth drinking.

Thank you, Big Brother Sun's family, for inviting us to have such a beautiful and unforgettable trip to Zhangjiakou and the grasslands!