Xinjiang Travel Notes (Part 7)

7. Devil City

Devil City is the last attraction of our tour group. Devil's Town, yes A wind-eroded landform. A large piece The piles of earth and rocks are high and low, uneven, strange and grotesque. Located in the Wuerhe mining area in the lower reaches of the Jiamu River on the northwest edge of the Junggar Basin in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, southwest of Karamay City 100 kilometer. 100 Kilometers is considered very close in Xinjiang.

This is a typical Yadan landform area. "Yadan" means "steep-walled hill" in Uyghur. It is a type of wind-eroded landform formed in arid and windy environments. In layman's terms, thousands of years of wind, rain and rain have weathered and corroded the rocks and soil. Everything that can be blown away has been blown away, and only what cannot be blown away is left.

The Devil's City runs northwest and east-west, with a length and width of about 5 kilometers, a radius of about 10 square kilometers, and a ground altitude of about 350 meters. According to investigation, during the Cretaceous period about 100 million years ago, this was a huge freshwater lake with lush plants growing on the lakeshore. The water inhabited and multiplied Urhostegosaurus, plesiosaurs, dinosaurs, Junggar pterosaurs and other species. For ancient animals, this place was a "paradise" for aquatic animals to gather together. Later, after two major crustal changes, the lake turned into a vast sea of land sandwiched between sandstone and mudstone.

There is a magical legend about Devil City. Legend has it that this place turned out to be a majestic castle. The men in the castle were handsome and strong, and the women in the castle were beautiful and kind. The people in the castle worked hard and lived a worry-free life with plenty of food and clothing. However, as wealth accumulates, evil gradually takes over people's hearts. They began to indulge in fun and drinking. In order to compete for wealth, the city was filled with intrigues and bloody fights, and everyone's face became ferocious and terrifying. In order to arouse people's conscience, the god turned into a ragged beggar and came to the castle. The god told people that it was evil that turned him from a rich man to a beggar. However, the beggar's words did not work. Instead, he was insulted and ridiculed by the people in the castle. In anger, the god turned this place into ruins, and everyone in the castle was crushed under the ruins. Every night, the souls of the dead wail in the castle, hoping that the gods can hear their confessions.

Looking from a distance, you will marvel at its magnificence and majesty, and marvel at the uncanny workmanship of nature. Going deep into the Windy City, you will feel its extraordinary terror. It is surrounded by many strange-shaped mounds, some of which are as high as a four-story building. The side walls of the mounds stand steeply. The principle of sedimentation can be clearly seen from the section of the side walls. The feet are covered with dry and cracked loess, and no grass grows on the loess. There is deathly silence all around. If you come here alone, you need to pinch your face with your hands, otherwise you will not believe that everything you see is real. Even on a non-windy night, people can tremble with fear. If it is a night with dim moonlight and the surroundings are desolate, the situation will be even more terrifying.

The hills were blown by the wind into various "buildings", some like the Liuhe Pagoda on the Qiantang River in Hangzhou, some like the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, some like the pyramids in Egypt, and some like Cambodia. Some of the Angkor Wat temples are like eagles spreading their wings. Due to the unique scenery here, many movies have used Devil City as a location, such as the Oscar-winning film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." More and more tourists come to Xinjiang for tourism and adventure.

The Devil City area is also rich in natural asphalt and deep underground oil. This Yadan landform covers a very large area and is mixed with the Karamay Oil Field. The Devil's City for visiting is only a small area.

The tour guide said that starting tomorrow, she would lead a twelve-day tour of Hong Kong dedicated to photography. At each scenic spot, we would catch the sunrise early and catch the sunset late, so that we could take good photos.

On the day we went, the wind was beautiful, the sun was shining brightly, and there were many people visiting. After walking around for a while, I didn't feel the horror.