Xinjiang Winter Love Song 8: Hami’s Secret Winter Land

When talking about winter travel in Xinjiang, everyone knew that they mainly visited Northern Xinjiang in winter, and at most Ili. However, few people knew that there are also some special winter scenic spots in Hami, Eastern Xinjiang. However, because they are not conventional scenery, most people It's hard to appreciate. Lao Gu gained experience with the team leader, Mr. Ma. In 2019, he only heard about grass planting, but this year he made a special trip with Mr. Ma.

The first stop to Hami is to a place called Sandaoling Town. This is the location of Sandaoling Coal Mine, a town that originated from the mine. The mining area began in the 1960s. After 20 to 30 years of mining, it has become the largest open-pit coal mine in the northwest. Of course, I went here not to see coal mining, but to see a few "last steam locomotives".

On the way, we saw flying clouds on Tianshan Mountain that looked like unicorns spitting water

Sandaoling Mining Area

Mining area sunset

Steam locomotive appears

Mining Trail

As a typical representative and living fossil of the Industrial Revolution, steam locomotives are easily seen by people born in the 1960s and 1970s when they were young. At that time, Xi'an Railway Station's inbound overpass and street overpass both spanned the railway lines. Locomotives often passed under the bridges panting with white steam on more than a dozen railway lines. When Lao Gu was a child, he most wanted to go there to observe the locomotive up close and experience the feeling of flying in the clouds and mist. Nowadays, steam locomotives can generally only be seen in train museums or tourist experience areas, and it is very rare to see them actually running on railways. The last time Lao Gu saw a steam locomotive was in 2019 at the starting point of Highway 66 in Arizona, but apparently the locomotive was just a display for viewing and taking photos.

In my country, since the forward-type steam locomotive No. 7081 of the Inner Mongolia Jitong Railway was officially retired in 2005, the era of steam locomotives on national mainline railways has ended. Now more than ten years have passed. The last few steam locomotives that are still running in China and even the world currently only exist in Sandaoling Coal Mine. Four construction-type train sets roar alternately every day, shouldering the important task of transporting coal out of the mine.

Although Sandaoling's coal production is declining in the face of resource depletion, Sandaoling's external popularity is increasing day by day, because in the eyes of steam locomotive enthusiasts, it is like a holy land. The steam at several hundred degrees is most clear and spectacular in cold weather, so winter is the best season to watch trains in Sandaoling. Of course, ordinary tourists cannot enter the mining area without advance arrangements and contacts.

Due to time constraints, Lao Gu and the others did not board the motorcycle to visit this time. However, the highlight of the trip was undoubtedly watching the steam locomotive running after sunset under Mr. Ma’s arrangement. Different from the daytime, the white water vapor on the front of the train evolved into a blazing flame in the blue night sky. The train passed by, and the flickering sparks slowly fell from the sky with their long tails. The scene was unforgettable.

sunset

At this moment, please follow the ancient lens and review the steam locomotive that exhales thick white mist, listen to the familiar "besides, besides..." sound unique to steam locomotives from your childhood, and feel the train as night falls. The thick flames!

Steam locomotive video collection (horizontal screen recommended)

In Sandaoling, there is also an abandoned living area that is increasingly becoming a filming location for Internet celebrities. This is the filming location of the movie "No Man's Land". It is very similar to the Qinghai oil town - the town ruins next to the Lenghu base. Its ruins of buildings and facilities still maintain the style of before the 1970s and 1980s. It is a good example for humanistic photography. A fan favorite.

Chairman Mao’s portraits and quotations from the 1960s and 1970s

Post and Telecommunications Bureau

Xinhua Bookstore

auditorium

Office Building

Dormitory area

Symbol of the 1980s

pool table

video room

Seeing these familiar pictures, Lao Gu seems to have returned to the era he once lived in...

The second stop to Hami is to go to Haidao. This is also the place that Lao Gu has dreamed of and has been yearning for for several years.

The Dahai Road is an ancient Silk Road that remains in historical memory. It was the closest road between Dunhuang and Turpan in ancient times. Its direct distance is nearly 500 kilometers, which is half the distance from Dunhuang to Turpan via Yiwu Road. Its opening and use began in the Han Dynasty, but official use tended to stop after the Tang Dynasty. The Great Sea Road is the most legendary section of the Silk Road. Along the way, there are ancient castles, beacons, inns, fossil mountains, desert wild camel herds, and many rare geographical features. The biggest obstacle in crossing the Great Sea Channel is passing through the uninhabited land here. The Kashun Gobi Desert, 180 kilometers away from Hami City, is the main section of the Great Sea Channel. The Garshun Gobi is vast and empty, like a vast sea. It was called the "Big Sand Sea" in the Tang Dynasty, and the "Great Sea Road" also got its name.

I actually met a Tibetan gazelle (locally called yellow sheep) on the road.

Huge network of power lines near compressor stations

Finally, we arrived at the entrance of Dahai Road, and the Yadan landform began to appear:

Like a vulture waiting

Aliens and baby elephants are testing each other

It looks a bit like Dawang Peak in Wuyi Mountain

Entering the core area of ​​​​Haidao, the scenes are even richer.

natural holes

cruiser

Many Yadans have been collapsing due to wind and sand erosion.

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traces of the impact of flowing water

A line of sky

the power of nature

 

Wonderful craftsmanship - Immortal Cave

Standing on Yadan and looking around, the scene is even grander and more spectacular.

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Old naughty boy

Watching with eager eyes

Aladdin's lamp

 

martian brothers

The sun sets in the west, and the sun sets quickly.

God works hard, and the sunset appeared at the last moment

Because it is located in an uninhabited Gobi land with no signal, the environment is harsh, and the road conditions are complex. Therefore, the sea channel can generally only be entered by four-wheel drive and by those who are familiar with the road. It also needs to be adequately equipped and ready to respond to severe weather changes and emergency exits. This is also the reason why it is difficult for ordinary tourists to visit. Considering that it was still winter, Lao Gu and the others only entered the core area of ​​​​Haidao for a while and did not camp. When the wind came early the next morning, they gave up entering again. But the short experience was enough to be amazing, not to mention that they were a group of 4 people who reserved the entire Daidao area and did not meet anyone else. Next time there is a chance, Lao Gu hopes to camp inside and go further to shoot more scenes.

The exit of the highway from G30 to Haidao is a place named Liaodun, which is the third stop of Lao Guhami's trip.

This is the campsite where Laogu and his friends came out from the sea, but more importantly, there is an ancient architectural relic that is not known to the general public - the Ledun beacon. This beacon is located on the New North Road of the Silk Road, guarding the western gateway of Hami. It is known as the first beacon in Hami. It was built in the Tang Dynasty and has a history of more than 1,300 years. It is run by Uncle Maimaiti Ali, a herdsman who lives here. Guard and protect. Hami still has 63 beacons from various eras preserved, making it the region with the most and best protected beacons in Xinjiang. This beacon is relatively well preserved.

Generally, a soft ladder is built from the outer wall to the top of the tower, but the Liaodun beacon has a doorway at the bottom. You can follow the steps to enter the interior. There is a support platform on the second floor in the center of the tower for people to live inside and look out. You can observe the enemy's situation at the entrance, and there is a shed at the top where you can set off fireworks.

Observatory on the second floor

bottom entrance

Suspected to be an internal kitchen smoke outlet

There are houses built around the beacons for the garrisoned troops and traveling merchants to rest and replenish supplies, as well as camel pens, sheep pens and other buildings to support rest and self-sufficiency.

There are still many underground caves around the beacon, probably used to store food, grass and weapons.

The outermost ring of the beacon is a relatively complete earth wall. There are also mechanisms on the earth wall that you can't expect. One is an arrow hole or observation eye that is wide on the inside and narrow on the outside. The other is a small bird's nest-like bird's nest every few meters. The hole is suspected to have been used in ancient times to light candles and other lighting objects at night.

Several old poplar trees in the southeast are suspected to be ancient trees left over from history. There are actually gurgling springs flowing at the roots of the trees. The existence of water sources in the vast 800-mile wind zone of the Gashun Gobi provides important conditions for business travelers to rest here. It can be imagined that this was a very important military station and inn on the Silk Road at that time, so it could have such a building structure and scale.

I was unable to take photos of the night sky in the sea channel, but Lao Gu completed star trails and sunrise shots here. Using ancient buildings as the foreground for shooting, I feel that this kind of image recording is more meaningful!

In just a few days, I saw three important landscapes in Hami, which are rarely seen by ordinary people. This winter trip to Hami is very worthwhile!