Yinchuan • Once a dynasty flourished here

Total text: 2688 words 5 pictures

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

 

 

I thought Yinchuan was buried in the Gobi Desert

Unexpectedly, flowers bloomed in the desert

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When I walked out of the airport, the dazzling sunshine hit my face directly. I was sweating slightly because of the heat. I looked at the people around me, wearing shorts and shorts, and then I looked at myself, wearing a sweater, jacket, and Martin boots. "Uh...Are we dressed too strangely? " I asked my companion, "Well, right, judging from the eyes of the people around us, they must think there is something wrong with us. "Actually, that's right. You can't blame us for dressing up in fancy clothes. I really didn't expect that 4 the weather in Shanghai at the beginning of the month was obviously cool, but after more than three hours of flight to Yinchuan, it turned into summer.

I opened the parasol with one hand to block the sun, and took out my mobile phone with the other hand, waiting for news from the pick-up person. After a while, a 7-seater van slowly landed next to us, and the bell rang. Seeing the driver talking on the phone, I stepped forward confidently and said, "You are ××'s big brother." "Yes." "Okay." I called my companion to get in the car.

The person who picked up the car was my younger cousin. He was 1.8 meters tall, with a strong body, and came over wearing short-sleeved slippers. There was a cigarette in his mouth. When he saw us getting into the car, he swallowed a few puffs and threw it away. My cousin is from my hometown. It is said that he was young and restless. He left the south and came to the northwest to make a living in his teens. I got in touch with him and it was during the Chinese New Year that I was getting married. It was this cousin who came to pick me up. I chatted with him along the way and listened to his stories about Yinchuan. What a coincidence, I had the idea of ​​​​going to Ningxia, so it was natural for me to join him. WeChat. Of course, at first he thought I was just mentioning it casually. When I sent him the flight time, he was probably a little surprised that this girl really came, hahaha!

"It's hot. I see you are wearing so much. The weather here in Yinchuan has a huge temperature difference between day and night. It feels like summer at noon, and like autumn and winter in the morning and evening." "Yeah, it's really hot," I responded while taking off my sweater, "I always thought it was cold in the northwest. , I didn’t expect it to be divided into time periods.” "It's like this in the Northwest. Sometimes there are four seasons in one day." Then he pointed out the window again, "How do you feel about this place?" "It's empty." I looked at the endless plain road in the distance. It seemed that I could see the sky and the earth at a glance, unlike in the south, where there were tall buildings when I looked up, and when I looked down, I could see the sky and the earth. It's the traffic, the indescribable noise and crowding. "This is why I like this place. I am neither impatient nor impatient. The sky is high and the sky is high. I am broad-minded and fat." After taking a look at his huge body, I thought to myself that he is indeed quite broad-minded and fat.

The car drove forward slowly, and he glanced sideways at several buildings under development. "These high-rise buildings are already the tallest in Yinchuan. This place used to be in the countryside. In recent years, it has been slowly developed into a new city in Yinchuan." District. The house price is only 5,000 to 6,000 yuan. It’s cheap. I’m dreaming about living here in Yinchuan. The land is sparsely populated and the cost of living is low. 10w is enough to live with dignity.” “Well, it’s quite suitable for retirement. , but I think you still have to work hard when you are young, otherwise you will regret it when you look back on your boring life when you are old." "Hahaha" He laughed boldly a few times, although I didn't understand what it meant.

The car passed through streets and drove from the suburbs to the old city. Our hotel was on a certain street in the old city. I have to admit that the streets in Yinchuan are indeed wide. You have to wait for two traffic lights to cross the road. After all, it is the city center. There are no less shops and pedestrians on the streets than in big cities. It is so bustling that it feels like you are still somewhere in your hometown.

Driving to the hotel door, after checking in, my cousin helped carry the luggage. There was a small double room. "You guys live here?" He pointed to this rather simple room and said. "Yes, are you traveling on a budget? You have to save money. After all, we are all people with no income." He probably thought that at our age and coming from Shanghai, we should live in a more luxurious way, but how could he expect that it would be so simple? s room. My companion and I both quit our jobs and came here to travel on a budget, so we are naturally stingy about the budget.

Starting from the hotel, my cousin planned to take us to see the scenery of Yinchuan. When we went out, the sun gradually set, and its red rays illuminated the entire sky. I looked at the time and it was already 8 o'clock. "Is it so late at night in Yinchuan?" "Yes, you've never seen the sun set so late. It's like this in the west, and sometimes it can even shine until nine o'clock." I couldn't help but sigh at the vastness of China.

In about half an hour, we came to a brightly lit area with tall buildings, modern buildings, and restaurants all over the streets. This place is comparable to a first-tier metropolis. I used to think that the northwest was poor, but only after seeing it with my own eyes did I realize how poor it is. Seeing is better than smelling. Several stores we entered were fully booked. I discussed it with my companions and thought about it. My cousin had to pick up and drop off and move things today, and now he had to pay for a treat. I was really embarrassed, so I suggested that we go for a simple meal. A little something.

The Huaiyuan Night Market in Yinchuan is relatively famous and relatively cheap, so I went there. It took about half an hour to arrive. It is located near the university town. The whole street is not very long. If you don’t buy anything, you can walk through it quickly. However, there are many stalls on both sides, plus a steady stream of pedestrians, eating while eating. I walked around for nearly an hour. Teppan squid, Xinjiang special naan, grilled gluten, stinky tofu with juice, handmade yogurt and other snacks from all over the world, and the prices are two yuan, three yuan, five yuan, relatively cheap. After a good meal and a drink, it was almost 10 o'clock. At this time, except for the night market, the other streets were already extremely quiet. The van driving on the road seemed particularly lonely. My cousin told us about his youth. At that time, he was very high-spirited. I wanted to make a lot of money wholeheartedly, so I came to Yinchuan to do business with a few friends. I made a lot of money more than ten years ago, but I spent it quickly. I had a lot of friends and friends, so one vote would last for a year. I don’t know whether it’s because business has become increasingly difficult in recent years, or because he’s getting older, but my cousin has settled down, married a wife, and had children. Those great dreams that I once had are no match for my wife and children.

The next morning, with a little sleepiness, we were picked up by my cousin and arrived at the Xixia Imperial Tomb. Empty, distant and lonely, this is my first impression of the imperial mausoleum. As the imperial mausoleums and royal mausoleums of the Western Xia dynasties, it borders Helan Mountain to the west and Yinchuan Plain to the east. It is one of the largest existing imperial cemeteries with the most complete ground ruins in China, and is also the largest existing Xixia cultural site . Sitting on the shuttle bus and listening to the tour guide explaining the history of Xixia, looking at the small hills in the distance, which should be conical tombs to be precise, it feels like entering the world of tomb robbers written by the Southern Uncle San, so that Later, I came to Li Yuanhao's mausoleum specifically to see the style of the Xixia mausoleum. Unfortunately, in this 360-degree mausoleum, I couldn't find any openings to pry through, so I simply sat on the ground and looked at this vast world. The ancients have gone, but their bones are still there. The yellow soil that is constantly corroded by wind and rain is probably a witness. Hundreds of years of changes in things and people make it seem extra lonely under the sky.

From the imperial mausoleum to Gubeibao Film and Television City, there are vast tracts of hills and wilderness in the middle. Through the car window, I can see rows of telephone poles passing by. The sunlight is shining on the road, and sections of it are reflected through the poles. The shadow road gradually fades away, giving me a feeling that it is another year. It seems that at a certain age in my past, I sat on my bicycle and walked along the fields on both sides, counting the telephone poles standing on the side of the road. At that time, the speed was not fast, the sun was shining directly on my face, it was warm, and the most important thing was that I should be very happy at that time. Unlike now, this word seems to be isolated from me.

It was lunch time when we arrived at the film and television city. My cousin took us to eat lamb. It is said that the mutton in Ningxia is really good. The meat is tender and not smelly. Even a person like me who never likes to eat meat can't help but try a few more. piece. Gubeibao Film and Television City is famous for filming Westward Journey. The tower where Zixia Fairy and Zhizunbao chatted has now become an internet celebrity check-in attraction. Many vendors are renting the same style of clothes. Along the way, you can see countless tall, short, fat and thin people. of Zixia. Stephen Chow would never have imagined that a film that was criticized for being useless at the time would now become a classic.

 

 

Compared with Hengdian Film and Television City, Gubeibao Film and Television City is more rough and heroic. Earthen walls, earthen buildings, and earthen floors are areas where rhinitis is most common when the wind blows and sand fills the sky. But this is probably the characteristic of the Northwest. Looking for primitive simplicity in the rustic desolation is like looking for the origin of life in reincarnation.