G315 Travel Notes | Water Yadan, who said there is no sea in the Gobi Desert

I went out for the May Day holiday and haven’t updated yet. I’m suffering from the post-holiday holiday syndrome. I’m thinking wildly and feel sleepy. Maybe I can take a day off to relax~~

Back to the topic, after walking the Qinghai-Tibet line, I rested for two days in Golmud, washed and dried the clothes that had been piled up for more than n days, checked the condition of the trains, had a few meals with Lao Hu, and carefully planned the route. The two decided to set off together and officially started their trip to Qinghai~~~
In order to save time, we went directly from Golmud to Liuge Expressway , passed through Chaerhan, and then turned to National Highway 315 from the Xitieshan Expressway, officially entering the place that is said to be the most Mars-like place on earth. ——Qaidam Basin.
Qaidam Basin
The Qaidam Basin is located in the northwest of Qinghai Province and is surrounded by several high-altitude mountain ranges such as the Altun Mountains, the Kunlun Mountains, the Qilian Mountains and the Bayan Har Mountains. The towering mountains block the entry of warm and moist airflow, making the Qaidam Basin The Damu Basin has become one of the driest places in my country. Millions of years ago, this was a huge lake. Due to long-term crustal movements and climate changes, the lake gradually dried up and the lake bottom emerged from the water. The result of this process created the current landform of the Qaidam Basin, including Gobi, Yadan, Salt Lake, as well as the unique Yadan landform on the water.
The now very popular National Highway 315 starts from Xining, Qinghai, and ends at Kashgar, Xinjiang. The total length is more than 3,000 kilometers. The 315 National Highway is a route that can pass through the Qaidam Basin, with excellent road conditions and excellent scenery. There are many ways to play. The scenery is stunning. Along the way there are the Dongtai Jinair Lake, known as the "Qinghai Split of the Maldives", the realistic version of the "Mars Landform", the world's unique water Yadan, water highway, the huge emerald lake and the "Devil's Eye" Aiken Spring, you can also cross the vast Gobi Desert and the Yadan Group. Because this trip is a single bicycle, the car is a two-wheel drive urban SUV and I don’t want to take risks, so I didn’t take an in-depth crossing route. Starting from Golmud, Follow National Highway 315 to Mangya, without entering Xinjiang, and go north via Lenghu to Dunhuang (I don’t have time to make a route map, so I’ll just take a screenshot and use it )
G315
Entering National Highway 315, there is only one word that comes into view - desolation. Along the way are endless Gobi deserts and various grotesque Yadan landforms. It is so similar to the scene of Mars seen in the documentary. In addition, the scenery on the road There are very few cars and it feels a bit like being on Mars.
In some places, there are some strange-shaped Yadan landforms like small earthen bags next to the highway. Those who are interested can get off the car and take a closer look to be sure to find shells or the like embedded in them. Passing by a spectacular Yadan group, I stopped on the side of the road to take some aerial photography. The wind was quite strong, and the wind and sand blew up from time to time on the road. I took the risk of blowing up my plane and took a flight👇
From an aerial perspective, the Yadan Group is a series of intermittent long mounds and depressions with trenches spaced apart. It is the first time I have seen such a dense Yadan Group, and this was only taken on the roadside. If I could go deeper, There must be something more spectacular.

There are really few cars, it is really too desolate , it’s really a "lonely road" haha; the straight road passes through the Gobi Desert, with no end in sight, as if it is connected to the sky, the road I saw a parallel rut next to it, which was probably made by off-road vehicles, but it's normal. This is a paradise for off-roaders.

U-shaped highway
I passed by the Internet celebrity slope of National Highway 315, which is the U-shaped highway in the pictures above. It was probably at the place with more than 700 road markers. I can’t remember the details. When I arrived, there was no one there. I just posed for photos. Of course, I’m not very interested. The back here is really overcrowded after it became an Internet celebrity on Douyin. You have to queue up to take a photo. You still have to pay attention to the vehicles in front and behind when taking photos here. Vehicles going downhill, especially large trucks, go at a high speed. Soon, even if you are showing off, you must also pay attention to safety first! ! !
The wind is very strong, and the wind and sand will blow from time to time. Anyway, it is quite exciting. There are not many gas stations along the way. If you pass by, try to fill up with some gas to ensure sufficient cruising range.
When we were approaching Shuiyadan Scenic Area, we passed by another internet celebrity "Maldives Qinghai Split" - Dongtai Jinair Lake . I saw that the weather was not very good so I didn't drive there. I missed it. I still feel a little regretful hahaha. Lao Hu got into a fight with me while driving his car. You should be more careful when getting off the road. It is easier for cars to get stuck on some sandy and saline-alkali land. Lao Hu got stuck and called me for help. Fortunately, he met a fellow from Jiangxi who drove a four-wheel drive off-road and pulled him out. If my car had gone there, it would probably have been trapped . Anyway, be careful first. Don't take the porcelain job without diamonds. .

The hills on the roadside feel like you have strayed into a scene from a science fiction movie or game. It feels extremely unreal.

Yadan on the water

G315 has the unique landform of Shuiyadan in the world. Shuiyadan has been built into a scenic spot with complete facilities. You can also experience RV accommodation in the hotel and restaurant. My ticket was free at the time, but I was forced to pay 60 yuan for the sightseeing ticket. It’s a routine. ~~Or if you want to play wildly, you don’t have to enter the scenic area. You can go down the road directly to the edge of Shui Yadan. However, it is recommended to drive a hard-core four-wheel drive off-road and at least two vehicles together, otherwise you will get stuck. But that's big trouble.

It was late in the afternoon, so Lao Hu and I decided to stay one night in a hotel in the scenic spot. There were no tourists at all during the epidemic, so there were four cars parked in the entire hotel. Excluding Lao Hu’s and mine, there was another car belonging to the scenic spot staff. , the hotel's facilities and hygiene are very good, and it's very cheap because of the epidemic. But now that it's popular here, it's really hard to find a room during the holidays, and the price is sky-high. Mainly because there is no place to live within a hundred kilometers of here. If If you don't live here, you might have to go to Dachaidan or Lenghu, which is a bit far. While it’s still dark, let’s take a picture of Yadan on the water👇

The vast majority of Yadan are distributed in extremely arid areas, and what I saw from the drone's image transmission was indeed such a magical sight - a large group of Yadan statues floating on a huge turquoise water On the water, there is a scene like a water ghost city. Who said there is no sea in the Gobi Desert? Anyway, I was shocked. The wind was really strong in the evening, and I didn’t dare to fly too high or too far. I will go deeper and take pictures tomorrow. I and Lao Hu will go to a scenic restaurant to have a big meal and then rest and sleep. Anyway, I live in the scenic area, so there is no rush to see it again tomorrow.
Early the next morning, I took a battery car in the scenic area. It was actually not too far to walk in, but I paid for it and it was for nothing. Moreover, it was a private car service. Haha, the driver sent us to a location farther inside. We walked inside and had some free time. The weather today was much better than yesterday.
You can walk to the water's edge and watch it up close. I estimate that most of the heights of this floating Yadan landform are between ten and twenty meters. It has rich and varied shapes. It is the only floating Yadan landform that has been discovered in the world. . But if you want to see the whole picture, you have to take an aerial view👇
The water in Shuiyadan is green. It is said that the lake is rich in copper. The lake is very clear up close. It turns out that there is no water here. Due to the thermal effects of the atmosphere and the diversion of the Narengrad River south of the Qaidam Basin, Flooded this area, forming the current landscape.
The Yadan group on the water looks like a majestic fleet
Yadan has different shapes, and if you look for it patiently, you can still find quite a few pieces here.
Of course, such an awesome scenery must be accompanied by a few show-off photos. After taking a few photos, I feel satisfied, put the plane away, and prepare to leave~

We left the scenic spot around noon and continued westward along National Highway 315. There were no features along the way, but the endless Gobi Yadan landforms.

xitaijinel lake
After walking for about 20 kilometers, a road crossing the water came into view. This is Xitai Jinair Lake.
Xitai Jinair Lake is a salt lake, but it has something special - it is a two-color lake. A road separates the lake. The color of the lake water on both sides of the road is different. One side is bluer and the other side is greener. The aerial photography effect is very good. Thumbs up.
Change the angle vertically downward to make it more obvious👇

A group photo is a must

Mangya direction
After passing Xitai Jinair Lake, we continued westward towards Mangya. The road became more and more desolate. In addition to yellow sand everywhere, there were Yadan landforms of various shapes. It was really boring~~
After passing Huanggualiang, we went uphill to the highest point. The scenery here is much better, and we can overlook the endless Gobi Desert. It was already afternoon, so we stopped to have a rest and have a meal. I didn’t stop much along the way, so I also waited for a while. Lao Hu made some self-heating rice. While waiting, his cell phone had no signal, so he simply sat on the side of the road in a daze.
Send me a photo of the car and Borgward will pay you haha
After waiting for a while, Lao Hu and the fellow Jiangxi fellows who rescued him at Dongtai Lake also arrived. They stopped and posed for photos, feeling a bit like a motorcade.

Let me end this article with a photo of the road to Mangya. There is really a lot of material on National Highway 315, so it has been split into two articles. The demand has been quite busy recently, and I don’t have time to edit the aerial video. I will update it later. slip~~

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