In addition to Xinjiang, what I most want to see in the northwest are Mogao Grottoes, Zhangye and the high-oil cauliflower in Qinghai. But I am lazy and afraid of hardship, so I keep putting it off. Haha, in the special year of 2020, it is just right to go to the vast and sparsely populated northwest to fulfill my wish. . Anyway, it was really tiring to walk down the mountain and the road to the high altitude, but the scenery was so pleasant that I had to record it, so I finally exported the photos lazily.
Menyuan, Qinghai Province-Qilian rapeseed flowers (July 19, 2020)
We left Xining early in the morning and headed north. We saw the continuous mountains. The sky was high and the clouds were wide. It rained and cleared sometimes. The altitude gradually increased to 3100-3200m. Before noon, the weather completely cleared. On the mountain road, we suddenly saw the foot of the mountain in the distance. Pieces of golden rapeseed flowers (haha, I arrived in Menyuan County in less than 3 hours, and I really have no idea about the geographical location of the northwest). It was the first time I saw rapeseed flowers on the plateau. Under the blue sky and white clouds, under the snow-capped mountains, the golden yellow rapeseed flowers The color blocks are so beautiful. The map shows the place name as Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
The lens gradually zooms in – I never knew that a telephoto lens could be used in this way. When you zoom in to shoot a landscape with clear lines, you can turn the real scene into patches of color, and the vast land is like a palette.
Give a close-up picture of the snow-capped mountains:
I went around the winding mountain road and came to the foot of the mountain to get up close and personal with the rapeseed flowers. It was already mid-to-late July and the roads were full of blooming rapeseed flowers. In Guangdong and Hubei, the rapeseed flowers bloomed in February and March. I couldn’t help but feel emotional about our motherland. It's really big
Haha, I saw the base station antenna on the top of the mountain. It was very friendly. As a rule, I have to take a picture when I encounter it.
The above-mentioned rapeseed flowers are all beside the highway. They are not man-made landscapes in scenic spots. I really like them.
I thought I was just going to see the sea of flowers on the roadside, but it turns out there are still some, but you have to climb over the mountain first and pass by the Jingyangling Pass, which is the highest elevation today, with an altitude of 3767m.
Arrive at the famous Zhuoer Mountain Scenic Area in Qilian County, with an altitude of 3100m. The continuous mountains here are the famous Qilian Mountains. The mountains I saw in geography textbooks and martial arts novels were finally stepped on on the ground, haha.
At the gate of the scenic spot, you can see the rapeseed flowers in the mountain col opposite.
In high-altitude areas, you can only climb slowly. It's a good time to walk around and take pictures. The red Danxia landforms paired with the green peaks and golden flowers are as beautiful as a picture scroll.
On the other side of the mountain, there is a large flat valley, with flower fields and highland barley fields (guessed) intertwined like a carpet.
Zhuoer Mountain also belongs to the Danxia landform, but the vegetation is good, so there are not many exposed red hills.
I need to write about the weather in particular. Although it sometimes rains and sometimes sunny, it is generally very respectable. When it rains, it is basically on the road, and it clears up when we get to the scenic spots. In high-altitude areas, even if it rains in July, the temperature is only 11 or 2 degrees when it rains. It is really cold. I wear a T-shirt and a quilted jacket, which I have to put on when it rains. Especially on Zhuoer Mountain, the sun was shining brightly and the wind was so strong that it gave me a headache. A jacket, a hat, a thin scarf, a mask, and sunglasses were all indispensable!
In addition, record the Kumbum Monastery (July 18, 2020)
I used my spare time in Xining to visit the famous Kumbum Monastery in the rain. Kumbum Monastery is one of the six major monasteries in Tibetan Buddhism.
White Pagoda of Kumbum Monastery:
I don’t know why you can park at will in the temple. I really like this long row of white walls and red windows. There are so many cars that you can’t avoid it.
The Golden Tile Hall is the only one that can be photographed from this angle. It is made of pure gold, haha.
Photography is not allowed inside the splendid palace, only the exterior. In short, it is an extremely luxurious temple. The collection is not inferior to that of the Potala Palace. Among them, the Big and Small Golden Tile Hall and the Maitreya Buddha Hall are the most famous. Other Buddha statues, murals, and embroidery are all very exquisite. Very shocking!
The Tibetan beauties I met by chance were very generous and allowed tourists to take pictures of them.
