It is said to be a Qinghai-Gansu loop tour, but in fact it just starts from Xining and goes around the Qaidam Basin. (As shown below)
After the summer vacation, there were fewer people going out for fun, so I took advantage of this time to book this trip on Magnum.com. The car was a Jinbei 8-seater van, and a group of 8 people (a mother and daughter from Guangdong, a couple from Sichuan, 2 buddies from Hubei, and our couple) started this trip to the northwest. Let’s get back to the point, since it’s a picture note, here’s the picture.
Equipment used:
A7M2+240+Laowa15/2
RX1
iPhoneX
First stop Kumbum Monastery
I have been here more than 10 years ago, and this time I revisited mainly to accompany LD. Compared with before, I feel that the temple is still the same temple and the pagoda is still the same white pagoda, but the religious flavor is lighter and the commercial flavor is stronger. I avoided the hustle and bustle of the crowd and took some small photos, but it was not a waste of time to revisit the old place.
Second stop Qinghai Lake
Qinghai Lake is not as gentle and lively as the lakes in the south of the Yangtze River, nor is it as rough as the sea. It is more vast, far-reaching, deep and heavy, very much like the character of the Northwest. Of course, the most intoxicating thing about Qinghai Lake is that it perfectly integrates the grassland and the sea. Qinghai Lake is surrounded by continuous mountains and grasslands, with blue sky and white clouds, reflected in the lake, as if the grassland has entered the sea. In this Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, in this vast northwest, there is such a lake. It is eclectic and embraces everything. It is the "tears of God".
Sunrise in Chaka Town
The third stop: Chaka Salt Lake
"Chaka" means salt pond. Chaka Salt Lake, Kumbum Monastery, Qinghai Lake, and Mengda Tianchi are one of the four major scenic spots in Qinghai and are known as the "Mirror of the Sky" in China.
The small train track divides the Salt Lake into two parts. The small train goes back and forth between the two lakes, making the entire salt lake come alive.
The red flowing dress, the white salt pond, the blue sky, everything is dreamlike.
Time and space seemed to have stopped, everything was so quiet, everything was so beautiful. It was so good to see a crystal-like glass world and a place like a fairyland!
Good scenery on the road
The fourth stop: Emerald Lake
The beauty of the Emerald Lake made my eyes light up. The lake water is white, green and blue in three colors, gradually changing from the edge of the lake to the middle of the lake. The blue sky, white clouds and distant snow-capped mountains are reflected in the lake, and the grassland at the foot of the mountain complements the lake water. I have seen the beautiful water in Jiuzhaigou Valley before, but this time I came to Qinghai, the water of Emerald Lake left a deeper impression on me.
The fifth stop: Qinghai Yadan Devil Landform
Yadan landform, or wind erosion ridge, is a typical wind erosion landform. "Yadan" means "hill with steep walls" in Uyghur. Due to wind abrasion, the lower part of the hill often suffers strong erosion and gradually forms an inward concave shape. If the rock layer on the upper part of the hill is relatively loose, it will easily collapse under the action of gravity to form a steep wall.
Over tens of millions of years, strong winds cut the originally flat lakeside platform into haphazard cuts, and the wind-cut grooves turned into desert sands. The remaining soil platforms followed the wind to form ridges, with the ridges lowering from the south to the north and bulging from the north, just as if they were traveling on the sea. The group of whales on the back is called the whale-backed Yadan landform.
Take a photo of the most beautiful highway S210
Sixth stop Yangguan
Yangguan was established during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Huo Qubing defeated the Huns and took back Hexi. The Han Dynasty established four counties and two passes along the Hexi Corridor. These two passes are Yumen Pass and Yang Pass. Because Yumenguan is in the north and Yangguan is in the south, it is named Yangguan. At that time, Yumen Pass was mainly used to defend against the Huns in the north, while Yang Pass was used to defend against the Qiang people in today's Qinghai area. There is a saying: "You walk on your Yangguan Road, and I will cross my single-plank bridge." Yangguan Avenue has been passed down as a symbol of wealth since ancient times. That was after the opening of the Silk Road. When the Han people went to the Western Regions to do business, most of them left Yangguan and took the southern route to Kashgar, which is now Xinjiang. Because the Han people made money by doing business, they called Yangguan Road the road to wealth. A Weicheng song by Wang Wei, with the line "I urge you to drink another glass of wine, there will be no old friends when you leave Yangguan in the west" has made Yangguan a household name.
Stop Seven: Crescent Moon Spring and Mingsha Mountain
Crescent Moon Spring is named after it curves like a crescent moon. Surrounded by quicksand, the spring is not covered by the sand despite strong winds, which makes it a wonder. This first spring in the desert is not as artistic as imagined, maybe because it looks too much like a crescent moon. It looks like it was dug manually. But it is rare for it to be born in this vast sand mountain.
Mingsha Mountain looks good from a distance. The yellow sand mountains, blue sky, and curved and smooth lines turn the wild sand mountains into a desert tourism landscape with unique style and charm.
Climb Shashan to watch the sunset. The mountain is steep and the sand is soft. It is not easy to climb to the top of the mountain. Every step is taken, and I am out of breath after walking a short distance. But when we reached the top of the mountain, bathed in the sunset and saw the sun slowly setting, the soft light reflecting on the sandy mountains, I felt that the climb was worth it.
Stop 8 Mogao Grottoes
To be honest, during this trip to the Northwest Loop, I actually came here for the Mogao Grottoes. As a student of history, how could I not be obsessed with Dunhuang Mogao Caves. This time I came to Mogao Grottoes, to this "art museum in the desert" and "museum on the cliff". Although I only entered a few caves, I was satisfied.
It is not allowed to take pictures inside the cave, so there are only photos from outside the cave.
Stop 9: Night tour of Dunhuang City
During the Han and Song Dynasties, the Silk Road was an important transportation route to the West, and Dunhuang became a shining pearl on the Silk Road.
Nowadays, Dunhuang is still a node city on the Silk Road. It is world-famous for the "Dunhuang Grottoes" and "Dunhuang Murals". It is the location of the World Heritage Mogao Grottoes and the Yumen Pass and Yang Pass on the border of the Han Dynasty Great Wall. It is a national historical and cultural city.
In the urban area of Dunhuang at night, along both sides of the Dang River, there are bright lanterns, and the calm river water reflects the lanterns. Being in such a night scene will make you forget that there is a barren desert not far away, but it will feel like a place in the south of the Yangtze River. An ancient town in the water town.
The water of the river is clear, sparkling, and full of reflections, which is so beautiful. At night, pedestrians in twos and threes wander leisurely in the beautiful scenery, and a harmonious and soft picture comes into view.
Stop 11: Zhangye Danxia Wonders
Zhangye Colorful Danxia is a landform landscape with Danxia landforms and colorful hills in China. The uncanny workmanship of nature is vividly reflected: majestic momentum, spectacular scenes, strange shapes and colorful colors.
When entering Zhangye Colorful Danxia Scenic Area, you have to take a bus to the core attractions. Each viewing platform has a different scenery.
We were lucky enough to experience three weather conditions in the scenic area: cloudy, light rain and sunny. After the rain, the rainbow loomed in the far horizon, and the colorful danxia was an eye-opener for us.
Marvel at the uncanny craftsmanship of nature that has such imagination to carve out such beautiful scenery. Any words seem pale in front of such beautiful scenery. You can only experience it yourself.
Stop 12: Menyuan Prairie and Gangshika Snow Peak
Menyuan Prairie has pure blue sky and white clouds, and goshawks are circling. If you come in July, the hundred-mile sea of rapeseed flowers formed by 600,000 acres of rapeseed flowers will create a unique and magnificent spectacle. Unfortunately, we are already in September, and there is no longer the spectacular sea of flowers. But looking around, the vast grassland is like a palette, with blue sky and white clouds, and boundless pastures with flocks of cattle and sheep, forming a "sky" It is a beautiful landscape picture of green, vast fields, wind-swept grass and low cows and sheep.
Gangshika Snow Peak has many modern glaciers above an altitude of 4,500 meters, with a total glacier area of 81 square kilometers. Whenever the sun sets in the west and the sky is filled with sunset, the top of the mountain is crystal clear and shining, but below the snow line is a vast grassland. The altitude difference, complex landforms, glaciers and hot springs, lakes and long rivers are magically combined to form its profound and rich charm and majestic and elegant temperament.
Stop 13 Xining
After returning to Xining, the team's trip ended and everyone went back to their homes. At the warm invitation of the students, the two of us spent another two days in Xining and nearby Xining.
The urban area of Xining is not large, and the entire city is surrounded by mountains on three sides. From a distance, you can see tall buildings, wide streets and complicated overpasses. It feels very similar to other cities in the mainland...
We originally wanted to visit the Qinghai Museum, but the museum was closed for maintenance, so we came to the Qinghai Art Museum and visited the "Strengthening Qinghai" exhibition.
Visit the Dongguan Mosque
A blanket has been laid out in the courtyard, because it is Friday, the holy day in Islam, and many Muslims will gather at the main temple to pray. Normally, there are basically seven to eight thousand people. During major festivals, such as Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr, the number of people can reach twenty to thirty thousand, and the maximum number is seventy or eighty thousand. The entire area around the mosque is under martial law. Those who come early can kneel in the courtyard, while those who come late can only bring their own blankets and kneel on the road around the mosque...
Elderly Hui people waiting to pray
Stop 14 Kanpur
Kambula National Geological Park has unique Danxia landforms and dense forests. People praise the landform here as: "The winding peaks show thousands of shapes, and the red cliffs are shaped into thousands of shapes." The Lijiaxia Reservoir in the scenic area forms a magnificent landscape of "clear water holding Danshan Mountain, and the dam locking the Yellow River".
Stop 15 Xia Qiong Temple
Xiaqiong Temple is the ancestral temple of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Founded in 1349, it is one of the oldest Tibetan Buddhist temples in Qinghai. The temple was built on the ridge of a mountain peak. It is small in scale and has more than ten halls. The overall layout is compact, simple and profound.
The mountain peak where Xia Qiong Temple is located stands on the north bank of the Yellow River. Looking down, the nine-bend Yellow River winds around like a jade belt winding around the earth.
Looking to the north, you can see the mountains, mist and clouds, and the glow of the sun. It is worthy of being a Buddhist holy land.
From August 30 to September 8, this northwest tour lasted a total of 10 days. The deep blue water of Qinghai Lake is clear, the Chaka Salt Lake is the mirror of the sky, the morning glow of Chaka Town, the emerald lake under the snow-capped mountains, the Yadan landform of the Great Gobi Desert, the lonely beacon tower of Yangguan, and the Mingsha Mountain The setting sun, the exquisite murals of the Mogao Grottoes, the rainbow after the colorful Danxia rain, the cattle and sheep running on the Menyuan prairie, the magnificence of the Kanbula Bishuidan Mountain and Xiaqiong Temple, the first of the four ancient temples in Qinghai, all left me with memories Made an unforgettable impression.
