I first went to Zhangye in 2010. That time I took the Gansu-Qinghai Ring Road. Later I visited Zhangye several times. I checked a lot of information about Zhangye, went to many places in Zhangye and tasted a lot of Zhangye’s specialties, so this article is all about Zhangye. It is full of useful information about Zhangye tourism. Zhangye, on the Silk Road, is one of the four counties in Hexi, "the arm of Zhangye to connect the Western Regions". On both sides of the Heishui River, it is Ganzhou's "land of plenty" with "sweet springs everywhere". From the desolation of the Han Dynasty to the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, from the colorful Danxia landforms to the rolling Qilian Mountains to the Shandan Army Horse Farm where horses gallop. There are snow-capped mountains on the grasslands and deserts beside the clear water. Zhangye has both Jiangnan charm and fortress style, but it is a good place for travel.
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"Zhang Guo's arm fluid is used to connect the Western Regions": This is Zhangye!
You may not know much about Zhangye, but you may have heard the song "Losing me in the Qilian Mountains will make my animals unable to live; losing me in the Yanzhi Mountains will make my married woman colorless." The origin of this song is in Zhangye .
During the Western Han Dynasty, in 121 BC, the 19-year-old hussar general Huo Qubing marched to Hexi and defeated the Xiongnu. King Hunxie and Xiutu led their troops back to the Han Dynasty. The Huns lamented about this, "Losing me in the Qilian Mountains will make my six animals unable to live; losing me in the Yanzhi Mountain will make my married woman colorless." Because there is a kind of grass called red and blue grass growing in Yanzhi Mountain, and the flowers bloomed by this grass are called red and blue flowers, which can be used to make rouge. Without Yanzhi Mountain, their women would not have such cosmetics.
Zhangye is located in the northwest of Gansu Province, in the middle section of the Hexi Corridor. It was called "Ganzhou" in ancient times, and the name "Gan" of Gansu Province comes from here. Zhangye City has a permanent population of 1.31 million. There are 38 ethnic groups including Han, Hui, Tibetan, and Yugu. Among them, the Yugu are the only ethnic minority in China that live concentratedly in Zhangye.
Zhangye City is a national historical and cultural city, an important town on the ancient Silk Road, an important thoroughfare of the New Eurasian Continental Bridge, an excellent tourist city in China, the Heihe River, the second largest inland river in the country, runs through the entire territory, and is the commercial grain base of Gansu Province. It has been " It has the reputation of "Golden Zhangye and Silver Wuwei". Zhangye has Asia's largest military horse farm, Shandan Army Horse Farm, the national wetland reserve Heihe Wetland Park, and Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park, which was rated as one of the top ten magical geographical wonders in the world by the US National Geographic magazine.
This is Zhangye.
Attractions
Generally, when traveling to Zhangye for the first time, you will go to the Colorful Danxia Scenic Spot, which is 40 kilometers away from the city.
Danxia geological structure is formed by rock accumulation. It refers to the long-term weathering and stripping of red sandstone and water erosion, combined with the influence of special geological structure, climate change, wind and other natural environments, forming isolated peaks and steep strange rocks. It is mainly developed in the horizontal or gently inclined red strata from the Jurassic to the Tertiary. It is the general name for various Danxia peaks developed along vertical joints in the thick red sand and conglomerate layers. Zhangye Qilian Mountain Danxia is mainly composed of red gravel, sandstone and mudstone. It has obvious imprints of arid and semi-arid climate. It is very unique with cross-bedding, steep walls, vertical joints and colorful colors.
Zhangye Danxia is the only complex area of Danxia landform and colorful hilly landscape in China. It was selected as one of the "Seven Most Beautiful Danxias in China". In 2011, it was named one of the "Top Ten Magical Geographic Wonders in the World" by the National Geographic magazine.
Tickets:
Tickets for Zhangye Danxia Geopark are (Colorful Danxia: 74 yuan, consisting of two parts: ticket 54 yuan + sightseeing car 20 yuan), Binggou Danxia: 60 yuan, consisting of two parts: ticket 40 yuan + battery car 20 yuan, Colorful Danxia Tickets for Xia Xia and Binggou Danxia can be purchased separately).
Colorful Danxia can enter the scenic spot again early the next morning. When buying the ticket, remember to tell the conductor to stamp it for the next day to enter the park, and rush in before eight o'clock the next day.
transportation:
1. Take the bus from Zhangye to Danxia at Zhangye West Bus Station. It takes about half an hour and the one-way fare is 10 yuan. You can buy return tickets at Zhangye West Station. You can take any bus returning before 18:00, or you can buy tickets at Danxia Station.
2. Chartering a car in Zhangye costs about 100 yuan.
Entrance:
There are three entrances to Colorful Danxia: West Gate (Nantai Village), North Gate (Qicai Town), and East Gate (Sunan County). The west gate and east gate are the old gates, and the north gate is the newly opened main entrance. It is very close to the west gate. The parking lot is large and lively.
Relatively speaking, the west gate and north gate have more convenient transportation, while the east gate is more remote. After entering the scenic area, the distance traveled by shuttle buses is also far. Moreover, due to the small number of tourists, the shuttle bus runs every hour.
Observation deck:
Observation Deck No. 1, the colorful cloud sea platform, is close to the west gate (big scallop, monks worshiping Buddha and other attractions).
Observation Deck No. 2, the Colorful Fairy Terrace, is close to the west gate (there is some backlighting at sunrise, so you can experience a helicopter here.)
Observation Deck No. 3, the Colorful Cloud Terrace, is close to the North Gate (National Geographic Magazine The scenery here is used above).
Observation Deck No. 4, Colorful Deck, is close to the North Gate (recognized as the best view, best for watching at sunset, where you can see the landscape of Daoshan Mountain and Sea of Fire. There are also landscapes such as the Red Cliff Great Wall, Silk Road and Sky Road).
Observation Deck No. 5, Colorful Splendid Deck (there is some backlighting at sunrise, so you can see the pork belly landscape here).
Note: The above 1-4 observation decks are the four stations where the shuttle bus will stop. No matter which door you enter, you will stop at these four stations. The difference is that the order of visit is different.
Observation deck order:
North gate: 2, 3~1~5~4.
Ximen: 1～5～4～2,3.
East Gate: 2, 3~1~5~4.
No matter which door one enters, the shuttle bus will rotate counterclockwise. This has the advantage that during the visit, no matter which door one enters, everyone can sit on the bus. However, please note that at Site 4, after the visit, you can no longer sit casually. If you come in through that door, look for the car through that door.
postscript:
The best time to see the colorful Danxia is when the rain has passed and the sky is clear. After being washed by the rain, the colors become more vivid and distinct. However, sunny days are rare after rain, and sunny days are not bad, but the effect of cloudy days will be greatly reduced.
During the day, the effect is best at sunrise and sunset, so there is a rule to re-enter the park the next morning. However, the light at sunrise is weak and it is backlit, so the scenery is worse. From my point of view, unless there are special needs, it is not necessary to enter the park again.
Tickets:
Tickets for Binggou Danxia: 60 yuan, consisting of 40 yuan for tickets and 20 yuan for battery cars.
transportation:
Take the bus to [Binggou Danxia] from Zhangye West Bus Station. Departure time: 7:30 am – 6:30 pm, fare: 11 yuan, get off at the entrance of Binggou Danxia Scenic Area.
Tickets: 74 yuan.
transportation
At the South Bus Station, you can take the tourist bus to Matisi Temple. It will arrive at Thirty-Third Day Square of Matisi Temple in 1-2 hours. The shuttle bus departs at 7:25, 8:25, 9:25, and 16:30 every day. There is one class each, and the fare is 11.5 yuan/person. There are two shuttle buses back to Zhangye. The time is not fixed. You need to ask when you get on the bus. It is approximately between 16:30 and 17:00. The fare is 11 yuan/person. Round trip 21.5 yuan/person.
Pingshan Lake Grand Canyon is about 60 kilometers away from Zhangye city. It is one of the most beautiful landscapes in Zhangye Landscape Grand View Garden! Pingshan Lake Grand Canyon is a unique red layer landform landscape, integrating natural wonders and canyon exploration.
Pingshan Lake Grand Canyon has gone through hundreds of millions of years of wind, rain and vicissitudes, and is a magical creation of nature.
The urban area of Zhangye City was built during the Yong'an period of the Western Xia Dynasty and has a history of more than 900 years. There is the largest indoor clay sculpture reclining Buddha in the country. The Buddha is 34.5 meters long and 7.5 meters wide at the shoulders. A person can lie flat on it with just his fingers. In addition to the Giant Buddha, there are many statues of the Ten Disciples and the Eighteen Arhats in the hall, as well as murals recording Journey to the West and the Classic of Mountains and Seas.
It is located in the middle section of the Qilian Mountains, 30 kilometers away from Minle County. The most famous tourist attractions are the Biandu Canyon, Batu Cave, Stone Buddha, Zhuge Monument and the pastoral scenery of Biyuntian and Huanghuadi. It’s best to go in June and July when the rapeseed flowers are in full bloom, it’s more beautiful.
It is recommended to take the Zhangye-Minle-Biandukou route. The scenery along the way is beautiful and the road conditions are also very good.
Shandan Army Racecourse is 130km away from Zhangye City and 50km away from Shandan County. Shandan Military Horse Farm was established by Huo Qubing and has a history of more than 2,100 years. It is the oldest horse farm in the world and the largest horse farm in the world. Many old movies have been filmed at the military horse farm, such as "The Wrangler" and "Princess Wencheng". "wait. The horse racing field is flat with luxuriant water and grass. The grass is green in summer and golden in winter. Horses were raised here as early as more than 3,000 years ago. Shandan Military Racecourse is divided into main field, first field, second field, third field and fourth field. The first and third fields have better scenery and more horses. From mid-to-late July to early August, you can see large swaths of rapeseed flowers on the road, and the various small flowers on the grassland bloom alternately in June, July and August.
2. Shandan-Junma Yiyi: There are two shuttle buses from Shandan County to Junma Yiyi. The first bus departs at 9:00 and returns from Yiyi at 13:20 p.m.; the second bus departs at 15:40 Departs and returns at 7:00 the next day. The drive takes 4 hours.
3. Shandan-Junma Sanchang: There is one shuttle bus from Shandan to Sanchang at 15:30, and two buses around 16:00. The journey takes 1-2 hours, and the 16:00 bus sometimes does not arrive at the venue, so be sure to ask before getting on the bus.
The Qiyi Glacier is the glacier closest to the urban area in Asia, with an altitude of about 4,600m, and there is snow on the top of the mountain all year round.
Yanzhi Mountain, also known as "Rouge Mountain", is located 45 kilometers southeast of Shandan County. It is said that there is a plant called red blue grass growing on the mountain, which can be made into red dye. After being mixed with oil, it can be used as rouge. , hence the name Rouge Mountain, a provincial forest park. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty once met with envoys from 27 countries in the Western Regions here and held the "Exposition of All Nations". Every year on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, there is the Shandan Yanzhi Mountain Temple Fair.
The total area of grassland is 2.68 million acres, which is the habitat of the Yugu ethnic group. There are Danxia Geological Scenic Area, Machangtan Grassland, Kanglong Temple, Snow Mountain Adventure Tourism Area, Shiwo Meeting Site and other tourist attractions within the territory.
Tickets: 60 yuan.
It is a landmark building in Zhangye, you can visit it. Officially known as Zhenyuan Tower, commonly known as Drum Tower, it is located in the center of Zhangye, where four streets from east to west, north and south meet. It is the largest existing Drum Tower in the Hexi Corridor.
gourmet food
Rolled chicken is another representative food of Zhangye cuisine. It mainly consists of rolled noodles and served with chicken. It is one of the dishes that Zhangye people grew up eating. Whether it’s a holiday family gathering or a banquet to entertain relatives and friends, a chicken stuffed roll is a staple dish in Zhangye.
"Rubbing Fish Roe"
Rubbed fish roe is a traditional pasta snack unique to Zhangye. It is named because the shape of the finished product is thick in the middle and pointed at both ends, resembling a small fish. Although the method of rubbing fish is a little complicated, it tastes very good and delicious. It can be eaten dry or stir-fried.
"beef noodles"
There are also many kinds of noodles in Zhangye. You can choose a relatively old noodle restaurant, which makes delicious beef noodles and noodles.
Strategy
In-depth and comprehensive game guide
On the first day, you can go to Binggou Danxia Scenic Area in the morning and Colorful Danxia Scenic Area in the afternoon and evening. Visit Zhangye Drum Tower at night. The next day, go to the Matisi Temple Scenic Area. The third day, folk music-Biandukou-Shandan Army Racecourse.