Shangri-La in the Qinling Mountains, traveling through large temples, and one person’s road to becoming a donkey

There is a big temple deep in the Qinling Mountains. You don’t have to look at the scenery when you come back from the big temple. The mystery of Shangri-La attracts countless favors. Here, the mountains and valleys are quiet, the streams gurgling, eagles shoot in the sky, the prosperity is like brocade, and the valleys are full of fragrance. Being there makes you feel relaxed and happy, and the worries of the world are swept away.

At the watershed of the Qinling Mountains, 62 kilometers south of Xi'an, there is a trail leading to a paradise. Walk along this rugged road for about 20 kilometers and arrive at a very remote mountain village - Dasi Village.

The temple is located in a quiet and beautiful valley west of the Fengyu watershed in the Qinling Mountains. It is about 1,700 meters above sea level. It is surrounded by mountains and rivers, has a wide view and rich meadows. The temple was once a mountainous countryside deep in the Qinling Mountains. It was also one of the ancient plank roads from southern Shaanxi to Guanzhong, the Linglong Ancient Plank Road. In the prosperous period of the Tang Dynasty, due to the superior terrain and unique natural conditions, the famous Dagu Temple (referred to as the Dasi) on the ancient plank road was built here. There are many famous pagodas, Buddhist buildings and mountain residents who settled here.

The temples were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, and there are no traces of them now. There are only the mud houses of local villagers. Now 95% of the houses have been abandoned, and there are only a few households.

Dasi Village is known as the Shangri-La of Xi'an in Shaanxi, with beautiful scenery and village-like houses. Around 2000, travelers started to get involved, and the name of Shangri-La in Shaanxi gradually became known throughout Shaanxi. The main reason is that Dasi Village is located in a deep mountain with an open terrain. Looking to the east is Guangtou Mountain in the Qinling Mountains, the top of Chang'an, and to the west is Chaoyang Cave and Wangwuzui, towering towering cliffs leaning against the sky. The Gaoguan River meanders between the valleys. Several farmhouses are half-hidden under the walnut trees. In the early years, wheat was sown in autumn and corn was planted in summer. It was a paradise scene, and there were many wild animals. Takin jumped by from time to time, and pheasants croaked. It was truly an isolated paradise.

Speaking of the Great Temple Route, it is very famous in Shaanxi. To judge whether a traveler in Shaanxi has become a donkey, he or she must walk around the great temple. Only after you have finished walking the great temple will everyone call you a traveler.

Ever since I entered the hiking community, the temple has always been one of the places I particularly want to visit. Seriously, I have been thinking about going to the temple for camping for a whole year. Almost every time, my friend Feng Liang had to leave Xi'an because of something else before departure. As a result, I never had the chance to set foot on the road to the temple.

In the past few days, I also had an impromptu idea to go for a heavy walk. More importantly, I wanted to go for a walk in the mountains alone. The big temple that I had been thinking about for a long time became the first choice destination.

To be honest, I regretted climbing mountains in this season, especially the heavy equipment. I underestimated the degree of muddy roads on Bald Mountain. I trudged hard all the way and almost gave up crossing and chose to descend. In the end, I chose to persevere. After all, it’s not my brother’s style to give up halfway after setting out on the road; but fortunately, after arriving at Guangtou Mountain, there was almost no mud on the route towards the big temple; the road in the ditch was dry, and the ditch was Snow is relatively easy to walk on. However, I still sincerely recommend that if you want to climb mountains recently, it is better to just go to the shallow mountains to walk your legs.

The day before the mountain climbing, I had been riding for a day. My body was probably a little tired, and I didn’t sleep well at night. I hit the road before I could recover, and I was out of shape all the way. In addition, I also had to load up on the muddy road. I started climbing at ten o’clock and arrived at Bald Head at almost two o’clock. Shanwang Hongshi, it was almost three o'clock when we set out for the big temple, and it was already seven o'clock in the evening when we arrived at the big temple, and it was already dark. Facts have proven that even if you exercise continuously, your body will be overwhelmed. Even if you exercise all the time, you will still feel tired and not as powerful as after recharging your energy.

Most strong donkeys would choose to travel through Dasi in one day if they were to travel lightly. However, my brother chose to be in heavy equipment because he wanted to stay in the mountains for a few more days and carry enough food for four days. There should be no one who can eat better than me when traveling through Dasi. That’s a lot to carry. On the first day, I really wanted to camp at Bald Mountain and then go to the temple, but I chose to give up. After all, the temple is the real destination.

If you want to go into the mountains alone, choose during the week, otherwise you will definitely not be able to escape the crowds on weekends, and there may be travel companions wherever you go. I chose to hike through the temple on Monday and Tuesday. From Bald Mountain onward, I didn’t see anyone for two days. I camped one night and was the only one in the entire mountain. It felt really cool.

To be honest today, I really didn’t want to leave, but because I was afraid that my relatives outside would be worried, I still chose to leave. I originally planned to stay one more day, sit quietly in the big temple alone to daze, and carry enough food. Maybe I will go to the temple again, alone, and then stay for a few more days, eat and drink before I think about it.

Since I didn't want to come out, it was already late when I decided to leave. It was already past twelve o'clock after packing up the tent and leaving, and I spent the whole morning in a daze inside the tent. I was able to choose to leave after twelve o'clock, mainly because I underestimated the distance behind me and thought it was only a little bit. If I had known it was not that short, I would definitely have chosen to stay in a daze, stay one more day, and set off early the next morning.

The downloaded track only went to Dasi Shitou's house (I was careless), so I thought that there was only a little bit of road left, but it turned out that the road behind was still quite long; I must take pictures when I see the scenery (I kept loading and unloading the tripod), and there was still a lot of space in the middle. Cooking and boiling water made me unable to walk out in a hurry. The more anxious I became, the more tired I became when walking. I couldn't see the end of the road and almost made myself stupid. I thought I couldn't get out, so I almost spent another night camping. Fortunately, my legs were healed, so I reloaded my gear and walked quickly. I arrived at the gate of Gaoguan Scenic Area safely before dark.

I was pretty lucky. Not long after I left the scenic area, I met a neighbor of Shitou's family and took me to the bus station for free using eDonkey. If it weren't for the kind-hearted master who gave me this ride, I would have missed the last bus. Maybe my brother would be there. Let’s continue camping for one night on the mountain road! The good-hearted masters are from a family deep in the mountains of Shangri-La Temple in Qinling Mountains, but now they have all moved to the new village of Dasi outside Gaoguan.

I was thinking along the way that there are so many unused houses in the deep mountains and old forests. It would be great if I could contact the owner and rent it to live in seclusion. When I came out, I met a kind-hearted master and asked him about the old house in his deep mountain temple that could be rented out. , 8,000 yuan a year, maybe one day you can’t find and contact my brother, he may be living in seclusion here, haha, it may not come true, but I really have this idea. Because this is a paradise, few people will come to disturb you.

To get to the depths of the temple, the conventional way is to take the Chicken Nest up Guangtou Mountain, then take Forest Farm Road down to the three-way intersection, and then go to the temple. Either go directly to the forest farm road from Fenshuiling, go to the three-way intersection, and then go along the forest farm road in the direction of the temple to the temple; go directly to the forest farm road from Fenshuiling, which is a road that can be used for off-road vehicles. Although cars can't drive on it now, I like to ride it. If you are traveling, you may consider starting from this road and riding your car to the temple. Regardless of starting from the watershed or the chicken nest, this is a classic hiking route in the outdoor world: Fengyu Watershed-Dasi Village-Gaoguanyu

An unconventional way to walk is to cross from Haogou Shanglujiaoliang to the three-way intersection of Linchang Road, and then go to the big temple. No matter which day you walk, you need to exit from Gaoguan when you finally reach the temple. The road from the temple to Gaoguan is not as easy as imagined. The road is not only long, but also requires constant climbing over passes and rivers. If you plan to ride a bicycle, you must careful. There is also the possibility of doing it the other way around, entering from Gaoguan and going through the big temple backwards. However, those who dare to consider this are all great gods. Just like the "tree" I know, he went through the big temple backwards in one day, which is really admirable.

However, the big temple is not like other shallow mountains, there are more people along the way. It is recommended that you don’t try it easily if you don’t have enough outdoor experience. Even if you try, you have to make an appointment or go with a group. The journey is quite difficult and the distance is quite long. The two-step track record is 40 kilometers. Generally, the distance recorded by the two-step outdoor software will be much less than that of other sports software. If you use Huawei Sports Mall to record it, it should be about 70 kilometers, so I advise everyone again not to go on foot. Experience, don’t try it easily

If there are a lot of people going together, you can contact Shitou in advance. Not only will there be food and drink for sale, but there will also be a house to stay in. However, on the night of May 1st, as my brother likes camping, he will definitely not consider it. If you also choose to camp, the tent is set up at Shitou's house on the night of the 21st, but you can camp at Shitou's house or the next house. There will be no people and no charge. You will just leave your group, because the large army will definitely I would choose to stay at Shitou's house. After all, there are hot meals and accommodation here. After all, there are only a few donkeys who like to dress up.