Travel Notes on the Three Northwest Provinces - Chasing the Sun in the Desert

October 13th

After lunch, it was already around 2 pm, and we took a bus from Dalaihubu Town, Ejina Banner Prefecture, to Jiayuguan, where we will stay tonight.

Ejina Banner is located at the westernmost end of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It is connected to Alxa Right Banner to the southeast, Jiuquan City, Gansu Province to the west and southwest, and Mongolia to the north. The border is 507 kilometers long. The total area of ​​the flag is 114,600 square kilometers, accounting for 42% of the total area of ​​Alxa League, and the permanent population is 32,000. Ejina Banner is the largest and least populous banner in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Dongfeng Space City (Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center), known as the "No. 1 aerospace port in China", is located in Ejina Banner and is the birthplace of my country's missiles, satellites and manned spacecraft.

Ejina in late autumn is a beautiful paradise. After the National Day, the green Populus euphratica leaves gradually turn golden. Looking around, the golden Populus euphratica leaves reflect the blue sky in the sun, dancing with the wind, and the golden sand. It is covered with golden leaves, the ground is golden, and the eyes are golden. In this season, walking into the Populus euphratica forest is like walking into a mythical world.

Every year, more than one million people come to Ejina to visit the Populus euphratica forest in the golden autumn. According to media reports, during the National Day holiday from October 1st to 8th this year alone, Ejina Banner received a total of 1.4643 million domestic and foreign tourists, returning to the same period last year. 89%. No wonder, the travel agency informed us in advance before traveling that the Ejina hotel industry mainly does business in the autumn month every year, when tourists are concentrated and room rates are more expensive. Taking Dalaihubu Town as an example, the permanent population is only over 20,000, and it receives millions of tourists in a relatively concentrated area every year. It can be imagined that the pressure is indeed great.

In just over a day in Ejina, although I left many regrets, after all, I had a journey of "waiting for thousands of years and pursuing dreams of ancient and modern civilizations."

Goodbye, beautiful and magical Ejina!

To go to Jiayuguan, we have to walk back along the way. The vast Gobi Desert stretches as far as the eye can see. After passing Dongfeng Aerospace City, the car drove onto Jiuquan Aerospace City Road and headed southwest.

The sun sets in the west, the clouds gradually rise, and the sky in the desert gradually darkens. In the southwest sky, between the sky and the earth, a wide band of light appeared between the thick clouds and the horizon, like a heavy curtain being raised. The setting sun struggled to shine through the thin clouds, and a colorful cloud shone on the edge of the thick clouds.

Looking at the map of the Jiuhang Route, when leaving Ejina, it basically goes south to west. In fact, on the road, the car will go west for a while and southwest for a while. Sitting in the car, you can only see the sun on the right for a while, and then it is directly in front of you.

We chased the sunset.

In the early morning, I watched the sunrise in the desert at Juyanhai. Unexpectedly, in the afternoon, it was quite interesting to watch the sunset from a car driving in the desert. I picture the majestic sunset in the desert, the vast desert that is so vast that there is no end in sight, and the sunset glow in the sky, burning like a fire, reflecting the red sky and the red earth.

In the sky, the sun slowly sets westward, getting closer and closer to the horizon. Behind the passing groves and the occasional small village, it stubbornly fights against the clouds, revealing a dazzling disc from time to time, fighting for its distance. Glorious when gone. Yes, as it sets on the horizon, the sunset also wants to have a grand farewell ceremony with the world with a glorious and magnificent scene, but it seems reluctant to leave like this. "The desert is windy and dusty, the sun is dim," but the deep clouds seem to be confused and linger on for a long time.

Although the sunset at this time is not as magnificent and spectacular as on a clear day, and looks a bit desolate in the vast desert, there is also a bright red and golden sunset accompanying the sky and the earth. In fact, I feel that this kind of scene can better show the temperament of the sunset in the desert, which makes me feel relieved.

Our car is driving fast, and I want to drive the car faster and faster, chasing the sun that is about to leave, so that the setting sun can stay in the sky and the earth for a while longer, and let the earth reflect more of the afterglow.

The setting sun finally sets, and the red color on the horizon slowly disappears, leaving only a weak, dim yellow. After all, humans cannot keep up with the power of nature. How can a car outrun the rotation of the earth?

The sky became darker, and everything became quieter. Our car was the only one in the vast desert. The light from the front of the car cut through the night left and right until it was absorbed and merged into the dark night in the distance.

There is a cloud in the sky, and it looks like a knight is galloping on a horse. Is he going to chase the sun?

Finally, far away, there was a light flickering, and the urban area of ​​Jiayuguan was approaching.

Jiayuguan Pass, built in the fifth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1372), is known as "the most majestic pass in the world". It is the westernmost pass of the Great Wall in the Ming Dynasty and the most spectacular construction scale along the Great Wall in the Ming Dynasty. The most well-preserved ancient military castle. It was once known as the "Throat of Hexi" in history. Due to its dangerous terrain and majestic architecture, it was also known as the "Key to the Border". Jiayuguan City is an emerging modern city that has gradually developed with the construction of the national "First Five-Year Plan" key construction project "Jiuquan Iron and Steel Company". It is named after Jiayuguan, the western end of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall in the city.

As our car drove into Jiayuguan City, the city had already merged with lights, making it difficult to see its true face in the darkness.

Checked into the hotel, it was over 8 late. We found a restaurant nearby, had a quick meal, and then returned to the hotel to rest.