How to plan the route of Qinghai Grand Ring Road when traveling on the road?

I have not traveled through the Qinghai Grand Ring Road, but I visited the Qinghai-Gansu Grand Ring Road during a road trip in August 2008. From Xi'an, it took 11 days and covered more than 4,700 kilometers. Take a look at the route I planned. I wonder if it will be helpful to you.

Probably because of the epidemic in Xinjiang in 2000, the Qinghai-Gansu Grand Ring Road became a hotspot for self-driving travel. I can’t avoid this custom. In August, I took a self-driving tour on the Qinghai-Gansu Grand Ring Road. It’s not that I like to join in the fun, but that I have been planning this road for a long time and have longed for it. Even though I've completed this road trip, I always feel like I'd like to do it again if I had the chance.

If you are interested or have questions, please leave a message below and I can answer them one by one.

1. Itinerary and main attractions This time on goonroadtrip, due to the tight schedule, places with highways are basically highways. A few places take national highways, so the cost is a little more, but it saves time.

The first day:

Xi'an Tianshui Mountain Residence: Tianshui City

Coming from Xi'an An early in the morning, along the Lianhuo Expressway, a journey of more than 350 kilometers, directly Go to the parking lot of Maijishan Grottoes Scenic Spot. It takes nearly 6 hours.

Main attractions: Maijishan Grottoes and Fuxi Temple.

Next day:

Tianshui - Qinghai Lake folk houses: Qinghai Lake folk town

I was originally going to Xining, so I didn’t go to Xining because I Many times, I didn’t stop in Xining, but went directly to Qinghai Lake.

This day is basically spent on traveling. It was almost dark in Qinghai Lake, so I drove directly to the folk town of Qinghai Lake to stay.

The journey was more than 670 kilometers and took nearly 10 hours. In fact, everyone can choose to arrive in Xining. Xining has many attractions, such as Ta#039er Temple, Dongguan Mosque, Qinghai Provincial Museum, Qinghai Tibetan Culture Museum, Beichan Temple, etc.

The third day:

Qinghai Lake - Chaka Salt Lake Accommodation: Chaka Town

Chaka Salt Lake is about 150 kilometers away from Qinghai Lake, so I spent the first half of the day Visit Qinghai Lake on the day, rush to Chaka Salt Lake at noon, and visit Chaka Salt Lake in the afternoon. Stay in Chaka Town at night, almost all in B&Bs.

Qinghai Lake

Kaka Salt Lake

Day 4:

Tea Township - Dachaidan Town, Delhi Accommodation: Dachaidan Town

This section of the journey is about 400 kilometers long. I had lunch in Delingha and visited the Haizi Memorial Hall by the way. I planned to stay in Delingha, but I couldn’t stand the attraction of Daiqaidan Emerald Lake, so I went straight to the Emerald Lake Scenic Area in Daiqaidan Town. There is currently no charge for this scenic spot, and the gate to the scenic spot has been built. It is estimated that charging may begin in the near future.

Delhi has attracted countless tourists because of the poem "Sister, I am in Delingha Tonight" by the late poet Haizi and the poem "One Night in Delingha" by Daolang.

What needs to be reminded is that accommodation in Dachaidan is relatively tight, and prices are also very high during the peak tourist season. Generally, a standard hotel room costs between 600-800 yuan, and a B&B room costs more than 300 yuan. So I stayed in the car that night.

Day 5:

Mangya (Huatugou), Dachaidan Town -: Huatugou

This distance is about 550 kilometers, which is a bit long . It seems that you have been busy all day, but the scenery of this day is all on the road. Celebrities on the Internet include U-shaped highway, Shuiyadan, Dongtai Aijing Lake, Water Highway, Ghost Town and so on.

This road, because I missed the scenery, I walked more than 150 kilometers at night, and I was still a little worried. In addition, there is no network signal on this section of the road, making it impossible to use mobile phone navigation. I didn’t download the offline navigation in advance, and I also hope that everyone should try not to walk at night, because there are almost no landmarks on this night road, and the villages and towns can be hidden from people. It is all in the vast Gobi Desert, and there are many trucks at night.

I have the impression that there are only two gas stations on this stretch of road, so I suggest that whenever you see a gas station, you must fill it up to prevent running out of gas on the road.

Originally, we could go directly from Daqaidan to Dunhuang, but because we were attracted by the spring in Aiken and wanted to take aerial photos of the spring in Aiken, we came to Mangya.

Day 6:

Mangya - Lenghu Town Dunhuang Accommodation: Dunhuang

This distance is about 560 kilometers.

The main attractions visited the two uninhabited oil towns of Aiken Springs and Cold Lake Town, and passed through the Dangjin Mountains.

Aiken Spring is just a glimpse of the spring water. It's better not to go in without a drone. You can't visually see the magnificence of Aiken Hot Springs, especially since there is a washboard road for about 20 kilometers, which is on a very hard salt flat and bumpy.

When passing Jinshan, be sure to control your speed, go downhill for long distances, pay attention to low gear, and don't brake for a long time.

Day 7:

Dunhuang - Jiayuguan Residence: Jiayuguan City

About 370 kilometers, the main attractions are Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, Crescent Moon Spring, Yangguan Ruins, Colorful Danxia, ??Zhangye Buddhist Temple, etc.

This section begins to enter the Hexi Corridor, which has rich history, culture and unique natural scenery. In other words, I started the famous tour of the four counties in Hexi. Dunhuang, Jiuquan, Zhangye, Wuwei, Zhang Qian, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, no matter the names of places or people, they all left a rich mark on history.

Familiar poems take tourists along the Silk Road with the sound of camel bells and lonely smoke in the desert.

Day 8:

Jiayu Pass - Zhangye City: Zhangye City

This distance is about 220 kilometers, and the pace can be slightly slower. The main attractions include Zhangye Colorful Danxia, ??Horseshoe Temple, Big Buddha Temple, Heishui Kingdom Ruins, etc.

Day 9:

Zhangye-Wuwei Cabin: Wuwei City

This distance is about 240 kilometers. When coming to Wuwei, the main attractions are Leihan Terrace, Wuwei Confucian Temple, and Kumarajiva Temple. The national tourism symbol - Yan Fei on horseback was unearthed from Leihantai Han Tomb. Wuwei Confucian Temple was built in the Ming Dynasty and has a history of more than 500 years. It is known as the crown of Longyou Academy. Kumarajiva Temple has a history of more than 1,600 years. The famous Kumarajiva Hyoid Bone Relic Pagoda is located here, and it also has an indestructible tongue.

Day 10:

Wuwei - Lanzhou Hotel: Lanzhou

This distance is about 270 kilometers. It's easy to visit some attractions in Lanzhou. Attractions in Lanzhou include the Gansu Provincial Museum, Zhongshan Bridge, Waterwheel Park, mainly along the Yellow River.

Day 11

Lanzhou - Xi'an one; one

two. Conclusion: From a time perspective, 11 days is not enough for the Qinghai-Tibet Grand Ring Line. I’ve only just glanced at many places, and I’ve never been to many places, which is a bit of a pity. Friends can adjust according to their own time. The distance in some sections is slightly longer and can be shortened according to your own time.

I am from Shijiazhuang, Hebei. Since I drove to Qinghai and Gansu for the first time in 2015, I have fallen deeply in love with it! Then over the next four years, I drove to the haunted place three times. Now, I will share with you my latest experience of driving the Gansu-Qinghai Ring Road in July 2008. I don’t have much experience, I hope it’s useful to you!

1 Shijiazhuang-Lanzhou 1240km toll costs 500 yuan, starting from Shijiazhuang at 6:00 in the morning, arriving in Lanzhou at 20:00 in the evening, and stopping in Lanzhou. It’s a long journey and exhausting both physically and mentally. Once you get there, you have to rest!

2DAY2 Lanzhou Menyuan - Qilian County, the whole journey is 500 kilometers, with a toll of 90 yuan. Set off at 7:00 in the morning after eating beef noodles in Lanzhou, drive 350 kilometers, arrive at Menyuan at noon, and enjoy the scenery all the way Rapeseed flowers sea, depart for Qilian County at 14:00 in the afternoon, drive 150 kilometers on the most beautiful National Highway 227 after lunch, passing through the Qilian Mountains on the way, drive for 2 hours, arrive in Qilian County at 16:00, and stay here.

(After arriving in Qilian County, you can go to Dadong Shuguan, 33 kilometers south of the county, but the altitude here is 4120 meters)

Lanzhou Beef Noodles

Mountain Scenery

Menyuan Rapeseed Flower Scenic Area

Tianjin Qilian

Qilian Mountain Road to Dadongshu Pass

East Shushan Pass

3DAY3 Qilian County Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park - Zhangye City, the entire 280 kilometers is free of charge. At 8 o'clock in the morning, we visited Erlong Mountain, a famous scenic spot in Zhuo Qilian County, and returned to Qilian County for lunch at 11 noon. After lunch, we headed from Qilian County to Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park at 13:00, taking the most beautiful National Highway 227, driving 240 kilometers, checking in at 17:00 to visit (the best time to visit Danxia Scenic Area is at night), and returning at 20:00.

Zhuoer Mountain View

Zhuoer Mountain View

227 National Highway

227 National Highway

227 National Highway

National Highway 227

Zhangye Danxia

Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park

Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park

4DAY4 Zhangye-Dunhuang City, toll for 600 kilometers is 225 yuan. Departing from Zhangye City at 7:00 in the morning, rest for lunch at Bulongji Service Area, and arrive in Dunhuang at 17:00 in the afternoon.

Dunhuang Night Market

5DAY5 - Dachaidan Emerald Lake - Delingha, Dunhuang City, 570 kilometers toll. 70 yuan departed from Dunhuang at 7 a.m. and headed to the holy land of his trip, Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes! After the pilgrimage, take National Highway 215, pass Dangjin Mountain, arrive at Dachaidan Yuhu Lake in the afternoon, and then go to Delingha. Check in at 20o#039 and stay in Delingha that night.

Tianfei Statue

It's forbidden to take pictures in the cave, and that's all you get.

The snowy mountains in front are the golden mountains.

Dangjin Mountain is located in Aksai Kazakh Autonomous County, Gansu Province

The beautiful scenery of the snow-capped mountains

Romance on the Emerald Lake

Passing by Delhi Alien ruins

Come in

6DAY6 Delhi-Qinghai Lake Lanzhou 760km toll is 180 yuan. Departing from Delingha at 7:00 in the morning, take a section of Chad-Dezhou Expressway, along National Highway 109 around the south shore of Qinghai Lake to enjoy the lakeside scenery, have lunch by Qinghai Lake, arrive in Lanzhou in the evening, and stay in Lanzhou.

Sheep on the Cha-De Highway

Passing by Chaka Salt Lake

Qinghai Lake

Qinghai Lake Camping

The large-plate chicken enjoyed in Lanzhou is not as delicious as the one in Xinjiang.

Internet celebrity - Zhongshan Bridge

Day 7 Lanzhou - Lanzhou Jiazhuang, the toll is 450 yuan for 1,200 kilometers, and the whole journey is high-speed. Departing at 7:00 in the morning and arriving in Shijiazhuang at 20:00 in the evening, the trip ends.

The trip lasted 7 days, covering a total of 5,200 kilometers, with an average of 740 kilometers per day. The total toll is 1,500 yuan. ***Visit 6 scenic spots, namely: Menyuan Rapeseed Flower Sea Scenic Area, Erlong Mountain in Zhuoqilian County (60 yuan), Zhangye Danxia National Geopark (75 yuan), Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes (100 yuan), Dai Chaidan Emerald Lake (0 yuan), Qinghai Lake (0 yuan). The total admission fee is 235 yuan per person (students have discounts). It passes through 6 cities (including county-level cities), namely Lanzhou City, Menyuan Hui Autonomous County, Qilian County, Zhangye City, Dunhuang City, and Delingha City. Along the way, you pass the Yellow River, grasslands, lakes, cattle and sheep, Gobi, deserts, and snow-capped mountains; the magnificent scenery is visually stunning! The terrain is dominated by plateau basins; there are many ethnic minorities in this area, mainly Hui, Tibetan, Salar, and Mongolians. The diet is mainly pasta, beef, mutton, and milk. This area has long days and short nights, and it gets dark around 20 p.m. Although I spend most of my time on the road, the scenery on the road is really beautiful! Life is like a journey. What you care about is not the destination, but the scenery along the way!