Aershan · Travel Notes

In early September, my father began to talk about the idea of ??the three of us going out during the National Day holiday. I was afraid of the crowds and always refused. Later, the weather in Arshan was bad, the time was bad, there was no ticket and other messy situations made me feel that this plan must have been ruined.

But maybe it was because his statement that "it's probably the last trip for just the three of us" was too lethal. As a result, I, who had just told people the night before that I would be at home during the weekend, started to panic as soon as I left the house in the morning. I was told "I bought a ticket to Aershan and left at night".

Then it was a chaotic day, packing things, booking a hotel, and booking a car. When I opened my eyes in the morning, I thought it was a happy day at home. Unexpectedly, I boarded the train to Aershan in the evening.

「Itinerary」

Day 1: Overnight train to Aershan

Day 2: Arrive at 6:40 am, visit and stay at Aershan Geopark Scenic Area ( Wusu Langzi Lake, Tianchi, Bujong River, Santan Gorge, Dichi, Dujuan Lake)

Day 3: Visit Aershan Scenic Area (Tuofengling Tianchi, Shitang Forest, Grand Canyon), arrive in the evening Chaihe Town

Day 4: In the morning, visit the scenic spots around Chaihe Town (landscape rock murals, ten major bays), and return to Aershan City in the afternoon

Day 5: Port, Qi Half-day tour of Xian Wetland Grassland, return train at 8pm

「 Tips 」

It is highly recommended to go during non-holidays, but the scenic area is very large, and even holiday tourists will be scattered. Drivers recommend the best time to see the autumn scenery around September 15th. The weather is still very cold on May Day, and you can ski in the Aershan in winter.

Transportation: There are very few air routes to Aershan City. There are only flights from Beijing and Ulanhot. Otherwise, you can only drive or take a train. You can charter a car for fun after arriving.

Transportation within the scenic area: You can only take the shuttle bus provided internally, or local taxis in Aershan. Private cars can only park in the parking lot outside or just pass through the scenic spot without stopping at the scenic spot.

Tour: The scenic spot includes 7 paid attractions, and you must hold a ticket purchased at the entrance of the scenic spot to enter. You can park and enjoy the rest of the scenery at any time. It takes about two days to visit the Aershan Scenic Area alone. If you feel tired at the end of the game, two days is the best. If you come in summer, you can also go rafting.

Tickets: Tickets for the Aershan Scenic Area include two parts, admission and fare. Whether you take a taxi or a bus provided by the scenic spot, you need to pay the fare. The ticket is valid for two days. If you are just driving by or do not want to enter the attraction, you do not need to purchase tickets for the scenic spot, but you will not be able to park in the attraction parking lot.

Accommodation: There are many accommodations in Aershan City and Chaihe, most of which are farmhouses or small hotels. If you are not traveling during the peak season, you can find accommodation locally. There are also accommodations in the Aershan Scenic Area, mostly farmhouses. It is already very cold in Aershan in October. A small number of hotels have heating, but most of them have electric blankets.

「Text」

Aershan is located in Xing'an League, Inner Mongolia, in the hinterland of the Greater Khingan Mountains forest area. The scenic area is a volcanic lava landform.

Our route is basically from the north (Aershan) to the south (Chaihe), and then back to the Aershan, heading towards the grassland further north.

In the past few days, transportation has relied on chartered cars. The driver, who was born and raised in Aershan, has impressive driving skills. He is stable and fast. On the last day in the grassland, relying on a taxi on the grassland was also very bumpy.

When we arrived on the first day, it had rained the day before and that morning, and there was a layer of fog in the mountains. The sun came and went, and the not-so-thick clouds were nice to see. Even before arriving at the scenic spot, I already felt the autumn colors were moving.

Before coming to Aershan, I always thought that pine trees were evergreen. However, I didn’t see larch until I arrived. The ground is covered with golden pine needles that, from a distance, don’t even appear to be leaves.

In addition to larch, there are also large birch forests in Aershan. Unfortunately, we arrived too late, and most of them were already bald, leaving only the gray trunks. As the car drove by, it left a trail of mist between the black trunks of the larch trees.

As soon as I saw the birch forest, I started singing the song of hackberry in my mind, but the scenery was too beautiful to make me sad.

The advantage of chartering a car is that you can ask the driver to stop the car at any time. Because you arrive early, there are basically no cars or people on the road. The master has been influenced by photography enthusiasts like them and is very familiar with beautiful places. Before you ask to stop, he will remind you that you can take pictures here.

The driver’s job is at the local fire prevention bureau, so along the way he learned about forestry fire prevention and fire extinguishing knowledge, the names of plants, and all kinds of miscellaneous knowledge. How wide should a fire break be? Use wind instead of water to extinguish fires. Donkey tail trees (the roots are thicker than the trunk) are all artificially planted. Tell us what you see.

Probably because of the fire in 1998, the entire scenic area of ??Aershan has a very strong awareness of fire prevention. Vehicles entering the scenic spot and the area where Chaihe River is located are required to fill in an information form and collect fire sources on the car. There is a card in the middle asking whether the person in the car smokes. Fire sources will also be taken away when entering the scenic spot on foot. Fortunately, none of the four of us smoked, so it was easier.

One time when we borrowed a rafting spot to park, a dog ran towards us in the yard. It didn't get too close at first, but as soon as someone opened the door and got out of the car, it would run closer. It wouldn't bark or move, but would stand quietly in front of you and look at you, which would make your heart melt. It's a pity that I didn't bring anything for it to eat at that time, because it looked at me and I didn't know what to do.

Not far from entering the scenic spot is Wusu Langzi Lake. It is right on the roadside and no tickets are required. Not long after we arrived, the sun happened to reach the other side, reflecting a golden color, which was very beautiful.

The first scenic spot to enter is Tianchi, which is a crater lake formed by accumulated water after a volcanic eruption. You need to climb 998 steps, which are not high and most of them are very gentle. Aershan has only been developed in recent years. Most of the scenic spots and facilities are new, and some of the plank roads can be seen to have been freshly painted.

The overall feeling of Tianchi is average. Unless you use a drone to take pictures, it looks like an ordinary lake from a close distance. But when going down the mountain, there is a wonderful view. You can overlook the mountain from a distance and be surrounded by woods. And because the road before going downhill is slow, you can't see the mystery ahead. The sudden feeling of enlightenment as you walk forward is unforgettable. .

After Tianchi, we went to Bufrog River, Santan Gorge and Dichi.

Dujuan Lake is probably a good place to take pictures of sunrise and sunset. We arrived just at sunset, and the good angle was already occupied by a tripod.

What’s interesting is that Dujuan Lake was once called No. 81 Paozi. Everyone laughed and said that these scenic spots are located in this lake and that lake, but they are actually just Paozi.

We rested in a B&B in the scenic area at night. The conditions were average, but fortunately we only stayed for one night. The heated kang was so hot that I felt like I was steaming myself while lying on it.

It was still early to arrive at Tuofeng Ridge, and it was a bit cold. There was frost in the shadows of the plank road. The plank road, shadows, and frost on the chairs on the ground are very interesting.

It’s very warm in sunny places, and I don’t even want to wear a jacket when I climb to the top of the mountain. The Tianchi in Tuofeng Ridge is much more beautiful than the day before.

There is a road down to the water just after the entire plank road reaches the top of the mountain and near the exit of the mountain. The former is a platform facing the water, which is great for taking pictures, while the latter has a wide view and has several tables and chairs for resting, where you can sit down and enjoy the beautiful scenery quietly. However, you need to climb back up after going down both sides, so it is recommended to choose one, otherwise it will be very tiring.

There were not many people in the scenic area in the morning. The empty plank road, breeze, sunshine, and lake water made it extremely comfortable.

In Shitang Forest, I saw another type of pine tree that I had never seen before - Yan pine, also called ground pine, which grows lying on the ground. The landform of Shitanglin is a geological relic after the Quaternary volcanic eruption. The gravel-like landform is formed by the solidification of magma after flowing.

Later, it is said that during the flow of lava, various shapes formed by the fragmentation of the surface of the lava that was first solidified are like water splashes in a sea of ??rocks. But since we only visited the first half of Shitang Forest, we were not able to see those.

For the first time in this trip, I saw an animal that looked like a rat or a rabbit. I thought it was a field mouse at first, but the more I looked at it, the more it seemed different. Later, when I asked the master, I learned that it was called the Stone Rabbit (scientific name: Rat Rabbit), which only lives in volcanic lava areas. I saw it many times in the Grand Canyon after that. Its cry was clear and crisp, and at first glance it sounded like a bird. It was not afraid of people and was very cute.

The early means of transportation in Aershan was the green train. The master said that since he was a child, he used the train to travel around and fight.

Today, only one locomotive and two carriages remain, which are open as a restaurant near Turtle Back Rock.

The Grand Canyon is a volcanic lava fault zone, and the water at the bottom of the valley is the source of the Chai River. The canyon has a strange terrain, with dense rocks on both sides. Along the way, I always wanted to have friends who studied geology to explain it. As soon as we saw the word "trough" on the sign, classmate L and I both said, "I'm at the bottom of despair." We simply couldn't control ourselves.

Meet the little guy again.

After leaving the Grand Canyon, the final scenic spot in Aershan, we headed to Chaihe. The drive from Chaihe to Aershan is about 2-3 hours, and the road is still beautiful.

When we arrived at Chaihe, we encountered a power outage in the whole town. The generator that had just been moved out of the hotel was making a loud noise. Unfortunately, it could only meet the needs of the front desk and corridor. Also because of the power outage, there are very few restaurants in town where you can have dinner, and most of them are running their own generators. Fortunately, the power supply was restored, which finally provided hot water and electric blankets at night.

The formation of the next two days was very relaxed, and I basically spent them in the car. There are not many scenic spots near Chaihe River. One is the landscape and rock murals, and the other is Shiba Dawan. You can drive around them all in a morning.

Landscape rock murals are said to have been discovered by a painter when he was sketching. The faults formed by the movement of the earth's crust and the vegetation spreading above form a natural landscape painting. Unfortunately, it was early in the morning when we arrived, and the sun was shining brightly against the light. It was difficult to see clearly with the naked eye, not to mention taking pictures.

There is a shallow shoal in front of the landscape and rock murals. People traveling there gathered here. Whether they were out of curiosity or bored, several off-road vehicles drove down the shoal to show off, causing the crowd to look around.

The Shidawan refers to the several meandering bays of the Chuoer River. The highway is basically built along the river. When driving all the way, the river is at the foot of the mountain.

There is a hillside where the Shidawan road sign is actually hung. Vehicles are not allowed to drive up it, so you can only get off the car and walk. The scenic spot has not yet been greatly developed, and there is no plank road up the mountain, but it is not high and only takes a few minutes.

It’s just a small section of the terrace plank road on the top of the mountain. I don’t know whether it is in disrepair or has not been built in the first place. It is hung with signs and fenced off to prevent tourists from entering. But there was no point in being around. Everyone was very dedicated to the scenery. Even the children were running around on the plank road. I looked nervously for a long time, for fear that the board would collapse and he would fall. Sometimes I really don’t know whether life is more important or the scenery is more important.

I had iron pot stew for lunch again. Counting the dinner the day before, this was the second time I had eaten this. There is a large iron pot on each table, with wood burning directly underneath. You can choose the meat and side dishes you want to stew, plus the miso prepared by the store, and you can start eating in half an hour and one o'clock in one o'clock.

The goose stewed in the iron pot the day before was a bit average, but the fish stewed today was really delicious. In the end, I almost collapsed on my chair after eating it.

The store feels very real, it was opened by my mother-in-law and her daughter-in-law. There were a lot of people the night before, and the little girl at home, who was probably in junior high school, was also helping. The next day, there were few people, so she sat in a private room and did her homework. When we left, the lady boss said that they felt a sense of accomplishment because we enjoyed our meal.

After lunch, we returned to the city of Aershan. It was already dark when we arrived. We walked around the hotel for a while and then went back to rest. At about 10 o'clock that night, the city's water supply was cut off. The power and water were cut off for one day, which was an unimaginable luck.

The last day was about a half-day trip, and we went to the lower port border line, and then headed to the Qixian Wetland Grassland. There is no green grass in the grassland at this time, and because it is a grazing area, it is basically all gnawed bare, but it cannot block the beautiful scenery.

There was a wave of swan geese that had not yet flown south and were resting in the wetland lake. Old Wu was originally hanging from a distance, but a group of people drove up and stirred up the birds, which gave him a chance to take a photo. Bird's chance.

After the cute group continued to chase the sheep, our driver also became interested in catching the swan geese. It was really fun to drive wildly on the grassland. Unfortunately, when we drove nearby, we found that there were only a few scattered ones left. On the contrary, the road was not easy to drive on, with ups and downs and water. It was all thanks to the skills of the master that the taxi driver was driven off-road.

I saw with my own eyes the desertification of the grasslands in Inner Mongolia. After spending so many days wandering around the mountains, I felt particularly sorry. However, the ones I saw were not serious, and plants were planted to help with recovery.

While driving, the master suddenly said, "I'll pick something for you to eat." Then he stopped the car at lightning speed, got out of the car, closed the door, and slid down the driveway down the hillside, jumping to reach the fruit on the tree. It is full of the mischievousness and enthusiasm of youth, and it is hard to see that my grandson is going to elementary school.

Aershan City is basically occupied by tourists and the tourism industry. After the peak tourist season, it seems that there will be few people left in the entire city. The urban area with only one main road is very clean, and many buildings and facilities were built for tourism.

Although the accommodation was full of twists and turns, the mountain scenery perfectly offset all negative emotions. Sure enough, autumn is my favorite season after all.

This is the end of the trip.

Photo taken by zutto

Reposted from my own public account Wanqi Grocery Store?/s/AUbBOHu