Starry sky in the desert —— One of Dunhuang Travel Notes

The train at 6: 54 am, from Jiayuguan to Dunhuang. The train was nearly an hour late.

Finally, when we arrived at the station, we found that we were going to take the tourist train with the word Y, which was a rare old green leather car. Without air conditioning, the window can be opened. Internal facilities are also my impression of trains when I was a child. This little accident cheered me up, and it was worth waiting for an hour for nothing ~

When the car left Jiayuguan, the scenery outside the window began to turn into an empty Gobi desert, as barren and magnificent as I imagined. The field of vision suddenly widened, and the blue sky and yellow land also extended to the invisible distance. Sighed: "This is the real northwest!" So drowsiness was forgotten to the outside of the cloud nine, and I just sat by the window and stared at this N-li, where there was no human habitation or green desolation and loneliness.

I plugged in my headphones and started listening to music. Natalie sang "Man and Cicada, Dog and Moth Collide with High Street Lights in the Middle of the Night". All the faces in the floating life make me grand because of you. "The sky is boundless, the earth is boundless, and all beings are precious and small.

Wei Yi and I listened to songs and looked at the scenery that belonged to our hearts. Five hours' journey, almost no communication. I really like this fellow traveler who knows how to be quiet and alone. Sometimes the language is too pale, and we also need to recharge our hearts. This time can only be silent, absolute silence. If not, it really failed Zhong Ling Yu Xiu. Traveling is a kind of practice, which makes people tired and hungry. At the same time, really calm down and feel the aura of everything to repair your heart.

Dunhuang Railway Station is located in the suburbs, surrounded by barren Gobi.

Desert, sunset, Millennium Cave. This world, which is far away from the world and independent, is truly displayed before my eyes.

The reserved hotel sent a car to pick us up and drove through the bustling downtown to the famous Mingsha Mountain. Our first night in Dunhuang was at the foot of Mingsha Mountain. This is a hostel very much like a farmhouse. There are no restaurants or shops to choose from. In addition to the orchard planted at home, all you can see is the yellow sand rolled up when the wind blows in Mingsha Mountain behind the house.

It was past two o'clock in the afternoon when I arrived at the hotel. Ask the boss where I can have lunch, and the boss says I'll make whatever you want. There is no menu, just using the existing materials at hand to cook three dishes and one soup.

After we rushed into the bathroom to freshen up and change clothes, the proprietress knocked at the door and said she could come out for dinner. Suddenly feel at home, very kind. Then I was pleasantly surprised to find that the three dishes also included a large plate of fried beef with green peppers. We were already hungry, so we quickly filled our stomachs and ate. This lunch is the only dinner on our trip.

The proprietress disappeared after cooking, leaving only the two of us in that small kitchen. You can also see the big corn they grow from the kitchen window. I smiled and said to Wei Yi, "I like it here more and more."

It was a rare cloudy day in Dunhuang, which was a blessing for the local people, but it was a tragedy for those of us who came all the way to see the sunset and starry sky in the desert. We even began to discuss whether to revise our itinerary and go to Mingsha Mountain another day. However, due to limited time, the itinerary has already been arranged. What to do every day and which hotel to stay in are all planned in advance. If it is changed temporarily, it will bring a lot of trouble. By 4: 30 in the afternoon, there was still no shadow of the sun and the sky was gray. Mingsha Mountain is just around the corner, and it's really hard to resist its temptation, so I decided to go up on a cloudy day!

When waiting in line to buy tickets, the sun shone through the thick clouds, and Wei Yi and I suddenly cheered. It's really a turning point.

Just entering Mingsha Mountain, we suddenly found that we didn't bring enough drinking water or any sun protection tools because of the temporary appearance of the sun. So, like the real desert natives, we wrapped ourselves up in the shawl we just bought and began to cross the desert in the scorching sun without water.

If you want to cross the desert, you can't do without the camel called "the boat of the desert". Camels are really beautiful animals, gentle, tough and steady. Only the harsh environment of the desert can breed such an aura animal. I rode on its back and stroked its hair gently, and found that its hair was very dry and hard, like inferior plush toys sold in stalls. Very unreal touch, not like a living thing. Although I know that animals that can grow in the desert must be strong and unique, I still can't help feeling sad.

The camel team walked all the way to the scenic spot where the sand can slide, and then stopped to have a rest. Tourists rushed to the beach in twos and threes. I really wanted to see more of these lovely creatures, so I gave up sand skiing and squatted down to look at the resting camel.

Its eyes are big and bright, shining with very pure light. Seeing me squatting in front of it, I also twisted my neck. I touched its head gently, smiled at it and said, "Good boy, you are so cute." It keeps throwing its head at me, just like a wronged child sees his mother. Wei Yi suddenly said, "Look, it's so pathetic." When she said this, my tears almost fell. Good boy, don't you feel free? Or did some tourists bully you? Buddha said that in this vast world, all beings come to suffer, and the more complicated people are, the more they suffer. But all beings are equal, and no one can trample on anyone. If someone bullies you for no reason, God will punish him.

The sand-skiing tourists are back. After everyone arrived, we rode camels to Crescent Spring. The manager of the camel team has been telling me that the handrails pressed by camels must be tightened, because it will bump when going down the mountain. He looked nervous and instructed me to stand up straight and carry my bag for fear that the tourists would fall. But I look relaxed. I believe that camels are better than people. I know I will never fall. This trust is purely intuitive.

After the camel team arrived safely at Crescent Spring, the administrator left with the camels. I was thirsty. I suddenly found a drink stall by the crescent spring, so I went directly to get a bottle of mineral water and a cup of apricot skin water, without paying attention to the price. This is the authentic apricot skin water in Dunhuang, which is sweet and sour and refreshing.

Enjoy the cool for a while, get up and watch the crescent spring. There is such a crescent-shaped spring in the long desert, which is really a desert wonder. Crescent Spring has been one of the eight scenic spots in Dunhuang since the Han Dynasty. It is called "Che Xiao in Yue Quan" and is known as "the first spring in the desert". The strangest thing is that the Crescent Spring has experienced thousands of years of strong winds, but it has not been covered by sandstorms. "The spring is in quicksand, the drought is inexhaustible, and the wind blows the sand." It is still an unsolved mystery.

Seeing the sunset, we began to climb the steep Mingsha Mountain. Sand hill doesn't look high, but it is extremely difficult to climb it. Because Mingsha Mountain is made of the softest sand, there is no point in stepping on it, so climb two steps and slide one step. Because there is no road at all and the slope of the mountain is very high, it is especially difficult to walk.

We didn't climb the highest mountain, but when we reached a quarter, I was so tired that my legs were weak and I was short of breath. I can't help kneeling on the sand dunes. Look at the tourists around you. They are all like this. Some of them sit on the slope to rest, and some begin to use their hands and feet, which is a veritable "mountain climbing". The shoe cover on the foot also seems to be a burden. Everyone took off their shoes and socks and began to climb barefoot, but the result was not necessarily labor-saving.

I only remember a time when I was sitting on a sand dune with stars in my eyes, and I didn't even have the strength to stand up. Looking up at the almost straight hillside, the top of the mountain is still so high, so far away, out of reach, and suddenly a little discouraged. But seeing the sun hanging on the horizon and sinking, I suddenly woke up. By the way, I came to watch the sunset. If I can't climb to the top of the mountain before sunset, the trip will be in vain. Wei Yi and I encouraged each other and always said, "Sunset, sunset, I want to see the sunset." Then I rushed to the top of the mountain with all my strength.

The peak has finally arrived. Looking down at the people shrinking into small spots at the foot of the mountain, I suddenly felt great ~ ~ Wei Yi said that she had a feeling of climbing Machu Picchu.

Mingsha Mountain, just at the foot. In 366 AD, a monk named Le Zun happened to pass by Mingsha Mountain. In the sunset, he saw the golden light, which looked like a thousand buddhas. So I felt something, so I dug a cave at the east foot of Mingsha Mountain and decided to practice here. This is the first cave in the Mogao Grottoes.

This is a sacred place where the Buddha shines.

At sunset, the golden desert was dyed orange. When the sun sets on the horizon, a colorful cloud is steamed out. The innermost layer is golden yellow, and the more it goes out, the redder it becomes. No wonder some people say that the most beautiful is sunset red, which is a color that human beings can't concoct. Even the photos taken by the camera have different degrees of color difference.

The sun sinks completely below the horizon, which is an instant of kung fu. A second later, the sky suddenly darkened. The crowd cheered and gradually dispersed.

Wei Yi said, let's go, too. I shook my head and didn't see the starry sky.

I have imagined countless times what the starry sky in the desert will be like at night. This must be a rare spectacle in the world. Today's weather is cloudy, and the sun doesn't appear until 5: 30 in the afternoon, so I'm not sure whether the night sky will be sunny or not. But I will wait. Anyway, on the first day, I arranged my residence at the foot of Mingsha Mountain, so that I could stay in the mountain until late at night.

The light left by the sun is getting weaker and weaker, and the sky begins to turn dark blue. Look carefully, there is one, two, three. The stars are out! "But this is rare. Will it all come out? " I don't know, but at least there is hope. The blue of the sky is getting deeper and deeper, and it turns black bit by bit. The stars are brighter and brighter, more and more.

"Stars, come out! I came all the way to see you! " I shouted at the sky.

Ok, this is connected. There is a flashing light over there. I know, I will wait until the stars are all over the sky.

Around 9: 20, the stars have appeared in a large area. Wei Yi also began to get excited. First, we stood in the desert and looked up. We were deeply moved by the indescribable vastness and got drunk before we knew it.

We lay side by side in the desert and saw that the starry sky had shown the most touching brilliance. I heard Wei Yi exclaim loudly: "My God, it's so beautiful!" There is also a wind blowing in my ear from time to time, and the yellow sand brought up has a face. It suddenly occurred to me that if there was a sandstorm at this time, the yellow sand in the sky would quickly cover my eyebrows and bury me under this starry sky.

But Mingsha Mountain is very gentle, and the blowing wind is very gentle. The surface of the sand is cold, so it's cool to lie on it. But when the night gets darker and the temperature begins to drop gradually, as long as you put your hands and feet deeper into the sand, the heat below will still be after the sun shines during the day.

There is no one around, it seems that the whole Mingsha Mountain is just the two of us. The breeze is blowing and the sky is full of stars. We can almost melt our bodies in this darkness.

Wei Yi said that when I was a child, I wanted to lie in the desert and watch the stars. But when you think about it, it's impossible. I smiled and congratulated you on your dream coming true today.

You see, when you were a child, dreams that you thought were out of reach could actually come true, as long as you are willing to do it.

I used to read the most common metaphor sentence describing the starry sky in books, saying, "The stars in the sky are like bright broken diamonds embedded in deep blue velvet." I thought it was beautiful and appropriate when I first saw it. But when I saw the real starry sky today, I suddenly realized how the diamonds on the ground can be compared with the stars in the sky. The star is a halo, and the diamond is just a dead thing after artificial polishing, which is not a grade at all. How can you compare a worse thing with a better one?

Let's sing. The first thing that comes to mind is the nursery rhyme Little Star. "Twinkling stars, all over the sky are small stars, hanging in the sky and shining like many small eyes." Then there is Lu. "The stars in the sky don't speak, and the dolls on the ground miss their mothers, and they think of Lu every night, with tears shining in their words."

Wei Yi said, "Don't sing such a sad song." Sad? This is not sad. I thought other songs were sadder, so I stopped singing.

So Wei Yi began to sing her own songs, all of which were sentimental love songs. Hey, who said you can't sing sad songs just now?

You can make a wish when it is agreed that there are more than ten stars.

We started yelling at the stars, and Wei Yi roared, "I want my doctor to graduate smoothly! I'm going to Stanford to study as a postdoctoral fellow! I want to climb Machu Picchu! I want to climb Mount Everest! "

I said, "I want money, I want a lot of money ~ ~" and then I laughed first. Stars must think I'm a big money addict. Then he added, "I want money to travel around the world. ! I want to go to Bermuda! I'm going to the pyramid! " I can't help admiring: "Star ~ You are so beautiful! You are the most beautiful star ~ ~ "

Then, we started talking nonsense, didn't make a wish, just shouted what we wanted to shout, and then rolled around laughing on the beach.

10: 20, I saw the lights of Dunhuang city in the distance. Time to go home.

Although the desert is dark, all you need to do is slide the sand down the mountain. Easy to slide to the bottom, I saw several tents at the foot of the mountain, and several people were sitting around chatting and planning to camp in the desert.

There are some lights flashing in the distance, and I can vaguely see the traces of camels walking on the ground during the day. Looking up again, the stars are still blinking at me in the deep night sky. So I stopped, lay in the desert again, put my fist on my chest and prayed.

Star, I was just crazy at the top of the mountain, not really wishing. Those wishes that can be expressed are only for themselves, in order to motivate themselves to continue their efforts. But now, I have to pray sincerely. Please wish those beautiful camels healthy growth, and both owners and tourists can treat them well. Please bless all living beings to find their best home. As for myself, if I can pray for anything, what I need most is a quiet and peaceful heart.

Good night, desert.