Gan Qing South Ring Road Tour

The traditional Ganqing Great Ring Road is a classic self-driving route, generally starting from Xining, passing through Menyuan County, Qilian County, Zhangye, Jiayuguan, Dunhuang, Dachaidan and Qinghai Lake clockwise or counterclockwise, and finally returning to Xining.

This route includes many natural landscapes centered on Qinghai Lake in northern Qinghai, and Hexi Corridor with extremely rich natural and cultural landscapes.

How rich is the landscape of Hexi Corridor? How thick is the cultural background? It is recommended to watch the high-scoring documentary Hexi Corridor.

The opening of Qinghai section of 20 17 Made Expressway has increased a possibility for the Ganqing Great Ring Road.

Mad expressway refers to expressway from Delingha, Qinghai to Marcand, Sichuan, and the Sichuan section is still under construction.

Because Gannan is also a very popular tourist destination now, I designed a new Gansu-Qingdao Great Ring Road. You can call it Gan Qing South Ring Road, or you can connect the traditional big ring road with this new big ring road in series.

The general route starts from Lanzhou, passes through Linxia Prefecture and Gannan Prefecture, and enters jiuzhi county, Qinghai Province from Maqu County. Or you can enter jiuzhi county, Qinghai Province through ruoergai county and Aba counties in northern Sichuan.

Then turn to the northwest and follow Mad expressway to Delingha, the capital of Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai Province.

Finally, turn east, pass Qinghai Lake and Hainan Prefecture, and finally return to Lanzhou City.

Fortunately, I practiced this route on my bike recently. Now I write my travel notes and my comments on various scenic spots and road sections here for your reference.

The last line:

(Gansu Province) Tianshui City-Lixian County-Minxian County-Diebu County-(Sichuan Province) ruoergai county Huahu-(Gansu Province) Luqu Gahai County-(Qinghai Province) jiuzhi county-Maqin County-Delingha City-South Bank and East Bank of Qinghai Lake-Xihai Town, Haibei Prefecture-Guide County-Jianzha County-Tongren County-

In addition, it is recommended to watch the second season of aerial photography in China-Gansu.

As it happens, I mentioned many scenic spots along the way. After all, the photos I took were limited. Look at this aerial photography of China, and you will be even more fascinated by this route.

I didn't choose to start from Lanzhou, but from Tianshui. Because renting a car from Tianshui is cheaper, and you can avoid the road from Linxia to Lanzhou.

I rented a Baowo BX5 from the car company .. Because this car is new, it is in good condition. And it is cheaper than other joint venture cars of the same grade.

At noon 1 1: 30, the train arrives in high-speed railway station, Tianshui, and then goes to CAR Inc. store in high-speed railway station, Tianshui to pick up the train.

This shop of CAR Inc is very poor, just a house built by a mobile factory.

I didn't choose to take the fastest route through Gangu County given by navigation, but passed Lixian County, the mountain pass of Bapanshan Mountain (it seems to be also called watershed) and finally arrived in Min County. The whole journey is about 280 kilometers.

The first stop on the way is Lixian County, which belongs to Longnan City. Qishan, where Zhuge Liang came out six times, is here, but there is no trace of Zhuge Liang. Lixian County is rich in apples, and many farmers produce and sell them by the roadside.

After Lixian, we left expressway and entered CoCo Lee Highway. Autumn colors appear along the way, and the scenery after crossing the watershed is quite amazing.

The goal of the first day is Zagana Scenic Spot in Diebu County. After going south from Minxian to S2 10, it entered a deserted valley. The road is quiet and there are few cars coming and going.

After a tunnel named iron ruler Liang, it entered the territory of Diebu County. After we get out of the tunnel, we will continue downhill. It is estimated that the final relative height difference will reach 1500m (from iron ruler beam to Lazikou). At this time, standing on the side of the road, you can see the road in the deep valley, which is quite amazing.

Part of this road is unpaved, but the traffic volume should be small, but the bay is steep and steep, so drive carefully.

After going down the slope, we passed through several canyons in succession and came to the vicinity of Lazikou Town.

There is a Lazikou Campaign Memorial Hall two kilometers away from Tanchang County.

I went in and looked around. There was nothing to say.

Then after lunch, go west along Bailong River to Diebu County. I bought some apples on the way, and the green apples I produced and sold were quite delicious. The key is freshness.

After Diebu County, it reaches Zhagana, about 20 kilometers north. As we approached Zhaga, a misty stone mountain appeared in front of us, full of fairy tales. I think Zhaga really lives up to its reputation. Unfortunately, I didn't stop to take pictures. It began to rain after arriving in Zhaga, and it cleared up after only two minutes. It seems that I am lucky.

From the roadside through a valley, up to the Locke observation deck, the perspective here is very good.

Zhaga is definitely worth going!

I got up in the morning and went to Zhaga to shoot the sunrise. Unfortunately, before the sun came out, the fog gradually enveloped the whole valley. Not only can't you see the sun, but you can't even see the rocky mountains.

Just left Zhagana and headed for Huahu Lake in ruoergai county.

Today's goal is Maqu County in the southwest corner of Gansu Province. The normal route should be that Diebu County passes through Hongxing Town and langmusi, and then reaches Maqu County. But it's too close to play all day. It is understood that the road from Diebu County to Hongxing Town is under construction and the road conditions are extremely poor. At the same time, the road from ruoergai county Geer Township to Huahu Lake has a good scenery. So I also chose this road that navigation doesn't know.

This road begins to enter the mountain near Bengba village, and the intersection is marked with the no-go sign of relevant departments.

According to my years of experience, this kind of notice should be ignored directly.

I entered the path that navigation didn't know, and the result was good.

Through a very narrow canyon.

The Tibetan language of unknown so is engraved on the rock wall on one side of the canyon.

After crossing the canyon, the scenery is beautiful, the grassland is snowy and the forest is silent. Stay with me on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Why Switzerland?

Occasionally, there will be opposite cars along the way. Although there are roadbed collapses and water-damaged sections, I also find it a bit difficult to estimate the car, but there is GL8 coming towards me in the opposite direction.

At the foot of the mural-like mountain, the road began to climb greatly.

Standing on the mountainside, looking at the valley just passed, it really smells like Switzerland.

Finally, after an open stone canyon, I drove on a alpine grassland. It is estimated that the Zoige prairie is not far from the front.

Reluctantly, I left this magical path and crossed the mountain passes to the endless Zoige prairie.

It is worth mentioning that perhaps it is through this road that I completely climbed the third step from the second step in China and climbed the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau from the depths of the Qinling Mountains.

I strongly recommend this film to all road trip fans.

I was a little sleepy after eating lunch in a roadside shop, so I lay in the car and slept for more than an hour. Maybe it's altitude sickness. However, I had a good sleep, and I was in good spirits. I continued to drive to the next scenic spot and drove to the sea.

It takes a fork in the road to Gahai. Go west at the fork in the road until you reach the shore of Gahai. It won't take long.

The guardrail on the shore of Gahai has an opening, and there can be a dirt road leading to the lake. But I didn't go in and left Gahai for Maqu County.

After crossing the Zhongke Tunnel all the way, there is a viewing platform at the entrance of the tunnel, overlooking the Maqu grassland and the continuous mountains like buns, which is quite amazing.

The next night, I checked into an unknown hotel in Maqu County.

Today's destination is Dawu Town, Maqin County, Guoluo Prefecture, Qinghai Province. Arriving at the observation deck of Awancang Town first, you can see a tributary of the Yellow River winding down and finally merging into the Yellow River.

This place has a wide view and is worth visiting.

Originally, I wanted to go to Muxihe Township, go up the Yellow River and take a road not marked on the map to Maqin County. I forgot when I thought about it later. I only saw motorcycles on that road on the Internet. It was too risky for me to go, so I decided to take the conventional route.

Then it passes through the Yellow River in Awancang Town, crosses the Yellow River and reaches the territory of jiuzhi county, Qinghai Province.

After having lunch in jiuzhi county at noon, I set foot on expressway for Madre.

After walking along Madre expressway for a while, I saw the Yellow River again. This is the place where this trip passes through the upper reaches of the Yellow River.

Stay in the most luxurious hotel in Dawu Town, the capital of Guoluo State at night. It's just garbage. It is not worth more than 400 yuan.

Today, we will continue to complete the journey of Mad expressway. I am looking forward to seeing some of the most important scenic spots during this trip, such as the main peak of Mount Animaqing.

Leave Dawu Town and drive to the northwest for an hour, and you will see the continuous snow-capped mountains.

Not far from the entrance of Xueshan No.1 Tunnel, you will see a huge white mountain, just separated from expressway by a ditch.

At the entrance of Xueshan No.1 tunnel, you can observe the end of the glacier at close range. It even looks only a few hundred meters away.

After passing the No.1 tunnel in Xueshan, the weather immediately turned from sunny to cloudy. Just across a mountain, there are two worlds.

Continue to the northwest and pass through Huashixia Hub, which is the intersection of * * * Jade Expressway and Made Expressway. Then walk a short distance, and you can reach East Lake Gachona. There is a hole beside the highway. I tried. I can really go down to the lake. The car is hopeless and the road is not easy to walk.

It happened that several Prado cars from Wenzhou were stuck in the lake.

Because there are no towns along the way today, most of them are no man's land, so I choose to replenish by the lake.

Self-heated rice tastes terrible. After leaving East Lake Gachona, I entered the real no-man's land. There is almost no grass along the way, and there seems to be moss on the ground.

Soon, I finally passed the highest point of my trip, Luozhuo Pass.

With great respect for the engineers and technicians of China Road and Bridge, I went down the mountain at an altitude of 4,445 meters and came to the vicinity of Xiangride Town in Qaidam Basin. Along the way, the landform changed from tundra to grassland, and more and more trees and families were gradually seen from the grassland, which made me feel like returning to the world from heaven.

After leaving the vicinity of Xiangride Town, I briefly walked a section of Beijing-Tibet Expressway to the west. On one side of Beijing-Tibet-expressway is the continuous Kunlun Mountain (exactly, the remaining vein of Kunlun), and on the other side is the endless Qaidam Basin. Although the mountains in the north of Qaidam Basin are more than 0/00 kilometers away from me/KLOC-,I can see them at a glance because of the good air quality and sunny weather. The desolation of the northwest unfolded before my eyes.

Leaving Beijing-Tibet Expressway, Made Expressway will once again go north, spanning the whole Qaidam Basin from north to south. This section of the road also constantly surprises me. Countless inland rivers are flowing under the road, either about to dry up or have dried up. I saw the last life form of the inland river. One of the rivers with the largest water volume is called Sulingguo River.

The land along the road is covered with white everywhere. This place should be the bottom of the ancient salt lake. There are many salt lakes in Qaidam Basin, including Chaka Salt Lake, a scenic spot among network celebrities.

After climbing a mountain, many sand dunes appeared in front of us.

Through the Qaidam basin, I really realized what it means to look at the mountains and sigh, and treat a dead horse as a living horse doctor. A mountain that can be seen at a glance actually ran for two hours before reaching its foot.

Arriving in Delingha in the evening, this small town actually has a tram track, clean and tidy, and the sun shines brightly.

Today, I plan to take a one-day trip to Hala Lake, which is more than 0/00 km north of Delingha. But along the Khan Avenue in Gushi to the foot of the mountain, the road was blocked. The uncle who blocked the road couldn't ask anything, so he said the road was blocked and wouldn't let him go.

This completely messed up my plan. I have an extra day on my schedule. I can only think helplessly, maybe the road to Hala Lake is really difficult, and there is a risk of being trapped in the wild, so I don't have to go. Even if there is a path to bypass, I don't want to risk wasting this time. After all, I haven't studied the satellite map nearby before.

On the way back to Delingha Hotel, I saw the color of Heishishan Reservoir is very special, so I thought I could go to the dam.

When we arrived at the gate of Heishishan Reservoir, the sign on the right said No Entry. This is obviously a power plant, nothing is written on the left, and the door is open. Willy-nilly, I slipped on the gas pedal and headed for the north side of the dam. My heart secretly rejoiced, and the Heishishan Reservoir presented to me was exaggerated.