Dunhuang, the sandbar of Longyou story

At 5 o'clock in the morning, it is already very cold. We set out for Dunhuang in Jiayuguan, when it was still dark, and watched the sunrise in the bullet train.

Dunhuang, also known as Shazhou, belongs to Jiuquan City, Gansu Province, and is located at the westernmost end of Hexi Corridor, where Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang provinces meet. It is a node city of the Silk Road, famous for its "Dunhuang Grottoes" and "Dunhuang Murals", and is the location of Yumenguan and Yangguan on the border between the Mogao Grottoes and the Han Great Wall.

At noon, we saw a crowded restaurant with special features, mainly selling the local famous "yellow noodles with donkey meat". After some struggle, we decided to wait for a seat to eat, but there was no way. People in China like crowded restaurants. Don't say this donkey meat is really delicious and tender, but another dish, "stir-fried shallots", is a common vegetable in northwest China. This is actually 48 yuan, which is the same price as half a catty of donkey meat we want. It feels too pit. It's better to be an individual vegetable with a thin yellow surface and a layer of halogen on it, so the donkey meat is still delicious!

I followed the navigation and found the Dunhuang Museum, thinking it was a small museum. I didn't expect that the museums we have been to are excellent and unique in overall layout, design and exhibition mode! Coupled with the museum on the Hexi Corridor that I saw before, I can basically string together all kinds of knowledge points, historical events and cultural evolution here, and I stayed for more than two hours unconsciously.

When I got back to the hotel, it was almost dusk. I came across a specialty store opened by Fujian people. The boss is good at business. The fruits and specialties sold are delicious and the prices are reasonable. He also clearly told us where the price of each product is different. Very real. I left my boss's WeChat and asked him to wait for me to return before delivery!

Finally, I have to mention apocynum tea, one of the three treasures in Dunhuang. According to online data, Dunhuang is located in the eastern edge of Lop Nur and belongs to the origin of Lop Nur. A large number of wild apocynum venetum has been used as daily tea by Dunhuang people because of its special medical and health care functions, such as clearing away heat, regulating blood pressure, softening blood vessels, reducing blood fat, relieving cough and resolving phlegm, reducing swelling and diuresis, and calming the nerves. Of course, it varies from person to person, and this function needs to be verified by yourself.

After returning to the hotel, we tried to make two cups. It tastes dull, a bit like green tea, but not bitter.

The next day, we went to the Mogao Grottoes, commonly known as the Thousand Buddha Cave, located in Dunhuang at the western end of Hexi Corridor. Founded in the pre-Qin period of the Sixteen Countries, after the Sixteen Countries, Northern Dynasties, Sui and Tang Dynasties, Five Dynasties, Xixia and Yuan Dynasties, it has formed a huge scale, with 735 caves, 45,000 square meters of murals and 24 15 clay sculptures. There are 492 grottoes with murals and carvings in Mogao Grottoes, which can be roughly divided into five periods: Northern Dynasty, Sui and Tang Dynasties, Five Dynasties, Song Dynasty, Xixia and Yuan Dynasty. It is the largest and richest Buddhist art place in the world.

Because it is forbidden to take pictures inside, only the appearance can be taken. Class a tickets need to be booked ten days in advance, so we have to choose class b tickets, which can visit four caves, four fewer than class a tickets. Imagine the land under your feet thousands of years ago, who has been there, and look at today's modernity. It's really emotional!

First of all, Cave 96 in the early Tang Dynasty, the largest indoor Maitreya statue in the world, is so spectacular! Only by tilting your neck to the maximum angle can you see the whole Buddha statue, which is as high as 35.6 meters! Let's focus on toes, which reflects the aesthetics of fat in the Tang Dynasty.

Next is the second cave, the murals of the Five Dynasties and the Song Dynasty. Because the pigments used by Cao Shijia who painted murals at that time were very luxurious, they were well preserved! The Manjusri Bodhisattva and the Samantabhadra Bodhisattva are all from the Qing Dynasty.

The third cave is 148, which was excavated by the Li family in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. There is a Nirvana Buddha in it, with a total length of 14.7 meters. In the Qing dynasty, 72 disciples repaired the mold. All the murals were painted in the Tang Dynasty, and have been preserved for 1200 years, which is the best preserved among all the murals and has very bright colors. The shape of the cave is arched, which is very special, and it is also called "Nirvana Cave".

The fourth is Cave 138, and the last cave today was built by Ying, a local rich man in Dunhuang in the late Tang Dynasty. Murals are not painted because they are mainly mineral pigments and plant pigments, and the climate is dry. In the Qing Dynasty, the statue of Guanyin was rebuilt.

In the afternoon, I packed my bags and went to the crescent spring in Mingsha Mountain. After settling down, I went to Leiyin Temple, which was founded in the Western Jin Dynasty and has a history of 1700 years. Legend has it that in ancient times, there was a Leigong temple near Crescent Spring, which was later buried by a sandstorm. From 65438 to 0989, the Leiyin Temple was rebuilt with donations from Buddhist groups at home and abroad and the Dunhuang Buddhist Association. Leiyin Temple, formerly known as Jiefang Temple, also known as Kannonji, was rebuilt in the 10th year of Guangxu (A.D. 1884). Taking the meaning of "Buddha said, sounds like Lei Zhen", it was renamed as Leiyin Temple.

We also happened to be in the three altars of Leiyin Temple. Many monks and laymen recite Buddhist scriptures in front of the Buddha. I immersed myself in it for a long time and washed it in the voice of Buddha.

There are still two hours before sunset, and I will rush to the crescent spring scenic spot in Mingsha Mountain. At first, the fruit thought that the ticket of 1 10 was not worth it. Look at the photo below and you will know that it has really subverted his ideas. I'm so happy! Therefore, it's no harm to advise you to listen to the opinions of women, especially wives!

It is best to live in a homestay near the scenic spot. Although the conditions are simple, you can get up at the highest place in the desert at 5 am the next day to watch the sunrise. This is our choice. Although we have photographed many kinds of sunrises over the years, it's the first time in the desert, so it's so meaningful! It is a wonderful experience in life to watch the sun rise a little bit from the endless sand mountains in the distance in the vast desert. All the hardships of the journey have been turned into two words!

The whole three-day experience and knowledge in Dunhuang is a kind of feeling of returning to nature and crossing history through a passage, which is commendable. Therefore, the traveler himself is reading mountains and rivers and humanities. Of course, he must have a certain humanistic foundation in his heart in order to complement each other and confirm each other!