Travel notes of Wulanbutong grassland

The scenery in Inner Mongolia is still very good. You can see the scenery of this place by searching the photos of grassland on the Internet. It's really good. At least, when you look at it, basically every picture can be used as wallpaper.

In the autumn season, riding horses gallops on the vast grassland, and off-road vehicles cross mountains and mountains just to meet you. "

I believe that the most beautiful scenery is fleeting, and those golden leaves gradually drift into the embrace of the earth. When the sun rises, the golden sunshine makes the whole world golden, and the trees on those hills are also colorful. Not the kind of yellow that makes Ma Pingchuan visually tired.

The autumn colors in Ulan are somewhat similar to those in Xinjiang, but the colors in Ulan are richer. Northern Xinjiang is monotonous yellow, and different grasslands in Ulan are red, yellow, blue, green and orange. After the rainbow was broken, it was scattered on the grassland.

During this long journey, on the cold grassland, I wore running shoes with excellent air permeability and heat dissipation, used a fragile tripod that could fall apart at any time, shook in the cold wind and pressed the shutter.

In the last century, I lived in a luxury hotel in a small town. I regularly went to the restaurant led by me to eat healthy vegetarian boiled vegetables for dinner. Until the whole lamb roasting ceremony on the last day, my life was ups and downs, asking for it and being happy.

0 1

A few days before departure, I suddenly lost interest in eating. No matter how delicious the food is, I have no appetite or hunger. Tossing and turning at night, insomnia for no reason. Maybe I haven't been out of town for a long time, maybe I'm going to a long-awaited place. Full of expectation and anxiety, the heart rate is about to exceed 120.

Maybe I was too excited before I left. Two hours before the plane took off, I quickly found out the most awesome waterproof high-top outdoor hiking shoes in the universe that I hadn't worn for several years from the shoe cabinet. I wore it last time I went to Xinjiang. Such good shoes, like lovers, wrap the whole foot comfortably, warmly and safely.

After a few steps at home, there are some black things on the ground. It turns out that I haven't worn soles for a long time, and I fell off when I walked, so I didn't have time to feel bad. I found a pair of running shoes at random. They are light, but breathable and full of pores. This pair of running shoes in summer makes me cold on the grassland.

Anyway, you can't catch up without flying. In a panic, I put on my backpack and left. I watched the sun rise all the way in the taxi and remembered that many people were still waiting for the bus to go to work. I am very happy. As the saying goes, it is a universal law to be extremely happy and sad.

I got off the taxi at the airport and packed my luggage. I can't find a tripod in the car. It suddenly occurred to me that I didn't bring my tripod! Damn, you can't shoot anything without a tripod. It's too late to go home and get it at this time. Take out your mobile phone and go to the cat shop to contact several photographic equipment stores. I want them to send the tripod to the airport. As a result, no store has gone to work and no one has responded. I have to contact my teammates who are already in Beijing and ask them to buy me a tripod regardless of the price.

On the plane from Shenzhen to Beijing, I was full of anxiety about whether I could buy a tripod. I can't bear to go without a tripod. There are gains and losses along the way. Three hours is like three days.

Fortunately, my teammates in Beijing lived up to expectations and ran for more than ten blocks before leaving. Finally in a shop, the boss said there was only one sample. Do you like to buy or not, and don't bargain? My teammates called me and asked me if I wanted to buy it. I bullet, said two words. Deal.

With a sigh, I finally solved a big problem of life and death. This tells me that good teammates have better memories than good teammates.

When I arrived at the exit of Beijing airport, I saw a tripod that I will never forget. Very light, I sighed again. This tripod is destined to be carefully cared for, or it will fall when the wind blows.

02

It takes about 8 hours to get to the scenic spot by bus from Beijing airport. All the way through the highway, national highway and county road, I staggered and unconsciously slept in the scenic spot. During the journey to the west, the temperature gradually dropped. It was so warm in the car that I froze into a popsicle as soon as I got off the bus.

From the warm south to

After passing through many barren grasslands, it was already night when we arrived at our destination. In a small town, the bus driver left us there, and the streets were empty. There are only three kinds of shops in the street, one is a restaurant, and the other is a small supermarket, with a supermarket every 50 meters, a restaurant every 15 meters and a hotel every 100 meters.

At the end of the street, there is a huge hotel that looks almost as withered as a yellow leaf on a branch. There is a huge army green quilt in the hotel. Looking closer, it turned out to be a hotel waiter. Because it was too cold, he wrapped himself in a military coat and got into a standing quilt.

The waiter wore a mask and only showed his eyes, looking at us, as cold as the weather. We took the key and immediately went upstairs to settle down.

There are beds, heaters and electric blankets in the room. Other than that, there is hardly any. On the ceramic tile of the bathroom, there is a poster that domestic bikini girls wear very little. It looks like the style of the last century. Like those hotels on the road, it is probably used to relieve the fatigue of travelers and truck drivers, for example, to add some fun, which is very retro.

Maybe it's too remote and cold here, and there are no small pieces of paper under the door.

The water in the water heater is like a stream that is about to dry up, which can be described as a trickle. It happens that the water temperature is extremely high. After a little adjustment, it became icy. It's really hard to find the right place.

The roar of the car engine suddenly disappeared outside the window, and the night became quiet. Occasionally, a few dogs barked and the border town began to sleep.

03

Get up at 3: 30 every morning, start at 4: 30 on time, follow the team into the prairie and shoot the grassland scenery. You can't be late, because you are one minute late and the whole team is waiting for you. Local drivers will not give you a good look. People here have a clear love and hate, and being late is a heinous crime. This is for fun, not for military training.

For several days in a row, shoulder pain is nothing, and the cold wind outside the Great Wall hurts the most.

On the first day, there was a duel on the grassland, and the temperature dropped from 26 degrees to zero. I was caught off guard and frozen into a dog. It's no good jumping around rubbing your hands. Cold wind won't treat you differently just because you are from the south, so go easy on me.

I went back to my residence to buy coke and boiled ginger, and regarded the water cup as my relatives. The townspeople enthusiastically told me the four-word motto of life, drink more hot water. I sniffed and looked around for paper towels. For the first time, I think hot water really works.

In the small supermarket in the town, every family sells beef jerky. Air-dried beef is easy to carry and has high energy, and it is not easy to deteriorate because of too much salt. It can also make us consciously drink more water.

Whenever you are tired and struggling, you can feel a sense of security by taking out a piece of beef jerky from your pocket.

When we stand by the tripod and wait for the sun to rise, the thermos cup is man's best friend, with or without medlar. In the cold wind, it is better to take a sip of hot water, exhale hot air, sigh and look at the people around you with envy. What could be more pleasant than this?

04

On the grassland, it is impossible without horses and off-road vehicles. From a distance, a long row of off-road vehicles, raising dust all the way, there are more off-road vehicles here than horses.

At four o'clock in the morning, it was dark around. Only the taillights of the motorcade emit red spots.

The fleet of dozens of cars is vast, and it is easy to get lost if you don't follow closely. The place we are going to is not the scenic spot of ordinary tourists, but the hinterland of grassland. Its north, south, east, west and north are empty. I don't know which is which. Self-driving tourists often do not know the depth. When they were in trouble, they had to ask for help from the rescue vehicle.

The team captain is as confidential as the security bureau. He won't tell every driver where the destination is before the team leaves. This reminds me of the scene of a Hong Kong gangster film. Don't be so secretive, as if we are all doing illegal things. Just take a picture.

Let me guess, this leader is the number one figure in Bashang photography circle, and there will be many people watching the itinerary. It's true that I will go wherever you go. If it is arranged in advance, then other teams will know.

In the off-season, the tour leader will often go to the scene and find some new places that no one has been to. These are his core competitiveness. Therefore, some landscape photographers are always tight-lipped about where their photos were taken and how to get there. The leader bought a Toyota himself and didn't want to drive it. On weekdays, he drives his Beijing Jeep BJ40 to show us the way. Every day in this grassland and mountainous area, those domestic off-road vehicles are very economical.

Sanmao misses the time when we were driving and thinks it's bad to be led by the nose. Worst of all, she didn't know where to shoot before she left. There is no freedom. Generally speaking, it is to set off to the destination in a daze, slap and then go back.

I advised him to look on the bright side. At least we got into the habit of getting up early and going to bed early on this trip, didn't we? Moreover, we eat healthily, and there is no risk of getting fat by eating boiled vegetables for several days.

Most importantly, navigation can't play a role in the depths of the grassland. If we venture into the hinterland without a guide, it is likely to waste taxpayers' money and enjoy the process of the people's police rescuing us.

The silence in the mountains is always bleak, which is by no means what people in the world of mortals can expect. I really enjoy this silence. A shout broke the silence, and the leader shouted in front: "Hurry up, hurry up, don't waste time, just like the boring instructors in military training."

We are like camels carrying goods in the desert. The propaganda of leaders is like an invisible braid. We climbed the steep hillside silently with a heavy load on our backs, and the camera bag on our backs became heavier and heavier. It may have been wet with dew and put on some weight.

05

After several group meals in a row, we angrily decided to elope and eat at our own expense.

Choosing a hotel conforms to Matthew effect. We will go to any crowded hotel, so there are more and more people in crowded hotels and fewer and fewer people. In order to attract people, the shopkeeper found an ox cart to hang mutton, and there was a huge barbecue oven in front of the ox cart. You can see steaming smoke 500 meters away.

There are some fat sheep in another car. Maybe they know that sheep are born and die, which is their destiny. Occasionally, there will be smaller sheep, afraid of barking. During the barbecue, sheep oil dripped on the charcoal, making a swish sound. Passers-by were attracted, stopped and drooled in their throats.

For sheep, the whole night spent in the street is a nightmare.

During the day, after lunch, we walked in the street and then walked back to the hotel. Some people suggest eating roast whole sheep on the road, because this will be the end of a few days' journey. Commemorate this grassland trip with a pious ceremony of roasting whole sheep.

Speaking of roast whole sheep, one year in xinduqiao, western Sichuan, a group of us were drooling around roast whole sheep in the yard. Other people's roast whole sheep, like other people's children, always tastes better. From then on, we made up our minds to have a whole sheep barbecue ceremony before each team set off.

The whole lamb is roasted with 1-2-year-old Inner Mongolia Baidoujie sheep. Slaughtering, blanching, pickling, seasoning, hanging in the oven, sealing, and baking with slow fire until it is mature. The finished product is yellow-red, oily, crisp and tender, fat but not greasy, crisp and delicious, and has a unique flavor.

Now that we have the idea of realizing it, we immediately found a shop on the side. Sanmao, Leng Yue and Xiong go to discuss the details of roast sheep with the boss. After several bargaining, a live sheep of 60 kg was sold to 1200 yuan. The boss said the sheep's head was for us, and we immediately objected. We want the sheep head to do something, but we can't take it on the plane and we don't sell dog meat.

Eating mutton in Inner Mongolia is as natural as eating seafood in Shenzhen. In the evening, with a tired body and full of expectations, we came to this roast whole sheep restaurant to prepare for a big meal. The boss said, you eight people, it is better to roast half a sheep and stew half a sheep. Roast the sheep first, then stew the sheep after eating. Eat two sheep at a time.

As a matter of fact, we haven't finished half of the roast sheep, and there are still many on the table. The remaining lamb chops lay quietly on the plate, as if laughing at us. We leaned back in the chairs one by one and couldn't eat any more. If you persuade others to eat sheep at this time, you are likely to turn against each other and break off diplomatic relations.

The most painful thing in the world is to face a table of roast lamb chops and can't eat any more.

06

Every day on earth, my favorite time is half an hour before and after sunrise and half an hour before and after sunset, which is also the prime time in landscape photography and the best time to see the scenery. After seeing the Ulan Butong grassland I photographed, a friend lamented that I went to a fake grassland.

In fact, the grassland is still this grassland. The difference is that the place we went to is different from the time we went.

When you are still in the warm bed, I am shivering in the cold wind. Therefore, each has its own advantages.

Before sunrise on the grassland, the dark blue sky was dotted with shining stars, and the moon began to leave. The sky is as white as a fish, and the area is getting bigger and bigger, until the dazzling sunshine shines on this land, bringing colorful colors and starting a new day.

This grassland is rich in vegetation. The main plant species are spruce, birch, Stipa Baikal, Leymus chinensis, Sanguisorba officinalis, Tangjinai, chrysanthemum, iris, camphor and Orchidaceae, as well as yellow flower, Lespedeza davurica, Potentilla, Agropyron cristatum, Achnatherum splendens, Artemisia frigida and Artemisia annua.

By the time the sun reached the top floor, we had finished lunch in the town, fell asleep and took a nap, waiting for an unknown destination to shoot the afternoon sunset.

There are few clouds in autumn, if not many. When there are many clouds, people will suspect that there is no sunset at all. But occasionally there are exceptions.

Suddenly, the sunset appeared from a large chaotic cloud. The sunset is already red, very red. When the sun is at its reddest, it will set. Wan Li is barren and desolate, and even the sunset seems to change color because of loneliness, turning into an empty and desolate gray.