Danxia in Xuantang Temple

? There is always a mysterious veil hidden in the depths of Qilian Mountain. Now Hexi Corridor has become the destination of many travelers. Just after the early autumn of August this year, I came to Jiuquan from Xi and planned to travel to Subei Mongolian Autonomous County under Qilian Mountain. When I was drinking with some friends at noon, Ms. Xiaoyan, who came to visit relatives in Jiuquan, told me that Danxia, a hanging temple in Sunan Yugur Autonomous County, not far from the dam in Jiuquan, was beautiful and was an undeveloped red sandstone weathered rock Danxia landform. I said I would go tomorrow morning. Xiaoyan is a photographer, and her eyes tell me that it is a strange natural landscape.

? At six o'clock the next morning, Lao Liu drove his SUV, carrying Xiaoyan and others, and ran to Qilian Mountain. Go south from Jiuquan Railway Station and soon reach the foot of the mountain. This area is called the Golden Buddha Temple. Last July, I went here with some friends to eat mutton grabbed by farmers. After the Golden Buddha Temple, drive into the mountains to the west, and then there is a deep canyon to the south. The dry canyon became a passage into the mountain. There is a clip at the entrance of the mountain, and there are two tents next to the clip. This is Qinglandi Village, Qifeng Tibetan Township, Sunan Yugur Autonomous County, Zhangye City, Gansu Province, about 40 kilometers north of Jiuquan City. Therefore, there is a historic site, Xuantang Temple, hence the name "Xuantang Temple Danxia". There is a charge for going up the mountain to see the Danxia landform of Xuantang Temple. Xiaoyan has been here many times and is very familiar with ticket sellers. She got off the bus, chatted with them and managed to buy two tickets. Sunan county tourism bureau is making preparations for the early development, and it may be necessary to build plank roads in scenic spots in the future.

? It takes only one hour from Jiuquan City to Xuantang Temple Scenic Area. Park the car on a flat plateau and follow Xiaoyan in the canyon. Today is cloudy and the air is not so transparent, but it doesn't prevent me from pressing the shutter. After a while, Xiaoyan stopped in front of a precipice and pointed to the precipice and said, "Is there a site of Xuantang Temple hidden inside?" I looked up at the cliff and saw nothing but thorns and rocks. The whole cliff is about 70 to 80 meters high and 100 meters wide. The upper wall is ochre and the lower wall is milky yellow. Due to the long-term wind and rain erosion, the cliff is densely covered with large and small honeycomb caves. Its appearance reminds me of Tianshui Maijishan Grottoes and Yongjing Bingling Temple Grottoes. These two grottoes are located on a cliff 70 ~ 80 meters high, overlapping layers, strewn at random from top to bottom, as dense as a honeycomb. The cliff in front of me is very confused, and I always feel that there are grottoes and hanging coffins inside. Xuantang Temple has long since ceased to exist. No one can tell the past life of Xuantang Temple clearly. Let me imagine the Hanging Temple: The Hanging Temple is a wooden frame structure with a hole on a steep cliff, based on a cantilever beam. Pavilions and pavilions are connected by plank roads, backed by steep cliffs and facing deep valleys. This temple is small, but it is very clever. ...

? Xiaoyan's voice talking to others woke me up. They climbed from a gentle slope on the north side of the cliff at the site of Xuantang Temple to the ridge. I'll catch up quickly. This is the residual vein of Qilian Mountain. The mountains range from north to south, ranging from 1800 meters to 2500 meters above sea level. The altitude in the south-central part of the mountain is high, the mountain is steep and the canyon is steep; In the north, the terrain is gentle, the mountains are undulating and the bedding is staggered. After walking for about ten minutes, a group of strange and colorful rocks appeared in front of me. I thought it was an illusion. I can't believe it Some are shaped like Optimus Prime with indomitable spirit, like knives and axes; Some are like mushrooms; Some are like sleeping lions, and some are like humps; Some are like monsters; Some are like the vicissitudes of the Great Wall of Han Dynasty; Some even look like ferocious faces. The strange landscape is dazzling. The most striking thing is a jumping crocodile, which is eyeing the East. It's amazing, this is a natural sculpture world. At my feet is an isolated hill, like a pool of red mud, forming a natural open-air Buddhist shrine at the edge, and the inside of the pavilion is spotless. When I was about to get close to the huge crocodile, the big mouth of an open hippo was spitting at me. I wandered around the smooth hippopotamus mouth, and just turned around, I found a natural semi-closed cave. Above the cave is a smooth cave, which is round and shot from bottom to top. It's a pity that there is a beautiful woman in gorgeous clothes as an ornament outside the cave. At this point, the fellow travelers have been released in the amazing world. From a distance, the crocodile is ready to come out. When approaching the crocodile, its expression looks much gentler. Seen from a distance, the surface of these red gravels seems very smooth. If you look closely, you will find traces of carving on the surface of these rocks. The knife method is simple and simple, and each piece is a superb work of art. With the appearance of the red sculpture, the vivid scene is also surprising. When I looked back at the colorful mountain ridge I passed, I suddenly looked back and saw a stone carving lying pig not far away. Although the image of this lying pig is simple, it contains the vitality of ordinary animals. It seems that this treasure is a precious cultural relic of the Western Han Dynasty. Do you think this fat pig has the carving art style of that period? The lines are rough and vivid, and the carving techniques are simple and vigorous, which reminds me of the stone carving lying horses in front of the tomb of Huoqu disease in Xingping, Shaanxi, as if they were all of the same type. These huge stone carvings are scattered on the mountain. Whether they are monsters or monsters with claws, there are Shi Hu and Shi Niu. The images they see are very different. They look different standing or lying down. In the sun, they are really meaningful and interesting. Looking around, the oncoming hillside is paved with red mudstone, which looks like a terrace and a sea of clouds. It looks a bit colorful. You are thinking of Hani terraces in Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan Province.

? I have been to Danxia Mountain in Zhaoqing, Guangdong, Jiang Lang in Jiangshan, Zhejiang, Langshan Mountain in Shaoyang, Hunan, Longhu Mountain in yingtan, Jiangxi, and Danxia landform in Chishui, Guizhou. Of course, I have also been to Linze and Danxia landforms in Sunan many times. If Zhangye's two Danxia landforms are the most spectacular Danxia landforms in China, Xuantang Temple's Danxia landforms are still the most dazzling and peculiar Danxia landforms in the arid areas of China, and its exquisite carvings and gorgeous colors have reached the realm of rendering itself without any external factors. This is a Danxia landform, dominated by red glutenite and red mudstone. After hundreds of millions of years, rain erosion and wind carving, the mountains around Xuantang Temple have formed strange shapes through the geological changes of heaven and earth.

About an hour passed. We will meet at the top of the mountain. Everyone enjoyed the wonderful scenery while sharing the breakfast brought by Xiaoyan. Looking north, clusters of red glutenite are looming in the distance, and the fault-depression zone is as vast as the sea. The red bed of Danxia in the west is cut into red mountains, interwoven with the green on the cliffs of the canyon. In the east, there are mountains of ochre, crimson, gray and creamy yellow, and the water in the canyon twists and turns, like a rushing dragon, boundless and vast; There are many peaks and overlapping mountains in the south. The looming snow peak is another style, with an indescribable shock.

? The unique desert and magnificence in the west, coupled with fantastic colors, are all there? It's bad for my eyesight.

? It was drizzling on the way down the mountain. Through a red stone mountain, surrounded by waist-deep weeds. These red sandstones have been washed clean by wind and rain. It's just that these huge stones stand upright and are engraved with traces of running water. A shabby doorframe stood in the grass, next to some broken walls made of stone. This is vaguely an abandoned sheepfold. The owner of the sheepfold adapted to local conditions and used Stonehenge in the west as a gable. In this empty Shan Ye, the abandoned sheepfold seems to be a traveler's post.

At this time, the colorful rocks brightened by the sun are more delicate, quiet and elegant, and there seems to be a baa sound. When we came to the bottom of the valley, melted snow was flowing under our feet, and the water in the upper reaches of the valley was swift and crystal clear. When we took a few sips of melted snow in our hands, we suddenly felt cool and sweet, like pure highland barley wine.

? In the gentle place under the mountain, several buses and private cars arrived here one after another, and the mountain began to be lively. When the Danxia landform in Zhangye and the Pingshan Lake Grand Canyon in Zhangye become popular tourist attractions, the Danxia spectacle in Sunan Xuantang Temple will once again become the focus of attention.

? Xiaoyan greets the doorman at the exit. One of the staff said that Xuantang Temple Danxia Temple covers an area of about 30 square kilometers and consists of four grand canyons. What we saw today is only part of it. There is also a large landscape in the northwest. Come again next time and be our guide.

? Anyway, be sure to come again next time, stay in the tent, savor and appreciate slowly.

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