Thousands of miles to the northwest (1): Starting from Jiayuguan, staying for 8 hours, what did I see?

After sitting in the office for a long time, I want to go out for a walk.

So I spread out the map, searched for information, and set my sights on the Northwest.

After repeated consideration, a route that took both safety and beautiful scenery into account was decided.

Before traveling, I wrote a paragraph and posted it on WeChat Moments:

Everyone who sees it will be envious and jealous.

That year, I spent 12 days traveling thousands of miles and only spent 4,000 yuan. All those who heard it sighed.

Let me describe the scenery along the way.

Relevant strategies are attached at the end of the article. It is recommended to collect them.

The train ran from Hangzhou to Jiayuguan for three days and two nights. Finally, I was tired. At 4 o'clock in the morning, I arrived at the terminal station - Jiayuguan Station.

After stepping out of the carriage, the cool air from the northwest numbed my scalp, and I couldn't help but tighten my collar.

I dragged my suitcase and huddled down as I walked down the street. The suitcase and wheels made a noise all the way up to the sky.

The sky was freezing and dark, and the stars in the sky were trembling.

From Hangzhou to here, the altitude is 1,600 meters higher. The nights are long and the weather is cold. Why not put on more clothes before getting off the bus?

I muttered to myself, my teeth chattering.

A KFC store in front of me stubbornly turned on its lights, trying to give me a hint.

Why not eat something first and wait until dawn?

Good idea, I pushed the door open and went in, pretending to order some fries or something.

Just think of it as breakfast, eating is no longer the purpose, keeping warm is the purpose.

The sky was getting brighter and brighter. I was embarrassed to sit down again, so I got up and went out.

According to plan, today we will go to Jiayuguan, a 5A scenic spot.

When I arrived at the scenic spot, I looked at the ticket price (110 yuan) and felt a little timid.

"You've already come, why not go", I am often brainwashed by this sentence.

But that day, I was surprisingly calm because I was short of money.

What interests me are natural landscapes that cannot be renovated, rather than renovated historical landscapes.

I rented a taxi and went around Xiongguan to see the first pass in the world from a distance. From the perspective of an attacker, from a distance of 1,000 meters, I looked at the key to the border - Jiayuguan;

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I thought that those "guards" who spent money on sightseeing on the tower might not know the hero at the gate.

Ha, I feel comfortable inside, talking and laughing with the driver.

The sun was hiding behind thick clouds, not wanting to offend Xiongguan.

The newly decorated Jiayuguan Pass has not yet opened its doors to welcome guests, but emotions are brewing.

The calmness between heaven and earth gave me good light conditions and shooting opportunities.

In order to find a better shooting angle, I asked the driver to park the car on the side of the road, and I climbed up a small slope on the side.

At this time, the fangs hidden behind the tower were exposed.

The towers, chimneys, and Gobi form a unique combination.

The thousand-year-old border gate tower is only supported by the emerging steel city that is only fifty years old.

Jiayuguan is a real "Gobi Steel City".

In 1955, 420 million tons of iron ore were discovered near Jiayuguan. The reserves were so large that a steel plant had to be built, and it was named Jiuquan Iron and Steel.

After that, the whole country supported Jiuquan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd., and workers migrated to Jiuquan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. one after another. As the population increased, there were more various facilities, just like in the city.

In 1965, the government and enterprises were separated, and a prefecture-level city—Jiayuguan City—came into existence.

It took ten years to become a city, which shows the fiery era!

Let’s float into the air and look down and look at the map——

The blackened area in the north of the city is the Jiugang factory area.

But the boundaries are blurred, and the black color smudges all around, gradually changing to the south before transitioning into the new city.

Looking at the streets again, they are straight and vertical, with regular grids, like a chessboard;

Looking closely at the blocks, the nested buildings are neat and dense, like mahjong.

In a community, from Building 1, Building 2...Building 153, there can even be more than 200 buildings.

Obviously, this city was born and prospered because of Jiugang.

Lie on the Gobi and take a picture of yourself.

Looking around, you can see the desolation of the desert outside the pass. Several unknown plants around you are silently and tenaciously resisting the wind and sand.

This morning, with its rough painting style, is my first experience.

Travel is like this. Even the pores will open and fully absorb the freshness brought by a different place.

This is not something you can experience just by sitting in the office.

After asking the driver, he said that there is another landscape nearby called the "Cantilever Great Wall", which is part of the Jiayuguan military defense system.

Then let’s go and have a look, it’s still early anyway.

The taxi came here happily. This is a gorge, and a section of the Great Wall has been built on the ridges on both sides.

The slope of the ridge is 45 degrees, and the Great Wall seems to be hanging upside down on the ridge, hence the name "Hanging Wall".

However, when I saw that it was a newly built landscape similar to a film and television set, I was not interested and stopped climbing nearby.

This kind of Great Wall is not as good as the section of the Ming Great Wall that I saw in Shanxi, which was blown away by the wind and only mounds were left.

However, regardless of the newness or oldness of the Great Wall, as a background for photography, it is indeed competent and the effect is acceptable.

Where I am is a small oasis, growing crops with a promising harvest.

The Great Wall and crops have a certain concrete meaning.

Isn’t the existence of the Great Wall meant to resist grassland civilization and protect farming civilization?

A tractor rumbled over from the grass. The old farmer smiled from a distance, as if he knew me.

After asking, it turned out that he was coming to harvest sunflowers today.

Sunflowers are also a specialty of Jiayuguan, and the seed production industry is developed. Most of their income comes from this field of sunflowers.

Sunflowers prefer sunny, dry places. I have never encountered rain in the past few days in the northwest.

The aunt and uncle are both wearing Jiugang factory uniforms, which shows that the people here have been inextricably linked to a steel factory.

Sometimes I feel that when traveling, you don’t necessarily have to visit a tourist attraction.

Whether you regret it or not depends on how you deal with it.

If you can take a picture of a farmer’s smiling face or a picture of field work, isn’t it another more beautiful scenery?

In just one morning, although I did not climb the Xiongguan Tower,

I still experienced the vastness of the Gobi Desert, the majesty of the Qilian Mountains, and the beauty of the Great Wall.

I photographed the locals harvesting sunflowers and had a simple and interesting conversation with the local taxi driver.

The richness of travel is far more than just sightseeing spots and delicious food.

With a three-dimensional imagination of time and space, you can experience the local customs and customs.

Due to time and transportation inconveniences, I couldn’t take pictures whenever I wanted, and I had constant regrets along the way.

However, when has the regret in life been absent?

Ask the driver, where can I have lunch?

The driver said that you can go to Jingtie Market, which is bustling with everything.

So I took the bus and rolled over here.

This market is located in the old city. It is simple, messy, but full of fireworks.

The tall simple iron shed can not block the rain but not the wind, let alone the noise.

The melon seeds in Jiayuguan are really good, with big particles. I bought 5 kilograms of them as snacks.

Of course, the market is not only about cereals and grains, but also dry goods from the north and south, as well as department store clothing.

There are also shoe menders in the market. Everyone has a shop or not, and they all set up stalls.

This reminds me of the Yiwu Commodity Market in the 1990s.

Beside the market, across the street, there is a food city, which seems to be parasitic to the market.

The food city is also simple enough, with large stainless steel doors and windows, like a temporary sunlight glass greenhouse.

Don’t forget, there are all kinds of stainless steel in the Jiugang Steel Factory.

When diners eat in this restaurant, food from other restaurants can also be delivered.

The shops are intertwined with each other without distinguishing each other, as if they belong to the same mother.

This win-win model of "your front yard is my backyard" is not seen in Hangzhou, where neighbors are strangers to each other.

That day, I ate very simply, a fried bun and a mutton steamed bun, and I was on my way in a hurry.

I forgot how much a *** costs, it shouldn’t be more than 15 yuan.

After lunch, I took the 12:30 train and left Jiayuguan City for Zhangye City. I stayed at a youth hostel in Zhangye for the night.

In this way, I only stayed in Jiayuguan City for 8 hours, so it was very compact to visit two cities in one day.

Traveling is actually quite busy.

Next stop, Zhangye.

In order to enhance operability, I have organized the following ticket information according to the latest information.

Train tickets:

1. There is a direct train (k594) from Hangzhou to Jiayuguan, costing 549.5 yuan for a hard sleeper.

2. From Jiayuguan to Zhangye, you can take a train. The ticket is 65.5 yuan and the time is 1 hour and 28 minutes.

However, the train has to go to the south of Jiayuguan, and the destination is Zhangye West. Both stations are quite remote.

Going back and forth may not be as fast as taking an ordinary train.

Ordinary train hard seats cost 37.5 yuan and the time is 2 hours and 36 minutes.

Jiayuguan Guancheng

Bus: Take bus No. 4 or 6 in the city and get off at Guancheng Scenic Area. The journey takes about 20 minutes. When returning to the city, the bus stop is just south of the main entrance. Walk out of the main entrance to the main road, turn right and you will be there.

Taxi: Taking a taxi in the city is about 15 yuan, and the return taxi is about 10-12 yuan. However, during the National Day, taxis will charge higher prices.

Coupon ticket: 110 RMB (May 1st - October 31st), the combined ticket includes Jiayuguan Pass, the first pier of the Great Wall and the cantilevered Great Wall.

Recent travel plans: