Let’s go as soon as we can—trip to the northwest

This early summer of 2017, for the first time, I tried an on-the-go trip.

Due to work, my husband and I were unable to travel together as a couple. Especially in the past few years, I have been giving up going on vacations and choosing to stay at home for this reason. This time, I no longer have any entanglements and hesitations, and resolutely chose to "walk alone". “Traveling alone” here does not mean that I am traveling alone in the world, but that I am temporarily a single person and travel in a group with seven or eight people.

On June 29, without any thought or preparation, I suddenly came up with the idea of ??going to the Northwest for a week's vacation. When I came to the office early in the morning, I first invited two single girls to invite me. They agreed immediately, which made me so excited. I made a quick decision and immediately decided on the itinerary. When I was discussing how to choose a chartered car tour, four more colleagues joined in, including theirs. There were nine family members in one party, so the team was now huge. This Coke made me happy, and I no longer had the trouble of having too heavy photographic equipment and no one to carry it.

After much deliberation, we finally chose to fly directly from Chongqing to Xining on the afternoon of July 2nd, and then take the high-speed train to Zhangye. This way we can ensure that we can visit the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes on the 4th and watch the gates on the last day. From the source of rape flowers, the "Domineering Kamikaze Team" was born.

I spent three nights packing my luggage. I put the clothes on and took them out again, and tried on the clothes according to the itinerary. In short, there were a lot of colors. I brought four pairs of white shoes, sandals, and loafers. Fortunately, my summer clothes were thin and could be stuffed into a 24-inch suitcase. However, I had to carry my down jacket to keep out the cold in the morning and evening. Before departure, the single girl Wang who was traveling with her also took the time to customize the team uniforms online with the words "2017, We Are Together", which were also colorful and eye-catching. In this way, a casual trip officially started on the afternoon of July 2.

The plane was unusually on time, the train was unusually fast, and the weather was unusually good. Everything indicated that this trip would be perfect.

After a good night’s sleep in Zhangye, we set off from the hotel to Danxia Geopark at 7:30 in the morning on the 3rd. Originally, the chartered bus master said that the tour would take two and a half hours, but this group of good-looking people Men and women born in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s, and even my younger brother born in the 00s, like the concave shape. They stayed for three and a half hours from entering the park at 9:00 to leaving the park at 12:30. They took a total of 196 photos. Zhang classic Zhang Zhang outstanding.

After eating delicious northwest food at the park entrance, we continued driving along the Hexi Corridor toward Jiayuguan. During the 260-kilometer journey from Zhangye to Jiayuguan, no one felt sleepy at all. They all lowered their heads and scrolled through the morning photos, not feeling tired from the journey. We arrived at Jiayuguan around 17:00 in the afternoon. The chartered bus driver didn’t ask us until what time we would leave. He only told us to call and pick us up when we left. I think maybe the master is so magnanimous because he knows that our main interest is photography!

Whenever netizens on travel websites mention Jiayuguan, they usually only mention it as a tourist attraction. The time spent there is at most two hours, and we were the only ones who stayed there for three and a half hours without paying attention. Hours passed, and the amount of shooting in the afternoon doubled as in the morning. Finally, I was driven away by the security guards before I left with unfinished content.

It was already 23:30 when I returned to the hotel and sorted out the photos. It was only the second day after going out, and it felt like a week had passed. The next stop is Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes. The master said that the entire 380-kilometer journey must start at 6:00 in the morning without any delay, otherwise we will not be able to enter the caves in time at 14:40. Although we are free to travel without the control of tour guides, we still wake up earlier than chickens, go to bed later than dogs, and eat less than pigs.

Before setting off in the morning, I checked the itinerary again. Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Moon Spring were also included in today’s tour. Thinking that everyone was so excited to take photos yesterday, I hurriedly joined the group Here I inform you that you must bring an extra set of brightly colored clothes for taking photos.

When the Guazhou Expressway is closed, we can only go to Dunhuang via National Highway 314. Fortunately, the remaining distance is less than 80 kilometers, otherwise the Mogao Grottoes tickets booked in advance will be in trouble! Looking out of the car window, the outside is desolate. On the right is the Gobi desert and on the left is the desert. I can only go to the toilet in the temporary fence set up by the owner of the honeydew melon seller on the roadside. This situation is embarrassing, tsk tsk tsk...

The temperature in Dunhuang is higher and the sunshine is longer. When we visited the Mogao Grottoes, the sun was shining brightly. However, the temperature inside the caves was relatively low, so we didn’t feel hot even while walking. There are more than 700 caves in the Mogao Grottoes. We only visited the eight caves open to the park. It took one and a half hours, including the time for taking pictures. We were the only ones who took pictures wherever we went. Entering Mingsha Mountain at seven o'clock in the evening, I really don't think there is anything good about it. It may be because of the weather. When I first entered, the sky was blue and white clouds, but soon it became dark. It was not until nine o'clock in the evening that I saw the short sunset.

Without the sunlight and the blue sky, the desert would completely lose its atmospheric beauty. Even so, we still took 126 photos in Mingsha Mountain, and we just went back to the hotel in the evening to sort them out. It was one o'clock in the morning when these photos were taken.

I have always had a regular schedule, but for the first time I slept less than five hours.

It has been two days since the trip, and everyone is still excited. The first thing they do as soon as they get on the bus in the morning is to discuss the beautiful photos from the previous day. Seeing them so happy makes me feel less tired!

The destination on the third day is Delingha. The journey from Dunhuang to Delingha is 560 kilometers. Along the way, we pass through Dangjin Mountain in the Qilian Mountains. I was attracted by the purple wildflowers blooming on the roadside and couldn't help but get off the car. Take a photo. Jinshan is located at the junction of Gansu, Xinjiang and Qinghai, and across the road is Qinghai Province. The legendary most beautiful highway (Liuge Expressway) is at an altitude of 3,500 meters. This place is roughly located in the northwest corner of the Qaidam Basin. The Gobi, blue sky, white clouds and highways form a beautiful picture. The relaxed and joyful mood makes the originally worried high altitude sickness disappear without a trace.

There is a lake 45 kilometers away from Delingha, called "Koluk" Lake. The scenic spot is far less famous than Qinghai Lake and Chaka Salt Lake. It is also small in scale and its scenery is very simple. In this way, we are still having a great time inside. This is the so-called scenery everywhere when people are at odds.

The highlight finally made its grand debut on the fourth day of the trip. Chaka Salt Lake and Qinghai Lake, which I had been thinking about for many years, finally saw each other on this day.

In order to give us more time to take pictures, the chartered car driver specially drove 200 kilometers from Delingha to Chaka Salt Lake at 6:30 in the morning. Along the way we passed Jinzihai and Keke Salt Lake. Jinzihai means Alatenbula in Mongolian. It is said that Genghis Khan dropped his golden cup when he led his troops through this place. Kekeyan Lake was formed in the Paleogene of the Cenozoic Era, extending from northwest to southeast, 80 kilometers long and 20 kilometers wide. Its scale is larger than Chaka Salt Lake, but it has not yet been developed for tourism.

Before departure, I checked the weather conditions of Chaka Salt Lake on Baidu, and it showed cloudy weather. At that time, my heart felt half cold. What I never expected was that the sun was shining brightly, with blue sky and white clouds along the way. It seemed that we had walked to The sun will follow you wherever it goes. As the saying goes, if your character is good, even God will help you. We arrived at Chaka Salt Lake successfully at 9:15 am. We must take the small train. The round-trip fare is 100 yuan for a distance of 4.5 kilometers. It can take us to the deepest part of the scenic spot, next to the abandoned railway track that transports salt mines. At this moment, God is behaving beautifully, the sea is calm, and the mirror of the sky is in full view. Whether you are jumping or posing for a photo, no matter which angle you take it from, it is breathtakingly beautiful. I would like to remind friends who have never been there that you must wear a pair of wading sandals when going to Chaka Salt Lake, otherwise you will have excruciating pain every step of the way. However, in order to ensure the beauty of the picture when taking pictures, you can temporarily take off your shoes when taking pictures.

After staying at Chaka Salt Lake for four full hours, I left with satisfaction and continued driving to Qinghai Lake. Today's luck is really good. The water of Qinghai Lake is blue under the sunlight, which makes it even more magnificent. It is worthy of being the largest inland lake and saltwater lake in China. The lakeside is covered with green grass and rapeseed flowers are in full bloom. Cattle, horses and sheep are happily gnawing on the grass and enjoying themselves.

In ten days, the International Cycling Race around Qinghai Lake will also be held here. The road around the lake will be closed at different times. If you are not a person who likes to join in the fun and has great interest in this, it is best to Avoid this time period to visit Qinghai Lake.

We arrived at Erlangjian, the most famous scenic spot in Qinghai Lake at 6pm. Unfortunately, the cruise ship ended at 7pm, so we could only slightly adjust the itinerary for the next day. We would go there after watching the sunrise in the morning. We took the first cruise ship over at nine o'clock, but the chartered bus driver had to drive all night to Menyuan. Speaking of which, I have to give ten thumbs up to the chartered taxi master (name: Dong Binghua, phone number: 13897219114, 18946823490). First, he is of high quality and treats people politely and courteously; second, he is kind and neither cheats nor deceives, all from our perspective. Set off; the third is to be honest and never say "no" to us. It is precisely because of having such a good driver that we have so much time to visit every scenic spot in detail during this trip.

It has been five days since I came out. I don’t sleep for less than the seven hours I usually get at home every day. I always sort out photos at night and then go to bed at one o’clock in the morning. I always get up before four o’clock in the morning, sleeping in the car. Li Ye could only sleep for more than half an hour at most, but he was very energetic (applause should be given here). After all, Qinghai Lake has so many beautiful scenery. Every sight he saw was like a shot of stimulant. Makes you feel tired.

In order to watch the sunrise and sunset of Qinghai Lake, and to keep the various beauties of Qinghai Lake deep in our memory, we gave up going to Zhuoer Mountain Scenic Area and chose to stay in Qinghai Lake for an extra half day. In this half day, we went to Erlangjian, Sha Island and Jinyintan Grassland. Among them, Sha Island is my favorite. The golden sand and the blue lake complement each other and are really beautiful under the sunlight.

The last day’s itinerary was Menyuan Rapeseed Flowers and Kumbum Monastery. From Qinghai Lake to Menyuan, we chose another unknown road "Chengxi Highway", which can save 80 kilometers of distance. On the way, we passed through the Dabanshan Tunnel, which has the second highest altitude in the world and the highest altitude in Asia. About five or six kilometers after passing through the tunnel, there is a viewing platform for Menyuan rapeseed flowers. Because I had just seen the rapeseed flowers in Qinghai Lake, and the Menyuan rapeseed flowers were there. The gloomy weather could not arouse my excitement for the moment. However, the scale of the Menyuan rapeseed flowers is indeed spectacular, and if the weather is favorable, it will be amazing.

We stayed in Menyuan County that night. It was already 20:50 when we arrived at the county town after visiting the Rapeseed Flower Base. We hurriedly packed up in the hotel room and immediately went out to look for food.

After leaving Chongqing for a few days, everyone was craving for spicy food, so they found a hotpot restaurant run by a Sichuanese. In order to take care of me, who doesn’t like spicy food, I specially chose mild spicy food. This night’s dinner can be regarded as a dinner party to end this happy trip. The chartered car master was also invited to participate. During the dinner, we drank and talked, and even discussed our travel plans for next year. It was formulated, and the total number of people was required to be controlled within ten people, and those traveling together this time must be given priority. I was also drunk!

Visit Kumbum Monastery on the last day. It started to rain lightly when we left Menyuan for Xining. Fortunately, I wisely took a lot of photos of Menyuan rapeseed flowers the night before, so I didn’t leave any regrets for this trip.

After lunch near Kumbum Monastery at 12:30 noon, we entered the temple and started a two-hour visit. I have never studied Buddhist culture and thought in depth, and I have never believed in it, but I have always respected it, especially its ideological essence of "enlightenment." Because it is the weekend, there are so many tourists visiting Kumbum Monastery. It seems that it is difficult to find an open space where you can take pictures, but no matter what, you still have to find opportunities to take a few photos.

Tambum Monastery is the final stop of our trip. After the tour, we still have four hours before our return flight. The chartered bus master suggested that we use the extra time to go shopping in Xining city. It is my intention to buy some local specialties and go back. The master took us to the "Mojia Street Market", a market visited by locals. Everyone bought something here, which was a perfect ending to this trip to the northwest.