The magical Mingsha Mountain

The magical Mingsha Mountain Wen/Yin Gong

————Love Returns to the West Part 6

? "It is said that the sand in the sand is different, and the coldness is also natural. "Woo, the power is suspicious, the sky is stirring, the wind is like thunder, the wind is sharp and sharp, and the human navel blade is uneven."

This vivid poem about the scenery is a Tang Dynasty poet's description of the wonders of Mingsha Mountain in Dunhuang.

Mingsha Mountain has been attracting people with its bright and vivid natural wonders since ancient times.

?The strange sound of heaven and earth, the wonderful sound of nature - Mingsha Mountain, located at the northern foot of Mingsha Mountain 6 kilometers south of Dunhuang City, Gansu Province, starting from the top of the cliff of Mogao Grottoes in the east, and Jiedang River Reservoir stretches 40 kilometers from east to west and 20 kilometers wide from north to south. It winds like a giant dragon and has no end as far as the eye can see.

This is a mountain in the desert, a mountain standing among the endless light yellow winding ripples.

The entire mountain is yellow in color and is made up of fine sand of five colors. It changes in concavity and convexity and moves with the wind, like undulating waves.

To the naked eye, most of them are gold and black, creating shapes of different shapes. It makes people marvel at the uncanny craftsmanship of nature, which makes the Mingsha Mountain carvings so beautiful and mysterious.

Located on the edge of the Taklimakan Desert, it is one of the four largest Mingsha Mountains in my country, together with Shapotou in Zhongwei County, Ningxia, Xiangsha Bay, Dalat Banner, Inner Mongolia, and Barkol Town, Barkol Kazakh Autonomous County, Xinjiang. one.

?Mingsha Mountain is also known as Shensha Mountain.

One of the wonders of Mingsha Mountain is that although it is made of quicksand, it is a mountain instead of a hill. Generally, quicksand can only accumulate into gentle hills. The sand falls with your feet and resumes its journey. The sand and footprints left by people trampling down from above during the day will be blown back to their original state by the wind overnight, leaving no trace; secondly, its sound can be heard every time a strong wind blows or people slide down together. The sound is either gentle like a song or like thunder, which is thrilling and unique. In the quiet night, the sound of the sand is like a whistle, which is sad and graceful, and is horrifying; thirdly, although it is golden in color, the grains of sand are It is not all golden, but composed of "five-color sand" of red, yellow, green, white and black, which is sparkling and colorful.

It is precisely because of the many magical places of Mingsha Mountain that there are many bizarre myths and legends.

According to legend, there was no yellow sand here originally. It was a green mountain lined with green trees and lush water plants.

A general from the Han Dynasty, also said to be Fan Lihua, a female general from the Tang Dynasty, led his army to the west. They set up camp here and were attacked by the enemy overnight. The soldiers had to fight with their bare hands and killed the enemy soldiers. Rivers of blood flowed across the fields, and tens of thousands of corpses were piled up.

Just as the two armies were fighting and inseparable, a black wind suddenly rose, blowing up overwhelming yellow sand and pouring down like a heavy rain. In an instant, all the horses and corpses of the two armies were buried. In the sand, numerous sand mounds were formed, and Mingsha Mountain was born from then on.

There was a poem that wrote, "There seems to be traces of the gate in the fog. It is said that the forty-eight camps were pitiful and windy and bad overnight, and the heroes were buried in the raspberries.

" This is the reference to this story. describe.

I like this legend. It has such a strong human color. Just like all beautiful natural landscapes, there is a beautiful legend. Human beings use their kindness and rich imagination to create beautiful things for the world. Nature adds a lot of cultural charm.

Looking at Mingsha Mountain from a distance, I seem to have seen the fierce battle on the ancient battlefield.

The sky is full of wind and sand, the setting sun is like blood, life radiates bright brilliance in the fierce battle, the tragedy of war and the nobility of the warrior's soul are conveyed to the world in the sound of sand like gold and iron clashing.

?Now, when people slide down the steep sand slope from the top of the mountain, the quicksand is like pieces of brocade hanging on the sand slope. If the golden dragons are flying, the sound will follow, just like the strings of silk and bamboo. Following the harmonious sound of bells and chimes, the sound of golden drums continues, and the roar is endless.

When strong winds rise, the sand mountains roar, and the sound is like lightning and thunder, like drums; when the breeze blows, it is also like orchestra strings and bamboos, so there are "people climbing on it and the sound of the sand is heard" and "the sound of the sand is heard in There are sayings in the city" and "people and horses trampled on it, and the sound shook for dozens of miles."

If you climb down the sand mountain at night, you will not only hear the sound of sand that sounds like a battle on the battlefield, but you can also see the colorful sparks caused by the friction of the sand grains caused by the movement of the human body. Local people said That sound was the fighting cry of the ancient soldiers who were unyielding and came from the bottom of the sand mountain.

When exposed to the scorching sun, even if the wind stops and the sand is quiet, a beautiful sound like silk and bamboo strings will be emitted.

The "five-color sand" grains of red, yellow, green, white, and black on the sand mountain are one of the "three treasures" of Mingsha. They are transformed from five-color banners and five-color armors.

It is said that ancient weapons, armor fragments and other cultural relics have been unearthed here, which seems to confirm the above legend.

?It is also said that a long time ago, Mingsha Mountain was a lush bluestone mountain.

There are many temples beside Crescent Moon Spring, and during every temple fair, operas are performed to worship the gods.

One year on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, there was a social fire. The social fire team gathered beside the spring, and the gongs and drums were noisy.

Unexpectedly, Prince Huang Long in the Hanhai Desert was alarmed.

Prince Huanglong is ferocious and brutal. When he roars, black wind will rise and sand will pile up like a mountain.

That night, it couldn't bear the loneliness and happily ran out to see Du Huo.

When I saw the wonderful part, I cheered loudly with excitement.

Suddenly the flying sand poured out, and a sand mountain rose from the ground, pressing everyone under the yellow sand.

Prince Huang Long knew that he had committed a serious crime and had no way to survive when he returned, so he crashed his head into Qingshi Mountain and died.

Since then, there have been sand mountains in front and behind Crescent Moon Spring.

Countless ghosts at the bottom of the mountain often beat gongs and drums to tell their misfortunes.

To this day, the locals say: "There is a sound from the back mountain, a rumble.

There is a sound from the front mountain, the sound of gongs and drums."

There is also a beautiful legend, It is said that one day, Huanglong came to Dunhuang and saw the red flowers and green grass and the sweet and fragrant melons. He became ambitious and used his magic power to spit out yellow sand and blow a black wind. The sky was dark and the earth was dark, and the wind roared and the sand flew away.

It happened that the third daughter of the Jade Emperor was taking a bath in Crescent Moon Spring that day, so she reported to heaven about Huang Long's mischief.

After hearing the report, the Jade Emperor ordered the Qinglong of the East China Sea to conquer Huanglong.

The two dragons met and fought, fighting from the sky to the ground, and from the ground to the sky. The battle lasted for seventy-seven and forty-nine days.

Qinglong is a water dragon. It is far away from the sea water and is very thirsty. After fighting for a while, it lay down to rest in the east.

Seeing that Qinglong was unable to do what he wanted, Huanglong was very proud and flew arrogantly to the east. Seeing that the situation was not good, Qinglong hurriedly got up and pressed its horns against Huanglong, using all his strength to hold on to it.

Huanglong was strong and energetic, so he slammed into Qinglong. Qinglong was exhausted but would rather die than give in.

There was a loud noise as the sky and the earth shattered, and the two dragons, Huang and Qing, crashed to the ground.

The Yellow Dragon lies in the south, forming a sand mountain. Whenever a strong wind blows, the sand particles fly and collide, making a thunderous roar, which is called Mingsha Mountain.

However, no matter how much the sand moves around in the wind, it cannot pass the stone mountain that the blue dragon turned into, that is, Sanwei Mountain.

? Bizarre legends and the mysteries of nature have painted the desert sky with a mysterious, gorgeous, ethereal and magical color.

I looked up from the bottom of the mountain. The tall mountains made of sand grains in Mingsha Mountain were undulating, like golden waves, majestic and surging, and like a pure yellow barrier. .

The sand peaks are steep, the mountain shape is beautiful, and the sand ridges are connected and winding.

The ridge is like a knife, with clear lines, like a magical sculpture carved by God, or like a golden dragon swimming towards the blue sky in the most graceful posture. The lines are extremely soft and Very soft, very dynamic, very magnificent.

During the tourist season, hundreds of tourists walk on this ridge and climb to the top of the mountain every evening.

The yellow sand made a deep nest, and my feet sank back and forth in the sand. After a while, I was out of breath from exhaustion. Someone told me to follow the footsteps of the people in front of me, saying that it would save money. I'll give it a try, it's true.

It was the hot season in Dunhuang when we went to Mingsha Mountain. The sand mountain glowed golden in front of our eyes, and the sand under our feet was boiling hot.

I knelt down and heard a heavenly sound echoing in my ears.

I imagine that there are ancient women playing the harp in the sand mountains of Dunhuang. The sound of the harp floats in the mountains, and a crescent moon spring floats out.

When you reach the top of the mountain, the sand waves on the hillside are like ripples of blue waves due to the tourists' steps.

?The winding Mingsha Mountain has a beautiful shape and plump peaks. The powder-like yellow sand shines in five colors: red, yellow, green, white and black, shining brightly under direct sunlight. , shining brightly, what a beautiful scene.

The mountain shape is suddenly curved and undulating, like a golden dragon about to fly; suddenly the peaks are steep, with the back like a knife blade, like a sand-sculpted pyramid; the smooth and dynamic ridge arcs are like sections of leisurely mountains. Soft, melodious and elegant music.

A strong wind blows, and wisps of dust are rolled up from the sand ridges, dancing up and down, flying in the sky, just like the flying ribbons of the flying dancers in the Dunhuang murals.

Whether it is the quiet sand peak or the moving sand flow, it gives people a harmonious and wonderful feeling.

The sand dunes that pull and bite each other are majestic and smooth, as yellow as gold, as soft as satin, and as demure as a girl.

The sand ridges are rippled under the radiation of the sun, and the yellow waves are rolling, with alternating light and dark, distinct layers, and endless colors.

The ingenious blend of red, yellow, green, white and black, with thick and light smudges, clearly outlines the outline of each sand peak and the layers of each sand valley arc.

Climbing a sand mountain is like sailing against the current. If you take a step forward and half a step back, the sand will flow and you will fall. If you fall, the sand will flow even more. People will rise, float and swim in the sea of ??sand, which is comfortable and easy.

The five-color sand grains are soft and round, falling with your feet, and often return to the same shape after being blown by the wind.

Along the way, I saw that almost all tourists were sliding down the ridge when they went down the mountain. As people slid down, the sand also slid down. Gradually, the sand flowed like running water, and people seemed to be floating on the quicksand. The quicksand can Take you all the way to the foot of the mountain.

According to common sense, hundreds of tourists walking on the ridge will completely destroy the ridge in one day, and even the ridge that is more than a foot wide will be covered in a short time.

However, despite the fact that tourists were everywhere during the day, and the sandy mountaintops and slopes were trampled by hundreds, thousands or more people, making them pitted, "full of holes" and "incomplete", but after one night, it was like a miraculous workmanship. The mountain has been restored as before, and the slopes are still as flat as water. The ridge has completely returned to its original shape - the original shape since ancient times. The lines are still extremely soft, extremely graceful, and extremely dynamic. Yesterday's thousands of footprints, one by one It's gone, as smooth as before, and the sand that flowed down due to tourists' sliding down has all returned to its original position, as if there had never been a human presence here, and no one had ever been here.

It is really interesting and gives people an ethereal and magical feeling.

People all marvel at the magical charm of nature. This is an excellent place to visit the desert landscape.

?Strong wind blows, and the sand dunes under your feet form like undulating waves of sand, rolling up the gravel and blowing it up from the bottom of the mountain.

The yellow sand flowed upward in waves by the wind, and merged into the dim sky. The sky and the sand were one color.

The fine gravel hit my ankles, causing a dull pain, and soon my head and ears were filled with sand.

Standing on the sand mountain, looking as far as the eye can see, the sky is dim and full of wind and sand.

The yellow sand that is constantly blown up by strong winds on the top of the sand mountain is like an apricot-yellow flag fluttering on the top of the sand mountain, which is spectacular.

The wind carrying the sand seems to be carrying people away. If the feet were not sunk deep in the sand, it would be difficult to imagine that one could stand on the top of this windy and unobstructed mountain.

?The stretching sand mountains have no light and shadow, and are gray and hazy like smoke.

It is not the delicate moon hazy bird haze, but the overwhelming haze that changes the color of heaven and earth.

The wind blows and the sand falls, and the five-color sand is falling like rain. It has a bit of the smell of misty rain in the south of the Yangtze River, but what is missing is the sticky and wet feeling, which is dry and bitter.

The sand and dust instantly engulfed the camel team. We squinted our eyes and looked for traces in the dust and mist.

The Great Gobi Desert seemed to have suddenly sprouted wild "white hair three thousand feet", dancing and making a noise, and the entire sand sea was irritated.

There were strange sounds in the hills and valleys, some like drums and horns, some as light as silk threads, some as heavy as thunder, and sometimes ghosts howling, the sky was dark and the earth was dark, as if there were two armies facing each other, fighting each other.

The blood in my body also boiled.

Is it the "Flying General" leading his 100,000 armors on the battlefield? Is it the big flag with the word "Huo" raised proudly in the midst of the war? Ming dysprosium, strong slave, scimitar, long sword.

In the illustrious martial arts that shocked the world, the territory of the Chinese Civilian Brigade extended towards the sea of ????sand... Mingsha Mountain, you are more than a grievance accumulated in history! You use your chariot to wake up the sleeping Gobi desert and blue sky, and you use the glorious candle of yesterday to illuminate a nation's progress towards tomorrow.

?After a while, the wind and sand began to calm down, the sand mist dissipated, and when I looked around, there was no one, but the yellow sand remained the same.

The wind suddenly weakened, and the wind did not blow and the sand did not flow, but the sound of sand was still whirling in the ears. At this time, it was no longer the sound of thunder, but replaced by the thin and continuous sound of bamboo. , soft and elusive like fairy music.

I suspected it was an illusion, and I held my breath while concentrating, but the sound was still lingering in my ears.

My friend noticed my confusion and told me with great interest that every sunny day, even if the wind is calm and the sand is quiet, Mingsha Mountain will emit a sweet self-singing sound, like the sound of silk and bamboo orchestra. The ancients called it "Shaling Qingming".

If people climb to the top of the sand mountain and then slide down, just like the legend of ***, the sand will play different kinds of symphonies.

It may be elegant or rich, or crisp, or like the whisper of insects, or like forest waves, or like the receding tide. Its sound is unpredictable and its reason is difficult to understand.

Such a landscape cannot help but make people think and think.

?The sand in Mingsha Mountain makes noise, which is another unique feature of Mingsha Mountain.

The so-called singing sand, also known as "sand dune music", does not sing by itself, but the sound produced by people sliding along the sand surface. It is a wonder in the natural phenomenon. A strange sound in time, a beautiful movement in nature.

"In modern times, scientific research and speculation have been carried out on this, and there are many opinions. There are three main theories:

? One is. Static said.

It is believed that the sand grains in Mingsha Mountain flow downwards driven by human power or wind, and the sand grains containing quartz crystals rub against each other to generate static electricity.

Static electricity discharge makes a sound, and the sounds gather together and sound as loud as thunder.

?The second is the frictional sound theory.

The cause of the singing sand is not the wind, but the spread of sound waves caused by the movement of the sand layer.

Most of the Mingsha terrain is a basin. When the weather is hot, the sand grains are particularly dry and the temperature increases.

When the slope collapses and the gravel tumbles downwards, with a slight squeeze, collision and friction with each other, sound waves can be generated, making an explosive sound, and the sounds merge together to make a roar.

?The third is to speak loudly.

A ravine basin is formed between the peaks of the sand mountains. The Crescent Moon Spring in the basin and the Liutiao River on the edge of the sand mountains evaporate, turning the basin into a natural huge steam blast box.

The friction or discharge sound caused by the falling quicksand causes vibration. After the sound of the sound box, the volume is amplified, forming a huge echo of sand.

?Mingsha Mountain has calmed down at this time. The thousands of troops and horses that were buried by the sand in the legend may be tired from screaming and it is time to sleep.

Occasionally, a group of camels will slowly pass by, and the string of camels will become a pleasant melody.

The most unforgettable thing for me is the chance encounter with a shepherd returning from collecting grass. His donkey cart was filled with green weeds. Sitting on the weeds was a little girl of four or five years old with clear eyes. His big eyes looked at us curiously and smiled at our greetings.

Watching this donkey cart walking down the sand dunes next to a dead tree, I always felt that this was a warm and intoxicating style painting of the Northwest.

The desolation of the desert can better reflect the warmth and preciousness of human feelings.