The world is so big, I want to see it!
In 2018, from July 8th to July 27th, I drove to Xinjiang alone, which lasted 20 days and covered more than 9,200 kilometers. In the eyes of travel experts, this experience may not be worth mentioning, but for me, it is already a feat of life, enough to brag about for a lifetime.
Because, before this, the farthest west I had been to was Xi'an. My family and friends did not approve of my going, but there was always a stubborn voice in my heart that I must go! I'm tired of always fantasizing and expecting! People must have some pursuits, some adventures, and life must have some color, not just enough to eat and sleep well... In short, I just want to go!
In the end, a person’s journey can be called a complete one. To this day, I still miss the dreamy Northwest, the long road, and the loneliness along the way, but "Loneliness is yours, and so is the carnival." You! ”
See all the Gobi deserts, snow-capped mountains, deserts, grasslands and lakes along the way, speeding to your heart’s content, singing to your heart’s content, wandering through the eight wilderness...
The road is empty. , tired and tired, pull over to rest, hundreds of miles in radius, deserted, at that moment, the sky is yours, the earth is yours, you are the master here, you are the center of the world...
The following are details Travel notes:
Departing from Changzhi at 8 a.m., it was raining lightly. Go north along the Erguang Expressway, turn south at Yushe into the Qingyin Expressway, and go west.
At 11 o'clock, we passed Pingyao South, and at 12 o'clock, we had lunch at Wucheng Service Area. Entering Shaanxi, on the Loess Plateau, there are ravines and cave dwellings everywhere.
It was around 5 pm, approaching Dingbian, and the grassland landscape along the way was bumpy and covered with small green mounds. In my life experience, every time I see a new scenery or new landform, I am inexplicably excited.
Arrive at Dingbian at 6:30, get off the expressway and stay overnight. On the first day of the trip, I walked more than 600 kilometers. I'm in a good mood, driving, taking a spin, listening to music, singing, and I'm so happy that I'm bubbling!
I didn’t sleep well last night. I felt sleepy when I got up. It may be affected by my mood. During the journey, it is important to keep a calm mind and not get excited by looking forward to the beautiful scenery; be content with the situation and not be anxious about the unknown ahead. Only in this way can we play well, sleep well, and have a wonderful journey that is "sustainable".
At 9:30 in the morning, we went to Beibao Northwest Film and Television City in Yinchuan Town, which is an iconic attraction in Yinchuan. The film and television city includes three areas: Qingcheng, Mingcheng, and Laoyinchuan Street. When you first entered, it felt quite fresh and quite big! After turning around, it feels like nothing! There are mud houses with mud walls everywhere, and this is what it means to say "the dirt will fall away"! Later, I simply lost interest in reading many parts.
But the Film and Television City is a blessed place for filmmakers and has produced many business cards and celebrities. In Qingcheng, there is a "Gate of Luck". Many works shot here have become popular, the most famous one is "A Chinese Journey to the West".
It should be said that in the 1980s, Xie Jin's "The Wrangler" and Zhang Yimou's "Red Sorghum" made the Northwest Film and Television City famous, and "Westward Journey" made the film and television city popular all over the country. Tourists come here in an endless stream.
At 12:30 noon, I left the scenic spot and went to Yinchuan City to buy wolfberry. It is said that you can buy it in a large supermarket. I searched a nearby large supermarket on Baidu Map. When I went there, I saw that it couldn’t be any smaller. supermarket. Your grandma has legs! Such a small supermarket dares to indicate a large supermarket on Baidu Map!
Later, we went to Yinchuan Tongxin Road Comprehensive Market, bought wolfberry and had lunch. At 2:30 in the afternoon, I went to Zhongwei City. I had plenty of time and decided not to take the highway and take the X751 County Road. The continuous mountains on the roadside are bare and barren. They can be seen in the colors of earth, sand red, and stone, but it is difficult to see green. This is Helan Mountain!
Going south along X751 County Road, it is said to be a desert road, but in fact it is not a desert. The landform is half grassland and half desert. On the mottled grassland, you can occasionally see sheep.
Arrive at Zhongwei City at 6:30 and stay overnight.
At 7 o'clock in the morning, I will be the first tourist to arrive at Shapotou Scenic Area on this day! I was rejected and the scenic area was deserted. After having breakfast and waiting, tourists came one after another.
At 8:30, the scenic spot opens. Shapotou, a 5A scenic spot, has become famous recently because of the filming of "Where Are We Going, Dad"? Shapotou is located at the southernmost tip of the Tengger Desert, also known as the "end of the desert". The desert meets the Yellow River here and stops heading south.
As soon as you enter the scenic spot, you come to the Yellow River. The river is wide and the water is abundant. There are many water sports, such as boat rides, sheepskin rafts, etc. Take a battery car and walk in, and soon you will come to the foot of a large sand slope. This is the legendary "Shapotou"! You can take the elevator to the top of Shapo.
When you get to the top of the slope, you have a wide view and a clear view of the scenery. The Yellow River has made two turns. The south bank of the Yellow River is full of greenery, which is very different from the long yellow sand on the north bank. Beyond that, there is a stretch of mountains.
There is a question, for thousands of years, why has the desert not buried the Yellow River that is so close to Chi Chi? Listen to the tour guide’s explanation and clear up your doubts. It turns out that the geographical location here is special. The wind from the desert in the north blows to the mountains opposite, bounces back to the bottom of the slope, blows upward at the bottom of the slope, and rolls the sand up. Over time, it becomes a big sand slope, and the sand cannot bury the Yellow River. .
Shapotou is divided into two major viewing areas: the Yellow River and the desert. After visiting the Yellow River Scenic Area, take a free shuttle bus to the hinterland of the desert.
When you come to the desert viewing area, there are nothing more than camel riding, off-road motorcycles and other projects. It is not large in scale and not as lively as the Xiangshawan in Inner Mongolia that I have been to before. We didn’t stay here long, and quickly took the shuttle bus back to the top of the sand slope. From the top of the slope, we stepped on the soft sand and ran down.
At 11:30 in the morning, we left the scenic spot and headed to Zhangye. We passed by the Yellow River and Jiulong Bay, where the Yellow River turned a "U"-shaped bend. We stopped to take pictures.
Along the Lianhuo Expressway, heading west, the road becomes increasingly desolate. There are fewer service areas and can only be regarded as parking spots. There are only a few simple wooden houses for pedestrians to eat, rest and use the toilet. There is no gas station. . At 1pm, have lunch at Jingtai parking spot.
After passing Wuwei, you enter the famous Hexi Corridor. For thousands of years, it has been the only passage connecting the Western Regions and the Central Plains. There are mountains on both sides, parallel to the road, far or near, running beside it and stretching for hundreds of miles to the west.
Arrive in Zhangye at 7 o’clock and stay overnight. Zhangye, formerly known as Ganzhou, has a long history. It is an important town on the Silk Road and a veritable chokepoint. After dinner, I took a walk and came to the central square. It was brightly lit and very lively. Many people were flying kites. I saw an old man flying a very long centipede kite. It was several hundred meters long when it was threaded with pieces of paper. The tail end is floating in the air, invisible,,,
There is a wooden tower next to the square. It was built in the Northern Zhou Dynasty and has a long history. It has been circled three times around the tower.
At 9 p.m., it is still not dark, and the "jet lag effect" of traveling westward has begun to show. The further we go westward, the later it gets dark.
Set off at 7:30 to the Colorful Danxia Scenic Area. The weather is sunny and a beautiful day has begun again!
Arriving at the north gate of the scenic spot, you pass by a small town, not far from the parking lot of the scenic spot. If you want to enter the scenic spot early, you can stay in the small town.
At 9 o'clock, I took the shuttle bus into the scenic spot. I saw colorful patterns for the first time along the way and saw a new landform. I was so excited! Colorful Danxia, ??a 5A-level scenic spot, I am quite satisfied with this scenic spot. Those gorgeous color bars make people wonder at the magic of heaven and earth! Unfortunately, the photo effects are not very good and cannot capture the beauty that the eyes really see.
Along the way, we passed four viewing platforms: Xianyuan Terrace, Yunhai Terrace, Jinxiu Terrace and Hongxia Terrace. For the first three platforms, you can take the shuttle bus casually. When you get to the fourth Hongxia Terrace, you have to look for the shuttle bus back to the north gate.
At 11:30, we left the scenic spot and had lunch at the visitor center. Afterwards, we went to Binggou Danxia. The road conditions are very good and we will arrive in 20 minutes. We will pass by the west gate of Colorful Danxia on the way.
At 1 o'clock in the afternoon, we went to Binggou Danxia, ??a 4A-level scenic spot. The jagged rocks and various shapes, especially the shapes of camels, Xuanwu Gate and the Louvre, are particularly similar. I feel that all the scenic spots in the northwest are so value for money and so interesting! It is much better than those tourist attractions in the mainland that just find any reason to enclose land and collect money.
At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, we left the scenic area, returned the same way, and took the Lianhuo Expressway to Jiayuguan City. Arrive at Jiayuguan at 7 o'clock and stay overnight.
Practice brings true knowledge, which is also a wise saying! Before the trip, I originally planned to spend the night in the car, but after a few days, I drove alone and was exhausted every day. I thought about sleeping in the car at night. Is it possible to spend the night in a cramped space? Oh, no!