A Northwest Journey Across Four Provinces: Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, and Shanxi (Part 4)

The vast Northwest is boundless, with scattered attractions and inconvenient transportation. The best way to travel is to charter a car. Although the cost is higher, you can arrange your own schedule and route, and the driver also acts as a half-guide. Our family chartered a divine GL8, and for the three-day Hexi Corridor tour covering Dunhuang, Jiayuguan, and Zhangye, it cost 2,800 yuan.

The biggest advantage of not joining a tour group is the freedom and spontaneity. We booked the Category B tickets for 9:00 AM at Mogao Caves today (Mogao Caves tickets are divided into Categories A, B, and C; during the peak season, you must book in advance by searching the WeChat public account "Mogao Caves Visit Reservation"). Driver Xiao Yu picked us up from the hotel at the agreed time, and after about 10 kilometers, we arrived at the scenic area parking lot. Note that this is just the parking lot; you still need to take the scenic area bus for several kilometers to reach the actual destination.

Mogao Caves, also known as the Thousand Buddha Caves, were first built in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and took a thousand years to complete. They are a world-renowned Buddhist cultural sacred site, and their grotto art is a human miracle. The well-known "Flying Apsaras" originate from here.

Our Category B tickets came with a designated route, including four caves. Walking from the entrance, there is a river called the Dangquan. It is called a river, but now only a dry, exposed riverbed remains. People can only vaguely imagine what it was like when water once babbled. According to Xiao Yu later, this river was artificially diverted to prevent damage to the caves on the banks.

After crossing the bridge, a row of caves appeared before us. Continuing along the boardwalk, soon a majestic building caught our eyes—the Nine-Story Building, the tallest structure in Mogao Caves, also known as the Great Buddha Hall. It enshrines the world's largest indoor clay statue of the Maitreya Buddha, but unfortunately it was not open to us.

The caves visited had strict limits on visitor numbers, and tourists had to wait in line. Only after one group finished could the next enter. Crowded and bustling, we followed the flow and visited four caves one after another, listening to the explanations while marveling at the exquisite murals. The Mogao Caves have had a tumultuous history, especially since the late Qing Dynasty, suffering countless thefts and damages. If not for the protection and restoration by generations of Mogao people like Fan Jinshi, they would have long fallen into decay.

The attractions in Dunhuang are generally divided into the Eastern Route and the Western Route. Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Moon Spring, Mogao Caves, and also Yulin Caves and Suoyang City in Guazhou belong to the Eastern Route, while the Western Route includes Yadan Devil City, Yumen Pass, and Yangguan Pass.

As the car drove away from the city, the roadsides became more and more open—a boundless black Gobi, and in the distance, the majestic Qilian Mountains. This endless mountain range was once a natural barrier for Han Chinese farming civilization against northern nomadic peoples. The Northwest is not short of resources—solar photovoltaic power, wind power, oil flowing underground, iron ore buried in the mountains. The only thing it lacks is water. One can imagine, without water, how can civilization survive and thrive?

On the way to Yadan, one passes Yumen Pass. "Why should the Qiang flute blame the willows? The spring breeze never crosses Yumen Pass." Due to time constraints, we did not enter the scenic area, only catching a distant glimpse of Xiaofangpan City. After a thousand years, only a heap of yellow earth remains. Continuing onward, we passed the Shule River, once abundant with water and lush vegetation, now completely dry. What vicissitudes has it gone through?

Yadan Devil City is located in the vast Gobi 180 kilometers northwest of Dunhuang, known for its Yadan landform. It is called "Devil City" because in Uyghur, the Yadan landform is called "Sayitankersi," which means devil city. But I think another reason is that these various mounds, when the wind blows, make howling sounds like ghosts crying and wolves wailing. The ancients, unable to explain, attributed them to ghosts. The ticket price of 50 yuan for Yadan Devil City is normal, but the 70 yuan for the sightseeing bus is perplexing. It's only a few kilometers, making one wonder where the high fare goes. The scenic area is divided into a south zone and a north zone. The sightseeing bus only goes to the south zone; to go to the north zone, you have to rent a separate off-road vehicle, which costs about 400 yuan. I felt quite helpless about this.

The sightseeing bus made four stops for photo opportunities: Golden Lion Welcoming Guests, Sphinx, Peacock Standing, and West Sea Fleet. Here, mounds stand tall and ravines crisscross, formed by thousands of years of wind and sand erosion and rain carving. Rather than viewing the scenery, it's more about imagining and associating, because what you see requires imagination to discover its essence; otherwise, it's just a quick stop. All in all, if not for the annoying 70-yuan bus fare, it's still worth a visit.

"I urge you to drink one more cup of wine; west of Yangguan Pass, there will be no old friends." The Yangguan Pass site is located 60 kilometers west of Dunhuang, and from Devil City it's over 130 kilometers away. Next to the scenic area is a small town called Yangguan Town, with a few scattered households, almost all farmhouse inns. The food is not expensive, and most Western Route tours stop here for a meal.

Yangguan Pass was once an important town on the Silk Road. With the passage of time, only the beacon tower from that era remains; everything else is recent imitation ancient architecture. Entering the scenic area, the first thing that caught our eyes was a huge statue of Zhang Qian. He rides a fine horse, holds a tally in hand, with a piercing gaze and firm expression. Imagine back then, Zhang Qian was sent by Emperor Wu of Han to the Western Regions, opening the Silk Road and connecting the Central Plains with the Western Regions, even West Asia and Europe—full of vigor and great achievements. A few hundred meters behind the Yangguan Museum, on a mound of earth, is the remaining beacon tower site. You can take an electric cart or walk there. The mound of earth standing on the hilltop is the ancient beacon tower, which has silently guarded the place for a thousand years, covered with marks of time's carving. Time can take away many things, but it cannot take away memories.

We returned to the hotel after 10 PM. "A thousand years have passed since the Flying Apsara dream." Today was a journey through time and space, a journey carrying history, profound and deep. (To be continued)