How Beautiful Is the Northwest?
I visited the Northwest about the same time five years ago, mainly the Qinghai Lake loop, and it left me wanting more. This year, the Northwest has become an internet sensation with new highlights, and what you long for will eventually echo back.
[Time] 2020.7.18-7.29
D1: Shanghai - Zhangye, visit Mati Temple, Zhangye - Shandan Military Horse Farm, Stay: Shandan Military Horse Farm
D2: Visit Shandan Military Horse Farm in the morning, Shandan Military Horse Farm - Badain Jaran Desert, Stay: Badain Jaran
D3: Badain Jaran - Zhangye, Stay: Zhangye
D4: Zhangye - Ghost Face Danxia - Taolai River Canyon, Stay: Jiayuguan
D5: Jiayuguan - Heishan Lake - Yulin Grottoes - Son of Earth - Dunhuang, Stay: Dunhuang
D6: Dunhuang - Bolor Zhuanjing Film Base - Oil Town - Mars Camp, Stay: Eboliang
D7: Cross Eboliang - West Taijinar Lake - Watery Yadan - East Taijinar Lake, Stay: Dachaidan
D8: Dachaidan Emerald Lake - U-shaped Highway - Mang'ai Emerald Lake, Stay: Huatugou
D9: Aikeng Spring - Dunhuang, Stay: Dunhuang
D10: Duobagou - Dunhuang Night Market - Heishanzui Starry Sky, Stay: Dunhuang
D11: Dunhuang Museum - Back Mountain of Mingsha Mountain, Stay: Dunhuang
D12: Dunhuang - Shanghai
[Food] Apricot peel water, donkey meat yellow noodles, lamb, chive, liangpi, yogurt, etc.
[Transport] Special mention to the two hardest-working drivers. They drove at incredible speeds and overtook in groups, winning us plenty of rest time while ensuring safety. They even took us to see the stars at midnight—absolutely amazing.
Shanghai airport is strict about hand sanitizer; better not bring it, as it will be confiscated.
Cell signal is poor. Sometimes only China Mobile works, sometimes only China Telecom. China Unicom is always bad.
D1: Shanghai - Zhangye, visit Mati Temple, Zhangye - Shandan Military Horse Farm, Stay: Shandan Military Horse Farm
Tickets can be booked on Ctrip, slightly cheaper than on-site; just one hour in advance is fine.
The scenic area is large; it's recommended to drive in. Near the entrance are Thousand Buddha Cave and Caves 1–4. The Medicine Master Hall is very difficult to climb.
Further in there is a horse farm; on the other side is a high viewing platform, but it felt like we couldn't reach the top, so we turned back.
The Thirty-three Heavens Grotto is the core attraction, with a horse's hoof print, which is the origin of the name Mati Temple.
The distances between the sights are really long, the farthest over 20 kilometers. In the end, we missed the Gesar King Hall, Golden Pagoda Temple, and Upper and Lower Guanyin Caves on the other side.
I searched online and found good reviews. Business was good, and there were many takeout orders.
The restaurant looked like a farmhouse terrace, wooden and retro, with plenty of sunlight.
It specializes in big plate chicken, and there wasn't much else.
The big plate chicken was astonishing. Five of us ordered a medium portion and couldn't finish it. The chicken was flavorful and well-seasoned. The white noodles were especially good—chewy, and we never had such good ones again. The potatoes were also delicious.
The lettuce was tender.
Every restaurant here serves red date tea, which is very nice.
Located at the first horse farm, about 200 meters from the scenic area entrance.
It was relatively clean. The bathroom was not separated wet and dry, and used a water heater, so we had to wait after each shower.
The room had heating; it was quite cold there in the morning and evening.
The landlady was very kind. She told us we could enter the scenic area without paying if we came before 6:30.
The timing of watching horses drink water varies by season, so you need to ask in advance.
Breakfast was at the restaurant across the street.
D2: Visit Shandan Military Horse Farm in the morning, Shandan Military Horse Farm - Badain Jaran, Stay: Badain Jaran
Entering before 6:30 when the staff start work is free.
The horse farm in the early morning is peaceful and beautiful. There is also accommodation inside the farm; you can see horses drinking water right outside the door.
Usually, you can't see horses; there are two sessions each day, morning and evening, with no fixed times. Each session you can see them three times, but it's not the spectacle of thousands of horses galloping—they're just strolling.
Bayin Menggele Restaurant
We wanted to have Mongolian cuisine since we were in Inner Mongolia.
It's a local place; the food was very salty.
What impressed me was camel milk, which tasted like fermented lactic acid drink, thin and slightly curdled, refreshing on a hot summer day.
Stir-fried dried lamb with chive—the dried lamb had a strong flavor, but the mutton smell was quite strong.
Badain Jaran Desert
Alxa Right Banner. There are three roads into the desert: the first is the east route, used by the scenic area, entering from Badain Lake, with a ticket of 100+ and a package car fee of 3000 RMB for one or two days; the second is the west route, used for transporting supplies or by herders, also a self-driving route, but driving on desert roads isn't for everyone. It's strongly recommended to hire a herder as a guide—they are so skilled they can drive even at night, having driven since childhood. A single car is perfectly safe; the third is the middle route, a wild road rarely taken, with few tire tracks, but the most beautiful scenery.
There are many large and small lakes or red lakes inside. The red lakes seen on these three routes are all different. The most beautiful ones are on the middle route, stunningly pink and large.
We entered via the west route and exited via the middle route. The middle route is much more difficult and steeper than the west route.
On the west route, there is a peak where you can see four lakes at once, but it's not easy to climb.
I recommend our driver: Brother Tie. He knows the routes well, drives skillfully, and is very nice. Contact me for his info.
Badain Jaran Accommodation
There is only one place to stay on the west route. Mongolian yurts or bungalows are 100 RMB per bed; standard rooms are 400 RMB per room. Having a standard room in such a desert is already touching. Conditions aside, there is a shower and WiFi.
There are three yurts on the terrace, great for stargazing.
Meals cost 35 for vegetables, 45 for meat dishes, and breakfast 20. After all, bringing food in is not easy. Most herders in the desert are relatives, so there's no malicious competition.
Before entering the desert, buy some local watermelon and sweet melon—they are delicious and refreshing.
Also stock up on food and water.
D3: Badain Jaran - Zhangye, Stay: Zhangye
Zhangye Accommodation: Ai'er Hotel
Near Zhangye West Station, with many hotels nearby.
This hotel is really good, and the price of just over 100 is amazing.
After check-in, tea is delivered to the room. The room has a humidifier.
The bathroom is separated wet and dry, very clean. Plastic slippers are sterilized and packaged.
Great service awareness.
The service was really bad. Whatever you asked the staff to do, they would talk you into doing it yourself.
Like Northeast stew, it gets saltier as it cooks.
We ordered Sunan yak meat, beef tendon, and Sunan wild mushrooms; the wild mushrooms were the best. Tofu was also good.
Hand-pulled noodles were made on the spot and tasted good.
D4: Zhangye - Ghost Face Danxia - Taolai River Canyon, Stay: Jiayuguan
Dongfang Palace Lanzhou Beef Noodle
A chain with stable quality.
Beef noodle soup without beef—you have to add an extra portion of beef. Added some chili; the broth was still quite savory, and the noodles were chewy.
Milk and egg fermented rice drink, with some nuts, comforting in the morning.
This place was really hard to find. Many locals didn't know it. Finally, we asked a young man in the village and found it.
Navigating to Qingkedi Village will get you close.
This wild Danxia landform is blocked by the local forestry department. We only walked a little on the surface; going deeper is very difficult, and the driving paths are blocked.
The Danxia here is characterized by strange shapes, like clay sculptures, hence the name Ghost Face Danxia.
Be careful of plague in the vicinity.
Inside the First Great Wall Pier Scenic Area, ticket 21, shuttle bus 12.
The canyon is quite spectacular, and the surrounding landscape is vast.
There is a film base where New Dragon Inn was once filmed.
The suspension bridge was closed due to COVID-19.
As for the First Pier, it's just a stone pier.
The restaurant is quite large, like a banquet hall.
The waitstaff were a bit dull.
It serves Long cuisine, with large portions.
Hot-oil pancake, dipped in sugar, with a crispy crust, fragrant and delicious. But it was too much—enough for ten people.
Cumin lamb leg, a huge lamb shank bone, very satisfying to gnaw on.
Steamed crown daisy, soft and fluffy with a garlic flavor, like garlic paste and flour wrapped around the vegetable, a unique texture.
One-pot dish, with beef, vermicelli, and some vegetables—neither good nor bad.
Grey beans, with thick skins, so they were hard to soften.
Sweet fermented grains, which were decent as a dessert.
Jiayuguan Accommodation: Ibis
This Ibis is overall good, with parking spaces.
The room was clean and tidy.
But the air conditioner smelled of smoke, and the bathroom drain had a strong odor.
D5: Jiayuguan - Heishan Lake - Yulin Grottoes - Son of Earth - Dunhuang, Stay: Dunhuang
Nearby breakfast shop, the tofu pudding was delicious, as if made with meat broth, very savory.
Potato buns tasted good.
The specialty is ice Danxia, so visiting in winter is more meaningful, when the lake freezes and coexists with the Danxia. In summer, it's not very distinctive.
Guazhou was relatively dry. We encountered the third rain of the summer, not heavy but very cold.
The epidemic check at the entrance was quite strict.
You need to book online in advance. During the epidemic, only 900 spots are open daily, but usually, they are not fully booked.
Five ordinary caves are open, ticket 40 RMB. Four special caves, each with a different price, can be purchased selectively. Buying all special caves costs over 500.
The order was very good; groups were led through according to the situation, with detailed explanations.
The caves are well-preserved and exquisite.
The exit is too far from the parking lot—you have to go around from the back mountain.
It was quite late when we left Yulin Grottoes, so we found a place to have lunch.
The food was quite tasty.
I tried elm seed vegetable for the first time—vegetables coated in flour, with a texture like salted vegetable and bean paste.
Yu Xiang Rou Si (fish-flavored shredded pork) used Korean pickled sauce.
The giant baby sculpture lies on the Gobi, with lifelike details, made using 3D printing technology.
It's a unique landscape.
Dunhuang Accommodation: Jinjiang Inn
We stayed here three times on this trip.
This Jinjiang Inn is really great. From the outside, it's stunning—at first glance, it looks like a scenic spot.
Great location, by the river, a ten-minute walk to Dunhuang Night Market. The surrounding facilities are complete, with many restaurants nearby, and you can see Mingsha Mountain in the distance from the river.
The standard room is a bit small, but the business standard room is just right.
Great details, even a spot for your phone above the tissue box in the bathroom.
The only issue might be the shallow basin and strong water pressure, causing splashes.
Liu Hongxing Apricot Peel Water
A reliable recommendation.
This apricot peel water is brewed, 10 RMB per bottle. There are sweet and unsweetened versions; the recipes might be different. Unsweetened comes in small bottles, but I truly recommend it—sour and flavorful.
As the sun sets, sitting by the river having barbecue and watching the sunset is unbeatable.
First, have a cup of Three-Pao-Tai, slightly sweet—delicious.
Grilled fish, using river catfish. I went back for this restaurant's grilled fish twice—it's so good, tender and flavorful, and the side dishes are great.
Crayfish were a bit fishy, not very fresh.
Lamb skewers, grilled vegetarian chicken, dry-fried shrimp, and milk egg fermented rice soup are all recommended.
D6: Dunhuang - Bolor Zhuanjing Film Base - Oil Town - Mars Camp, Stay: Eboliang
Breakfast: have meat buns.
Bolor Zhuanjing Film Base
An abandoned village that unashamedly charges admission, claiming to be a 2A scenic spot, ticket 50 RMB, shuttle bus 10 RMB. The shuttle ride is short, walkable.
It's a film base where many obscure movies were shot, such as The Ghouls.
Superficially, there's nothing to see—broken cars, walls, houses, and some props left by film crews. But if you look closely, it's great for taking portraits. Many girls were posing there.
An abandoned town after oil extraction, extremely desolate.
In this Gobi desert, there was only one proper hotel, very tight. We wanted to stay there, originally 720 RMB per person, but after paying, we were told it was fully booked, and they refunded us. Later, we learned they were hoarding rooms to raise prices—very dishonest, a big negative review.
Inside, it looks like a space capsule, with space suits for rent for photos.
You can also pitch tents nearby.
This was my first camping experience, at an altitude of 3000 meters. The wind was incredibly strong, blowing all night. I only fell asleep after the wind stopped. I set an alarm for 3 a.m. to take star photos, but I hadn't fallen asleep by then.
Still, being able to eat hotpot and drink pour-over coffee in the wilderness was amazing.
Crossing Eboliang: Yadan landform, with some Danxia color layers and a bit of desertification, very beautiful, especially under the light at dusk and dawn.
There are two routes to cross Eboliang: one from Mars Camp, relatively flat; the other above the camp with better scenery but rougher roads; from several points you can overlook the lower road.
D7: Cross Eboliang - West Taijinar Lake - Watery Yadan - East Taijinar Lake, Stay: Dachaidan
West Taijinar Lake
Also known as the Two-Color Lake. The two sides of the road show distinctly different shades of blue, very magical. It's even more beautiful with a drone.
Ticket 120, including shuttle bus, stopping at four stations.
But the service can't keep up. It's hard to catch a bus if you're not at the final stop; many people don't dare to get off in the middle, or they have to walk, but the distances are very long.
At the last stop, you can take a boat, ticket 80, to get a close view of the Watery Yadan, but it's not very meaningful—these things don't look good up close.
The water is very green, and the landform is unique, but the visiting experience was poor, and there were too many people.
Actually, just send a drone in for some top-down photos.
East Taijinar Lake
10 RMB parking fee at the entrance, no ticket.
It's best to go in the morning for front lighting.
This place suddenly became an internet influencer this year, actually formed last year (2019) when the Watery Yadan broke through an opening.
It's called China's Maldives, and it's said it will be developed towards that direction in the future.
The water color is stunning; the salt crystals look like white sand, and the water stretches as far as the eye can see—a visual feast.
Kettle-fried lamb, a huge pot with very fragrant potato chips.
Hand-grabbed lamb, chicken wings, skewers, and self-serve yogurt are all good.
Dachaidan Accommodation: Rock Quality Hotel
Accommodation prices in Dachaidan skyrocket in July and August.
The room was quite large, and the bed was big.
Bathroom separated wet and dry.
No air conditioner, and not needed.
No elevator, so you have to carry your luggage up yourself.
The boss was very enthusiastic.
D8: Dachaidan Emerald Lake - U-shaped Highway - Mang'ai Emerald Lake, Stay: Huatugou
Lamb offal soup deserves high praise—generous ingredients and savory broth.
Fried beef buns are especially delicious.
Dachaidan Emerald Lake
No ticket. A small pond at the entrance was packed with tourists, surrounding it.
I highly recommend renting an off-road motorcycle, 70 RMB per vehicle round trip. You can drive yourself or have a staff member take you. The motorcycle itself is fun; there are several ponds inside, fewer people, beautiful scenery. Of course, walking in isn't far either; you can also drive around from the nearby road.
National Highway 315 has become an internet celebrity. Actually, the entire road has wave-like undulations, just varying in steepness.
People are mostly concentrated at two big slopes: 766 and 780. 780 is more beautiful than 766, with continuous waves visible. Morning is front lighting.
Cars of all sizes stop to take photos. Vehicles come and go; heavy trucks can't brake downhill—it's quite dangerous.
This beautiful place doesn't charge entrance or parking fees—so generous!
Mang'ai Emerald Lake is completely different from Dachaidan Emerald Lake. The former is much larger; drone shots look like cantaloupe patterns.
It's said that the greenness of the water decreases year by year, so visit as early as possible.
Xinjiang Shawan Big Plate Chicken
To my surprise, the best thing was grilled gluten.
The big plate chicken was still huge, with a different but also good flavor.
Red willow lamb skewers, iron-plate squid, and iron-plate eggplant are recommended.
Skin, spicy, and red (a salad) was very refreshing, especially the onions.
Overall, no bad dishes; everything suited my taste.
Huatugou Hotel: Airport Hotel
Probably the best value hotel in the area.
Bathroom not separated wet and dry.
In Huatugou, there are three sights: Emerald Lake, Aikeng Spring, and Qianfo Cliff. But Qianfo Cliff is under oil development and cannot be entered without proof, so one night here is enough.
D9: Aikeng Spring - Dunhuang, Stay: Dunhuang
After crossing a grassland, we arrived at Aikeng Spring.
The sulfur water makes the surrounding area barren for hundreds of miles. The ground is orange-yellow, with the Kunlun Mountains in the background.
From above, it looks like the Eye of the Demon.
Without a drone, it's just an ordinary spring eye, with water constantly bubbling out. If you shout loudly in one spot, the water bubbles faster.
Jingyuan Ga Liu Lamb
Ranked number one on Dianping in Dunhuang, truly worthy of its reputation. The average wait time is one hour. We cleverly called ahead to get a number and only waited a short while.
Hand-grabbed lamb is incredibly tender and flavorful, top recommendation.
Cumin lamb, crispy outside and tender inside, perfectly cooked.
Special dry rations, recommended online, surprisingly tasty—similar to tiger paw pastry, very fragrant.
Stir-fried chive, cold noodles, dry-fried green beans, and yogurt are all good.
Braised chicken—too spicy for me.
D10: Duobagou - Dunhuang Night Market - Heishanzui Starry Sky, Stay: Dunhuang
Shejianjian Lanzhou Beef Noodle
Mixed noodles, a large bowl, after cooking, the noodles are rinsed in cold water, making them more chewy and smooth than hot soup noodles. Plenty of beef, sour and appetizing.
Ticket 20, but when we left, the ticket booth was gone and the gate was wide open, so charging tickets might be random.
You need to drive in; there are some ditches that people can't cross on foot.
The specialty is poplar and reed marshes. It should be beautiful in autumn, but summer has nothing to see; you can only take photos in the scenes built by the film crew's yurts.
Mainly here to taste Aksay lamb. Only then did I realize that without garlic, the taste of meat is halved. I've been eating lamb wrong for years.
During the epidemic, the night market wasn't very lively. There were many stalls, especially dried fruit shops. The food area was well organized, with no duplicate stalls, and looked hygienic.
Yige Hu Yang Mian Bing (Hu Yang Meat Pie)
Braised chicken pie—tender and flavorful chicken, nice noodles.
Boiled basa fish, flavorful and tasty.
Cold jelly was not good.
Apricot peel water was too sweet, not homemade.
Left the hotel at 10 p.m., drove ten minutes to the desert to watch stars. The moonlight was a bit bright, and there was light pollution around, but stars and the Milky Way were still easy to see. We even saw three shooting stars, but the sky wasn't dark enough.
Lying on the sand was so comfortable; we could have slept there all night.
D11: Dunhuang Museum - Back Mountain of Mingsha Mountain, Stay: Dunhuang
A century-old restaurant, we had breakfast. Donkey meat yellow noodles are a Dunhuang specialty, not to be missed.
Yellow noodles are noodles with ash water, pale yellow, made on the spot, coated with sauce—delicious, highly recommended.
We ordered three liang (150g) of donkey meat, which was plenty; it tasted average, nothing special.
Apricot peel water was brewed but a bit sweet.
Free entry with ID card.
I didn't expect much, but it was actually quite interesting. The museum is large; what impressed me most was the 1:1 replica of Mogao Grottoes Special Cave 54.
At the entrance is a cultural and creative store; the scarves were beautiful.
We entered under blue skies, but when we came out, there was a sandstorm—it looked like an overcast day, so strange.
