2020 Autumn Travelogue of Inner Mongolia, Gansu, and Qinghai
In recent years, many people have enjoyed taking the Qinghai-Gansu Grand Loop tour. There are some places along this route I haven't visited, and with the pandemic slowing down recently, I decided to go. When I started planning the Grand Loop itinerary, I found there were other places worth visiting nearby, and the best seasons for different places varied. So I decided to split the trip into two: summer and autumn. In July, I visited Caka—Qinghai Lake—Xining—Menyuan—Qilian—Shandan—Zhangye. At that time, the rapeseed flowers were in full bloom, perfect for seeing the golden sea; the meadows were lush and the flowers were abundant. This time, I considered that the deep autumn in the northwest is the most unconstrained, especially the populus euphratica trees in late autumn. They look like transformers in the desert—their trunks twisted, their heads straining upward, leaves flowing with golden yellow, blending seamlessly with the desert beneath. The yellow is so vivid, an unmissable visual feast! On October 6, I took flight CZ8269 from Guangzhou Baiyun Airport to Hohhot. The route: Hohhot—Ejin Banner—Jiayuguan—Dunhuang—Dachaidan—then back to Dunhuang to take flight CZ5372 back to Guangzhou. The entire trip lasted 11 days.
On the second day in Hohhot, I used my spare time waiting for a connecting train to explore the old city. I visited the Islamic Street, Dazhao Temple, Xilituzhao, Sishang Old Street, and the Five Pagoda Temple. Unfortunately, most temples were closed to visitors due to the pandemic. Fortunately, the Five Pagoda Temple was open. Inside, there is a pagoda about 16 meters high, with five square stupas on its base. The pagoda body is built of glazed bricks. The lower part is inscribed with the Diamond Sutra in three scripts, while the upper part is covered with thousands of gilded small Buddha statues, exquisitely carved and delicate. This was the most worthwhile place we visited today.
Yesterday evening, I took an overnight train from Hohhot and arrived at Ejin Railway Station this morning. In the afternoon, I visited the Ruoshui Populus Euphratica Forest. Here, the eternal tenderness of Ruoshui—'the populus euphratica charms a hundred times, lost in the feelings of Ruoshui'—makes lovers linger; the undying legend of the Black General shrouds the Strange Forest in mystery; the centuries-old epic of the Torghut heroes gives life to the desert, and the grand festivities of the Western Xia dynasty will be reenacted in the Black Water Ancient City. The sunset here is absolutely stunning; every casual shot feels like a masterpiece.
Today, I entered the Ejin Banner Populus Euphratica Nature Reserve, the highlight of my entire trip. The reserve is vast, with bridges from one to eight. Only the Eighth Bridge features desert landscape, while the others showcase different populus euphratica scenes. I think the reflected forest at the Second Bridge is the most beautiful. At this time, the leaves of the populus euphratica trees in the entire reserve are some fully yellow, some green, and some already fallen. Whether I came at the right time, too early, or too late is hard to say.
Yesterday, I took a bus from Ejin Banner Bus Station to Jiuquan, then transferred to a city bus to reach Jiayuguan. Today, I followed the standard Jiayuguan three-stop itinerary: the Hanging Great Wall, Jiayuguan Pass, and the First Mound of the Great Wall. Among them, the Taolai River Canyon next to the First Mound, with its steep vertical cliffs and dangerous terrain, is the most worthwhile sight.
Yesterday, I took a bullet train from Jiayuguan to Dunhuang. Today, I took a bus from Dunhuang to Golmud and arrived at Dachaidan Town. Immediately after arriving, I rushed to the legendary 'Emerald Lake,' a popular social media check-in spot. I just went to join the crowd.
Today, I hired a car in Dachaidan and drove along National Highway G315, passing the so-called 'Most Beautiful U-shaped Highway in China.' Further ahead, through a desolate no-man's-land, I reached the 'Chinese Maldives,' Dongtai Jinaier Lake. After another 17 kilometers, I arrived at the Wusute Yadan Geopark (also known as Water Yadan). Round trip for these three spots covered over 500 kilometers. Whether it was worth it depends on personal opinion.
Yesterday, I took a bus from Dachaidan back to Dunhuang. Dunhuang is a place I have revisited many times. Today, I was 'accompanying the prince to study'—the routine visits to the Mogao Caves and Mingsha Mountain. At Mogao, we had to queue one after another to enter the caves. At Mingsha, hundreds of camels roamed around. The peak season had passed, yet there were so many people—such a letdown. Is this really the busiest time?
This afternoon, I will take a flight back to Guangzhou. I used a short autumn morning to visit the Dunhuang Museum, to experience the brilliant civilization of Dunhuang through history. The exhibits from Mogao Caves were the most interesting—much clearer to see than being pushed one by one into the caves yesterday. And it was free.
