Self-Driving Tour of Gansu and Qinghai Grand Loop in Autumn 2020 (Part 4): From Dunhuang to Mangya, Scenery Along the Way
October 11, 2020 (Day 6), ending a two-day stay in Dunhuang, we head to Mangya today, which is a county-level city under the Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province. Driving route: Dunhuang → National Highway G215 (Hongge Line) → Aksai County, Jiuquan City → Lenghu Town, Mangya City → Provincial Highway S305 → Huangguag Liang → National Highway G315 (Xisha Line) → Mangya City (Huatusi Town). According to electronic map data, the total distance is 558 kilometers, requiring 7 hours and 33 minutes of driving, plus lunch and sightseeing along the way, we estimate arriving in Mangya close to dark.
At 9:10, we left Dunhuang Hotel and headed west on Yangguan Middle Road. At 9:13, we passed the 'Flying Apsara Playing Pipa' statue, a landmark in Dunhuang. At 9:16, we crossed the Dang River via the West Bridge, drove onto Yangguan West Road, enjoying the beautiful scenery along the Dang River. We saw a uniquely designed hotel called 'Jinjiang Inn'. Leaving the city, we got onto National Highway G215 heading toward Yangguan, the same road we took yesterday when visiting Yumen Pass and Yangguan.
At 9:35, we passed by the 'Dunhuang Ancient City' film base. Soon after, on the right side of the road, we saw a tall 'lighthouse'—the famous 'Super Mirror Power Station' in Dunhuang, China's first 100-megawatt molten salt tower solar thermal power plant. The 'lighthouse' is actually a heat-absorbing molten salt tower that collects solar energy. Below the tower are 12,000 heliostats that concentrate sunlight onto the top, heating the molten salt inside, which then turns water into steam to generate electricity. It is said that even at night, the molten salt tower can provide sufficient stored heat to keep the plant running. Dunhuang's dry climate and strong sunlight make it ideal for solar power. This plant is the world's largest solar thermal power station, and its radiant tower top has become a famous landmark in Dunhuang today.
At 9:47, we reached the intersection for 'Western Thousand Buddha Caves'. We turned left off the national highway onto a side road leading to the scenic area. Yesterday we were turned away, so we try again today. The Western Thousand Buddha Caves are carved into the north cliff of the Dang River Gorge. The gorge is a canyon set in the Gobi Desert, characterized by the fact that you can only perceive its existence when you stand right at its edge; from a distance, it just looks like flat, vast Gobi, hiding a deep valley below. Arriving at the parking lot, we got out but couldn't find the entrance to the scenic area. Yesterday we mistook a small door for the entrance, but after asking around today, we learned that was the exit. The entrance is next to three notice boards at the west end of the parking lot, where there is a downward sloping corridor leading to the bottom of the Dang River Gorge. However, unless you look closely, you only see the three boards from the parking lot and don't notice the corridor beside them.
The 'Western Thousand Buddha Caves' get their name because they are west of Mogao Caves (commonly called Thousand Buddha Caves). Their construction began roughly at the same time as Mogao Caves. Currently, there are 22 caves, 34 painted sculptures, and over 800 square meters of murals, spanning the Northern Dynasties, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Song, Shazhou Uighur, and Yuan dynasties. They are an important part of Dunhuang art and are listed as a national key cultural relic protection unit under Mogao Caves. The current opening hours (peak season) are 9:00-17:30 (ticket sales stop at 16:30). We arrived at 18:00 yesterday, so it was no surprise we were turned away.
Walking down the corridor into the deep gorge, the ticket office was just a small wooden hut. We guessed that not many visitors come here normally. The full ticket price is 30 yuan per person; I am exempted due to being over 70. The gorge was lush with greenery, tall trees blocking out the sky, indicating abundant water here.
The Western Thousand Buddha Caves are managed by the Dunhuang Academy (Mogao Caves), with a mission focused on research and protection, with tourism as secondary. The guides are also from the Academy; younger ones call the older ones 'teacher'. The caves are usually kept locked and are quite cool inside. A young woman in a long down coat led our tour. Each cave had to be unlocked for viewing and locked again after. The caves here are small, mainly containing murals that didn't leave much impression on me. However, the Dang River Gorge itself was impressive, with vertical walls that looked cut by a knife. Across the river, the opposite wall looked like a long, high wall.
At 10:45, we returned to the surface. Xiaojun flew a drone in the parking lot. An aerial view showed that the Western Thousand Buddha Caves area is a small oasis in the vast Gobi Desert, surrounded by barren, vast land with almost no vegetation. Only here was the scenery exceptional, with dense greenery and vitality. However, because the tall trees grow in the gorge, from the parking lot we could only see the tops of the trees, making them seem like insignificant 'small trees'. From the parking lot, we could also see the 'Dunhuang Solar Thermal Power Station', but from this angle, there were two bright spots visible, indicating that the plant has two molten salt heat-absorbing towers.
At 11:02, we left the Western Thousand Buddha Caves, returned to National Highway G215, and headed west. Soon we reached the intersection of Y445 (Yangguan Road) and G215. Continuing west from here would take us to Yangguan, which we visited yesterday. Today we turned left to go south toward Aksai. Since landing in Lanzhou on this trip to the northwest, I have mostly been retracing roads I traveled in 2008. However, from this point onward, everything ahead is a new journey, never traveled before.
Driving south on G215, the Dang River Reservoir appeared on the left. On the right was a railway line leading to Golmud, Qinghai. At 11:21, we passed the intersection with Provincial Highway S302 (to Subei Mongol Autonomous County). Further on, we entered true desert, with sandy hills on both sides and the railway still running parallel on the right. At 11:40, we left the desert and began to see 'yardangs' along the roadside. Clearly, yardang landforms are a precursor to desertification caused by wind erosion.
At 11:42, we arrived at Hongliuwan Town, Aksai Kazakh Autonomous County. This is a small oasis in the desert and the seat of the Aksai county government. By the roadside stood a large sign reading '1954 (Aksai Kazakh Autonomous County)'. 1954 is the year Aksai was initially established as a county. The county government was originally in Bolo Zhuanjing Town at the foot of Dangjin Mountain, but moved to Hongliuwan Town in 1998. Aksai Kazakh Autonomous County is under the jurisdiction of Jiuquan City, Gansu Province, located at the border of Gansu, Qinghai, and Xinjiang. It is vast and sparsely populated, with 31,000 square kilometers but only about 10,000 people, of whom 35% are Kazakh, mainly engaged in animal husbandry.
Entering the county town, National Highway G215 turned into an urban road, and the scenery immediately changed. Green was everywhere. In the square by the roadside, there was a tall statue of a warrior on horseback, presumably a Kazakh hero. At 11:45, we passed a cross-street archway reading 'Welcome to Aksai People', then reached the intersection of G215 and G571, where there was a 'Qingzhen Dunsishun Restaurant'. We stopped for lunch. The restaurant had a small front but was very spacious inside. We each had a bowl of beef noodles and ordered an extra plate of stir-fried lamb with scallions. Compared to the stir-fried lamb we had at the Dunhuang night market two days ago, this one felt better value for money.
National Highway G215 bypasses the county town; the main urban area is to the right of the highway. Driving along the highway, we didn't actually enter the real town center. At 12:20, after lunch, we set off toward 'Dangjin Mountain'. As soon as we left town, the scenery changed drastically, with empty surroundings and sparse trees.
Further on, it became even more desolate. The land on both sides stretched endlessly, with little vegetation and no trees. Ahead was 'Dangjin Mountain', the meeting point of the Qilian Mountains and the Altun Mountains. These two long mountain ranges in northwestern China are separated by a valley in Dangjin Mountain: the Qilian Range to the east and the Altun Range to the west. National Highway G215 climbs over the Dangjin Pass (elevation 3,648 meters) through this valley, connecting the Hexi Corridor with the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
Continuing, we drove onto the fan-shaped alluvial slope at the foot of Dangjin Mountain. Perhaps because of meltwater from the mountains, the grass on the slope was relatively dense, likely serving as pasture for local Kazakh herders. At 12:40, we saw a bay-style parking area by the roadside and pulled in. So-called 'bay-style' parking areas are sections where the road widens outward, creating a long strip large enough for multiple large vehicles. There were no amenities there, just a trash can.
At 12:47, we reached the foot of Dangjin Mountain and saw a side road leading to 'Bolo Zhuanjing Town'. This town was originally the old county seat of Aksai, but after the government moved, it became deserted. At the entrance of the side road stood a steel structure shaped like a movie projector, with red characters reading 'Film Base'. The movie 'The Ghouls' was filmed here. From the highway, we could see the buildings of the old county town still standing, but they were empty and now in ruins. It is said the move was due to poor drinking water sources; the new county town is Hongliuwan Town, where we just had lunch. After the county seat relocation, Bolo Zhuanjing Town was abolished. The buildings were abandoned to the wilderness. Later, the film crew of 'The Ghouls' noticed this unmanaged ghost town, chose it as a filming location, demolished many houses for filming, and added some structures not originally there, such as traffic booths and gas stations, turning it into a unique local attraction. We were pressed for time today, so we just looked from a distance, took photos, and did not enter this 'ghost town'.
Not far from the Bolo Zhuanjing Town intersection was the 'Changcaogou Public Security Checkpoint'. Here, the Jiuquan Highway Bureau also had a 'G215 Emergency Response Point' with public restrooms. Vehicles could stop temporarily, and if in trouble, could get help. However, although the checkpoint posted notices requiring vehicles to stop for inspection, no one was on duty. We called out but got no response, so we boldly 'ran the checkpoint' and passed through.
Ahead, we entered the mountains. Dangjin Mountain runs east-west. Its northern slope connects to the Hexi Corridor, with a large elevation drop, rugged peaks, and steep terrain. The southern slope connects to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with a smaller drop and relatively gentle terrain. We climbed up a valley with a small river, but it was dry at the time. The steep valley wound with many sharp turns and steep slopes. Along the way, we saw many emergency escape lanes. It is said that the section of G215 from Dangjin Pass to Aksai County is known as the 'Devil's Highway', listed as one of China's ten most dangerous roads. However, compared to the winding and dangerous roads we traversed when crossing the Hengduan Mountains in western Sichuan in 2019, this seemed minor.
At 12:57, we crossed a railway line, then crossed it again. The railway goes toward Dachaidan and Golmud in Qinghai. At 13:08, we drove through Dangjin Pass, then we were on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The view became very open, with low hills in sight. I didn't feel at all that this was a mountain pass.
After passing Dangjin Mountain, we immediately entered the northern edge of the Qaidam Basin. All we saw was Gobi, and the landscape grew increasingly desolate. Initially, there were occasional patches of grass, then completely barren land. However, this environment is ideal for wind power. At 13:35, we saw a huge array of wind turbines, totaling several hundred.
The Altun Mountains stretched along the right side of the highway, forming the boundary between the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang and the Qaidam Basin in Qinghai. The main peak of the eastern section (Altun Mountain) is 5,828 meters high, with year-round snow. From the road, we could see two snow-capped peaks in the distance to the right. At 14:06, we saw a large expanse of water ahead. Based on the map, it was 'Dasugan Lake', about 60 kilometers from Dangjin Pass, still under Aksai Kazakh Autonomous County, Jiuquan City, Gansu Province.
Continuing, at 14:28, we saw wind turbines again. Soon we reached a roundabout with three forks. We followed G215 turning left to head south. At 14:42, we saw a sign for 'Lenghu Wind Power Station', indicating we had entered Qinghai, under the jurisdiction of Lenghu Town, Mangya City, Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Mangya in Qinghai is similar to Aksai in Gansu, vast and sparsely populated. It borders Aksai to the east and Ruoqiang County, Xinjiang to the west, covering nearly 50,000 square kilometers with a population of just over 60,000. It administers three towns: Lenghu, Huatusi, and Mangya. The city government is in Huatusi Town.
Continuing south, the ruins of the former 'Lenghu City' suddenly appeared on the right side of the road. At 14:50, we entered this abandoned town. The first things that caught our attention were two stone tablets at the entrance. The first was a vertical tablet reading 'Lenghu Petroleum Base Site' with inscriptions 'China Petroleum Enterprise Spirit Education Base' and 'Lenghu Patriotic Education Base'. The second was a horizontal tablet with a short essay recounting the history of this oil ghost town. It explained that Lenghu Oilfield was once an important petroleum base in China, with tens of thousands of oil workers and their families working and living there. In 1959, the State Council decided to establish 'Lenghu City' here. However, after the 1960s, due to the eastward shift of China's petroleum development strategy and the gradual depletion of local oil, the Lenghu Oilfield fell into difficulty. In particular, after the successful development of the Gaskule Oilfield (Huatusi Town, Mangya City) in 1977 and the completion of the 'Dunhuang Petroleum Base' of Qinghai Oilfield in the 1980s, the oil workers and their families moved west or east. The once bustling oil town gradually became silent and eventually a ghost town. However, history will not forget that Qinghai's petroleum industry originated in Lenghu, which also made indelible contributions to the economic development of Gansu, Qinghai, and Tibet, as well as to national defense construction on the northwestern frontier.
Driving into the town, we saw a vast area of abandoned buildings. The roads were wide and crisscrossed, with rows of houses packed closely. However, all the houses were roofless, and all wooden components such as beams, doors, door frames, and window frames were gone. Only rows of adobe walls stood neatly by the roadside. This was once a place where tens of thousands of oil pioneers brought their families to contribute oil to the motherland. Now it is empty, leaving only a vast ruin. Some walls still had writing, such as 'This is our home'. Some former residents had revisited. The latest message we saw was 'Song Family Residence 2019.9.7', indicating that the Song family owner had visited a year ago. On the ground, there were words 'Petroleum Town' arranged with adobe bricks, but we didn't know when or by whom.
Time back more than 50 years, before the Daqing Oilfield was discovered, Lenghu Oilfield was one of China's four major oilfields along with Karamay, Yumen, and Chuanzhong. This town was once bustling with life, with schools, hospitals, cinemas, hotels, and shopping malls, and was a city-level administrative unit at the time. Today, some buildings still have legible characters, allowing us to guess their original functions. We saw the words 'Mining Area Trading Company'. We guessed that 'Lenghu' should have preceded 'Mining Area'. It was probably the department store. There was also a large ruin resembling an auditorium or cinema, with characters on the wall reading 'For the Great (?) Leader Chairman Mao, Strive (for glory?)'. Facing these incomplete words, we felt a surge of emotions. Although the town has been abandoned, these passionate words still silently remind posterity not to forget those burning years of 'Contributing Oil to the Motherland'.
In front of the 'Mining Area Trading Company' was an open square. Xiaojun chose to fly the drone here. From above, the town's roads were straight and wide, houses clustered in neat blocks, forming residential areas. The former prosperity was evident. We didn't explore deeply, just wandered a small area near the entrance. The first photo below shows the T-junction at the entrance; in the third photo, the walker in the upper left is me.
At 15:22, we left the oil town, turning back for a look. The ruined city under the snow-capped mountains had a desolate beauty. In fact, the abandonment was not a bad thing. The oil workers moved west due to the development of the Gaskule Oilfield, giving rise to present-day Mangya City, where working and living conditions are better. The completion of the Dunhuang Petroleum Base led many employees and their families to move east, now enjoying a better life. Moreover, 'Lenghu' itself has undergone a magnificent transformation. Although petroleum resources are exhausted, wind power is inexhaustible. Looking beyond the ruined city, we saw huge windmills slowly turning under the snow-capped mountains. We believe Lenghu still has a bright future, which is what locals mean by 'Lenghu, not cold!'.
Leaving the ghost town, we continued south on G215. Ten minutes later, we entered present-day Lenghu Town, one of Mangya's three towns (the others are Huatusi and Mangya). The permanent population is only a few hundred, but the town has relatively complete facilities: hotels, restaurants, and decent street greenery. It was hard to imagine this was a Gobi town surrounded by hundreds of kilometers of uninhabited land. We drove through the town. At the exit, there was a rainbow-shaped gate reading 'Mars Town', implying that the surrounding area resembles the surface of Mars. Deep in the desert nearby was a 'Mars Camp', a local attraction.
At 15:36, we left the town. The road split into two forks at the exit. To the left, National Highway G215 continued southeast to Golmud. We turned right off the national highway onto Provincial Highway S305, heading southwest toward Huangguag Liang and Mangya. As soon as we left the town, the landscape changed drastically. The clean, orderly city streets transformed into a desolate desert highway. A sign indicated that it was 147 kilometers to Huangguag Liang and 285 kilometers to Huatusi. We were heading to Mangya City, i.e., Huatusi Town. Xiaojun estimated we still had over four hours of driving.
The car sped across the wasteland. There was no vegetation in sight. The land was severely desertified, with wind-blown sand often covering the road surface, making the wheels prone to slipping. There were warning signs: 'Sandy road section, drive cautiously'. At 15:44, we saw a large area of yardang landforms ahead. Clusters of tall earth mounds scattered in a wide, long depression. Each mound extended and aligned along the depression, looking from a distance like a huge fleet sailing on a wide river. 'Yardang' is also called 'wind-eroded forest', a peculiar wind-erosion landform. Standing on a high point, we saw many tire tracks inside the yardang area, indicating that people had driven in. So we quickly drove off the highway into the yardang valley, carefully following previous tracks. In this uninhabited place without cell signal, caution was crucial. If the car got stuck in sand, it would be a big problem. Up close, these tall earth mounds took various shapes. Some looked like castles, some like warships, some like animals, and one even resembled the Egyptian Sphinx. Nature's craftsmanship amazed us.
At 16:02, we left the yardang area, returned to Provincial Highway S305, and continued. Next, we passed a large saline-alkali wasteland. The ground was covered with a thin white salt crust. We guessed this was the 'Dai Yantan Independent Natural Area' on Baidu Maps. Further on, the salt flat was behind us, and endless Gobi and desert appeared again. At 16:33, we saw a simple dirt road on the left heading straight south into the desert. Soon after, we saw a sign for 'Eboliang'. Obviously, the dirt road heading into the desert was 'Mars Road No. 1', leading to the 'Mars Camp'.
At 17:34, we reached the Huangguag Liang triangular roundabout. Provincial Highway S305 ended here. Ahead, both left and right roads were National Highway G315 (Xisha Line). Turning right west leads to Huatusi Town (Mangya city center); turning left east leads to Yuka direction (Dachaidan). We turned right west toward Mangya city. Two days later, we will return from Mangya and pass here again to head east to Dachaidan. 'Huangguag Liang' is a high ridge in the desert. From the ridge, the view of Provincial Highway S305 toward Lenghu was higher and flatter, with a vast horizon. National Highway G315 toward Mangya descended, with undulating terrain. As we drove toward Mangya, we encountered many curves and downhills.
At 18:08, we arrived at the Old Mangya rest area. There was an orange 'Old Mangya Work Zone' compound and a public restroom, nothing else but vast Gobi. However, I later heard that during the early days of the Qaidam Basin oil campaign, many oil workers had been stationed here. The name 'Mangya' (meaning 'boundless horizon') was given, and Mangya Town was established. Later, when the campaign ended and oil workers withdrew, the population dwindled, and the administrative center of Mangya Town moved westward, about 50 kilometers west of present-day Huatusi Town (Mangya city seat), where a new Mangya Town was built. So this place became known as Old Mangya. We stopped to use the restroom. Although in the desert, the restroom was quite clean, presumably maintained by someone.
Continuing west, at 19:08, we saw a sign reading 'Welcome to Mangya City'. On the right side of the road, a strange-shaped earth hill appeared, accompanying us. The hill's slope was covered with thin, dense gullies running down, curving like chrysanthemum petals. Thus, early oil workers called these gullies 'Huatusi' (flower soil ditch), and the town was named Huatusi. Geologically, these gullies are a type of yardang landform, created by years of Gobi wind and sand eroding the hill. As the sun set, the grotesque earth hill bathed in golden light, creating a beautiful scene. The sun set at 19:20, and we entered the oilfield area. Mangya is a city thriving on oil. By the roadside and on slopes, we saw tirelessly working 'nodding donkey' pumps.
At 19:30, we entered the city and finally arrived in Mangya before dark. We checked into 'Pinghua Mansion' on Kunlun Road, a three-star hotel. Dinner was at a nearby fast-food shop serving sauced meat and Chinese hamburgers. Each of us had a large bowl of wontons and a meat sandwich. Not bad. At this season, nighttime temperatures in Mangya were near freezing, but the hotel room heating was strong. However, there was no humidifier, making the air a bit dry.
