2021 - 16-Day Travelogue of the Qinghai-Gansu Grand Loop (Part 3): Hexi, the Corridor Guarding China
Today, we will leave the Rainbow Danxia, pass through Jiuquan, exit Jiayuguan, go through Yumen and Guazhou, and finally arrive at Dunhuang.
It's a journey of over 600 kilometers. It's a journey across the Hexi Corridor.
We set off at 8 a.m. and drove onto the Lianhuo Expressway. After more than two hours, we arrived at the Jiuquan Service Area, took a short rest, and headed straight for Jiayuguan.
Jiayuguan is located at the narrowest point of the Hexi Corridor. The Qilian Mountains and the Heishan Mountains face each other here, less than 30 kilometers apart. Taking advantage of this strategic terrain, the ancients built a grand pass here to guard the throat of the Hexi Corridor. Historically, Jiayuguan has always been considered an important boundary between the interior and the frontier, known as the 'First Grand Pass Under Heaven'.
'When passing by, don't miss it.' After more than an hour, we arrived at Jiayuguan and then... were dumbfounded. It turned out to be a large park, with the entire pass city (a newly built replica antique) enclosed within the park. We looked at each other and immediately lost interest.
The 'First Grand Pass Under Heaven' was 'locked up'! The big park in front of us simply did not match the 'majestic pass and long road' in our minds. The imagination was strong, but reality was too bland.
We passed by without entering and continued our Hexi journey, leaving Jiayuguan behind. Stopping the car and looking back, was the dimly visible tower inside the fence really the great pass that moves people to reflect on the past and evoke nostalgic thoughts?
West of Jiayuguan, we got back on the G30. As we traveled, the landscape ahead became more open and more desolate. Not far from the roadside, rows of low, dilapidated adobe houses swayed in the wind, clearly abandoned for a long time. At the foot of a slope, a group of goats lowered their heads, listlessly nibbling at something. On the vast Gobi desert, several tall chimneys recklessly spewed billowing black smoke... Suddenly I realized that in ancient times, we would have already left the country!
After driving for about an hour and a half, we arrived at the Yumen Service Area. We stretched our legs and back, and casually took a photo of the 'big guy' parked next to us.
We continued on, with the next target being Guazhou. As soon as Guazhou is mentioned, the line 'Jingkou and Guazhou are separated by a river, with Mount Zhong only a few peaks away' comes to mind. However, this Guazhou is not that Guazhou (same pronunciation, different characters). The Guazhou in Wang Anshi's poem refers to the ancient ferry in the southern suburbs of Yangzhou; the Guazhou we are heading to is the one in Tang dynasty poet Cen Shen's line: 'White hair saddens before the bright mirror, youth exchanged for a worn fur coat. You, envoy from ten thousand li away, I hear you have already reached Guazhou.' One is in Jiangnan, the other in the northern frontier—both share the name Guazhou (with different characters).
We continued along the Lianhuo Expressway for more than two hours, then turned onto the Liuge Expressway, crossed the Shule River, and headed in the direction of Yulin. By then, we were traveling through a vast desert. Blue sky, white clouds, yellow earth—a world composed of just three colors, monotonous and tedious, how could it not make one drowsy?
Suddenly, a huge object appearing at the bend activated our tired nerves—it was a massive statue standing abruptly in the vast wilderness. 'Son of the Earth' — naive and unaware. 'Martial Might of Han Wu' — powerful but with a worried frown. 'Gobi Ark' — invisible, easily missed. I prefer 'Boundless' — a mirage in the sea of sand. Each flower catches its own eye.
Traveling among the wilderness sculptures under the blazing sun, we soon felt parched and our throats burning. At that moment, a melon stall appeared just in time. Emerald green, golden yellow, turquoise, crescent white... all looking delicious and tempting. The owner seemed honest, patiently reciting the names of various melons. Actually, we just wanted to know which melon tastes better. So, we simply bought one of each. When in Guazhou, how can you not eat melons!
Originally, following this road all the way would lead to the famous Yulin Grottoes (Eastern Thousand Buddha Caves). The world cultural heritage site, Suoyang City Ruins, is also nearby. But it was too hot, and we didn't want to go further, so we decided to go directly to Dunhuang.
Along the way, the scenery outside the window kept changing. Just now it was a barren desert, and in a blink it turned into a lush oasis. The oasis and the desert seemed like a pair of lovers who both love and hurt each other, sometimes leaning on each other, sometimes entangled. Water is the only bond of their relationship. With water, there is happiness and hope; without water, only poverty and desolation. Finally, a green dividing line came into view: one side yellow, one side green, sharply contrasting. Behind a few yellow sand dunes, a vast, verdant oasis—that was Dunhuang.
At a little past 5 p.m., the sun was still like fire. We went to Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Moon Spring in high spirits. As expected, it was the standard for all 5A scenic spots in China: crowded shoulder to shoulder, a sea of people. After a tough trek to the foot of Mingsha Mountain, what kept flashing through my mind was not 'Golden armor pierced through a hundred battles in the yellow sand' but Dou Wei's sonorous song: 'In the sea of people, there are you and me...' Fortunately, beside me were friends who know each other well, no need to guess each other's thoughts. Whether it's a sea of people, yellow sand and clear spring, lining up to watch the sunset on the mountain, or riding camels in circles... In short, as long as we are happy!!! The moon rose, the sun set, and the crowd receded. The camel also let out a long sigh: 'Time to knock off!'
As mentioned earlier, this trip to the Northwest originated from our fascination with the Hexi Corridor and the Mogao Caves. And that fascination came from the travelogues of Richthofen, Aurel Stein, and Sven Hedin, as well as colorful picture albums. Today, we finally entered the Mogao Caves, but found that we still know so little. I could only marvel that the Mogao Caves, this treasure trove of human culture and art, are so magnificent and rich. Having been moved for so long, though I have no 'spiritual insight,' I have a heart full of emotion.
Today, the last cave we visited was Mogao Cave 61, also known as the Manjusri Hall, carved in the mid-10th century. At that time, Dunhuang was flourishing in Buddhism and culture. Local powerful families often pooled resources over generations to carve and support Buddhist caves (called 'family caves'). This Cave 61 was the family cave of Cao Yijin, the de facto ruler of Dunhuang at the time. On the west wall, the famous giant mural of Mount Wutai was awe-inspiring; on the east wall, a long row of female donor portraits was dazzlingly beautiful. These were a group portrait of the women of the Cao family, arranged from left (front) to right (back): Cao Yijin's wife, the Uighur Heavenly Princess; Cao Yijin's daughter, the wife of the Uighur Khan; another daughter of Cao Yijin, the queen of Khotan; and Cao Yijin's first wife, the daughter of a local Dunhuang noble family... To consolidate his rule, Cao Yijin really went to great lengths! Politics is complex, women are beautiful: the Uighur wife wore a narrow-sleeved, turn-collar leather robe and a peach-shaped phoenix crown; the Khotan queen wore Han Chinese clothing, covered with emerald jade; the Han noblewomen were all in phoenix crowns and embroidered capes. Thousands of years later, when all the resourceful or scheming have been buried in the rolling yellow sand, the beauty of these women has been passed down to this day. I liked it so much that, under the cover of LAOWANG, I took a few photos...
After visiting eight caves and checking in at the Mogao Caves logo (the Nine-Story Building), most tourists dispersed, thus missing the Mogao Caves Art Museum built by the Dunhuang Academy. The Mogao Caves Art Museum is truly worth a visit. The museum meticulously restored several famous caves from the Yulin Grottoes and Mogao Caves. On the cave walls, bodhisattvas, flying apsaras, drums, konghou harps, tigers, white elephants... all in various poses, lifelike. What I loved most were the figures in the paintings: dressed in loose robes and wide belts, with graceful bearing, bright eyes, elegant features, and ethereal air. Between their brows and eyes, there was either devotion, sincerity, playfulness, or jest... Beautiful faces are all alike, but interesting souls are diverse. The painters who created such interesting images must have had lively and interesting souls. They were unknown in life and nameless after death, yet they vaguely achieved the style of 'Cao's robes flowing out of water, Wu's belts fluttering in the wind'. And precisely because they were nameless, they painted freely, innocently, and vibrantly, without restraint or pretense of profundity.
Farewell, Mogao Caves. Though still unsatisfied, we are content.
Tomorrow, we will bid farewell to Dunhuang, head west through Yangguan, and venture into the vast desert...
(To be continued)
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