7-Day Insights of the Great Northwest Loop
A trip to Gansu and Qinghai was planned as early as 2018 with Coach Wang Chengrong of the former Chinese Paralympic team, but the plan was repeatedly postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Today (July 18, 2023), our group of twelve finally embarked on the journey. Our itinerary started from Lanzhou, heading westward along the Hexi Corridor to Dunhuang, then following Highway 315 through Dachaidan, Chaka, Qinghai Lake, Gonghe, and Xining, heading southeast. After visiting the Kumbum Monastery, we would go to Coach Wang's hometown, Zhongchuan Township in Minhe County, and finally return from Xining to Xiamen. The entire route covered about 2,800 kilometers over seven days.
Northwest Loop Travel Route
(1) Lanzhou Beef Noodles
Lanzhou—the first thing that came to my mind was the ubiquitous "Lanzhou Lamian" (pulled noodles) across China. Eating an authentic bowl of Lanzhou Lamian in Lanzhou naturally became part of our itinerary.
View of Lanzhou from above Zhenyuan Bridge Iron Pillar Zhongshan Bridge (Yellow River Iron Bridge) Hand-grabbed lamb
Lanzhou, anciently known as Jincheng (Golden City), has a history of over 2,000 years. Since the Qin Dynasty, it has been an important transportation hub, commercial center, and military fortress. Legend has it that gold was discovered when the city walls were being built, hence the name Jincheng. It was under the jurisdiction of Longxi Commandery and was renamed Lanzhou during the Sui Dynasty.
The Yellow River, which runs through the city, is a natural boundary between agricultural and nomadic civilizations. Wheat, a monocot plant, was introduced to China over 2,000 years ago and became the main crop in this northwestern region, making noodles the staple food of the locals.
Lanzhou is now a modern city with convenient living. Yellow River bank Yellow River Sculpture Corridor Mother Yellow River Statue Photo of the author by the Yellow River Lanzhou Night Market Food Street Food Street gathers various cuisines, but the flavors are not authentic. Oden
As the saying goes, "Southern rice, northern noodles." As a southerner who eats rice as a staple, I have a special fondness for Lanzhou Lamian, especially the clear and free beef broth. I often visit a Lanzhou noodle shop not far from my home. Once, while chatting with the owner, I learned that 90% of the operators of "authentic Lanzhou Lamian" are not from Lanzhou but from Hualong, Qinghai, 270 kilometers west of Lanzhou. When we asked locals where to find "authentic Lanzhou Lamian," they scoffed, saying there is no such thing as "Lanzhou Lamian," only "Lanzhou Beef Noodles."
Pickled chicken feet Fruit stall Traditional snacks are better Lanzhou Fu Chenghuang Temple is right next to Dazhong Lane Yellow River Iron Bridge (Zhongshan Bridge) Morning jog
Lanzhou Beef Noodles were first created during the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty. Chen Weijing, a student of the Imperial Academy from Huaiqing Prefecture (now Jiaozuo City) in Henan, passed down his family's beef noodle recipe to his Dongxiang classmate Ma Liuqi. Ma later brought the technique back to Lanzhou, and after generations of optimization and improvement, it formed the standard of "one clear, two white, three red, four green, five yellow." In the 1980s, this traditional skill was promoted by people from Hualong, who initially called it "Qinghai Lamian," but due to the fame of Lanzhou Beef Noodles, they eventually adopted the golden signboard of "Lanzhou Beef Lamian" and opened noodle shops across the country. It is said there are 40,000 Lamian shops nationwide, with an annual operating income of 180 billion yuan.
Ma Zilu Beef Noodles is very busy "One clear, two white, three red, four green, five yellow" Ma Zilu Beef Noodles You have to pick up your own bowl of Ma Zilu Beef Noodles, and the service quality is better in the southern coastal areas.
I asked a local: "Lanzhou Lamian doesn't belong to Lanzhou—are you angry?"
This guy answered with a legend.
Legend has it that when Tang Sanzang (the monk from Journey to the West) passed through this area on his way to the West, the golden fish demon king in the Tongtian River used the debris from Sun Wukong's birth from a stone on Huaguo Mountain to confuse Sun Wukong, trapping him and taking his golden cudgel. Later, Fuxi used the power of the Eight Trigrams to subdue the golden fish, transforming it into a shape with its head and tail connected and embedding it into the trigrams to form the Taiji Bagua diagram. Using the bloodstains from the White Dragon Horse, he illuminated the "Hetu" and, with the help of Taishang Laojun and Guanyin Bodhisattva, rescued Tang Sanzang and his disciples.
"We are waiting for outside help!"
"Ode to Lanzhou Beef Noodles"
Traveling thousands of miles to Jincheng,
The pulled noodles, a thousand strands, fill the door with fragrance.
Clear, white, red, green, and yellow interwoven,
Dreaming back to Lanzhou, Ma Zilu.
(2) Rainbow Danxia
Zhangye, anciently known as Ganzhou, is the second stop on our "Northwest Loop Tour." It is one of the four garrison towns of the Hexi Corridor and a crucial throat passage.
Leaving Lanzhou towards Zhangye Expressway Wind power is common in the northwest Remains of the Han Dynasty Great Wall
Heading west from Lanzhou, the landscape gradually shifts from magnificent to desolate, and the weather changes from blue skies to grayish dust storms. Especially when we reached the Changchengyi service area in Zhangye, it was particularly noticeable. A strong wind of about force 7, carrying fine sand, dyed the sky a pale earthy gray. When we stopped for lunch, we could feel the sand in our beef noodles, crunching as we chewed.
The farther north we went, the more desolate it became.
Looking at the remnants of the Han Dynasty Great Wall built with rammed earth along the expressway, we could clearly feel that we were passing through the 400 mm isohyet.
This is an important geographical dividing line in China, roughly from the Greater Khingan Mountains in the northeast through Zhangjiakou, Lanzhou, Lhasa, and to the southeastern end of the Himalayas. It is the boundary between semi-humid and semi-arid regions, as well as the natural boundary between agricultural and nomadic civilizations. This line almost parallels the Great Wall and has been a nightmare for the Central Plains dynasties for over a thousand years.
400 mm isohyet Ancient Huns were very fierce.
Nomadic peoples rising from the Yinshan foothills of the Mongolian Plateau lived in the arid and semi-arid regions north of the 400 mm isohyet. Due to climate and precipitation, whenever the grassland could no longer support their lifestyle, they would raid and plunder the agricultural Han Chinese with their swift horses and curved swords. These are the Huns we often see in dramas or films.
In the 32nd year of Qin Shihuang (215 BC), the First Emperor ordered Meng Tian to lead 300,000 troops to drive the Huns out of the Hetao region (now Yinchuan, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, and Shaanxi). The Yellow River forms a "几" shape here, hence the name "Hetao." After recovering Hetao, Meng Tian began building the Great Wall to defend against the Huns.
At the end of the Qin and the beginning of the Han, the Huns gradually grew stronger and controlled the Western Regions. At that time, the Han Dynasty was weak and had to adopt a humiliating policy of peace through marriage to ensure border security.
By the time of Emperor Wu of Han, the country's strength increased. To eliminate the Huns' harassment, Emperor Wu wanted to form an alliance with the Yuezhi to attack the Huns, leading to Zhang Qian's mission to the Western Regions and the opening of the Hexi Corridor, which we will discuss later.
Zhang Qian's Route to the Western Regions
Zhang Qian never dreamed that the Silk Road he pioneered, connecting Central Asia, West Asia, and Mediterranean countries, would become a famous tourist route over 2,000 years later. Because we took the expressway, we did not pass through the Biandukou Pass where Zhang Qian entered the Hexi Corridor, nor did we visit the Blackwater Kingdom (old Ganzhou) that Tang Sanzang passed through. Instead, we drove directly from Lanzhou along the G30 Lianhuo Expressway to the Rainbow Danxia in Zhangye.
Danxia Geological Park is located at the northern foot of the Qilian Mountains, 30 kilometers south of Linze County in Zhangye, in Niyingjia. It is a composite area of Danxia landforms and colored hills. The Rainbow Danxia scenic area covers over 200 square kilometers. In 2005, it was rated as one of "China's most beautiful places" by Chinese National Geography magazine.
The rolling hills, composed of red, yellow, white, blue, and green colors, come in various shapes and forms. Some are gentle and graceful like scallops, others resemble lattice windows and palaces, colorful and shining, like an ancient and magnificent landscape painting spread across the earth.
In April 2002, a reporter from Shaanxi was interviewing in Niyingjia and met a farmer named Lei Xingyi who was herding sheep. Lei said to the reporter, "What's there to photograph? The red mountain bay is more beautiful!" With that casual remark, this place later became a world-famous Danxia landform scenic area.
Perhaps Zhang Qian, the great Tang poets Wang Wei, Wang Zhihuan, Wang Han, Cen Shen, and other frontier poets never visited this place, otherwise, they would surely have left some poems facing this magnificent natural masterpiece.
Today, let me try writing one!
Amazed by the magnificent heavenly landscape,
The colorful hills dazzle the eyes;
Yellow and white interwoven with red cliffs brilliant,
Even Wang Ximeng would hide his brush in shame.
(3) Jiayuguan Pass
"East and west officers and marquises come and go, The broad star raft smiles at the emptiness chiseled. Under the fortress, the flute plays the 'Qile' song, On the tower, sword leans against the Kongtong. The Great Wall horses drink under the cold night moon, The ancient garrison carves vultures in the desert wind. Except for the dangers of Lulong Mountain and sea, No one in the southeast can match this pass's majesty."
In the autumn of 1842, Lin Zexu, who was exiled to Yili, Xinjiang, passed through Jiayuguan and wrote this poem "Feeling the Majesty of Jiayuguan."
At a low point in his life, demoted and exiled, with an uncertain future, the poet was not dejected. Instead, like a traveling tourist, he used vivid descriptions to express the rugged grandeur of Jiayuguan and his love for the motherland's mountains and rivers. The poem is open-minded and optimistic, a rare feat upon reflection.
The "Broad Star" mentioned in the poem refers to Zhang Qian, who was granted the title of "Marquis of Bowang" by Emperor Wu of Han. This great explorer was praised by Sima Qian as having "chiseled open the Western Regions."
In 141 BC, after more than 60 years of diligent governance, the Han Empire was growing strong. The ambitious Emperor Wu no longer wanted to trade humiliating peace-through-marriage for security. To ally with the Yuezhi, old enemies of the Huns, to attack them, someone had to go to contact them.
At that time, the Han Empire knew nothing about the Yuezhi's westward migration or the distant Western Regions. They only knew that the Hexi Corridor, controlled by the Huns, led there. A palace attendant named Zhang Qian volunteered for this near-suicidal mission. In 138 BC, Zhang Qian led over a hundred brave men from Chang'an, embarking on the adventure of "opening the Western Regions." That year, Emperor Wu was 19, and Zhang Qian was 27.
Zhang Qian's mission entered the Hexi Corridor via Biandukou but was captured by fierce Hun cavalry at Zhangye and taken to the Hun king in present-day Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. The Huns tried to extract information about the Han Empire from these Chinese, but Zhang Qian refused to cooperate and was detained by the Huns for nine years.
To deceive the Huns, Zhang Qian married a Hun woman and had many children.
One day, Zhang Qian and his attendant Tang Yifu took advantage of the Huns' negligence and escaped while hunting. Instead of returning to Chang'an, they continued westward, enduring hardships, passing through Dunhuang, Hami, Yanqi, Kuqa, Shule (now Kashgar), and crossing the Pamir Plateau to reach the Great Yuezhi, in present-day Uzbekistan.
Zhang Qian stayed there for more than a year, visiting Dayuan (now Fergana, Uzbekistan), Kangju (now Kazakhstan), Great Yuezhi, and Daxia (now Afghanistan) in Central and West Asia. Although he failed to persuade the Great Yuezhi to join forces against the Huns, he gathered extensive information about Central and West Asia. They crossed the Pamir Plateau again, traveled along the northern foot of the Kunlun Mountains, passed through Shache, Yutian (now Hotan), and Loulan (now Shanshan), and reached the Qiang region at the southern foot of the Qilian Mountains, where they were captured again by Hun cavalry.
In 126 BC, Zhang Qian seized the opportunity when the Hun king Army Chanyu died of illness, escaped again with his Hun wife, and after hardships returned to Chang'an, completing the mission assigned by Emperor Wu.
He was then 40 years old.
China's vast territory today owes much to Zhang Qian and Emperor Wu. Zhang Qian's opening of the Western Regions had a profound historical impact, influencing today's "Belt and Road" strategy.
It is also because of Zhang Qian that through the Hexi Corridor he opened, our dining tables have been enriched with foods such as carrots, garlic, cucumbers, broad beans, sesame, pomegranates, walnuts, and grapes.
Time flies like sand in the desert, swirling in the wind.
Zhang Qian, Huo Qubing, Xuanzang, and others who historically passed through Jiayuguan never saw this majestic pass city tower. Before the Ming Dynasty, Jiayuguan was just a pass without a city. Everything we see here would not appear in the desert until about 1,500 years after Zhang Qian's return (the fifth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty).
"Ode to Jiayuguan"
A single pass fiercely guards the north-south clouds,
Clouds press the surrounding walls, snow caps the peaks.
The Silk Road connects the Western Regions,
Flying swallows chirp around the layered ridges.
Tourists buy the "Guānzhào" (pass document) as souvenirs Beacon Tower
(4) Seeing Dunhuang
During the 135 years of the Sixteen Kingdoms, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, it was one of the most chaotic and turbulent periods in Chinese history. Yet Dunhuang, on the northwestern frontier, remained relatively calm and peaceful.
One evening in 366 AD, the ascetic monk Lezun of the Former Qin dynasty passed through the Dangquan River valley and saw golden light shining on Mingsha Mountain, as if a thousand Buddhas appeared. Believing it was a sign from the Buddha, Lezun decided to carve a cave on the sandstone cliff of Mingsha Mountain for meditation.
Mingsha Mountain Dunhuang Grottoes, seen from afar like a town Crescent Moon Spring
The appearance of caves can be traced back to the 2nd century BC during the time of King Ashoka of India. Two hundred years after the Nirvana of the Buddha, Indian monks, seeking a place to study Buddhist scriptures, chose a deep mountain far from worldly affairs as a "Shengjia" gathering site. On the cliffs of the Deccan Plateau, 483 kilometers northeast of present-day Mumbai, they carved caves, naming them "Ajanta," meaning "beyond the world."
Stone treasury archway Crescent Moon Spring
Caves were places for cultivation, so there was no need to paint elaborate murals or sculptures inside; they were also small. Now Cave 268, excavated during the Northern Liang period, is one of the earliest extant caves at Mogao. It is a single chamber with a rectangular plan, about one meter high, with four small caves to the north and south, only enough for one person to sit. Dunhuang scholars infer that Lezun's first cave was probably a similar meditation cave.
Starting with Lezun, the construction of the Mogao Grottoes spanned eleven dynasties and over a thousand years.
There are 812 existing caves at Mogao, of which 492 contain murals or statues, preserving over 3,390 colored clay sculptures and 45,000 square meters of murals from various dynasties. Artistically, they can be divided into colored clay sculptures, murals, and Buddhist scriptures. For conservation, visitors with emergency tickets can only visit at most four of them, including Caves 96, 100, 148, and 138.
Cave 96 at Mogao is known as the "Nine-story Building," a red wooden-eaved structure 90 meters high, symbolizing Mogao.
The giant Maitreya Buddha statue inside Cave 96 is 33.5 meters tall, carved into the mountain. It is a work from the early Tang Dynasty and is the third largest Buddha in China, after the Leshan Giant Buddha and the Rongxian Giant Buddha. This statue reflects the strong national power and prosperous economy of the Tang Dynasty.
Cave 100 was excavated during the Five Dynasties period. The murals in the main chamber and the corridor are well-preserved. What impressed me most were the Four Heavenly Kings in the shallow niches at the four corners of the ceiling, the female musician holding a pipa horizontally in the Southern Wall's Illustration of the Sutra of Repayment, similar to the Nanyin in Quanzhou, and the donor figures on both sides of the corridor. Unfortunately, photography is not allowed inside the cave, and I could not find relevant pictures, so that's all.
Cave 148, Buddha's Nirvana statue
Cave 148 is at the southern end of Cave 100. According to the stele inscription in the front chamber, it was built in 776 AD by Li Dabin, a member of the Li clan of Longxi. The main highlights are the statue of Sakyamuni Buddha in Nirvana and the Nirvana sutra illustration.
Cave 138, donor figures
Cave 138 was excavated during the late Tang Dynasty (835-907). It shows traces of renovations during the Five Dynasties, Yuan, and Qing periods. Interestingly, there is a six-armed Avalokiteshvara from the late Tang Dynasty in the southern side of the front chamber.
The Dangquan River has dried up
The artistic height of the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes is a halo that later generations look up to.
Crowds of tourists Tang-style archway
(5) Tragic Dunhuang
Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes are an unparalleled treasure trove of ancient Chinese Buddhist art and culture. The discovery and loss of Dunhuang artifacts are directly related to a Taoist priest named Wang Yuanlu.
Wang Yuanlu was from Macheng, Hubei. As a child, he wandered due to poverty. In the early Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, he served as a soldier in Suzhou (now Jiuquan), 360 kilometers from Dunhuang. After leaving the army, he received ordination and became a Taoist priest.
In the 23rd year of Guangxu (1897), Wang Yuanlu came to Mogao Grottoes. He cleared sand, offered incense, preached, and raised funds, building a Taoist temple (now the Lower Temple) on the east side of Cave 16.
Cave 17 interior
On May 25, 1900 (the 26th year of Guangxu), Wang Yuanlu was clearing sand from the corridor of a cave. He noticed a crack on the north wall of the cave and, tapping it with his opium pipe, heard a hollow echo. Suspecting a secret chamber, he made an excuse to send away the local farmers who were helping him. That night, Wang secretly opened the mud-sealed entrance and pushed open the small wooden door of the chamber. Inside were piled sutras, documents, embroidered paintings, Buddha statues, and ritual objects.
Stein's 1907 photo of the Library Cave and scrolls
According to records, the artifacts in the Library Cave included manuscripts and printed materials spanning seven centuries from the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Song Dynasty. They included Buddhist sutras, Taoist scriptures, Confucian books, local gazettes, novels, dictionaries, poems, essays, Tang Dynasty letters and documents, account books, calendars, medical books, and divination books. The languages included Chinese, Tibetan, Indian, Kharosthi, Sogdian, Khotanese, Uighur, and Kuchean, totaling over 60,000 items. These are precious materials for studying the history, archaeology, religion, anthropology, linguistics, literature, and art of ancient China, East Asia, and Central Asia.
A cultural and art treasure that would later astonish the world was thus accidentally discovered by an uneducated Taoist priest.
Cave 17 interior, Illustration of Maitreya Sutra (silk painting, late Tang), now in the Hermitage Museum, Russia
The next day, Wang took several scrolls to the county yamen and offered them to County Magistrate Wang Zonghan. Wang realized the value of the ancient scrolls and asked for more documents and embroidered paintings, ordering Wang to guard them well. Wang Zonghan then transferred the artifacts he obtained to Gansu Education Commissioner Ye Changchi. Ye reported the discovery to the Gansu Governor Tingdong, suggesting that these artifacts be sent to the provincial capital for preservation. Ignorant and foolish, Tingdong thought it wasn't worth spending 5,000 taels of silver to transport these "broken books and old paintings" to Lanzhou. So, Wang Yuanlu received an order from the governor to seal and store them locally.
In October 1905, the Russian Pamir Geological Expedition member Bryullov took the lead and swindled two large bundles of scrolls from Wang Yuanlu with six packages of Russian daily necessities. From then on, Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes fell into the tragic fate of being plundered.
In March 1907, the British explorer Aurel Stein, who had been surveying along the India-Xinjiang route, heard about the Dunhuang Library Cave and rushed to Dunhuang. He hired a translator named Jiang Xiaowu and sought to get acquainted with Wang Yuanlu.
Stein and Jiang quickly discovered that Wang knew nothing about Buddhism but greatly admired Tang Sanzang. They claimed to be also followers of Tang Sanzang, coming from India along his trail, and donated money to Wang's Taoist temple. Wang was delighted, thinking the foreigner was his soulmate.
Mogao Grottoes in the 1950s
When Stein saw the conditions were ripe, he proposed to view the scrolls in the Library Cave.
The Library Cave was opened.
Gradually, Wang let down his guard and allowed Stein to freely enter the Library Cave. With Jiang's cooperation, Stein repeatedly stole artifacts at night, eventually packing 29 boxes of scrolls and embroideries. Most of these precious artifacts are now housed in the British Museum.
The news of Stein's successful plunder spread, and soon another plunderer arrived.
"Tree Under the Seat Buddha," now in the British Museum, London
In May 1908, French sinologist Paul Pelliot, with deep knowledge of Chinese culture, selected over 6,600 more precious manuscripts and paintings from what Stein had left behind. They were loaded onto ten horse-drawn carriages and transported to Paris after many transfers, now housed in the Guimet Museum and the National Library of France.
Yuan Jiagu is the only zhuangyuan (top scholar) from Yunnan.
In 1909, Pelliot brazenly exhibited some of the looted Dunhuang artifacts in Beijing, and the theft became public. Yuan Jiagu, then director of the Editorial Bureau of the Ministry of Education, was shocked. Together with Peking University professor Wang Guowei and archaeologist Luo Zhenyu, he examined the artifacts and urgently reported to the Qing Ministry of Education, which then sent a telegram to Dunhuang County Magistrate Chen Ze: "Send all remaining Dunhuang sutras and documents to the capital without any loss."
However, when Chen Ze transported the remaining manuscripts from the Thousand Buddha Caves to Beijing, they were pilfered by officials at various stops along the way, leaving only 8,697 volumes upon arrival in Beijing.
"Many Treasures Tathagata," now in the Guimet Museum, Paris
Not only great scholars like Yuan Jiagu, Wang Guowei, and Luo Zhenyu made great efforts and contributions to protect Dunhuang artifacts, but also an obscure intellectual named Chen Wanli.
In 1924, Harvard professor Langdon Warner used specially made chemical tape to peel off 26 Tang Dynasty murals and shipped them back to the US for exhibition. The exhibition caused a sensation in the US, and Warner regretted not bringing more glue. He returned the following year with newly developed mural-peeling glue and experts.
Sutra illustration, now in the Guimet Museum, Paris
Chen Wanli was the interpreter Warner hired in Beijing. The day after arriving in Dunhuang, he secretly informed local villagers of the Americans' plan to steal murals. Under the villagers' close watch, Warner left empty-handed.
According to statistics, the total number of existing Dunhuang artifacts is about 58,100, mostly scattered in museums or private collections in the US, France, UK, Japan, Russia, and other countries. Chinese scholars studying Dunhuang history and culture sometimes have to "borrow" these artifacts from these countries. The plunder of Dunhuang artifacts by Western powers will forever be a pain in the hearts of the Chinese people.
Mr. Yu Youren wrote in his poem "Records of Dunhuang":
Dunhuang artifacts scattered across the globe,
Paintings and sculptures exquisite, all collected;
Together we appreciate the remaining niches,
Under Mogao, we make the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Our sightseeing bus
(6) Sky Mirror
Today is the fifth day of our Northwest Loop tour. Team members are starting to feel fatigued from driving over 500 kilometers each day. Our psychological expectations for the trip were too high, while the hardships of the journey were underestimated.
We usually get up at 6:30 am, have breakfast, and hit the road. We spend more than ten hours on the bus every day. Yesterday morning, after visiting Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, we hit the road again and arrived at Dachaidan for dinner at 9:30 pm. This morning, we visited Emerald Lake, but the weather was not cooperating with cloudy skies, so the photos were not ideal. In the afternoon, we visited Chaka Salt Lake, but the sky was still not good. After just over an hour, we got back on the bus to head to Qinghai Lake and had dinner at 10:40 pm. Everyone was tired.
Princess Wencheng entering Tibet
At this moment, I thought of Princess Wencheng, who passed through here over 1,300 years ago.
In 641 AD (the 14th year of Zhenguan of Tang), Princess Wencheng, accompanied by Prince Li Daozong of Jiangxia and the Tibetan envoy Gar Tongtsen, set out from Chang'an, passing through Gansu and Qinghai to Lhasa. This route traversed western China and crossed the roof of the world, covering over 3,000 kilometers.
Tang-Tibet Ancient Road Route
We, with comfortable tour buses and smooth expressways, still feel tired. It is truly unimaginable that an 18-year-old Tang princess spent two years and six months jolting across this plateau, where only camels and yaks can survive, from the most prosperous city in the world to the desolate snowy plateau, married to a 73-year-old husband. What must have been her mood? Did she have the heart to enjoy the scenery along the way?
Qinghai no-man's land Qinghai no-man's land Southern foothills of Qilian Mountains Nanbaxian Yardang Ghost City Nanbaxian Yardang Ghost City
Let me briefly introduce the places we visited today: Dachaidan Emerald Lake and Chaka Salt Lake.
Dachaidan Emerald Lake is 392 kilometers from Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, under the jurisdiction of Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai. It is the third largest man-made lake in Haixi. Originally a mining area for the Dachaidan Chemical Plant's salt lake mining team, the pits formed over the years have become beautiful lakes. Because the salt minerals contain different elements like potassium, magnesium, and lithium, the lake water appears in shades of light green, emerald green, and deep blue, crystal clear, like a fairyland.
Emerald Lake Emerald Lake
Chaka Salt Lake is located in Chaka Town, Wulan County, Haixi Prefecture. Like Dachaidan Emerald Lake, it was also a salt lake mining area. Its area (154 square kilometers) is much larger than Emerald Lake's 26 square kilometers.
Chaka Salt Lake's colors are more monotone, but because of its large area, it looks like a mirror fallen from the sky, reflecting intoxicating sky scenes, hence known as the "Sky Mirror."
Emerald Lake Emerald Lake Emerald Lake Emerald Lake
Desert cold and beautiful Emerald Lake,
Salt inlaid sky mirror reflects the vast sky.
Water still, no waves, green like jade,
Crystal clear, washing away the prosperous dust.
Emerald Lake Chaka Salt Lake Chaka Salt Lake Chaka Salt Lake Chaka Salt Lake Chaka Salt Lake Chaka Salt Lake Chaka Salt Lake
(7) Tsangyang Gyatso's Qinghai Lake
"I once feared that too much emotion would harm my spiritual practice,
Leaving the mountain, I fear losing my beloved;
In this world, how can I find a perfect way,
Neither betraying the Buddha nor letting you down?"
This is the most famous love poem of the Sixth Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso. This talented, unconventional, and amorous monk spent his final days at Qinghai Lake. Facing the vast, misty lake, I couldn't help but think of him.
For generations, the herdsman Zhaxi Danzeng, who lived under the Nara Mountain in southern Tibet, never dreamed that the four-year-old son he had just scolded would suddenly become the reincarnation of the Fifth Dalai Lama, Lobsang Gyatso, whom he had to kneel and worship.
Qinghai Lake Qinghai Lake's naked carp without scales
On that day, the little boy, originally named Jimei Dorje Xiejia Gunqin, became the Sixth Dalai Lama Tsangyang Gyatso, beginning his short, brilliant, lonely, and helpless life like a shooting star.
The intelligent Tsangyang Gyatso was nominally the Snow Land's king, but real power was in the hands of the regent Sangye Gyatso. He was well-read and knowledgeable, sensitive and romantic, longing for an unrestrained life. But strict precepts and his puppet status as Dalai Lama crushed his dreams. Unwilling to compromise, he grew tired of the monotonous, rigid life of a religious leader in the palace. He used "worldly Dharma" to let ordinary people see the vast spiritual world of "transcendental Dharma."
Qinghai Lake cruise Qinghai Lake
Legend has it that he had three lovers, often sneaking out at night to meet them, pursuing romantic love. He left more than 60 love songs known worldwide, but his story ended tragically.
In 1705, Tsangyang Gyatso became embroiled in an armed conflict between the Mongol King Lhazang Khan and the regent Sangye Gyatso. Sangye was defeated and killed. After the incident, Lhazang Khan wrote a memorial to the Kangxi Emperor, accusing Sangye of "rebellion" and claiming that Tsangyang Gyatso did not observe monastic rules, indulged in wine and women, and was a false Dalai Lama, requesting his "deposition."
The Kangxi Emperor approved and ordered Tsangyang Gyatso to be escorted to Beijing for deposition.
Legend says that when the escort reached Qinghai Lake, the escorts, terrified by the decree, begged Tsangyang Gyatso to appear to have died or disappear. Deeply saddened, Tsangyang Gyatso sat in lotus position and passed away at the age of 23.
The endless Qinghai Lake shimmered in the sunlight, crystal clear, vast and serene, like Tsangyang Gyatso's soul. The blooming rapeseed flowers along the lake spread like a golden carpet across the snowy plateau, just like Tsangyang Gyatso displaying his brilliant youth, awaiting the fire of purgatory and crushing.
"You see, or don't see me,
I am there, neither sad nor joyful.
You think, or don't think of me,
My feelings are there, neither coming nor going.
You love, or don't love me,
Love is there, neither increasing nor decreasing.
You follow, or don't follow me,
My hand is in yours, not letting go.
Let me live in your heart.
Silent love, quiet joy."
(8) Kumbum Monastery
There is a monastery that lacks the legend and long history of the White Horse Temple carrying scriptures, the Buddha's relics of Famen Temple, the imperial aura of Liangwu Emperor who issued the "Edict on Abstaining from Meat and Alcohol" and "offered himself" four times at Tongtai Temple, or the world-renowned kung fu of Shaolin Temple.
Kumbum Monastery Kumbum Monastery Panorama
It is only over 600 years old, located in the remote, arid, cold, and oxygen-deficient Tibetan Plateau. Yet it is one of the six great monasteries of the Gelug sect of Buddhism, the highest academic institution and largest religious activity center of the Amdo Tibetan region, and an important bridge between the Gelug sect and the central government during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It has always been a spiritual haven for Buddhist believers in the northwest.
This is the Kumbum Monastery.
All this is due to a pagoda.
Symbol of Kumbum Monastery
At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the local administrator (Daluhuachi) Lubenge served the Yuan court in local administration. He and his wife, Xiangsa Ache, lived a semi-official, semi-pastoral life in a place with lush water and grass.
One day, one of their yaks broke its tether and disappeared. The couple searched everywhere and finally found the yak in Lusha'er Grassland (now Huangzhong County, Xining). No matter how they drove it, the yak refused to leave Lushar. Worried that his pregnant wife was too tired, Lubenge decided to set up a tent and settle down in the Lotus Hill hollow of Lusha'er Grassland.
On the 25th day of the 10th month of the Tibetan calendar in 1357, while herding, Xiangsa Ache suddenly felt severe abdominal pain and fainted. When she woke up, a golden light shot from the ground into the sky, and the baby in her womb was born. Xiangsa Ache cut the umbilical cord with a Tibetan knife, wrapped the baby in a sheepskin coat, and buried the placenta in the ground. To her surprise, a bodhi tree sapling grew from that spot.
This baby would later become Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism.
Tsongkhapa was extremely intelligent from childhood. He took novice vows at seven and was proficient in scriptures by sixteen. That same year, he walked alone to Tibet, visiting eminent monks and learning the Dharma for six years without returning home.
His mother missed her son and sent a lock of her white hair with a message urging him to come home before it was too late, mentioning that the bodhi tree where he was born had grown lush, with each leaf displaying a "Lion's Roar Buddha" image.
Inside the Great Assembly Hall Thangka
Tsongkhapa was moved upon reading the letter, but he felt his Dharma studies were incomplete and gave up the idea of returning home. He used his own nosebleed to mix pigments and painted a self-portrait, replying that he was busy with Buddhist affairs and could not return. He asked his mother to use the bodhi tree from his birthplace and the ten thousand leaves with the Lion's Roar Buddha images to build a stupa as a core, so that seeing the pagoda would be like seeing him, and it would also promote Buddhism.
Following Tsongkhapa's instructions, Xiangsa Ache built a stone lotus-shaped pagoda. This is the origin of Kumbum Monastery: "First the pagoda, then the monastery."
Now, crowds of tourists gaze in amazement at the lotus pagoda in the Golden Tile Hall, which has been wrapped in gold and silver three times. It is said the gold, silver, and gems wrapping the pagoda are worth 200 million yuan. People from different walks of life prostrate themselves before it with various wishes, hoping for good fortune.
But little do they know that the bodhi tree inside the gold- and silver-wrapped lotus pagoda "escaped" on its own. Its roots stubbornly lay underground and quietly emerged in front of the Golden Tile Hall, growing new branches and leaves.
While marveling at the bodhi tree's tenacious vitality and optimistic spirit of adapting to circumstances, I can't help wondering: Is this a return to purity? A bare stone pagoda needs no gold and silver adornment.
Is this a manifestation of calmness and ease? The original state of nature and life is the true essence.
Is this an inspiration from Tsongkhapa to the worldly? The Buddha is in the human world.
As we came out of the Yuzhi Hall, the clouds in the sky could no longer hold the accumulated water vapor and finally turned into rain falling on the mortal world. When our fellow travel companions took out umbrellas, the Kumbum Monastery guide said that rainwater is extremely precious in Qinghai, considered by locals as wealth. Only lucky people can encounter rain while paying homage to the pagoda.
Let the rainwater of Kumbum Monastery wash away the dust of the journey!
Qinghai's night sky Kumbum Monastery's butter sculpture Bodhi tree outside the Golden Tile Hall Main trunk of the bodhi tree inside the hall Kumbum Monastery
(9) Tu Ethnic Group Banquet
After visiting Kumbum Monastery, we hit the road again to Zhongchuan Township, Minhe County, Haidong City, over 200 kilometers from Xining. Coach Wang Chengrong had been waiting there for several days.
Coach Wang Chengrong (left)
I met Coach Wang and his wife, marathon world champion Sun Yingjie, after the 2015 Xiamen Marathon.
Coach Wang is from Minhe County, Qinghai, of the Tu ethnic group. He is a coach at the Qinghai Provincial Sports Team. He finished seventh in the men's 10,000 meters at the 9th National Games in 2001. In 2005, he became the head coach of middle- and long-distance running for the China Paralympic Management Center. At the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, his student Zhang Zhen won two gold medals in the men's 5000m and 1500m T11, Qi Shun won gold in the men's marathon T12, and He Chengen won silver in the men's 800m T36.
Wang Chengrong and his wife at an event in Fujian 2023-04-29 Xiongshan Road Race 50km Team Ranking
Coach Wang and his wife—one an Olympic gold medal coach, the other a world champion—are a rare golden couple. Despite their gold medal halos, they are very down-to-earth and have visited our club many times for technical guidance or to participate in events, with many friends and fans in southern Fujian.
Location of Minhe County
As a Tu ethnic, Coach Wang is very hospitable. This trip was also arranged at his invitation.
We arrived in Zhongchuan Township at 10:00 pm on July 23. Coach Wang and his relatives welcomed us with khata (ceremonial scarves) symbolizing respect and good fortune, prepared a whole lamb feast with over 20 dishes—extremely sumptuous.
Following the Tu tradition of offering wine with ceremony, Coach Wang prepared "dismounting wine" for each guest.
This is the first wine to welcome guests.
Host holds a tray with four cups of highland barley wine, offers welcome words, and toasts. The guest takes the cups with both hands and drinks them all at once to show good drinking. When the guest drinks the third cup, the host clinks glasses and they drink together.
I felt the host's strong hospitality and drank them all. But when I wanted to toast back, Coach Wang said, "Fine wine is to honor distinguished guests." As the saying goes, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do," so I had to stop.
The Tu people's warmth and hospitality are closely related to their character.
Chinese stamp - Tu ethnic group
The Tu people were originally called Tuyuhun or Tuihun. They were a branch of the nomadic Xianbei tribe from the Murong clan, who roamed the Tuhe Qingshan area (now Yixian County, Liaoning). In the late 3rd century AD, they migrated westward to the Yinshan area in Inner Mongolia. During the Western Jin Yongjia period, they entered the Di and Qiang areas of Qinghai and settled down. In the Sui Dynasty, they established the "Tuyuhun Kingdom," which became a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty under Emperor Taizong.
In "Journey to the West," when Tang Sanzang crossed the Two Boundaries Mountain, locals told him that beyond the mountain was the territory of the Tuyuhun Kingdom.
The Tu language belongs to the Altaic Mongolian language family, close to Mongolian in language and customs. The Tu people are known for their bravery, combativeness, and hospitality.
Then came the second wine, "door-entry wine," with the same ceremony as the "dismounting wine."
After a while, the third wine, "auspicious and satisfactory wine," arrived.
I quietly said to President Wang Wenhua, "If we don't play the finger-guessing game tonight, we won't have a chance to toast back, and everyone will be carried out!" As I said that, team member Li Jiangfen got drunk and sneaked out to hide in the tour bus to "avoid wine."
I successfully got through all three wines.
The host began to sing folk songs with melodious tunes, carrying a tray of wine to the guests. If you thought the host sang well, you should drink three cups; if you thought it was average, you drink one. The person who sang for you doesn't have to drink.
What a custom!
President Wang couldn't sit still anymore. He sang a Minnan song "Only by Fighting Can You Win" and got a chance for the host to drink while the guest didn't, drawing thunderous applause.
My wife Li Tao, encouraged by President Wang's success, sang Liu Ruoying's "Later." I am tone-deaf, and my singing would break glass everywhere, so I didn't dare to sing. Instead, I told a story about "The Origin of Tashi Delek" to get by.
President Wang, seeing everyone getting tipsy, proposed a "Quanzhou finger-guessing game." Coach Wang gladly accepted. Everyone had a great time until 1:00 am before dispersing.
This Tu ethnic feast made me truly experience what it means: "Is it not delightful to have friends coming from afar?"
Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles.
Composing a poem: "Meeting Friends at Qinghai Lake"
Sky high, clouds light, sunset glow,
By the shore of Qinghai Lake in May;
Traveling a thousand miles to meet friends,
In front of Zhongchuan Terrace, adding wine cups.
(10) The World's First Noodle
Today is the last day of our Northwest Loop tour. Coach Wang arranged for us to visit the "World's First Bowl of Noodles."
Wheat is not native to China.
In my memory, wheat originated from the "New Land" (present-day Iran and Afghanistan) and was introduced to China from Central Asia via the Silk Road during the Han Dynasty. But this noodle shop boasts "Four Thousand Years of Lajia Noodles." Four thousand years ago, China was in the Xia Dynasty, which lacked written records. How could noodles appear in Minhe County on the Tibetan Plateau? Is the record wrong?
We ate "4000-year-old" Lajia noodles at Guanting Town, Minhe County.
Various doubts emerged in my mind.
The sky in Qinghai was sapphire blue, very close, as if white clouds could fall on your shoulders at any moment. The rolling Yellow River was like a ribbon embedded in the earth. Across the river to the south was Gansu Province. The Lajia National Archaeological Site Park sits on the north bank of the Yellow River at the border of Qinghai and Gansu.
The site park is huge, covering 400,000 square meters. That bowl of "world's first noodle" is in the Lajia Site Museum.
Site Park Plaza was scorching hot; we had to take a group photo in the shadow of the stone tablet.
Although the noodles had weathered by the time they were unearthed, modern technology has preserved photos, allowing us to see what noodles looked like 4,000 years ago. This is not a weathered specimen but a vivid scene.
This is a settlement on the north bank of the Yellow River with clear labor division and gender differences.
The guide is Coach Wang's niece. Disaster struck 4,000 years ago.
A patriarchal Neolithic settlement with significant distinction in ownership of production materials. One day 4,000 years ago, a massive flood triggered by an earthquake suddenly struck. People panicked and were caught off guard, buried in loess and sand in an instant.
Archaeologists deduced from the excavated remains that the disaster struck without warning, possibly during the day, as most of the victims were adult women and children (the men were likely out farming or hunting).
Four thousand years have passed, but we can still feel the terror and horror of the disaster and the greatness of maternal love from the archaeological site.
At site F3, a mother knelt on both knees, looking up, arms tightly hugging a young child, as if praying to heaven while comforting the child, "Don't be afraid, Mommy is here!" The child clung to her, scared but at peace.
People's pupils usually dilate and fists clench in fear or tension, but this mother's hands were open, showing her calmness and courage in the face of disaster, embodying the great love of humanity and the beauty of human nature.
This scene has been frozen for 4,000 years, still touching to this day.
"The World's First Bowl of Noodles" was found at site F20.
World's first bowl of noodles World's first bowl of noodles
This is an overturned blue-patterned red pottery bowl. When unearthed, the residue inside was severely weathered, only a thin layer remained on the surface. The noodles were about 50 cm long, 0.3 cm in diameter, uniform in thickness, bright yellow, and similar in appearance to modern pulled noodles. This is the earliest known physical evidence of noodles in the world. Perhaps due to the sudden disaster, the owner hadn't cooked them yet, and they were overturned and immediately buried by sand, creating a vacuum-like environment that preserved them to this day.
How Lajia noodles might have been made
According to the guide, the noodles weathered within minutes after archaeologists photographed them. The bowl and soil were sent to Beijing for professional analysis. Researchers sampled every centimeter from the 6 cm thick sediment in the bowl, collecting samples from six locations: three from the noodle-like material and three from the soil layer below. Using phytolith analysis, starch analysis, and biomarker compound analysis, they determined that the noodles were mainly made from foxtail millet with a small amount of proso millet. This matches the agricultural characteristics of the Qijia culture at the Lajia site, inferred from plant seeds by archaeobotanists.
Foxtail millet and proso millet have low stickiness and poor stretchability. How did Lajia ancestors make noodles from foxtail millet 4,000 years ago? There is still no answer.
To replicate the noodles, researchers conducted simulation experiments based on folk methods of hammering and hot pressing. Without adding any adhesive, they successfully made millet noodles over 1 meter long using a method of extrusion gelatinization, proving that millet can be made into noodles.
A bowl of noodles from the Lajia site rewrote the history of noodles.
The museum also has a puzzling artifact that amazed us, especially those from a stone hometown.
Unearthed from the Lajia site is a piece of jade material measuring 14 cm long and 8 cm wide, in the process of being processed. It belongs to the Qijia culture of over 4,000 years ago. The cut surface of the jade is smooth, with a cutting line about 4 mm deep. Professionals in the stone industry call it a "tool mark." The cut surface is smooth, no different from modern diamond saw blades. How did the Lajia ancestors of the Neolithic period achieve this?
According to expert speculation, the cutting tool might have been a rope, but there is no clear answer yet.
Pottery jar unearthed from the fire pit at Lajia Site Park
