August 9 to 13, Haixi, Qinghai

This is my second time in Golmud. I had no impression left from the last visit except for one thing: the white cut chicken and hand-grabbed lamb at a halal restaurant were incredibly delicious, so one of my goals this time was to eat them again.

Comparing Hulunbuir and Golmud: in terms of comfort, Hulunbuir wins hands down. In Golmud, I actually had a nosebleed, and my lips were constantly chapped—drinking water didn't help. In terms of prosperity, Hulunbuir wins again; first of all, the food in Golmud isn't as good, and shopping is not very convenient. Most importantly, I couldn't get a Didi ride—I often called a car only to have the order automatically canceled. It was better to stop a taxi on the street, which wasn't easy either, but at least I could get a ride. However, in terms of scenery, Golmud wins decisively. In Hulunbuir, I never took out my camera, but in Golmud, I kept it in my pocket, taking photos nonstop. The scenery was so beautiful that my eyes couldn't take it all in, and I just wanted to etch it deeply into my memory.

Under the scorching sun, I actually saw a rainbow over the city of Golmud. (It was clearly visible to the naked eye, but in photos you have to look very carefully to see it, haha.)

From Golmud to the Lonely Star Hotel, it was over 300 kilometers. Although the road was well paved, it was a two-way single lane with many large trucks, so we couldn't drive fast.

Along the way, there were ever-changing Yardang landforms and vast Gobi deserts. Passing by the scenery on both sides of National Highway 315, I never got tired of looking at it.

The famous U-shaped road looked really steep and high from a distance, but once we drove over it, it turned out to be a very gentle and low slope. There were two similar U-shaped roads, and I'm not sure which one is the real famous one.

Lonely Star is the best hotel in the area in terms of environment, so the price is ridiculously high. The hotel covers a large area. Even without leaving the hotel grounds, you can find very beautiful Yardang landforms by driving around inside.

Lonely Star has several types of rooms. The planet room was quite nice inside, but it had a strong odor, especially after a day of intense sun exposure.

This small tent is where I slept at night. It had a bed, lights, and electricity, but the shower and toilet were shared. The shared shower and toilet were very clean and odorless, but the shower water flow was a bit weak, and sometimes it suddenly stopped—if it were winter, that would be deadly (though I probably wouldn't take a shower in winter anyway).

There was also this kind of small white house, which I didn't go inside, but it probably had a nice environment too.

Since it's called Lonely Star, one of its selling points is stargazing. According to an expert traveling with us, Haixi is the best place for stargazing because there are many sunny days, few clouds, and high altitude. Unfortunately, on the night we were there, thick clouds covered the sky, and only a few small patches revealed a few stars. The forecasted maximum of the Perseid meteor shower was completely missed. The Milky Way was also completely missed. The moon, however, was big and round, with a lunar halo.

Near Lonely Star is the Water Yadan scenic area. Once inside, you need to take the shuttle bus, which takes you to the deepest part of the scenic area, and then you stop by stop back to the entrance.

Water Yadan is simply Yardang landforms with water added... The water reflected the blue sky and yellow hills, creating a different kind of scenery.

West Taijinar Lake is famous for its two-colored lake. Separated by a road, the two sides of the lake display different colors due to differences in depth and size. Since it's now the dry season, you first see the large lake on the left as you travel along, while the one on the right only appears after you go deeper.

This road, though paved, is bumpy and is a necessary route for large trucks, so we traveled even slower. Even so, I still felt it was well worth coming here.

The lake water was truly like a mirror.

Does this photo have a movie poster feel?

Finally, I'd like to mention the delicious restaurant I talked about at the beginning. I went there again as I had wished, and it was still as tasty. If you ever have the chance to visit Golmud, you must try it—it's much better than the top-rated Zhenhua Hand-Grabbed Lamb on review sites.