Ding Haixiao

Diebu is a square county, and the central square constitutes the core of people's lives. There are banks (usually China Agricultural Bank and Gansu Rural Credit Cooperative in Gannan), hotels and restaurants. In physical space, it is an equal walking distance from the central square to all parts of the county.

south of the central square is Bailong River, and the floodplain is an ideal land for urban expansion. Diebu County is building a dam along the Bailong River, extending the town to the Bailong River. On the south bank of Bailong River, there are no houses, and there are towering spruces.

In 1935, the Chinese Red Army of Workers and Peasants crossed Diebu twice, and won a key victory in the famous battle of Lazikou, which was also the most crucial battle for the Red Army to enter Gansu in the Long March. Since then, "Red Lazikou" has become one of the tourist cards of Diebu.

bird's-eye view of Diebu County from Dharma Temple This article is all Ding Haixiao map

Dianga Town, the resident of Diebu County, is located on the north bank of Bailong River, surrounded by trees, and a main street, Lazikou Street, runs east and west. The Dian Ga Temple of the Yellow Sect is at the westernmost end, and the Lalu Shiori Sakura Temple of the Bonism is at the easternmost end. The branches on both sides of the main street are up and down slopes, and the car stops along the ramp, which has the feeling of a small European town.

There is no public transportation in the county. The taxi goes straight for two yuan and turns three yuan.

Zhuoni to Diebu

Although Zhuoni and Diebu belong to Zhuoni Tusi in history, from zhuoni to Diebu County, they have to transit through Min County in Dingxi City.

In fact, the territory of Zhuoni Tusi includes not only Zhuoni and Diebu, but also some mountainous areas in Lintan County and Zhouqu County, as well as the Tibetan areas at the border between Sichuan and Gansu, which is slightly smaller than the land area of Switzerland. This is a blend of Tibetan and Chinese, which seems to be a Tibetan area, but there are many habits of Han nationality in life. In addition, Diebu also has Bonism belief, and most Bonism temples in Gannan are located here.

My university teacher, Mr. Yang Zheng, is the eldest son of the last Toast Joni. His family's association with the famous American botanist Joseph Charles Francis Rock is quite legendary. In 1925, Yang Zheng's grandfather, Yang Jiqing, the ninth generation of Zhuoni toast, took Locke in Zhuoni Zen Temple and helped him to complete his inspection in Zhuoni and Diebu. In two years, Locke took nearly a thousand photos, leaving a lot of written materials to record the local society and nature.

The undulating terrain of Zhagana Village in Diebu

Diebu has abundant water resources, large altitude difference and extremely rich plant resources. Today, many China plant specimens in American museums were collected by Locke in Diebu that year. Locke found at least 11 species of spruce in Diebu, while there are only 17 species of spruce in China.

Locke's travels, Living in Jonny Monastery, were later published in National Geographic. It is inferred that the writer Hilton created the novel "The Lost Horizon" based on these pictures and descriptions, and Shangri-La, the oriental secret of her fantasy, caused a sensation in the western world.

Eleven years ago, there was only one shuttle bus from Minxian to Diebu every day, which had to cross the Liangyakou in iron ruler at an altitude of 3,211 meters and enter Lazikou. Many passengers got on the bus along the way, and the aisles were filled with small benches. I especially remember that the driver tried to leave me and my companions at Liangyakou, iron ruler, in order to avoid the traffic police inspection.

Now, except for the fir forest on the opposite mountain, Diebu County in my memory has completely changed, and everything has become more neat and orderly. The influx of investors and construction teams from Gansu and Sichuan provinces has also brought catering brands from the two places. Around the central square are newly built hotels and restaurants to welcome tourists from Zhaga. There is also a Diebu County Museum near the central square, but according to personal experience, in the northwest county, you have to take a chance whether the museum opens or not.

Take Locke's road again

Locke once stood in Zhagana, which was surrounded by clouds and fog, and said, "I have never seen such beautiful scenery in my life. If the author of Genesis had seen the beautiful scenery of Diebu, he would have put the birthplace of Adam and Eve here ... Diebu is so amazing that I would feel a sin if I didn't photograph this wonderful place. "

The stone walls of Zhagana form a natural fortress

Zhagana is only 28km away from Diebu County. It consists of four natural villages, Dongwa, Yeri, Dari and Daiba, and a Lasang Temple. It is surrounded by spectacular stone walls, like a huge palace on a large scale, and like a complete ancient city built on natural rock walls. Influenced by geomantic omen, Zhagana sat facing south, surrounded by mountains, and at the same time followed the tradition of living in Tibetan temples.

Bedroom in Zhaga Na

The buildings in Zhaga Na village are also very special. Generally, they are two-story or three-story "Bedroom". The roof is made of pine boards arranged like fish scales. The first floor is a livestock pen, a living room, a living room or a lecture hall, and the second floor is a sun dam and a storage room. But now most of them have been changed into inns. Because of the ups and downs of the mountains, you can see the unique Shicheng landscape from the windows of different rooms.

Zhaga was once an important post station on Taodie Ancient Road. With the abandonment of the ancient Tuodao, it was once a inaccessible and dangerous forbidden area.

From Zhuoni over Guanggai Mountain to Zhagana in Diebu, it was once a classic route for Locke to investigate plants, birds and geography, and was called "Locke's Road" by later generations.

the starting point of hiking is "the first sight"

The starting point of Zhaga, the "Lok Road", was originally a winding and narrow canyon tunnel, and was stepped out by the herdsmen's horses and backpackers into muddy paths, accompanied by waterfalls and streams on both sides.

Nowadays, the path has been turned into an interval lane, an "ecological plank road" and a cement stone bridge. But the most ordinary tourists are not going to buy it. They complain all the way that the scenery is mediocre and they are not interested in history and nature itself. Even if the "Locke Road" is fully developed, it is probably difficult to please them.

From the "first sight of the sky", the interval lane has changed back into a hiking trail, and the waterfalls and talc areas have become magnificent, with dense fir forests and hanging walls directly into the sky. Go to the end of the talc area, detour up the mountain along the horse path, and reach a stone pile full of prayer flags-the Temple of the God King.

Go on until you come to a small stream. The road is cut off by a landslide. After wading through the stream, you can see a row of bare stone forests, just like a Gothic church. Ahead is the famous Shimen. Shimen is the most remarkable landmark of Minshan Mountain, which is composed of red limestone, like a deep crack in Minshan Mountain.

Shimen-style valley on Locke's Road

According to historical data, Locke's team once encountered a serious landslide near Shimen, and was forced to be trapped in this crescent-shaped canyon, but the surrounding plants attracted him like magic. There are all kinds of exotic poppy, aster, primrose, yellow Saxifraga, different colors of Saussurea, Swallowwort, aconite poison and gentian root.

Near the village entrance of Zhalugou or Chalugou, the slope is densely forested, and there are rich purple azaleas and lavender beside the stream, forming a natural fence.

over the hillside, there is a more strange side. The forest is barren, but the pink leguminous plants have the tenacious vitality of cactus.

Poppy is one of the precious flower species in plateau area. Locke and his investigation team once went into the area where poppies were planted in Tibetan areas. When he climbed over the cliff, he saw local girls weaving poppies into garlands and carrying them with him.

Locke's joy in arriving in Zhaga-na after all kinds of hardships is beyond words: "The first night in Zhaga-na was very wonderful. Clouds gathered together, and the peaks pierced the sky and looked like an island embedded in the ocean. Birds sang around, a breeze blew through their ears, and the quiet forest was embedded in the green velvet grass. Even the air exudes intoxicating fragrance ... "

Plant diversity brought about by vertical altitude change

Starting from Zhaga, the road is still very difficult and dangerous, and the altitude rises vertically by 1111 meters in one day. On the way, the rubber sole of one of my shoes completely falls off, so I have to drag the shoes lacking soles to move on. This pair of shoes once accompanied me through the trip around Asia from Lhasa to Cairo, but stopped on the road of Locke.

the wooden bridge on the original grazing road left by Zhagana

the source of Bailong River

71km further west from Diebu, it is the source of langmusi and Bailong River. According to legend, the name "Langmu" is related to the fairy cave in Bailong River Canyon. From Diebu to Bailong River, it is a golden route of Gannan Ring Road, and it also passes through a section of Sichuan border.

langmusi town surrounded by mountains

langmusi is not just a temple, it is a small town at the junction of Sichuan and Gansu provinces.

The so-called provincial boundaries are not divided by Bailong River as described in most materials, nor by streets. Instead, the town is divided into two parts along the northwest-southeast, with luqu in Gansu Province in the northeast and ruoergai county in Sichuan Province in the southwest. There is a Tibetan Buddhist temple on each side, both of which call themselves "Dacang langmusi".

There is also a Chinese mosque in Huimin village in Sichuan. Most Muslims in langmusi come from Lintan. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, caravans from Lintan and Linxia entered Sichuan via langmusi, using langmusi as a transit point for the exchange of livestock products in Gannan and daily necessities in the mainland.

Worshiper of Dalang Mugerdi

On this trip, I went back to langmusi and met an old German man who came by bike from Huangnan, Qinghai. He has been to langmusi for more than a dozen times. When the sun sets in langmusi, we look at the small town surrounded by smoke from kitchen chimneys on the hillside. We miss the old days and still have tears in our eyes.

more than ten years ago, I broke into Gannan with my bag on my back again and again, and I got into remote villages and towns with a group of foreigners with travel bibles Lonely Planet. Later, it was once again a "forbidden area", followed by the decline of backpack culture, and we witnessed the end of the hippie era.

"Little Switzerland in the East" is not a hollow reputation. langmusi used to be a backpacker's private residence. At least in that golden age, countless young people from all over the world followed the guide and sat in the square in front of the Grand Sutra Hall, watching monks debate scriptures, tracing back to the Bailong River and climbing the Huagai Mountain to wait for the sunset.

Langmugerdi Temple in Dacang after the rain

Later, the fate of langmusi, like all the small towns discovered by hippies, was eroded by commercialization, and backpackers gradually moved away. In addition, after the Jiuzhaigou earthquake, the number of tourists from northern Sichuan to langmusi decreased significantly. In order to revive the tourism industry, langmusi has become a part of Gannan Ring Road for group tourists. A large tourist center has been built outside the town, and the quiet town, which was once independent, has become a noisy tourist reception point.

The scenery of youth travel is no longer beautiful, people's interest in travel destinations is replaced by mobile phone photo punching, and tourists' taste is dominated by online celebrity stores and leaderboards. However, I still miss the time when, like Locke, I personally measured every inch of land with my feet and distinguished every plant and animal.

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Proofreading: zhangyan.