Photo: Ranger World

The vast, desolate and colorful Northwest China, where there is no one but the Gobi, leaving only the wind.

There are cattle and sheep everywhere in the pasture of wild flowers.

There are colorful salt lakes like jasper.

There is the rise and fall of the Silk Road in the Hexi Corridor, which is full of mysterious temptations for travelers.

Grateful to spend nine days of my life traveling through Qinghai and Gansu in the late summer of 2020.

Sitting on a mountainside overlooking Qinghai Lake, waiting for the sunset at the Emerald Lake in Dachaidan, and hiking alone at the Jinal Lake in Dongtai.

Photograph your own shadow on the U-Highway, feed waterfowl at Xitai Ginel Lake, and eat ice cream at Mangya Emerald Lake.

On the outskirts of the town of Cold Lake to see the starry sky, to go to Oboliang witness the Martian landscape, in Dunhuang to see the performance of the night market, in the ice gully Danxia to enjoy the car service ......

Qinghai belongs to the continental plateau climate, the winter is dry and cold, the temperature difference between day and night is large, and is recognized as a more suitable for the tour of the time is from late June to early September.

In mid-August this year, the Qilian Mountains got their first snowfall, and I traveled at the end of August when the night temperature was only 3-5 degrees. Due to tourism seasonality and summer vacation factors, resulting in July and August hotel food and beverage transportation in all aspects of the cost surge.

If you're free, we recommend considering late June and early September to avoid the summer vacation rush.

Northwest Qinggan big loop public **** transportation is not convenient, the daily journey can easily be four or five hundred kilometers, the distance between the attractions and no shuttle bus, driving or chartered is a more appropriate choice.

The customized itinerary, including the fare accommodation and most tickets 5280 yuan, Shenzhen Xining round-trip flights 2100 yuan, less than 2,000 yuan for meals and miscellaneous expenses during the trip, the overall cost of the trip does not exceed 10,000 yuan.

The overall combination can be a small backpack + suitcase, suitcase loaded with most of the items put in the trunk, small backpack carry-on, mainly loaded with camera sunscreen items food drinking water and charging treasure.

The most important is the sun hat sunglasses and sunscreen, highly recommended large brim on both sides of the curtain 270 degrees full coverage of the outdoor sun hat, sunglasses plus mask can basically keep the face, sunscreen SPF50 + + + with four or five bottles of crazy use.

Due to the large temperature difference between day and night, the clothes are basically summer clothes, but it is strongly recommended to long-sleeved sunscreen, with a punching bag or jacket, mainly at night to go out to eat or see the stars to keep the cold. Jacket pants one or two sets enough, intimate apparel can bring more sets, girls take pictures more brightly colored clothes skirt.

The Northwest is relatively dry, in order to prevent lips from drying out, lip balm is also basically a must-have item. The Northwest is particularly suitable for aerial photography, a drone must be brought.

Compared to many provinces, the Northwest is a relative lack of food, food processing may not be so fine, but has its own unique flavor.

Recommended food: lamb kebabs, pit pot meat, Ga noodles, hand-held mutton, Hu sheep casserole, Dunhuang donkey yellow noodles, Zhangye rolled chicken, yak yogurt and so on.

Breakfast on the trip there are buns fried dumplings water fried buns Hu spicy soup, if you go to the noodle shop there are a variety of beef noodles cannonball braised noodles covered with rice noodles, etc., point of view in addition to the large plate chicken clay hot pot specialties, in fact, the most common is Sichuan and Hunan cuisine.

Northwest restaurant portion is large, with Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong coastal areas, the gap is large, ask for a clear portion before ordering to avoid waste.

July and August tourism season, Qinghai accommodation is difficult, expensive and difficult to determine, it is recommended to book in advance. The most common standard rooms and even private rooms are seven or eight hundred, often thousands are also very common.

Strong sunshine during the day is very easy to sunburn, sunscreen and lip balm applied once every two hours, be sure to bring a sun hat, remember to lower the exposure value when taking pictures;

chartered car or self-driving often prepared a box of mineral water, although the Northwest is dry, but do not feel the mouth is dry, you have to remember to drink more water and eat more fruits and vegetables.

Dachaidan to Mangya to cold lake on the road in the past few days cell phone signal is very bad, there are things to remember to arrange in advance. Although the scenic area is more people, walk to the distance is still very quiet.

The Great Northwest Loop is mainly divided into seven days and nine days, most of the trip is Qinghai Lake, Chaka Salt Lake, Dachaidan Emerald Lake, and then directly north to Dunhuang Jiayuguan Zhangye.

The choice of nine-day trip, focusing on going to Haixi East and West Terrace Ginel Lake, Usut Water Yadan, Mangya Emerald Lake, Obo Liang and Mars Camp.

The scenery of these days proved to be the essence of the Great Circle Route, and it is highly recommended that your itinerary be designed to include the places mentioned above. Details of each day's itinerary and scenery are described below.

D0: Shenzhen - Xining

Shenzhen fly Xining 3 hours and 20 minutes, remember to book a window seat aerial photography of the mountains and rivers of the Great Northwest and the clouds in the air.

Xining Caojiabao Airport is 30-40 minutes from the city center, a taxi is about 60-70 yuan, there is an airport bus to Xining Railway Station and the central square, the ticket price is 21 yuan for 30 minutes.

The main things to visit in Xining city are mainly mosques and Chinese Buddhist temples.

Dongguan Mosque and Nanguan Mosque are a few hundred meters away, and Nanchen Temple and Fa幢寺 at the foot of Nanshan Mountain are located next to each other.

The North Zen Temple has been under renovation for a few years and is not yet open, and the Tal Temple is about 28 kilometers from the city center, so expect to spend more than 2 hours by bus, less than 1 hour by taxi or chartered car, and reserve at least half a day.

The city's mosques and temples are not open because of the epidemic.

Xining food center is more well-known Mojia Street, Daxin Street is basically halal food, Shui Jing Lane to snacks barbecue mostly, or refer to the public comments to choose their favorite.

In the Xining hotel and carpooling companions to meet, he also has a few friends plan to drive, the evening to go to the neighborhood to eat pot meat lamb kebabs drink yogurt.

D1: Qinghai Lake Flower Sea Ranch

Early in the morning to get up to go to the hotel near the sheep intestines noodles, sheep intestines are fried hard some greasy, not accustomed to eating beef noodles buns fan soup.

With the other two carpooling partners gathered and set off, along the ring highway all the way to the west. The way to the Jin Yin Tan prairie, look at the mountain green flowers want to burn. In the east coast of Qinghai Lake to see the sand dunes, around to the south coast to see the sea of flowers.

Although the flowering period of the Qinghai Lake shore has passed, but the south shore of the lake or a few pieces of rapeseed, more people planted a purple orchid grass, as long as there are people to pay the bill there will always be someone to find a way to meet your needs.

The vast blue lake in the distance, in the golden sea of flowers, who will not be moved.

More than 300 kilometers around Qinghai Lake, amateur cycling will take about three days, the road met a team of cycling children, before and after the protection of the car escort, in the future to find a spring time hiking or cycling around the Qinghai Lake it.

Although most of the lakeshore has been closed to protect or become a scenic pasture, but there are still some places where you can go to the lake for free, and everywhere is a horseback riding yak photo shoots, look at it on a good meaning not great.

The lake and the sea are so big that they must be viewed from a distance to get a glimpse of the momentum.

Near the Erlangjian scenic area, turn left on the dirt road up the mountain, do not have to climb very high to go very far, the car will be parked on the side of the road, climbed up the nearby mountain slopes, the Qinghai Lake will be presented in front of your eyes with a different look.

Sitting on the hillside with the wind blowing, quietly looking out over Qinghai Lake, this is good.

When you drive all day and find yourself still at the Qinghai Lake, I think you will understand how big Qinghai Lake is.

Away from the south shore of the sea of flowers and scenic spots, Qinghai Lake restored her original appearance, white felt cooking smoke, cattle and sheep into groups slowly eating grass, free like the wind blowing across the lake.

D2: Chaka Salt Lake

Dachaidan Emerald Lake

Chaka Salt Lake and Aiken Spring are the two places on the Northwest Great Circle Route that I am least looking forward to, so she is really also unsurprisingly uninteresting.

Any salt lake on the road behind, are dumped Chaka Salt Lake a street. But the people tourism publicity really do well, half of the salt lake salt half of the salt lake to engage in tourism, the gimmick of the realm of the sky and a few reflections of the photographs, so that tourists tend to rush.

I was impressed by the various fancy trains, sitting in the innermost station, and then hiking out.

It's more than 300 kilometers from the Chaka Salt Lake to Dachaidan, and Qinghai's highways and national roads are great.

Along the way, you start to feel the desolate beauty of the Northwest, with the Gobi and barren mountains on both sides, so it's no wonder that Hai Zi would write that timeless and beautiful love poem in Delingha.

Dachaidan Emerald Lake is not as good as Mangya Emerald Lake, but it is much more interesting than Chaka Salt Lake.

In the distance, there is still snow on the mountain tops, and ducks are swimming in the meadow by the lake.

Countless salt lakes dotting the earth, because of the gold color showing blue-green, the lake is not white sand or snow, but hard saline.

The lakes are dotted with salt lakes that are blue-green in color because they contain gold, and the snowy shores of the lakes are not sand or snow, but hard saline.

D3: U-shaped highway - East Tajik

Yadan on the water - West Tajik

The essence of the Great Circle Route starts from the third day, compared to the first two days can only be regarded as appetizers.

G315 National Highway is comparable to the U.S. Route 66, with a total length of 3,063 kilometers, starting from Xining in Qinghai, passing through Qinghai Lake, the Qaidam Basin, over the Altunshan Mountain, and crossing the Taklamakan Desert to reach the end point in Kashgar, Xinjiang.

Today take the highlights of G315, including the Chinese version of the Maldives, Dongtaiji Nair Lake, the U-shaped highway of the net red G315 national highway, the water Yadan in the desert, and the magical Xitaiji two-color lake.

There are two sections of the U-shaped highway, but they are not attractions, they are U-shaped sections of the national highway between two mountain beams, with the desolate Gobi on both sides, and the highway in the middle looks like it leads to the sky.

Vehicles do not park on the road, take pictures of the best companions to help keep watch, and reportedly there have been car accidents.

In fact, it is not sitting on the road to shoot is called highway photo, next to the mound to climb up, the same can be shot a beautiful highway blockbuster.

In fact, Xinjiang, Qinghai, Tibet and Inner Mongolia, there are many similar highways, just slope and angle is not so classic.

Dongtai Ginel Lake is known as the Chinese version of the Maldives, mainly because the water is clear sand (salt) young style is similar. But if you're not willing to move your feet, you'll just have to take boring tourist photos.

After entering the white salt flats, walk straight for a few hundred meters, there is a salt river separating the large salt flats inside. On the right side, there is a shallow place to drip water into the depths of the less crowded, but this is prohibited by the scenic area.

In fact, just follow the river bank to the right a few hundred meters, and then there is no one at all, but 99% of tourists are willing to squeeze in that area of the pile.

But really want to thank them, complete my solo hiking Dongtai Ginaier Lake, the lake from near and far in order to present green green blue, formed by the salt and alkali beach, crunching underfoot. Free and easy, wandering alone.

The surprise of Usut Water Yadan is not on the route of the scenic area, sit the sightseeing bus to the end of the never follow the tourists, really do not understand why people complain about the crowd, while to the pile of people to get together.

Along the lakeshore, follow the camel caravan inside, basically there are no tourists. Climbing to the top of the Yadan landform, you can overlook the unrivaled Yadan landscape on the water, and take a picture of the camel caravan's style in the meantime.

Another more worthwhile place to go is the entrance to the scenic area, leave the highway around a stretch of water, climb to the top of one of the higher mountains, is to shoot the West Sea Fleet promotional posters of the angle.

The G315 national highway crosses Xidai Ginel Lake, with blue on the left and green on the right.

But we just arrived completely unable to feel, bored to shoot other people's children to feed the seagulls, it is said that the seagulls come to Qinghai every summer in winter to go to Kunming Dali, as for when they go to the sea I do not know.

I suddenly saw the lake in the distance flooded with green, and then killed all the way to us. The best spot is actually near the west side of the curved embankment, the blue and green color is clear, no regrets.

D4: Aiken Springs

Mangya Emerald Lake

There are two emerald lakes on the Great Northwest Loop, the regular loop's emerald lake is located in Dachaidan, and the Mangya Emerald Lake is the main one.

Mangya Emerald Lake is about half an hour from the town of Huatugou, get up early to go to the wave, and you can go back to take a nap at noon.

Huatugou is a petroleum town, the local people live a very rich life, the conditions are much better than expected, whether it is to eat and stay or buy fruits, the price is good and easy to live.

Jade Lake across the G315 National Highway is opposite the Thousand Buddha Cliffs, so after entering the scenic area, the left side of the small lake can shoot the reflection of the Thousand Buddha Cliffs, the right side of the big lake can shoot the distant snow-capped mountains.

Walking inside there is a place to enter the depths of the salt lake, surrounded by a variety of salt lake pits, feel like coral and emerald.

Other people are still reluctant to go inside, just take pictures on the highway.

Driving around the lake, there is a place where the water is particularly shallow, you can directly shoot the reflection.

This is probably the favorite of the girls, just wear anything to shoot the beautiful, than the Chaka Salt Lake do not know how many times better.

But even so suitable for the photo place, there were not more than 10 people present.

For those of us who don't like to take pictures of other people and don't like to take selfies, it's a good idea to buy an ice cream and hike along the shore of the lake.

Aiken Springs owes its fame to drones and post-processing, and the actual scenery is less photogenic and playful.

I slept in until after 3:00 in the afternoon and went for a walk. The road is half concrete and half dirt, more than thirty kilometers of road to drive an hour, and also have to pass through the security checkpoints.

In order to facilitate the tourists without drones, the scenic spot in the spring next to a temporary tower, 10 yuan can ascend to the second floor overlooking, but in fact the scenery is really nothing to see.

Even the photos taken by the drone need a lot of post-processing to achieve the effect you so think.

D5: Nameless Yadan

Yuboliang-Mars Camp

Today was the most desolate day of the Great Northwest Loop, turning back east from Huatugou town along National Highway G315.

Near the intersection of G315 and G215, there is a large, unnamed Yadan landform on the side of the road. If the color of the previous days was emerald green, today's color is Gobi yellow.

In fact, all the way to the Gobi desert Yadan landforms, just this close to the highway larger landscape is also more beautiful.

People who do not love to take pictures like to scurry around, in the other people shoot beautiful photos to play drone, I went over a few beams and mounds.

The cell phone did not have any signal again, causing my companion to look for me everywhere, so I am really sorry.

It's scary to be separated in the Gobi and not be able to contact anyone.

Oboliang is known as the Earth's most like the moon place, inhospitable grass even if, within a radius of 100 kilometers are similar to the Martian terrain of the round mounds, the ground was no road, just the tire tracks left by the previous person, walking more people even if the road.

From a distance, I saw the Ob Liang is like a castle and palace in the desert, and then I realized that what we saw was just a section of it, and the actual Ob Liang stretches for more than ten kilometers.

I don't know how deep inside the Ob Liang, we just drove to the mountain beams, all over the place are different forms of Yadan forests, like camels like giant elephants like castles.

Standing in the high view of the entire area of Oboliang, thousands of round mounds all around, desolate, desolate, endless desolation.

Camp Mars is near Oboliang, and it's not a side trip to either place, but rather a fork in the road at the bottom of the hill.

Mars Camp is the only place nearby where you can stay, and thought it would be a thief to see the stars at night.

Tiny capsule barns sell for nearly two thousand dollars per night, and tents outside cost four or five hundred dollars per seat, and are said to have been booked out two months ago.

It's said to be free to bring your own tent and RV there, and there are a number of motorcycles and off-road vehicles parked around the campground, with the nearby desert and terrain perfect for thrill-seeking drives.

The town of Cold Lake, where we stayed that night, is an abandoned oil town with poor conditions and expensive prices.

In the evening, we went to the countryside to see the starry night sky, which we couldn't photograph, but we could really feel the beauty.

The next morning, I bought some beautiful stones at a stall, and later picked up some on the way to Dangjinshan, which I brought home as a souvenir.

D6: Dangjinshan - Mingsha Mountain

Another Dunhuang - Night Market Food

Dangjinshan is located in Gansu, Xinjiang and Qinghai junction, is the Great Circle over the Qilian Mountains in the west of the pass, the elevation of the Qilian Mountains, although there are 3,300 meters, but due to the side of the Qinghai itself is at a higher altitude.

The past is completely senseless, only when the sustained downhill more than ten kilometers, only really feel the concept of the Tibetan Plateau, only to enter the orchard on the side of the road in Dunhuang, only to understand the meaning of the oasis in the desert.

The road passes through abandoned oil towns, and pretty mountains and windmills, and endless winding roads.

The Mingsha Mountain Crescent Springs are also among the many tourist hit spots, and if you're interested in camel riding, you can ride a camel team around the desert at the gate to the Springs.

Climb the dunes from the hiking trail behind the Crescent Springs, walk along the ridge of the dunes to the other side to get down to the halfway point, and then do the plank sandboarding down the mountain.

Only in the dunes can shoot the shape of the crescent moon spring, downhill recommended to take off the shoes barefoot stepping on the soft fine sand feel.

Camel ride 100 yuan, camel photos 20 yuan, sandboarding 20 yuan, helicopter single 1000 yuan three people per capita 500 yuan.

I especially recommend going to see "see Dunhuang" performance theater, tickets 298 expensive value for money.

Whether it is a performance or costume, whether it is a turn or special effects, whether it is history or culture, through a story and characters, let you understand what is Dunhuang what is the Silk Road.

How long is a year, how long is a lifetime, how long is a thousand years, but it's all just a moment.

The main street of Dunhuang night market sells all kinds of tourist souvenirs, and the food is distributed in several areas next to it.

After the show to meet with other companions in the sandbar eateries, queuing up to buy sand onion beef cake and Li Guangji apricot skin tea, Xinjiang barbecue Xishi lamb kebabs, and champagne beauty moonlight cups.

Tourism souvenirs quite a regional characteristics, recommended glow-in-the-dark sand bottle painting, and camel bell doll.

D7: Binggou Danxia

Zhangye seven-color Danxia

Because of the temporary things at home, with the partners to say goodbye in advance, their own motorcycle to Zhangye, rented a car to go to the seven-color Danxia and Binggou Danxia.

Dunhuang finally passed the train, the morning and afternoon of a bus to Zhangye, the journey is about 4 hours.

All the way to the yellow sand desert Gobi, when you see a touch of green, arrived at a certain urban oasis.

Zhangye seven-color Danxia is located in Linze County, from Zhangye city to drive over about 1 hour, the provincial highway is repairing the road to drive over the bumpy, take the highway some roundabout far, both time is about the same.

Zhangye seven-color Danxia usually recommended to go in the evening at sunset, the sunlight sprinkled on the Danxia is simply beautiful, very easy to out of the blockbuster photography, tickets 73 yuan simply do not too conscientious.

Scenic area total **** there are four viewpoints: seven-color fairy platform, seven-color cloud sea platform, seven-color embroidery platform and seven-color rainbow platform, take the landscape car in order to visit

which is the most beautiful cloud sea platform, followed by the rainbow platform, rainbow platform with hiking trestle, but unfortunately the back of the ice ditch Danxia, there is no extra time to experience.

If you buy a deep tour package, you can also visit the deeper colorful Au River Terrace and Wanxiang Tulin Valley.

Ice ditch Danxia from the colorful Danxia more than ten kilometers, but also in the repair of the road is difficult to travel, good in the Northwest more than eight o'clock before dark, in order to be able to rush from Dunhuang to Zhangye on the same day, but also play two Danxia scenic spots.

Probably too close to the seven-color Danxia, or maybe I arrived too late, when there were only me and Shanghai's four little brother and sister, climbing together very happy.

Ice Gully Danxia is mainly the two scenic spots of Daxitian and Xiaoxitian, we are the first to go to the Xiaoxitian scenic spot, remember to climb to the top of the mountain at the highest point, look across the scenery is really beautiful.

From the small Xitian back to the intersection to go to the big Xitian, probably the scenic area feel afraid of accidents in the dark, specially sent a car equipped with special police to escort, a thousand instructions to climb up to see down.

A breath of ten minutes to climb to the top of the mountain, invincible is how lonely. In fact, the ice ditch Danxia is a typical Danxia landform, colorful Danxia is a bit colorful hilly style.

D8: Pingshan Lake Grand Canyon

Pingshan Lake Grand Canyon is located in the northern suburbs of Zhangye City, along the highway from Zhangye to Alxa drive, the road less cars less people sky especially blue, and occasionally see flocks of sheep camel herd.

The Grand Canyon is located in the county township of Pingshan Lake has been a Mongolian settlement, scenic spots outside the Mongolian style tourist town.

Grand Canyon tickets 100 yuan + 25 yuan sightseeing bus, there are four main viewing platforms, the sightseeing bus stops at the No. 1 viewing platform, No. 2 viewing platform to walk a section of the trestle, round-trip about half an hour or so.

Viewpoints 3 and 4 are on the same route, and the entrance to the Grand Canyon is between Viewpoint 3 and Viewpoint 4.

The Pingshan Lake Grand Canyon is a red-stratified landform, full of red giant rocks and hills as far as the eye can see.

Canyoning is her biggest attraction. There are three canyoning routes, and I took the closest one.

There is a super-original one-line sky and two sections of 100-meter ladder, no physical fitness can not climb the ladder, the body is not good enough to climb but the first line of sky, it is really a very interesting and original experience.

From the ladder up is the No. 4 observation deck, looking back at the scenery is unique.

In Xining ate stuffed skin and yogurt, watched the sunset and evening sun on the airplane, waved goodbye to the Great Northwest.

Leave Qilian prairie and Zuoer Mountain small regret, the northwest of the Qinggan Great Loop of the mountains and water, salt lake, Gobi desert, into their own lives.

To travel to feel, not bound to things, cultivate their own heart, to find their own unique scenery.

Misty Ranger greets you in the Great Northwest!