- Face the problem head on
First, let’s take a look at the Grand Ring Line
Trip map
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The Grand Ring Line starts from Xining City, the capital of Qinghai Province, and takes at least six days. It passes through Chaka, crosses the Qaidam Basin, reaches Dunhuang, then enters and crosses the Qilian Mountains, and finally returns to the original starting point of Xining City. The entire trip The route is a circle.
After this whole trip, there is no turning back. The whole trip has
Temples, plateau lakes, green grasslands, vast Gobi, Yadan landforms, barren deserts, desert oases, and fragrant flowers
and other attractions, each with different features! Therefore, if you miss this line when traveling to the northwest, you may come back with regrets.
The Qinggan-Gansu Loop is a very classic route. The reason why this route is classic is because the scenic spots throughout the trip have their own characteristics and are different, from bustling and noisy cities to temples chanting sutras and Buddhist chants to lakes and grasslands full of vitality. to depression The journey from the barren Gobi desert to the desert oasis to the scenery of the Qilian Mountains and finally back to the noisy city is not only a cleansing of the soul, but also an understanding of life. I believe you will gain a better understanding of life by walking a large loop. Many insights.
- Itinerary introduction
1..Brief description:
The Grand Ring Road is the best route to visit Qinghai and Gansu. The travel time ranges from 6 to 8 days. Due to space constraints, I will only talk about the 6-day tour here. Other travel routes can be explored further.
- Itinerary planning
- Itinerary map
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There is more and more complete information on the complete picture. For the complete and clear large picture, you can leave a message or private message with me)
- Features of the Grand Ring Line:
(1). Short time
The Qinghai-Gansu Great Ring Road generally takes 6-8 days, with a total length of more than 2,000 to 3,000 kilometers. The driving distance is moderate, the natural landscape and cultural landscape echo each other, and the scenery is not monotonous.
(2). Many attractions
Famous attractions along the way include
Qinghai Lake
, Chaka Salt Lake, Qaidam Basin, Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, Yadan Devil City on the Qinghai Sea, Yumen Pass, Yangguan, Mingsha Mountain Crescent Spring, Jiayuguan Great Wall, Zhangye Colorful Danxia, Horseshoe Temple, Zhuoer Mountain Scenic Area, Qilian Mountains, Daban Mountains, Qilian Prairie, and Menyuan acres of rapeseed flowers. Each attraction has its own characteristics!
(3). Moderate price
The cost of chartering/carpooling is moderate. For a 5-seater car, for example, the chartered car is about 4,800-5,500. For carpooling, 1,500-1,800 per person is enough. The total ticket price for the whole journey is 1,100 per person, plus accommodation: 240-900 per person (local accommodation prices fluctuate greatly in low and peak seasons), and 500-900 for meals per person. The total cost per person for the whole journey is more than 4,000. That’s enough! Of course, this price is not fixed and may change depending on actual conditions.
(4). Convenient food and accommodation throughout the journey, mature routes, and high cost performance
- The main attractions are as follows:
- Kumbum Temple
Introduction:
Kumbum Monastery is located in Huangzhong County, Xining, with a history of more than 400 years. It is one of the most important monasteries of the Gelug Sect (Yellow Sect) of Tibetan Buddhism and the birthplace of Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Yellow Sect. The temple has magnificent architecture, rich treasures, and a strong religious atmosphere. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Xining and is a national 5A-level attraction.
- Qinghai Lake
Introduction:
Qinghai Lake
It is the largest inland lake in China and the origin of the name of Qinghai Province. The lake area is vast, with a circumference of about 360 kilometers. The lake is vast, blue and ethereal. The lake is surrounded by mountains, and close to the lakeside is the vast grassland. The scenery is spectacular and beautiful, and there are many areas and landscapes for viewing. It is a national 5A-level scenic spot and is the most important scenic spot for visiting Qinghai.
play
Qinghai Lake
You can also go around the lake by only going to one side. If you simply want to see the lake, most tourists will choose the Hunan side, where the grassland scenery is the most beautiful. You can not enter the scenic area, but walk to the lakeside through the local Tibetan pastures to view the lake. You can also enjoy yak riding, horseback riding and other entertainment activities. If you want to go around the lake, you can charter a car starting from Xining and tour in a clockwise direction. This is also the direction that local Tibetans turn around when they go to the Holy Lake.
- Chaka Salt Lake
Introduction:
Chaka Salt Lake is located in
Qinghai Lake
In Chaka Town, Wulan County on the west side,
Qinghai Lake
The Heima River Township in the area is about 100 kilometers away. It is a salt field with more than 3,000 years of history and many tourist attractions.
Qinghai Lake
tourists will come here. Chaka is Mongolian, meaning “salt sea”. The lake area and water depth of Chaka Salt Lake are obviously affected by the Xiang Festival. In the rainy season, the lake area can reach 104 square kilometers, which is equivalent to more than ten times that of West Lake in Hangzhou. In the dry season, the lake area is significantly reduced, making it a 3A-level scenic spot.
4.Zhuoer Mountain
Introduction:
Zhuoer Mountain is a branch of the Qilian Mountains, presenting a hilly grassland scenery, and its own landform belongs to the Danxia landform (called “Zongmuma Glaima” in Tibetan, meaning the beautiful ruddy queen). The exposed parts of the mountain are It is red sandstone, intertwined with green grassland, very beautiful. Coupled with the forests, rapeseed flowers, villages, and county towns on both sides of the mountains, the scenery has a strong sense of hierarchy. It is also a favorite of photographers and is a national 4A-level scenic spot.
- Menyuan Flower Sea
Introduction:
Menyuan County is located in Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. It has the largest rape flower base in Qinghai and is also the main oil production area in the northwest region. Different from the south, July every year is the season when rapeseed flowers bloom here, and the Menyuan Rapeseed Flowers Scenic Area is a national 4A-level scenic spot.
Rapeseed flowers are not uncommon and can be found in many places, but the ones in Menyuan County are completely different from those in the south. Starting from Qingshizui in the west, Yulongtan in the east, Lenglongling on the border with Gansu in the north, and Daban Mountain in the south, Menyuan rapeseed flowers stretch for nearly 100 kilometers. Looking at it, the entire rapeseed field is like a golden sea that cannot be seen at a glance. In the end, against the blue sky, white clouds and snow-capped mountains of the plateau, there is an overwhelming Northwest style.
- Qilian Mountain Grassland
The average altitude of the Qilian Mountains is between 4,000 and 5,000 meters. The long and wide glaciers formed by the snow in the mountains are spectacular. Places with an altitude above 4,000 meters are called the snow line. Above the snow line in the Qilian Mountains, rebellious biological wonders often appear. Among the mountains with light snow, there are mushroom-shaped silkworms called snow mountain meadow plants, precious medicinal materials - alpine snow lotus, and a kind of snow mountain grass that grows under wind-eroded rocks. Therefore, snow lotus, silkworm, and snow mountain grass are collectively known as the “Three Friends of Suihan” on the snow line of Qilian Mountain.
Qilian Mountain Grassland, its representative Damaying Grassland is located in the basin between Yanzhi Mountain and Qilian Mountain. Every year in July and August, the Qilian Mountains, which are connected to the grasslands, are still covered in snow, but the grasslands are vast expanse of blue waves, dotted with horses, cattle, and sheep. In 2005, it was rated as one of the six most beautiful grasslands in China.
- Qinghai Yadan Devil City
Introduction:
Qinghai Haixiyadan Devil City, also known as the Southern Eight Immortals, is located on the northern edge of the Qaidam Basin on the Qingzang Plateau. It is a landform combination consisting of rows of long strips of mounds extending intermittently and depressions and trenches spaced apart. It is called the Yadan landform by geologists.
Among the 17,000 square kilometers of land in Lenghu, Yadan Forest accounts for more than 94%. The Yadan in Qaidam are lake sediments from the late Tertiary and early Quaternary periods 75 million years ago. They were separated from the water body due to uplift due to geological movements. During this period, the salt and sand condensed on the earth’s crust were eroded and sculpted by the westerly wind. They are widely distributed in the northwest of Qaidam and are one of the largest and most typical Yadan landscapes in the world, especially the South Eight Immortals and Yiliping area, covering an area of more than a thousand square kilometers. Because of its strange and grotesque landforms, erratic strong winds, and the mysterious wind noise generated due to the strange terrain, coupled with the fact that the local rocks are rich in iron and the geomagnetic power is strong, the compass often fails, resulting in the inability to identify the direction and getting lost. The world regards it as a devil’s city and a trance formation, which is unique. The Yadan Forest here has a total area of about 21,000 square kilometers and an average altitude of 3,260 meters. It is the largest wind-eroded soil forest group found in China so far.
Regarding the origin of the name Nabaxian Yadan in Qinghai:
The height of Yadanlin ranges from about four or five meters to twenty or thirty meters high, and its length and width range from tens to hundreds of meters. As a whole, some resemble ancient castles, temples, emperors’ tombs, and thousands of military tents; some resemble “whales playing in the sand sea”, “millions of sea lions rising to the sun”, “ten thousand dragons arrayed”… all in various shapes and forms. , very spectacular. From a close distance, they look like a variety of things: some mounds are like warships with full sails about to sail away; some are like roosters stretching their necks and crowing; some are like pavilions in the flowing water of a small bridge. Some of the pavilions resemble horses, camels, elephants, lions, tigers, whales, dragons, birds and other cute animals. Everything gives people a sense of mystery and fantasy.
In the 1950s, eight female geological team members from the south entered here in search of oil resources. They lost their way and died, so there is a place here named “Southern Eight Immortals”. Wind-eroded landforms are a major natural wonder in Qinghai.
- Mogao Grottoes
Mogao Grottoes, also known as Thousand Buddha Caves, are located on the southeast side of Dunhuang City. It was built in the pre-Qin period of the Sixteen Kingdoms, and has gone through the construction of the Sixteen Kingdoms, Northern Dynasties, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Xixia, Yuan and other dynasties. It has formed a huge scale, with 735 caves, 45,000 square meters of murals, and mud paintings. With 2,415 colorful sculptures, it is the largest and richest Buddhist art site in the world. In 1961, the Mogao Grottoes were announced by the State Council of the People’s Republic of China as one of the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units. In 1987, the Mogao Grottoes were listed as a world cultural heritage. The Mogao Grottoes, together with the Yungang Grottoes in Datong, Shanxi, the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan, and the Maijishan Grottoes in Tianshui, Gansu, are known as the four major grottoes in China.
The Mogao Grottoes are a world-famous Buddhist art destination. Here you can appreciate the large-scale grottoes and mural art with rich content, and learn about the thousands of years of development history of Buddhism in Dunhuang through explanations and film shows. It is the first choice place for tourists to visit Dunhuang.
- Mingsha Mountain-Crescent Moon Spring
Mingsha Mountain is located at the northern foot of Shaming Mountain, 6 kilometers south of Dunhuang City. It is named after the sound of sand moving. In ancient times, it was called “Shajiao Mountain” and “Shensha Mountain”. In deserts or dunes, due to the influence of various climatic and geographical factors, fine sand grains, mainly quartz, are vibrated by the wind, causing the sand to slide or move with each other. Many sand grains rotate in the airflow, and the surface is hollow, causing “diabolo” The place where the buzzing sound occurs is called the humming sand field.
The “Mingsha Mountain-Crescent Spring” scenic spot is a national 5A-level scenic spot, located about 5 kilometers south of Dunhuang City. Come here to enjoy the wonders of yellow sand and clear springs, climb Mingsha Mountain, and ride a bicycle. Ride a camel and experience the extraordinary scenery of the northwest desert. The best time to visit the scenic spot is in the afternoon, so that you can avoid the scorching heat in the desert at noon, and when the sun sets, you can climb to the top of the mountain to look at the distant sand sea and the Crescent Moon Spring at the foot of the mountain.
The mountain body of Mingsha Mountain is made of quicksand. From a distance, the undulating sand dunes are spectacular. When tourists slide down from the top of the mountain, they will hear a thumping sound, like gongs and drums, which is frightening and exciting, hence the name Mingsha Mountain. Crescent Moon Spring is located at the foot of Mingsha Mountain and is surrounded by sand dunes. Due to the terrain, the sand does not move down the mountain when the wind blows, but flows up the mountain, so Crescent Moon Spring will never be buried by sand.
Enjoy the scenery along the way
(There are too many scenery, so you can ignore them):
Enjoy the scenery along the way
(There are too many scenery, so you can ignore them):
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