Daocheng Aden Travel Notes 06: Daocheng Mansion

Daocheng, a small county town. The scale is roughly equivalent to the location of towns in the mainland, and in developed areas, it is roughly equivalent to a village.

Although the county is small, it is quite neat and clean. This is the only way to go to Aden. In the description of James Hilton's "Lost Horizon", Daocheng Mansion (originally called "Daocheng Mansion") is the only wharf for the monks and laymen living in Shangri-La to communicate with the outside world through caravans. . The monks in Shangri-La exchange gold for the goods brought by the caravan. As long as the temple needs it, the caravan can get them everything, even the most comfortable bathtubs in the world imported from Europe and the United States. Due to the existence of the caravan, they go through hardships and travel between Daocheng and Shangri-La several times a year, allowing the monks to maintain a decent life, elegant taste, and be aware of everything happening in the outside world. Although the European and American newspapers and periodicals they read were probably from a year or even two years ago.

On the fifth day, we had free time in Daocheng Prefecture.

Suddenly there is an extra day, and I don’t know how to arrange it. Some group members are planning to suggest that they simply leave for Xinduqiao one day earlier so that they can go home one day earlier. I think this day's free activities seem to be more meaningful for the so-called "tourism" that is always tight. The reason why we travel is to get rid of the daily busy work and life patterns, give ourselves a holiday, and enjoy the beauty of travel easily, and "slow leisurely" should be an indispensable element of travel.

To be honest, I am a little worried that when most people think that this day's free arrangement can be cancelled, the leader of the team, Little Deer Girl, may "give in" to the will of most people. Especially in China's cultural environment, the majority's brutal interference with the will of the minority has always been justified, euphemistically called "the minority obeys the majority." For example, the absolute ban on smoking at Beijing Capital Airport and the absolute ban on smoking on high-speed trains are the rape of the will of the minority by the majority, and almost everyone thinks there is nothing wrong with this. In Japan, where smoking control is much stricter than in China, trains on the Shinkansen have two smoking carriages for smokers. I have personally experienced it and feel that this is the majority's respect for the will of the minority. Therefore, when a group friend talked about this in private, I was indeed a little worried and selfish, so I couldn't help but express my wish to enjoy this free day. The group members were very tolerant. After listening to what I said, they made it clear that they would not mention this matter to Xiao Zhangmei, so I felt relieved. This heart destined to be lazy is planning how to waste this day...

Early in the morning, his roommate Ajun rode a rented electric scooter and went around the county town. And I have always been used to going to bed late and getting up late. When Ajun came back to the room shivering from the cold, I was still sleeping in the warm bed. Arjun was probably too cold, so he got into the bed without taking off any clothes and buried his head deeply in it. Except for the trembling quilt, I couldn't hear any sound from Arjun. Alas, this unlucky boy.

I lazily got up, went to the front desk to get the breakfast prepared by the little deer girl for us - a box of yogurt and two pieces of cake, and then went to get the battery car. Arjun rented the battery car for me. I only needed to provide my mobile phone number to pick up the car. The proprietress checked the number hastily, not sure if she really heard the long series of numbers, and then gave me a battery car. I had never ridden a battery-operated bicycle before, so I asked the proprietress to tell me the "throttle" (should it be called a gas pedal or an electric pedal?) and the brake, and then I rode out of the county.

Banghe River, right on the edge of the county seat, just outside the county seat. The boxwoods, river valleys, Tibetan villages, yaks, and white pagodas beside the river blend seamlessly with the snow-capped mountains and blue sky and white clouds in the distance, creating a picturesque pastoral scenery. The sun was already warm in the morning, and the breeze was blowing on my face. It was very pleasant to ride a battery car around aimlessly in various villages. When you meet a Tibetan, you can stop and say hello and say "Tashi Delek", and you will get friendly responses and prayers.

Since it was already dusk when we arrived at the red grassland a few days ago, the light was too dark to see the true nature of the red grassland, so we came here again today. The red grass lay lazily beside S216 as usual. The bright and even dazzling sunlight shone on it, and it finally fully revealed its original appearance. Although I could see clearly at this time, I still couldn't help but be disappointed. Compared with the surrounding pastoral scenery, the red grassland is only a very small part of it, and it is not very eye-catching. It charges 5 yuan to park a battery-powered car on the roadside. This is the only place that charges a parking fee during the day. The Tibetan child continued to hold my leg and refused to let me go, and he had to give me money. So just like that day, I took a few photos and left here as if running away.

My disdain for the red grassland aroused the public indignation of some group members, who all said that the beauty of the red grassland can be learned from the sun and the moon. Photography master Zhang Sheng sent me a picture of a red grass field. He held the camera vertically and moved the camera to continuously take pictures. Finally, he performed splicing, synthesis and post-processing on the computer to obtain a panoramic photo that cannot be captured with any camera at once. :

Longgu Black Sea Scenic Area is not far from Daocheng County. After leaving Red Grassland, I looked for the road signs. After passing two Tibetan villages, we entered the alpine grassland. Without cement pavement (cement pavement here has been paved in every village), battery cars drive along the bumpy road in the open grassland, and it is unclear where the road leads at a glance. When the switch is turned, the battery level is low. Carefully identify the road ahead. The road to the Black Sea is winding and winding, as if you are going to climb over the mountain ridge in front of you. Thinking that I still have to rely on this battery car to go back, but I can't use up all the power, and then push the car and walk dozens of kilometers back to the county town, I have to give up and stop moving forward.

Back in the county town, I met several group members from Shanghai at the "Mage Noodle House". They set off early in the morning and rented a car to go to Xingyicuo near Haizi Mountain. This is a place I don’t know, and the reason is because I never like reading guides. Several group members were very excited and had not yet recovered from Xing Yicuo's beauty. They showed me the photos and videos they took. Xingyituo looked like a smaller Namtso. The snow-capped mountains in the distance were like Nyenchen Tanglha, reflected in the green lake nearby.

Regret is part of traveling, and I have a profound understanding of it at this moment. Whether it is the passing by Xingyicuo this time or the close contact with Namtso that year, they are all in the past, all experiences, and both physical and mental wandering. I didn't have the opportunity to see Xingyicuo's beauty, so I downloaded two pictures from the Internet as a kind of commemoration of my regret. As for the group members who have been to Xingyicuo on this day, they probably won’t regret staying in Daocheng for this wonderful day.

Note: The above two pictures are from the Internet

Time, like water beside a river, flows slowly in the open and clean plateau. The sun sets in the west, the waves are shining in the river, and the mountains in the distance are empty. The streets in the city and the highways outside the city have few vehicles and fewer pedestrians. A dozen of our group members went to a wild mushroom hotpot restaurant recommended by Xiaozhangmei, and had a delicious meal. This is the most luxurious meal I have eaten since I came to the plateau, and it is also the most delicious meal. Such a hot pot meal, which usually costs three to four hundred yuan in the city, costs 40 yuan per person in Daocheng, which has not yet been polluted by commercialization (only 280 yuan per table).

Daocheng at night is completely different from Daocheng during the day, and is quite charming. In the small central square, a group of people gathered to perform Tibetan Guozhuang dance, dancing to the music coming from the inferior speakers. The surrounding hotels and buildings were lit up with kitschy neon lights, just like the oily-haired and pink-faced singer, exuding a strong aura of makeup. This is a style that has nothing to do with the plateau, or even a completely opposite style, completely covering up the noble character of Daocheng Yading. Only the clear moon in the sky still maintains the coldness that belongs here, spreading light like water in this cold place without hesitation...