Qinghai Travel Notes (Part 2) - Seeing Qinghai Lake for the first time and exploring Chaka Salt Lake

On the morning of the third day, we originally planned to go to Xianmi National Forest Park, the largest forest park in Qinghai Province, but we navigated to the location but could not find the entrance. After asking the locals, they said they were "deceived by Baidu Maps" (original words). There used to be an entrance to the forest park here, but it has been closed and driving is no longer allowed to visit. There are regrets in the journey. Looking from a distance, the forest should be beautiful, but I can only miss it this time.

So, we decided to go to the Heihe Grand Canyon recommended by the locals. The Heihe River is the "Mother River of the Hexi Corridor", and the Heihe Grand Canyon is an undeveloped primitive scenic spot, hundreds of kilometers long, so we almost had no destination along the way. Carrying the S204 and walking along the Heihe River, the scenery on the road is still picturesque. I raised my camera countless times, but I couldn't capture the beauty in front of me. After passing the sign of "Black River Grand Canyon", the peaks on both sides began to become steeper and the river water became more rapid. After driving for a while, the water surface opened up, so I decided to get off the car to enjoy the scenery and continue the children's water rafting activities by the Black River. After Watong Shoes successfully performed the triple float, the "Jingwei Sea Reclamation" activity was staged again. Even Niwa's father also joined in, looking for beautiful stones to throw into the clear river... He walked around like this all morning, Feel free to blend into the natural pictures all over the mountains and plains, with no tickets and no boundaries.

After lunch, we headed straight to Gangcha and the beautiful Qinghai Lake. Today is the day with the highest altitude on the journey. The highest Dadongshu Mountain Pass is 4,120 meters above sea level (the Osaka Mountain Pass we passed on the first day and the Jingyanling Pass we passed on the second day are both over 3,700 meters above sea level). Along the way, I quoted Niwa’s father: There are still many sheep and sheep, many flowers, and of course cows and cows...

Sheep and cattle have met and passed us many times on the road. On the towering green hillside in the distance, the densely packed sheep like small white ants are even more amazing. On the river beach, there are seemingly The small flowers that bloom inadvertently also attract us to stop when we are on our way...

Along the way, the blue sky and white clouds turned into dark clouds, and the rain fell on the mountains and rivers, turning into picturesque landscape spirits.

Considering that it was dark and late here and the sun wouldn’t set until after 8 o’clock, we decided to rush to Fairy Bay in the evening. Today's excitement was thought to be over. It was just a tourist attraction to visit, but in the end it gave us the biggest surprise of the day. Walking along the long plank road, passing through a large wetland, passing by clusters of small flowers, the lake surface that can't be seen at the edge suddenly jumped into the eyes. The calm mirror-like water surface reflected the cloud pattern in the sky. In the same color of the sky, the occasional flying waterbirds dotted the sky like elves. The golden sunset passes through the thick clouds, drawing the boundary between water and sky. Water, sky, clouds, sunset, water plants, birds, small flowers, prayer flags...

I saw Qinghai Lake for the first time in the evening. In the cool wind and light rain, I was amazed during the journey.

Fuqi City is said to have been built by Fuliancao, King of Tuyuhun in the Northern Wei Dynasty. It has a history of more than 1,500 years. His son Kua Lu established the first feudal kingdom in Qinghai, the Tuyuhun Kingdom. The ruins of Fuqi City are a completely undeveloped attraction and cannot be found on the navigation system. We only know that it is located in Tiebujia Village, Shinaihai Township. Anyway, there are scenery everywhere. With the mentality of giving it a try, we set off to Tiebujia Village on the navigation system.

 

The Huanhu West Road we pass through really has the most beautiful lakeside scenery. The endless lake surface is sometimes sea blue and sometimes lake blue. Against the blue sky and white clouds, it is as wide and boundless as the sea, and as bright and quiet as a mirror. The surrounding grasslands, cattle Sheep and horses, standing by the Qinghai Lake where the breeze blows, seem to stop time.

 

After swimming around the lake, we continued to search for the ruins of the ancient city. When we arrived at our destination, Tiebojia Village, we could not find any trace of it in the surrounding fields. Fortunately, two locals passed by and quickly inquired. The enthusiastic fellow pointed to a mound in front of us, and we discovered that the undulating mound was actually square and was clearly an ancient city wall. Standing on the ruins of the ancient city and looking around, the surroundings have a broad view. When the city was built here, I think about how powerful the Tuyuhun Dynasty was back then. Today's ancient royal city is overgrown with weeds and a world of small mosquitoes, but the outline of the ancient city is still very complete, and the positions of the city gate and the small square city are clearly identifiable. This mute soil has experienced thousands of years of wind and rain, and finally left behind stories of the years.

 

 

 

 

Afternoon destination, Chaka. Continue along the way with blue sky, white clouds, green grass, cattle and sheep, and arrive at Chaka Salt Lake in the evening, the second popular attraction on this trip. Take the little train that children love and drive all the way to the dock deep in the salt lake, and then launch into the water. This is a paradise for photography lovers, with beautiful red dresses and red scarves everywhere fluttering on the white lake. Unexpectedly, the water level was high just after summer, and the shoe covers prepared in advance were completely filled with water. I had to take off my shoes and socks and drag the water-filled shoe covers forward (without the shoe covers, it would be really painful). In the end, in order to cooperate with the photographer, Niwa's mother also tried her best. She took off her shoe covers and performed difficult moves on the lake where her feet were pricked. Unfortunately, the wind is strong today, the mirror surface is wrinkled, and the reflection is blurred.

 

As the sun sets, the temperature drops immediately. We, who are greedy for the sunset, walk all the way back. There is something very moving about the beautiful sunset that we rarely see online.

 

 

 

 

(To be continued)