As the hottest destination in China in 2020, the Great Northwest has become a self-driving mecca.
On this trip to the Great Northwest, we did the opposite, did not go to the hottest Qinggan Grand Ring Road, but found another way to stop and go in the Tengger Desert in Ningxia, Gansu and Inner Mongolia.
Because it is a motorhome self-driving, when choosing a destination, we focus on one point: the motorhome can drive into the scenic spot.
6 days of caravan tour, our footprints across Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia three provinces, summed up in one sentence is:
"The Great Wall Desert of the Yellow River, the ancient city of Danxia."
Quick overview of the itinerary
D1
Yongtai Ancient City was arranged because I wanted to experience its cultural history up close, and Yongtai Ancient City happened to be on the way from Lanzhou to Ningxia. Friends who choose the Ningxia route in Gansu province should not miss it.
D2
D3
Because there are 5 Moroccan-style Internet celebrity homestays in Yellow River Suji, it has been super popular in recent years.
Choosing it as a destination, the initial consideration was to stop halfway, but this less hopeful destination gave us a huge surprise (as detailed in the main text of the travelogue later), which also led to an extra day.
D4
The Tengger Desert is the farthest destination of our trip, and it is also what Xiaoxian is most looking forward to (as a native of Guizhou, she has a strong desert complex).
Although Ningxia Zhongwei City is close to the Tengger Desert, because it is close to Zhongwei Airport, a large piece of desert near Zhongwei cannot fly drones.
Fortunately, we accidentally hit and found a beautiful desert in the left banner of the Alxa League near the center guard, not only to release the drone, but also to drive the car in (the specific address is detailed in the text of the travelogue below).
D5
Zhongwei Highway 66 is the only way to the North Long Beach, the first ancient village of the Yellow River, and it is also a super hot Internet celebrity punch card. A casual shot is a proper blockbuster.
D6
Bitter water Danxia is our last stop to return the car back to Lanzhou, the magic of bitter water Danxia is that there is a rare watermark Danxia, not only can you release the drone at will, but also drive the car in.
One. A vanished military stronghold
Keywords: ancient city, shepherd
Yongtai Ancient City is about 130 kilometers away from Lanzhou Airport, 3 hours by car.
As a military town for the Ming Dynasty to defend against foreign enemies, it has long since declined, and only a few dozen families are left living in a dilapidated city.
A ruined stage in the ancient city
In the ancient city, we met Uncle Li and his wife, who made a living by shepherding sheep, and Uncle Li very warmly invited us to his house. At Uncle Grandpa's house, we had our first close encounter with the lambs and felt the heat of the north.
Uncle Li who drove the sheep into the pen
Uncle Da said that the residents of the ancient city were all descendants of the Ming Garrison. One of the distinguishing characteristics of them is their unity. The people in the ancient city, no matter who they are, have been bullied by outsiders, and the rest of the city will certainly help.
I can't help but sigh that although the war is no longer over, the spirit of unity brought about by the war is still shining.
Climb the hot kang
Because it was the afternoon, we decided to stay next to the ancient city for one night, and the next morning we also let the caravan and the ancient city have a group photo of the ancient and modern.
On the first night of the Northwest motorhome tour, we cooked a meal of dumplings in a motorhome on the edge of the ancient city. Decorated with small wildflowers picked on the road, it is full of color and fragrance.
Motorhomes and ancient cities
Practical Tips:
1. Because we are going to broadcast live on the motorhome, the signal at the parking spot is very demanding. Some guides say that there is no signal in the ancient city before going. After going to the actual measurement, there are several signal towers near the ancient city of Yongtai, in the periphery of the ancient city, the mobile 4G signal is full, and the signal of Unicom can support live broadcasting. The signal inside the city was poor.
2. A major attraction of Yongtai Ancient City is Mugui, if you want to pose from various angles, the herders will collect money from you (100 yuan). Don't want to spend money, you can use a drone to rub the shooting.
Two. A hideaway by the Yellow River
Keywords: Great Wall, Yellow River, pasture, flock
In recent years, The Yellow River Suji has become famous as a popular attraction in Ningxia Zhongwei (actually 5 Internet celebrity homestays), and has been sought after online because it resembles Morocco.
Motorhomes driving on the Chinese version of Route 66
In fact, the prototype of the Yellow River Suji is the North Long Beach Village, which has the first village of the Yellow River in Ningxia. In addition to the Yellow River Suji Homestay, the local government and tourism companies have built the ruins of the Ancient Great Wall of Zhongwei and the Zhongwei No. 66 Net Red Highway.
Ruins of the Ancient Great Wall of Zhongwei
When I first arrived at the Yellow River Suji, I didn't have much good feelings. It wasn't until, by chance, that we parked our motorhome next to the only herdsman's house in the village.
The herdsman, lao Tuo, raised more than a hundred sheep in Su. I met him because I was walking around the village with Xiao Xian, and I accidentally found a building that was different from the homestay, and when I walked in, I found that it was the home of a herdsman.
Old Tuojia
Wake up in the morning and push the car door open, as if you are in a paradise. The moment you see sheep foraging around the car and cute little puppies, the only thing you want to do is frantically press the shutter.
Foraging with sheep in the pasture is not too much of an experience.
There are also 2 camels in the pasture of the old Tuo family, and the old Tuo said that their family's pasture has been on Hunan Satellite TV.
1. The price of Yellow River Suji Homestay is comparable to that of a five-star hotel. Super recommended to stop at the door of the old Tuo's house, wake up in the morning, you will sigh, the pastoral life is so beautiful.
2. Navigate to Suji Homestay, the last 2 kilometers or so, the navigation will let you turn left and walk on the path with small trees on both sides. At this time, don't listen to the navigation (listening to your caravan will definitely be blown by the branches on both sides of the caravan company can not recognize), along the straight road all the way, and eventually will end up on the same road. Don't ask me where this road is, you will know it naturally.
3. Because of its remote location, the Yellow River Suji eats relatively little, and there is only one shop at the entrance of the village. It tastes good and the price is a bit on the expensive side (80 or more per capita), so if you want to stay longer, you can reserve some food in advance.
The Great Wall and the Yellow River next to the Yellow River
Three. Breathtakingly beautiful Tengri
Ningxia Zhongwei City, the most famous is the Shapotou Scenic Area. Although it is also part of the Tengger Desert, motorhomes cannot drive in, so we can only look for the nearby wild desert.
A friend said that there is a wild desert near the East Lake Grassland that is more beautiful, and we couldn't help but be a little disappointed after we drove the caravan in a hurry. First, because it is a no-fly zone, it is impossible to release drones. Second, the desert on the side of the road has grass and no beautiful sand dunes.
Just as the sunset was setting, Xiao Xian stood on the roof of the car and cosplayed a little prince
After filming the blockbuster, the amount of fuel in the car was alarmed, considering that it was necessary to warm up at night and rush to the road tomorrow, so it was decided to refuel the car first, and then slowly look for beautiful sand dunes.
Probably sincerely, just as we were following the navigation to the nearest gas station, we saw the sand dunes of our dreams. In the light of the setting sun, everywhere is a charming golden yellow, breathtakingly beautiful.
The Tengger Desert at sunset
After driving closer, what surprised us even more was that the entrance to the desert was next to the gas station (the practical tips below are marked on the map), and this is not a no-fly zone at the airport, not only can drones be released, but also free.
The next morning, we enjoyed the beautiful desert sunrise in our motorhome and went to the dunes to take a big picture of our choice.
1. The desert in the picture is next to the Petronas Petrol gas station in the picture below. It is worth mentioning that the PetroChina gas station in the picture is privately owned, and the oil price is particularly cheap. A liter of diesel is a little more than four pieces.
2. The nearest town is called Tengger Eris Town (5 kilometers), you can eat to the town, there is a Jingyuan old Li lamb, burst praise.
3. Driving a caravan with the truck navigation, from the Yellow River Suji to the Tengger Desert provincial highway 218 road, navigation prompt in front of the height limit of 2.8 meters, let us detour several kilometers of shell pit road, really upside down to doubt life. On the way back, I found that I had been pitted. The 2.8-meter height limit pole on Provincial Highway 218 has long been removed and does not need to be detoured at all.
Tengger Desert
Four. China version of Route 66
The road to Ningxia Zhongwei North Long Beach Village is called China's version of Route 66 because it resembles Route 66 in the United States. As a supporting attraction of the Yellow River Suji, it has been very popular in recent years.
We were going to North Long Beach Village, but we were delayed in taking pictures in the desert, and when we arrived at Route 66, it was close to 5 p.m.
Although there is a caravan, you can not consider the accommodation problem, but because the North Long Beach Village has not been connected to the network, and the friends with us will broadcast live the next morning, there is no signal, so they have to take pictures and turn back the same way.
1. The canyon section of Zhongwei No. 66 Net Red Highway is particularly beautiful, super suitable for drone follow-up shooting. There are many people shooting in the afternoon, so pay attention to reserving shooting time.
2. The scenery along the Yellow River along the way is also particularly beautiful, and the No. 66 net red highway and North Long Beach Village can be completely left for a full day to shoot.
3. If there are many people, you can consider staying overnight in North Long Beach to feel the quaint atmosphere of the original village next to the Yellow River.
Five. Hidden in the watermark Danxia in Lanzhou
In bitter water town, which is an hour's drive from Lanzhou Airport, there is a watermark Danxia. At present, it is in an undeveloped state, and Jingmei has no one.
We parked our motorhome next to a kindergarten next to the National Highway in Bitterwater. Early in the morning, I drove into Danxia and had a close contact with the beautiful Danxia.
There are repaired dirt roads in the bitter water, and there is no pressure for motorhomes to drive in. Because we had to return the car at 10 o'clock, we hurried in and turned back the same way. If you want to go, it is recommended to reserve more time. Inside the canyon section, it's worth exploring deeper.
1. Bitter Water Danxia is near the national highway, navigation search Bitter Water Danxia self-driving camp can be reached. Navigation will lead you to a reservoir, along the reservoir's path all the way to the canyon of Danxiali.
2. Bitter water Danxia is very large, you can freely fly drones, friends who like Danxia, you can reserve more time. It is not clear about the road, you can use a drone to explore the way first, this time we found that there is a road leading to the depths of the canyon through the drone.
Six. The most beautiful scenery on the road
Motorhome self-driving tour, the most favorite is that you can go with the car. Push open the window to see the most beautiful scenery, and when you encounter a happy place, stay a little longer.
The view from the window is like an oil painting
This time the Northwest motorhome was self-driving, on the way back, we stopped with the road, 4 hours away, walked for 8 hours. Pick a few wonderful pictures and share them with you:
Hui children lie on the car door and look curiously
Painting-like northwest idyllic scenery
Volcanic landforms outside the cockpit
Summary of the journey
The Northwest Motorhome Tour was my second motorhome trip with Xiao Xian. Compared with the first trip to Ulan Butong, this time the Northwest Motorhome is farther away and the scenery is more diverse. The experience is also richer.
We unlocked new motorhome skills, driving a C-type motorhome for the first time, cooking dumplings in a motorhome for the first time, adding water to a motorhome for the first time, broadcasting live in a motorhome for the first time, and entertaining friends we made on the road in a motorhome for the first time.
If you ask us how we can start a new life, our answer is: rent a motorhome and leave immediately