One early morning in early September, in the Genhe wetlands of Erguna, the first frost of that autumn fell.
Autumn in Hulunbuir always comes a little earlier than anywhere else.
In September of that year, reading this place name all the way north, the best season of the grassland has been missed, which is completely expected, unexpectedly, but it is to catch the most beautiful autumn color of Daxing'anling.
We all went to Hailar
Hailar, the blue sky is like a wash, and the sunlight is transparent like a string of glass wind chimes.
The city on the steppe has an exceptionally clear view that is not available elsewhere. In the downtown streets, a boy leans on the mouth of the underground passage and sings to himself, not an ancient Mongolian song, but a popular love song, the song with a faint sadness, drowned in the noisy crowd.
That was the first impression That Hulunbuir gave me.
I remember reading a book called "We All Go to Hailar" many years ago, I forgot what the content was, and only wrote down the place name "Hailar", until later I learned that Hailar was the seat of Hulunbuir City.
It was in those years that Hulunbuir became more and more famous. China National Geographic's "Beauty Pageant China" selects this place as the most beautiful grassland in China, but some people say that the grasslands of Hulunbuir are desertification, and the situation has long been much worse than before.
I bought a long-awaited Hailar ice cream and boarded the shuttle bus to Erguna. Hailar was just a stopover for me.
White dew is frost
In many places in Hulunbuir, in addition to the "scientific name" on the map, there is another commonly used local "nickname", Erguna, which among the local population prefers to be called Labudarin.
There are few streets in Labudarin, ask the lady of the hotel where the scenery is better——— I know she will definitely recommend the Genhe Wetland Scenic Area to me——— this river valley, known as the "first wetland in Asia", is the destination of almost all tourists who come to Erguna. "We're in a small place here, and you go around." The hostess smiled and pointed west.
20 minute walk to the front of the scenic area. Travelers say that the summit is the best view over the Wetlands of the Root River.
It was getting late, and a long pine forest at the door filtered out the hustle and bustle of the mountain, and his footsteps became clearer and clearer. After walking a long road, a corner of the wetland suddenly flashed on the right, and a bend of water was enough to amaze people.
Finally at the top of the mountain, the golden sunset is about to burn out, and the color of the sky is deepening every moment. Taking advantage of the fact that it was not completely dark, he hurried to the side facing the wetland, and the Genhe wetland was completely presented in front of him.
The autumn color was not thick, and the lush green in the river valley had just begun to look a little mottled, and at this moment, it had solidified into a deep twilight. The river channel that turns thousands of times is embedded in it, but the surface of the water is shiny, and the blisters are like shining eyes in the night.
It wasn't until the light was so dark that I couldn't see anything clearly, and I didn't want to go down the mountain. Early the next morning, I went to the mountains again. The railings of the boardwalk and the yellowed leaves of the birch forest on both sides were covered with a layer of white frost.
A green-skinned train bound for late autumn
For people who love to travel, the green-skinned train has always been a lingering complex. The closed and flashing express train belongs to those who are for the purpose, and the green car is the experience of the process.
Mordauga station is too small to look like a station, an iron fence gate, looking at it and thinking it is a school or a factory, a hut on the side of the door is a waiting room, and the ticket window is in the waiting room. There are only two trains a day——— from Hailar to here, and from here to Hailar, the station is only open during this time.
Check in the tickets, and the autumn evening sun will make the platform golden. The train has only four carriages, genhe is the fourth station, the fare is 7 yuan, it takes 3 hours to walk.
There was no air conditioning on the green car, and the cabin was very hot and stuffy, until it was cooled down after driving, and the fresh breath of the forest came from the open windows.
The train has been passing through the forest, winding around the mountains, one will be dense woods, the other will be a continuous hillside. The mountains are full of the colors of late autumn, and dusk is the most poetic moment that can make the forest. The sunset slowly sets in the forest, the twilight condenses into a lilac in the mountains, and the slow journey is as long as a forgotten time.
Slowly, all the colors turned into a low night. The car stopped in De'Erbu, there were not many people along the way, and finally I saw the cooking smoke here, and it was time for dinner.
It was already night when I came to the Root River, and it was a place surrounded by mountains, full of stars, and a meteor streaked through the night sky.
The End of the World and a Cold Wonderland
The green-skinned train from The Root River to Mangui, which runs through the forest, takes 4 and a half hours. Along the way, many small stations pass by, there are no platforms, surrounded by mountains and forests, and the place where the car stops is the station.
When I got out of the car, the sky was thick with dark clouds, and occasional lightning flashed by, bright red, like an aurora.
The next stop is Mohe River. It's hard not for anyone who is going to go to the Arctic Village not to think of the Aurora, but it is said that this event is almost a legend.
Mangui is a small town born of forestry, and most of the residents are employees of the Forestry Bureau. At night, the town is a world of different shades of gray, like a scene from a black-and-white movie.
It rained that night, and the town washed away by the rain had a kind of desolation at the end of the world.
The next morning, the shuttle bus to Mohe was not yet ready to depart, and it was heading in the direction of last night's lightning. I saw a large shadow in front of me in the distance, and I always thought it was fog, but when I got closer, I found that it was actually a mountain.
The further north you go, the stronger the autumn mood becomes. Yellow, green, red, different kinds of trees bloom in different colors in the autumn wind, dyeing the peaks brilliantly. Colorful peaks loom in the morning fog that is reflected in the light red by the sun, and in the fog, a corner of the blue sky is accidentally lifted, as if it is a momentary awakening in a dream, and then continue to indulge in the dream. The clear water of the river imprints all this, so there is a dream world in the mountains and forests. "Wonderland", the word flashed directly in my head.
Bumpy ride, when we reached the Arctic Village, it was another evening, and the clouds of fire filled the sky with a luxurious red.