In 2007, the Spring Festival was the first time to Ejina Banner, flying from Beijing to Yinchuan, taking the car for more than four hours, arriving at the Alxa League Zuoqi, resting overnight in the hotel, taking passenger transport for about eight hours the next morning, and finally arrived at Ejin Naqi Dalai Hubu Town.
At that time, the tallest building in the town was five stories high, and there were few, and the rest were all bungalows, many dirt roads, and all the sand was fluttering under one foot. Go to the store to buy things, things look old and cheap, but the price is not low. Scattered eggplants, tomatoes, all of which seem to have been put on for half a month. There are very few pedestrians on the road, the streets are empty, the wind blows every day for seven or eight days of the holiday, the wind is over, the wind is blowing all day long, most of the daily meals at home are noodles, potatoes and all kinds of meat, which makes me, who grew up in the Hebei Plain and likes vegetables, very uncomfortable.
In 2010, Ejina Banner officially opened to passenger trains, starting from Hohhot, and the journey time varies from 17 to 19 hours, yes, due to the wind and sand and weather, the speed of the journey behind the train is uncertain (it has been stable for about fifteen hours now). Although it was trained, I was really afraid to go to Ejin for the New Year in those years, which was too far away.
In recent years, the in-laws and mother-in-law are older, we return to Ejin every year for the New Year, basically self-driving, driving from Beijing to Baotou for ten hours, and driving for ten hours the next day. If our energy allows, we will drive to Bayannur and drive for eight hours the next day, which is more relaxed. No wonder people say that the G7 highway is the loneliest road, the next seven or eight hundred kilometers of road, most of the time on a car, non-stop driving, walking people lonely and desperate. All along the way is the endless Gobi, sand and desert, niece sent photos to colleagues, everyone exclaimed, have you arrived at Mars?
But in spite of this, I was both desperate for the distant journey to Ejin, but I had an inexplicable expectation of it, a lonely and monotonous journey along the way, often excited by seeing large flocks of sheep and cattle, and the occasional camel herd, the vast Gobi, the unique desert, and the barren red soil were a different kind of scenery for me.
Shoot yourself without retouching
The most beautiful season in Ejina is autumn, but my daughter-in-law, a foreign daughter-in-law, has only seen the winter of Ejinna, and there is no trace of cloud amber blue sky, as if it is within reach. The desolate and stubborn poplar stood so quietly, standing under the hot sun, in the wind and sand, full of traces of time. Seeing the black city, which is increasingly eroded by the wind and sand, the mottled shadow, I think that once this place was also a fertile meadow, here was also a number of shops and taverns, there were also horses to rest, and now there is only this desolate stupa, and a sandy mess.
Black City
The ruins of Heichengzi were internally subordinate to the Western Xia
The large reeds of the Juyan Sea, the thick ice layer in winter, are particularly beautiful in the sunset. There is also the desert, which is endless, and it is the favorite place for me and my children. I gradually like to love here, not only because there are my relatives here, but also because of this land, she let me have the privilege of appreciating, different from the southern green scenery, the poplar forest that has stood for a thousand years, the red willow that has rooted in the desert vitality, the fine and stretching yellow sand, but also let me feel the inheritance of life from generation to generation in such a desolate and harsh sandstorm environment!
Now because of this epidemic, this border town is widely known for a while, and I believe that I also wish that the kind, simple and tenacious people of Ejin will safely survive this dark period and usher in happiness and light!