2018 Xinjiang-Gansu Self-Drive Trip Day 34: Xinjiang Enters Gansu, Viewing Sunset at the Singing Sands Mountain

Day 34 (October 11, 2018): Xinjiang Hami City – Xingxingxia – Gansu Dunhuang 440km

In the morning, we set off from Hami with a simple but delicious bowl of sour pickle noodles, embarking on our destination for the day: Gansu Dunhuang. The departure was under bright sunshine, and by the time we were off the city, we bought two Hami melons to keep in the car.

We boarded the G30 Beijing-Zhuhai Expressway, and the sides of the road were vast. We were puzzled as to where all the Hami melons came from.

After passing the Yanqun Toll Station, vast areas of wind farms stretched across the desert.

As the highway began to wind through a patch of sparse mountains, we quickly ascended into Xingxingxia, a famous landmark in Xinjiang bordering Gansu. Xingxingxia is not a gorge, but an, a dry valley formed by wind erosion, which has been a vital transportation route between Central China and the Western Regions for centuries. It is known as the ‘First Throat Town’ of Xinjiang and Gansu, and it marks the boundary between two distinct cultural styles. For Xinjiang people, Xingxingxia is a ‘wall’, crossing which one is considered to have left Xinjiang.

After Xingxingxia service area, we arrived in Gansu.

Shortly after entering Gansu, we left the G30 Beijing-Zhuhai Expressway from the Liu Yuan toll station, and after passing through the Guazhou County Liu Yuan Public Security Checkpoint, we headed towards Dunhuang on the 215 National Highway.

At noon, we found a roadside restaurant in a bustling town called Quanzhiukou and enjoyed a delicious meal of stir-fried mutton with noodles.

Around 2 p.m., we arrived in Dunhuang City. This is my third time visiting Dunhuang, which were previously in 2004 and 2012, but this is the first time I’ve self-drove to Dunhuang. Life is always unpredictable, and I never thought I would come to this remote place three times, and perhaps I will come again in the future. We drove straight to the Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Lake Scenic Area.

We bought sand shoes at the entrance of the scenic area and eagerly bought tickets to enter.

Upon entering the scenic area, Mingsha Mountain came into view. It has always been quiet, pure, and elegantly curved.

There were already many camel caravans accompanying the melodious camel bells towards Mingsha Mountain. We headed straight to the camel riding stalls and bought tickets to wait.

Several hundred camels gathered in this place every day, and they never stopped going back and forth between Mingsha Mountain and here.

Finally, it was our turn. Under the arrangement of the camel owners, we respectively climbed onto the camels, Zhu Jie took the lead, Zhang Jie followed, Liang Ge third, and I was at the rear. We began our journey to Mingsha Mountain.

After we came out, our small camel team followed the leading camels, and the following camels connected with our team, forming a long-distance camel train. Seeing it from afar, it stretched endlessly. Although it was my third time riding a camel on the same route, under Mingsha Mountain and the edge of the desert, riding a camel gave me a special sense of excitement for the first time. The desert, sand dunes, camels, camel bells, camel drivers – this is a visually stunning scene.

The camel team returned after reaching the sand dune and directly transported us to the vicinity of Crescent Lake.

After getting off the camel, we walked to Crescent Lake. In autumn, the pale white lily flowers and golden willows looked particularly beautiful under the blue sky and white clouds.

Many people were climbing Mingsha Mountain. In front of the majestic Mingsha Mountain, it seemed like a crowd of ants from afar.

Finally, the crescent moon appeared again. It reminded me of the lines from Tianzhen’s song ‘It is a mirror of the mountain and a lake’s eye, a paradise bathed in starlight.’ Seeing ‘The First Spring’ stone tablet again, it has been standing here for an estimated several dozen thousand people every year, together with it to take pictures, so that the number of years passing by and passing away.

Crescent Lake’s Lake Pavilion is situated by the lake, watching the crescent moon for hundreds of years, standing upright, like a pen, pointing to the sky, and laughing at the wind and sand, waiting for the sun and moon to be bright.

I had come to Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Lake before, all following tourist groups, time was tight and hurried, and I missed climbing Mingsha Mountain. This time I didn’t want to miss it, so we started from the anti-sand ditch ladder, and quickly climbed up.

Mingsha Mountain’s sand is fine and clean, and it sinks down as you step on it. If not for the ladder’s help, every step you take would slide back half a step. Standing on the waist of the mountain, looking back at Crescent Lake, between two towering sand dunes, it seems small and touching. But for thousands of years, it has existed in the cracks of the sand mountain and hasn’t been buried by sand. It is truly a miracle of nature.

After spending about 20 minutes, we reached the top of the sand mountain and saw that beyond the mountain was another mountain, higher than the previous one.

The ridge of the opposite sand dune is also elegant and beautiful. Crescent Lake looks like a mirror in the reflection of the light.

We sat on the sandy slope with many other tourists, watching the scenery in the distance, waiting to see the sunset of Mingsha Mountain. Mingsha Mountain has embraced thousands of people without being crowded, and it has not been noisy.

At that moment, the mountain, water, people, and light and shadow were just components of this quiet and beautiful scene.