The Sky Mirror lives up to its name

Staying overnight in Chaka Town last night was the right choice. We entered the 'Sky Mirror' scenic area at 7:45 AM, and our first stop was taking the small train to Chaka Salt Station. It turned out that both choices were correct. Although the highest daytime temperature here is only 27 degrees, the ultraviolet rays are intense, making it feel like you're being scorched. Pity those tourists who visit at noon! At the Xia, Feng, and Xue stations, visitors can rent shoe covers to walk into the lake and take photos. The Sky Mirror lives up to its name, but be sure to carefully test the water depth when entering the lake; otherwise, the shoe covers can easily fill with water, dampening the fun. If you want ideal photos, it's better to hire a professional photographer from the scenic area. Personally, I think the best time to visit Chaka is in the morning. Since we needed to go to Qilian County, we took a detour to get onto the West Lake Ring Road, then reached the north side of the lake and visited the cliff scenic area in Gangcha County. The water here has more layers compared to the Erlangjian scenic area, and you can take a photo riding a yak for 20 yuan. Bidding farewell to Qinghai Lake, the national road through Gangcha County was a bit bumpy, significantly affecting the driving speed. After passing through the 3000-meter-long Datongshu Mountain Tunnel, we finally saw an ecosystem different from Qinghai Lake. The hills turned into mountains, small trees turned into big trees, and the scenery of mountain streams and forests was delightful. No wonder Qilian is known as the 'Switzerland of the East.' In the evening, we had a nice hot pot for 79 yuan near the square in Qilian County. The content was very rich.