Dahaidao

Always have to make a trip to Xinjiang Grand Highway. Crossing the uninhabited area, the place on earth that most resembles the fire house, the Tongtian Cave in the dream! Xinjiang Hami City Grand Highway Scenic Area: The Grand Highway is a little-known road through the uninhabited area, named after the large sand sea, also known as the Sand Sea Road. Here gathers ancient castles, beacon magnets, post stations, prehistoric human habitation sites, Fossil Mountain, mirages, desert wild camel groups, and many rare geographical landforms of the Grand Highway, being roasted by 45 degrees of high temperature still feels not enough, because Hami Grand Highway is really awesome!

The Dahai Route is the shortest road between ancient Dunhuang, Hami, and Turpan. Its opening and use began in the Han Dynasty, and after the Tang Dynasty, the official use gradually ceased, and the Dahai Route gradually faded from people's view, becoming a historical memory of the ancient Silk Road. The Silk Road, as an ancient channel connecting Eastern and Western civilizations, has always been the focus of academic attention due to its significant role in the history of human civilization exchange. With the deepening of academic research, most sections of the Silk Road have gradually unveiled their historical veils, but the specific route of the Dahai Route is still buried in the dust of history. Dahai Route

Dunhuang Yadan landform, the Great Sea Road From a vast ocean to a barren land where no grass grows Rough and mysterious, niche and wild It is the romantic trace left by billions of years of plate movement It is the 'living history book' scattered on the Silk Road It is the barren Great Sea Road. Covered with rubble and quicksand, the precipitation here is very low, the groundwater is very scarce, the climate is extremely arid, presenting a desert scene everywhere, it is one of the areas with the strongest continental climate in the world. The Yadan landform is like a palace, like a door of time and space. The moment you approach, they turn into talking gravel. Wind, light, clouds and sky are intertwined, like a romantic projection. In this silent world Only the beating scenery and the agile colors Driving off-road vehicles through the stone pillars standing on both sides, driving from one barren land to another with a calm heart It's like coming to the earth billions of years ago The boundless desert is irresistible with its magnificent and mysterious charm.

I'll say a natural one. If you go further out of Hami, you can reach Dahuangdao and even deeper uninhabited areas. Share the photos I took when I went to Xinjiang before, and you will understand. The place I went to the most in 2021 should be Xinjiang. Multiple trips to the uninhabited areas of Xinjiang for shooting made me fall in love with this magical land. So I think the best set of photos I took this year was shot in Xinjiang. First, two mobile phone shots of the desert, the first one was shot in the afternoon, the sand patterns, which have been blown by the wind for many years, caused the texture on the sand dunes to look exceptionally good.

I never really thought I would reach the uninhabited area. When Teacher Cheng said that he was going to explore the uninhabited area in Xinjiang, various questions would arise in my heart. Is there really no one in the uninhabited area? How big is the uninhabited area? Are there any animals? When we entered the uninhabited area and suddenly there was no signal, we really felt the charm of the uninhabited area. Wildness, passion, and mystery explain the secrets here. It is said that this place used to be a sea. With the movement of the earth's crust, it has become a desolate uninhabited area after hundreds of millions of years of weathering. Along the way, you can see various styles of Yardang landforms, which are particularly shocking. This area also includes the Lop Nur area. 🔸【Attraction Experience】 Although this is the only legally traversable uninhabited area in China, safety must also be paid attention to. 1. The entire uninhabited area is particularly large. Because there is no signal throughout the journey, we chose locals as the team leader this time. While ensuring safety, we also have rich experience in crossing the uninhabited area. It is recommended to bring a satellite phone for easy contact in case of any incidents. 2. One section is a well-built road, and one section is a "wild road" (the original gravel road), safety must be paid attention to. 3. The overall temperature of the uninhabited area will be higher than that in the city, and the temperature difference between morning and evening is relatively large, so be sure to keep warm. 🔸【Route】 The entire trip was two days and one night. We entered from the east gate and exited from the north gate. We arrived in Hami, passing through Hongliutan, Pterosaur Grand Canyon, water source, Echo Wall, Eye of Lop Nur, and stayed at Hongliutan Tourist Center. The hotel has internet. 🔸【Attractions】 Hami Dahaigou Scenic Area 🔸【Precautions】 1. The entire uninhabited area is part of Lop Nur, and the route must be planned in advance to avoid getting lost due to no signal after entering. This time we followed the group, and the team leader took us to safer and more photogenic places, saving us a lot. 2. On the road, I didn't see any replenishment points. It is recommended to bring some simple food. 3. Be careful when taking pictures at the attractions. Some places are steep, so be sure to act according to your ability, safety first. 4. You can wear red, black and other clothes, which will make the photos more outstanding.

📆2023-10-16 Monday The 50th day of the western self-driving tour 🚙Itinerary: Sandaoling—Dahaidao—Hami 📍Dahaidao 🔷Dahaidao is the only uninhabited area in the country that can be legally crossed. 🔷It is currently the most complete, magnificent, and most valuable Yardang landform in the country and even the world. 🔷The Dahaidao ancient castle group, with the tallest reaching over a hundred meters, is the world's tallest Yardang landform, with hardly any rivals. 💰Ticket price is 45, free for military personnel, half price 20 for military family members. 🚙Self-driving car 100. 20 kilometers away from the scenic area, you start entering the gravel road, which is in terrible condition and extremely bumpy. Once inside the scenic area, there is another 36 kilometers of gravel road, but it is a bit better than the 20 kilometers outside the scenic area. The scenic area is very large, and it really shows what an uninhabited area is like. For a long time, there were no other tourists, no other cars, no signs, no signals, just us running around headlessly like flies. With a hand-drawn map, we roughly followed the directions below and 'thump thump thump thump' ran dozens of kilometers of gravel roads, checking in at various attractions. North Gate—Yardang Murals—Dragon Turning Head—Tongtian Cave (popular spot)—Water Source—Mars Base—Pterosaur Grand Canyon—Red Willow Beach—Aisikexial Ancient Castle—Double-headed Horse—Hanhai Shenturtle—Check-in at the main gate ✅North Gate ✅Yardang Murals The 'Yardang Murals' are about 3 kilometers long, with heights ranging from 8 to 15 meters. Rich in various fossil remains, the shapes are strange and varied, and it is a natural art gallery of Dahaidao. ✅Dragon Turning Head It seems like a piece of the dragon's mouth has fallen off ✅Tongtian Cave The most popular check-in spot in the Dahaidao scenic area‼️ The Yardang blends with the sky, and it is said that a variety of fossils have been found on the small Yardang piles scattered around. A team of experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences once discovered the first dinosaur footprint fossil in the Dahaidao scenic area here. Just a casual shot is like a blockbuster, and it can be used as a magazine cover! ✅Water Source The only place in the scenic area with water and greenery! The water temperature is around 20°C all year round, and the water is rich in sulfur, carbon, and other minerals. ❌Not drinkable but has antibacterial and disinfecting effects. ✅Mars Base ✅Pterosaur Grand Canyon About 20 kilometers of 'thump thump thump thump' washboard road, with a very vivid name—Pterosaur Grand Canyon. Driving here will make one involuntarily doubt whether they have a masochistic tendency, with dozens of kilometers of non-stop 'thump thump thump thump thump thump...' ✅Red Willow Beach ✅Aisikexial Ancient Castle (Ancient Castle + Ancient Ruins) 🔹'Aisikexial Ancient Castle' means 'old city' in Uyghur, and this place is the only site on the 500-kilometer Dahaidao section of the ancient Silk Road from Dunhuang to Turpan that can prove human activity. 🔹The 'Aisikexial Ancient Tomb Site' is located on a sand ridge about 200 meters northeast of the ancient castle, with irregular tomb distribution. In 1999, 32 tombs were excavated and cleared in a rescue operation, and three mummies and more than 130 artifacts were unearthed. It dates back to the Shang and Zhou dynasties, about 3200 years ago. 🔹This area has discovered the rare Hami pterosaur fauna and the world's first three-dimensional pterosaur egg, confirming that this is the largest distribution area and the most concentrated burial of pterosaur fossils in the world. ✅Double-headed Horse It also looks very similar ✅Hanhai Shenturtle It's really too similar, but the eyes seem to be artificially added. ✅Finally, check-in at the main gate Today's sixty or seventy kilometers of washboard road, with dust flying, was even more severe than the past dust storms, covered in dust, and one must rinse their mouth before eating. The car was in such a bad shape, and there was no place to wash it, truly a sorry sight. 🌌Stay overnight in Hami, today is the last day in Xinjiang