Site and departure time
Two days ago, Xi'an to Urumqi, Xi'an to Dunhuang, the train officially opened!
Here is a brief background knowledge, every quarter the train operation map will be adjusted in some way.
On October 11 at 00:00, the National Railway implemented the fourth quarter of the train operating map, the new map arranged to run a further increase in the number of trains than the third quarter.
Which Xi'an to Urumqi, Xi'an to Dunhuang two train sets is the first time!
Since then, the running time from Xi'an to Urumqi has been compressed from about 31 hours to 13 hours, while Xi'an to Dunhuang has been compressed from 23 hours to 11 hours!!!!
The real realization of the two places between the night and day, the ride time is greatly reduced ~
Xi'an to Urumqi train, starting from Xi'an, via Baoji, Tianshui, Lanzhou, Xining, Jiayuguan, Hami and other places, and finally arrived in Urumqi. (The second-class ticket price is 735.5 yuan
Spanning four provinces, the train links up the fresh, natural and colorful landscape of the Great Northwest along the way.
And the train from Xi'an to Dunhuang passes through Baoji, Tianshui, Lanzhou, Xining, Zhangye, Jiayuguan, Yumen, etc., and ends at Dunhuang. (A second-class ticket costs 523.5 yuan
There's no shortage of niche but wonderful destinations on the way, and there's a view whenever you get off the train.
Introduction of attractions
Xi'an
Xi'an, anciently known as Chang'an, has been the capital of emperors and kings since ancient times, and the precipitation and heritage of the Chinese nation for thousands of years still continues quietly here.
Some people say that in Xi'an, digging down to any place may reveal a pile of Qin bricks and Han tiles. Although this is a bit of an exaggeration, Xi'an is indeed rich in historical relics and cultural relics as an ancient capital.
The city, which has seen the rise and fall of 13 dynasties, is like a huge museum.
Whether it's the Terracotta Warriors, one of the eight wonders of the world, the ancient city wall that has survived the vicissitudes of time, or the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, which once housed the scriptures of the celestial dervishes
A brick and a tile left behind by the ancients reveals the historical heritage of the city.
Since ancient times, Xi'an has been full of famous chefs who served officials and dignitaries, and through inheritance, the unique northwest flavor has been formed.
The most representative food here is a variety of snacks, meat buns, cold skin, mutton buns, noodles, all of which will make diners savor.
From morning to night, a steady stream of centuries-old and up-and-coming snack bars are filled with tourists and locals alike.
Tianshui
Tianshui, anciently known as Qinzhou, is located in the eastern part of Gansu province, east of the Longshan Mountains, which is why Qingyang, Pingliang and Tianshui are also called Longdong.
Compared with Hexi and Gannan, Longdong is not considered to be a crowded place in Gansu Province, but because of the road from Xi'an to Lanzhou, the Silk Road town.
Tianshui has a lot of different qualities from the rest of Gansu, it is not so northwestern, four seasons, pleasant climate, rich in produce, known as the "Northwest small Jiangnan".
The terraced fields and mountains along the way look green, and the weather is much warmer in the fall than elsewhere in Gansu.
Tianshui is still a charming old city, with the "Maiji Smoke and Rain" as its most famous feature.
When you visit the famous Maiji Mountain Grottoes, if it's raining lightly, a light mist hangs over the mountain and the peaks loom large, giving you a sense of beauty.
In addition, the Dadiwan site preserves a large number of treasures of the early Neolithic and Yangshao culture; the only statue of Fuxi in Tianshui Fuxi Temple, carved beams and paintings, cypresses into the forest.
Lanzhou
As the capital of Gansu Province and the center of the northwest region, Lanzhou's transportation status is very important: Dunhuang in the north, Gannan in the south, Xining in the west, and Yinchuan in the east, which can be said that it is a necessary place to travel to the west.
The Yellow River runs endlessly, flowing through Lanzhou from west to east, sandwiching it between the north and south mountains, making it a long and narrow city extending east to west.
In terms of tourist attractions, the most prominent is the "Hundred Mile Yellow River Style Line" along the Yellow River: Zhongshan Bridge, Waterwheel Park, the statue of the Yellow River Mother, and the night view of the White Pagoda Mountain at night are all sights you can't miss when you come to Lanzhou.
The Yellow River, which flows into the distance day and night, has made Lanzhou a city of "nature".
The rolling turbid waves and the sound of the waves not only nourish the water and soil of Lanzhou, but also create the bold and rough character of the people of Lanzhou, and the city is getting warmer and richer because of the Yellow River.
Lanzhou is the famous "town of fruits and melons", travel to Lanzhou in the fall is the most appropriate, fruit harvest, enough to make people eat.
In addition, the Eid al-Fitr festival on October 1 (May 23, 2021, May 13, 2021 is quite unique, there will be many tourists gathered in Lanzhou, lively and extraordinary.
Xining
Xining, known as Huangzhong, is an ancient city on the plateau with a history of more than 2,100 years.
Xining was once the base of the Western Han general Zhao Chongguo's military camps, a thoroughfare of the Silk Road's Qinghai Road, an important town communicating between the Central Plains and the western borderlands, and also a place where the Tangfan Ancient Road had to pass through in history.
Today, Xining City is the end point of the Lanzhou-Qingdao Railway, the starting point of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway and the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, and is still the main transportation hub to the hinterland of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
Xining is surrounded by mountains, and has a pleasant climate with no severe cold in winter and no heat in summer. In summer, it is cool and breezy, as cool as autumn, and is a natural summer resort.
For many travelers, Xining is used as a transportation hub to Ta'er Temple, Qinghai Lake or along the Qinghai-Tibet line into Tibet, and then run to Lhasa after gradually adapting to the west.
But there are still places to stay in Xining, including the Tal Temple, the Dongguan Mosque, the Beizen Temple, and the Nanzen Temple
One of the religious temples dotting the city and its environs is a place where you can see the collision of ethnic groups, or go to the Nanshan Park to see a glimpse of the city at night, or to a museum to see a glimpse of the city's development.
Zhangye
Zhangye is located in northwestern Gansu Province, 547km from Lanzhou, and was one of the four counties in the Hexi Corridor in ancient times, formerly known as "Ganzhou".
The geographic location of the dangerous: Jiuquan, Jiayuguan in the west, east of Wuwei, and Wuwei, known as "gold Zhangye, silver Wuwei", to the north to reach the Badanjilin Desert into the Inner Mongolia, to the south over the Qilian Mountains can be to the Qinghai Sea.
Zhangye's famous because of the Danxia landforms, Danxia famous because Zhang Yimou in this shooting of a movie - "three shots". Zhangye Danxia on the color of the country for the first class, after the rain to appreciate the particularly romantic.
In addition to the Danxia, another must-see attraction in Zhangye is the Horseshoe Temple at the foot of the Qilian Mountains, which has open forested meadows, beautiful natural scenery, and is home to 90 percent of the Yugu ethnic group, who can sing and dance.
As the saying goes, "If you don't want to see the snow on the Qilian Mountains, you'd be wrong to think of Zhangye as Jiangnan." If you come to Zhangye, you'll find that the rugged Northwest China also has a soft side.
Jiayuguan Pass
This is the main transportation route of the ancient Silk Road, where Zhang Qian once brought a caravan of camels loaded with silk, slowly traveling west.
This is the western starting point of the Great Wall of China in the Ming Dynasty. In ancient times, after Jiayuguan Pass, it was the vast Gobi, bidding farewell to the native land of the Central Plains and entering the barbaric land.
Today's Jiayuguan, the immigrant city developed by Jiu Gang, has gathered people from Northeast China, Sichuan, Henan, Gansu and other places, bringing infinite vitality to this new city.
Jiayuguan seldom becomes a major itinerary point on the Gansu-Qinghai circuit, mostly serving as a stopover between Dunhuang-Zhangye.
There are few attractions in Jiayuguan, with the main attraction expanding on the culture of Jiayuguan City Pass. The First Pier of the Great Wall is north of Jiayuguan City, while the Cantilevered Great Wall and the Pass City are west of the city.
The magnificent and majestic Qiyi Glacier, the gentle South Lake Wetland Park, the mysterious Wei and Jin Dynasty tomb murals and the sizeable single wine cellar in the Zixuan Wine Estate are all worth seeing.
Dunhuang
Mentioning Dunhuang, many people's minds will come up with the impression of the yellow sand, the Mogao Grottoes "flying sky" and the ancient Buddha, the strong Western flavor, the cool Gobi.
While the light of Dunhuang has gradually disappeared into history, the splendor of this place is still visible.
"Dunhuang," which originally meant "grand," is a word that highlights its illustrious past. Located at the westernmost tip of the Hexi Corridor, Dunhuang was a famous town on the ancient Silk Road.
Historically, it was the only passage from the Central Plains to the Western Regions and even Europe, the confluence of the four ancient civilizations of China, India, Greece, and Islam, and the stage on which the peoples of the Western Regions gathered and dispersed, full of exotic flavors and ancient legends.
Sealed in history, the Mogao Grottoes, known as the "Art Museum of the Desert" and the "Spiritual Oasis of Art and Faith," are the biggest reason for most travelers to visit Dunhuang.
The Mogao Grottoes are the world's largest and richest Buddhist art site, and are known as a "once-in-a-lifetime" place because of their deep history, brilliant culture, high artistic achievements and devout faith.
Besides, the oasis of Lunar Spring surrounded by the Mingsha Mountain, the desolate desert of the western Gobi, the silent Buddha in the Western Thousand Buddha Cave, the strange Yadan "Devil City" ......
The Yumen Pass and Yangguan Pass, which exist in poetry and song, the fruits and wine of Dunhuang, and the golden poplar forests in the fall
All of these portray the legendary posture of Dunhuang. This once-flamboyant desert is still brimming with color.
Hami
If you're traveling on the Xi'an-Urumqi train, you'll come to Hami after leaving the Jiayuguan Pass and passing through Liuyuan South Station.
Hami, located in the eastern part of Xinjiang, is the gateway to the mainland, an oasis in the desert with sweet cantaloupes and grapes.
Come to Hami and don't miss the Devil City at Wubao, the grassland scenery at Baishi, and the hissing of ten thousand people at Mingsha Mountain.
You can also visit the Tomb of the Hui King, the Tomb of Qais, the Ancient Tomb Complex of Wubao, the Temple of Tianshan, the Rock Painting of Qincheng, Miaolgou, the Memorial Park of the West Road Army Entering the Frontier, and the Martyrs' Cemetery.
The ancient monuments of King Hami's Tomb in the south of the city and the peculiar Yadan landforms here add another mystery to Hami.
Urumqi
Urumqi, located in the northern foothills of the middle Tianshan Mountains and the southern edge of the Junggar Basin, is the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Urumqi is surrounded by mountains on three sides, with a gently open plain in the north, the peaks of Mount Bogda and Mount Dongshan in the east, and Mount Xishan and Mount Tengel nestled in the west and south, respectively.
Just as every book has a preface, Urumqi is the preface to the whole of Xinjiang - it's not the best part, but it's the "preface" to start with, no matter where you're headed.
The Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar is by far the largest in the country, with a dazzling array of goods and a square full of Xinjiang songs and dances.
Tianshan Tianchi is a half-moon shaped lake on the north side of Bogda Peak on Tianshan Mountain, as well as the Yaochi of the legendary Queen Mother and the location of the story "Seven Swords Descend on Tianshan" written by Liang Yusheng.
The crystalline jade-like lake reflects Bogda Peak, surrounded by mountains, and covered with erect and verdant spruce and tower pines.
You can walk along the lake to enjoy the beauty of Tianchi, can lake rafting in the mountains, or take the ropeway to reach the top of Mount Ma'yashan, the panoramic view of the Tianchi as far as the eye can see.