Live Your Best Lives
This is a deep loop tour of the Northwest, going deep into the Water Yadan, Emerald Lake, Mars Camp, Aiken Spring... to explore the mysteries of the Northwest.
It is a magnesium sulfate subtype salt lake and the third largest artificial lake in Haixi Prefecture, covering an area of more than 26 square kilometers. It produces high-quality potassium, magnesium, lithium and other elements. Because the salt bed is reflected by light blue, emerald green and deep blue lake water alternately and is crystal clear, the locals call it "Emerald Lake".
The diverse salt ponds of Da Qaidam Emerald Lake resemble crystal-clear jade. This former mining area of the Da Qaidam Chemical Plant's salt lake mining team, formed over the years by the mining pits, has become the beautiful Emerald Lake we see today. Standing by the lake, the mirror-like surface reflects the blue sky, white clouds, and snow-capped peaks, creating a fairyland-like experience.
This used to be a river channel. After the river dried up, the riverbed contained ferric oxide. Under the alternating erosion of salt, rain, snow, wind and frost, as well as the influence of some sulfur elements brought from the rock strata by the river water, the valley took on a light rusty red color.
The world has changed dramatically, and the river is no longer there, but its traces have miraculously remained! The blood of the earth has become a unique landscape on the G315 highway, with the dark blue road and the blood-red riverbed running side by side in the valley.
The vast majority of yardang landforms discovered in the world exist in extremely arid areas. However, on the edge of the Qaidam Basin in northwestern Qinghai, my country, there is a unique and little-known "water yardang"!
It is a vast ocean that emerges out of thin air in the endless desert. The Yadan Devil City stands on this ocean, magical and mysterious, with unparalleled stunning beauty!
As a unique phenomenon formed by the weathering of the earth's soil over hundreds of millions of years, Yardang has been studied by geographers and geologists all over the world. They have summarized the unique and representative features of the major Yardang landform areas in the world as the world's Yardang landform landscape.
The soil has been weathered over hundreds of millions of years to form a texture as hard as stone, but it looks like ordinary soil in appearance.
The surface water in Qinghai is high in salt, and the salt minerals are widely distributed, which increases the salinity here. Therefore, when you come here, you can clearly see white salt crystals on the ground after low tide.
Located to the east of Gasikule Lake in Mangya City, Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, it covers an area of 26 square kilometers and is a magnesium sulfate subtype salt lake.
The water of Emerald Lake is even more emerald green, emerald green. White salt flowers dot the lake, giving it a pure, clear appearance. These white salt flowers divide the vast expanse of emerald green into grids and patches.
To its south is the Qimantag Snow Peak of the Kunlun Mountains, and to its north is the Oil Sand Mountain of the Mangya Yadan landform. When the wind is calm, the waters are reflected on the clear and transparent lake surface like a mirror, which is like a dream.
Located in Moheerbuluke Village, Huatugou Town, Mangya City, Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, it is known as the "Eye of the Earth" and the "Eye of the Devil".
Aiken Spring, with a diameter of over 10 meters, gushes and rises like boiling water. Sulfur minerals have long been deposited around the spring, creating a vibrant color. From an aerial view, the spring, its gushing water, and the crimson, ring-like sediments on the surrounding land form a unique pupil-like shape, resembling an eye embedded in the earth.
In October 2010, scientists conducted an investigation in Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, where the Aiken Spring is located, and identified a relatively water-rich area in the plains in front of the Altun Mountains. They calculated that the maximum freshwater inflow could reach 2,000 to 3,000 cubic meters per day.
Located deep in the Gobi Desert, it is severely eroded by wind and looks desolate, like the surface of Mars. The overall construction of the Mars camp is to simulate the living environment of humans after migrating to Mars. It is very novel and interesting. As such a niche place, it is definitely a place not to be missed on the Qinghai-Gansu Grand Loop.
Located in Lenghu Town, Mangya City, Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, it is part of the Qaidam Yardang landform group, the largest yardang landform group in China.
The Qaidam Basin first took shape more than 75 million years ago. After tens of millions of years of sculpting by wind erosion, it created this magnificent and diverse Yadan landscape.
Looking out over Eboliang, the ground is covered in sand slopes of varying depths. Due to the lack of large-scale development, this magical area remains relatively intact and pristine. Entering it feels like arriving on Mars, and it's considered "the most Mars-like place on Earth."
There is a place in the Qaidam Basin with complex terrain, high in the north and low in the south, forming a combination of mountains, hills, Gobi deserts, salt marshes and lakes. It was once an important oil producing area in China. It is Lenghu, a distant and remote name.
For most people, the name Lenghu is completely unfamiliar. Lenghu Town rose and fell because of oil. With the depletion of oil resources, the town gradually declined.
More than ten kilometers away from Lenghu Town, there is a Lenghu Oil Base site, also known as the No. 5 Oil Base. This oil base is very large. Who could have imagined that when it was at its most prosperous, the population here was as high as 50,000 or 60,000, with hotels, inns, karaoke bars, and dance halls. But who could have imagined that it has now become a forgotten place.
The molten salt tower solar thermal power station, located in the Photovoltaic Industrial Park in Dunhuang City, Gansu Province, was independently designed, invested and constructed by Chinese enterprises. It was connected to the grid and generated electricity at the end of December 2018. It is one of the first batch of national solar thermal power generation demonstration power stations and also the world's tallest and largest molten salt tower solar thermal power station with the largest concentrating area.
The mysteries of the Northwest are only waiting for you to uncover them yourself.
