Live Your Best Lives
On the first day, as the saying goes, nine yellows and nine yellows, ten flies and nine yellows! Due to the changeable climate of the plateau, after experiencing the episode of the early flight back to Chengdu, it finally successfully landed at Jiuhuang Airport at noon, starting another trip to Jiuzhai Huanglong after more than ten years!
Huanglong Scenic Area Colorful Yaochi Panorama Huanglong is still as beautiful as the Yaochi in the sky!
Huanglong Scenic Area Colorful Yaochi Partial close-up 
Colorful Yaochi and Yellow Dragon Temple 
Huanglong Scenic Area Colorful pool on the way down the mountain But compared with 15 years ago, there is a little less natural and wild charm.
Huanglong Scenic Area Colorful Yaochi 15 years ago 
Huanglong Scenic Area Colorful Yaochi 15 years ago 
Huanglong Scenic Area Yaochi and wild rhododendrons 15 years ago 
Huanglong Tips:
A. External transportation - Jiuhuang Airport to Huanglong, in addition to self-driving, you can have the following 3 options: 1) Chartered car pick-up, pick-up to Huanglong and return to the hotel at the end of the trip, this can be directly contacted with the team of the hotel, the car cost is about 500. 2) The airport has a bus for docking flights to Huanglong, luggage can be put on the car, and after 4 hours, it will be sent to Jiuzhaigou, and the passing hotel can drop off passengers, the cost is 120/person. 3) Booking a taxi to Huanglong, which is also feasible from the service display of Didi Taxi, and the cost is reasonable, but it needs to be certified by actual operation.
B. Internal transportation in the scenic spot - there are two main options: 1) Take the cable car on the back mountain directly up the mountain, which is also the route chosen by most tourists, but the ropeway entrance at the top of the mountain is about 4Km away from the colorful pond, and walking at a high altitude of about 3500 still has a certain amount of physical exertion, especially this 4Km walking trail does not have much scenery to see. 2) Walk directly from the gate up the mountain, to the top of the colorful pond is similar to the cable car, but all the way to the water, in terms of personal experience more than 10 years ago, it feels much easier than the cable car walk, if it is chartered or self-driving is not in a hurry, it is recommended to choose this route, at present this route also has the advantage that if you enter in the morning, you can walk directly up the mountain to avoid a large number of people taking the cable car, after all, no matter how beautiful the place is, the crowd is noisy and tasteless!
In addition, the back mountain ropeway station to the colorful pond is building another environmental protection lane, it is estimated that there will be a better choice soon, the problem of the ropeway walking too far will be solved, but the environmental damage caused by the construction of large lanes is difficult to recover!
C. Food - There is no relevant catering service provided in the scenic spot, it is recommended to prepare dry food by yourself, and the simple food will be particularly delicious at that time.
D. Stay - After the play, you can go directly to Jiuzhaigoukou to stay, there are many hotels of various levels, and the quality is also quite guaranteed. If you want to have a better experience in your accommodation, it is recommended to choose several local 5-star hotels, with hardware and environment at a super 5-star level.
On the second & third day, I left the hotel located between Huanglong and Jiuzhai early in the morning, and the chartered car master sent us to Jiuzhaigoukou and went to the hotel where we stayed on the third day to store excess luggage.
Shuzhengqun Sea Shuzhengqun Hai backed by the mountain, there are not many tourists, you can quietly watch the waterfall Haizi and Shuzheng Village surrounded by mountains in the distance. 
Jiuzhaigou-Wuhuahai The next day, after the 2017 earthquake, the end of the current reopening of Rizegou is Wuhuahai, and the above other attractions are Swan Sea, The Panda Sea waited until September this year to fully open. 
Jiuzhaigou-Wuhuahai The whole view of Wuhuahai Lakeside 
attached to the sea of five flowers 15 years ago, the level is like a mirror, like a dream! 
The blue tiger sea in the afternoon is sparkling. 
Shuzheng Qun Hai The ancient prayer wheel on the side of Shuzhengzhai Road is still a sample more than 10 years ago. 
Shuzheng Waterfall Wildflowers bloom silently by the water's edge of Shuzheng Ditch. 
Shuzheng Waterfall Stubborn rocks and flowing water. 
Day 3, Changhai, plank road. 
Long sea, reflection. 
Colorful pool one 
Colorful Pool 2 
Colorful pool, that compelling blue! 
attached to the sea of five flowers 17 years ago, winter. 
Tree is the village, and the tree is the sea. 
Tree is in the village, overlooking the distance. 
17 years ago, Shuzheng Village, overlooking the Shuzheng Sea, winter. 
17 years ago, Shuzheng Village, Shuzheng Qun Hai. 
Reed Sea Jiuzhai Tips:
A. External transportation - direct flight to Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport, in fact, there are tourist buses to Jiuzhai every day in Chengdu, but unfortunately the way has not passed through the dammed lake formed by the 1933 Songpan earthquake (magnitude 7.5) - Diexi Haizi (with previous photos)... Otherwise, a stop by is also a good choice.
Diexi Haizi 
Diexi Haizi B. Internal transportation in the scenic spot - mainly environmentally friendly vehicles and hiking, environmental protection vehicles have stops in each scenic spot, but some stations are not every car to go to especially the attractions inside, pay attention to this when getting on the car.
If you are not in a hurry in terms of time, it is recommended that you can take the morning bus early in the morning to enter the grass sea (or swan sea) in the innermost part of Rize Gully, and then hike all the way down the mountain to Nuorilang, which can avoid some of the flow of people to the greatest extent. Along the way, you can hike slowly and stop to enjoy the Arrow Bamboo Sea, Panda Sea, Wuhua Sea, Peacock River, Pearl Beach, and Nuorilang Waterfall. Then if there is still time to get out of the ditch, you can stop the eco-friendly car along the direction of the ditch to watch the Haizi and Shuzheng Waterfall in the lower Shuzheng ditch. The next morning, take the morning bus directly to the innermost Changhai of Zecha Valley, Changhai has now built a plank road along the coast, it is recommended to leave the crowded observation deck and go down to the plank road, walk in a little along the right side, you will feel the openness and quiet beauty of Changhai. Next, take the car directly to the colorful pool, and then pass by the car to see the upper/lower seasonal sea, and return to Nuorilang.Next, Shuzhenggou can choose the trail in the coastal area to hike out of the ditch, with few people and beautiful scenery, especially the sea of reeds that many people glance at in the car, which is actually a unique landscape in Jiuzhai!
C. Food - The scenic spot Nuorilang has meals but has a bad reputation, it is recommended to prepare some simple dry food and hot water by yourself, and the simple food will be particularly delicious at that time.
D. Stay - There are actually 2 choices for this, 1) The hotel at Jiuzhaigoukou is the same as Huanglong's choice. 2) Accommodation in the ditch (Shuzheng), which has long been nominally prohibited from reception, but in fact it can still be arranged, the cleanliness and hygiene and meals of the B&B in the ditch have been greatly improved compared with before, and it is the best choice for in-depth travel. At present, the Tibetan people's desire to renovate and expand and receive tourists is also very strong, hoping to have a plan and result that benefits both man and nature.
On the fourth day, Master Zhao from Xining arrived at the hotel on time early in the morning, and will start a chartered car trip to Gannan and Qinghai.
Geographically, Jiuzhai is actually located at the junction of Sichuan and Gansu, and it is a more reasonable choice from Jiuzhai to Diebu-Zagana in Locke's Gannan.
"I have never seen such a beautiful scenery in my life. If the author of Genesis had seen the beauty of Diebu, he would have placed the birthplace of Adam and Eve here. ——"A geographer full of loopholes", "a wandering botanist", "a linguistic genius", a famous explorer, the father of Naxiology, the founder of Lockeline, and the American Austrian Joseph Locke once lamented
Locke's hand-drawn expedition map And Yang Xianhui, the author of the Gannan Trilogy, wrote an amazing chapter for Cuo Meifeng in "Gannan Chronicles", "But I saw a huge white stone mountain protruding between the green slowly rising hillsides, several times larger than the Animaqin Mountain in Zagana, and more abrupt and upright than Aniduni." And on this white mountain rock, there were eight or nine sharp stone peaks towering from the ground, poking straight into the blue sky in a daze, like a row of bayonets raised, and like a cluster of arrow shafts towering on the arrow platform. I was stunned..."
Wrong Meifeng borrowed a picture online 
Jiuzhai departed from Jiuzhai and went all the way up along Jiunuo Road, passing through Heihe Town to Goose, and a big river on the side of the road attracted our attention. Cuomeifeng
is located in the north of Kaba Township, Diebu County, 63 kilometers away from the county seat, connected to Zhouqu in the east and Zhuoni in the north. The main peak of Cuomei Peak is 4,920 meters above sea level, spanning 180 square kilometers from north to south, and is the highest peak in Gannan Prefecture - excerpted from Baidu's entry.
In fact, this Cuomei Peak on the side of Diebu Zaga is one of the five major Bon sacred mountains in the Amdo Tibetan area, according to the academic recognition is still the highest peak of the Qinling Mountains, that is, the main peak in the geographical sense, due to the serious weathering of karst landforms and the extremely steep mountain, it is still unclimbed, it should be worth exploring.
Before traveling, I checked a lot of information and determined that the route should be to take Niqiao Village, Kaba Township as the destination, along National Highway 544, Jiuruo Road, Kaba Township turn right on County Road 036 and go to 593 Township Road and 613 Township Road, go upstream along Anziku, and take the right Niqiao Ditch at Sanchakou. In fact, from Jiunuo Road to 036 County Road, with the in-depth navigation of the route began to be unreliable, although in the end after twists and turns to find a temporary guiding sign, the dirt and gravel road all the way up again was very narrow and had a considerable slope, and the rainy day was also very slippery, and because the rainy sky had not cleared up, it was impossible to see the shape of the surrounding peaks, and finally had to retreat to leave some regrets!
The village through which the township road passes 
The road repair shed passed by the township road, and the workers inside pointed out the small fork in the road to the wrong peak. 
Navigate to the scenery along the way to the Cuomei Peak service area 
The service area of Cuomei Peak that you navigates to is actually a small village, and you may be able to see the main peak behind it if the weather is good, but this is not the final observation deck. 
Scenery along the way of Cuomei Peak. Zagana
islocated at the southern foot of Dieshan, its Tibetan meaning is "stone box", the whole village is nestled in a peculiar stone city, and the road into the village from the inside has to pass through several natural stone gates, which is very peculiar. The surrounding amazing peaks are often shrouded in clouds and mist, the fields in the city are crisscrossed, and the four natural Tibetan villages are built on the mountains, which have been like a paradise since ancient times.
Zagana, the roadside of the observation deck. 
Fairy Beach, mountain view from afar. 
Terraced fields, Tibetan villages, temples on the side of the road down the mountain from Fairy Beach. 
The stone gate of the temple on the mountain looks at the city from a distance. 
The temple on the hill is austere and solemn. 
The fields in the stone city, where the villagers are working. Zhagana Tips:
A. External traffic - In fact, Jiuzhai to Zaga is relatively close, only more than 270 kilometers is much closer than Lanzhou's past 470 kilometers, and this trip to National Highway 544, Jiunuo Road is in good condition along the way, and there are few traffic. Departed from Jiuzhai at 6:30 in the morning, stopped along the road to enjoy the scenery, plus went back and forth to Cuomei Peak, 14:00 had already finished lunch in Diebu, and after arriving at Zhagana, I went directly to the observation deck and fairy beach, and the time to go down to the homestay was 17:30.
B. Internal transportation in the scenic area - mainly environmental protection vehicles and hiking, it is recommended to take an environmental protection car on the fairy beach, and you can hike down the way, and you can see the terraced fields and village temples relatively close along the way.In addition, you can stay in Zagana for a few days and hike to Zhuoni, this route is not the usual outdoor route and sightseeing route, but the nomadic route of the local Tibetan herdsmen for hundreds of years in winter and summer, every place, every place name, there are legends and stories passed down for hundreds of years, the guide is familiar with these stories passed down from generation to generation, and can tell you the story. Follow the guide to experience the local life, along the way forests, grasslands, snow-capped mountains, dangerous peaks, sunrise mountains, streams, canyons, etc. are really nostalgic for the back and forth , which is really a classic route that is a must-visit for senior donkey friends.
C. Food - It is recommended to order hot pot when dining in the city, mainly because the quality of cold and fresh yak meat is good (this later had the same experience in Langmu Temple), the taste is comparable to imported raw cut grain feed, and then add some vegetables, add a special Tibetan pork cooked dish, which is a hygienic, palatable and nutritious meal.
D. Stay - This should be emphasized, Zhagana has obviously been commercialized, in addition to the beginning of collecting tickets/tickets, there are many large and small homestays but some management is very irregular, and the relatively large X hotels we booked were released because of the better price on the same day. Therefore, it is recommended to book through an agent such as China-TravelNote, so that there should be certain constraints and guarantees, or if you just want to go around and enjoy the flowers, simply live in Diebu, which is only 26 kilometers away, but the choice and quality of meals/accommodation should be much better.
The destination of the fifth day is Langmu Temple located at the junction of Gansu and Sichuan I never thought that the plateau hot springs not far from the road to the township bend became a big surprise on this trip.
The plateau meadows and steep peaks of Jiangzha Township 
Plateau meadows and herdsmen's fences in Jiangzha Township 
Summer tent in the valley 
The divine spring water on the side of the road in Jiangzha Hot Spring 
An open-air hot spring on the side of the road in Jiangzha Township, sick Tibetans are treated in the spring 
The entrance and exit card of Jiangzha Township Hot Spring and one of the large hot spring pools Jiangzha Township (Hot Spring) When we went, although there was a road card fee (10 yuan) at the entrance and exit of the hot spring, it was still in a fairly original state overall, and there were simple rooms built on the two large hot spring pools along the roadside, and tourists could soak in and out at will like the local Tibetans, and bathe in mixed baths for men and women. There are also open sacred springs and small hot spring pools along the roadside where you can drink and soak in the hot springs. What is even more impressive is the drive to the plateau meadow not far away, the rhythmic hilly grassland sets off the steep peaks and wildflowers at the entrance, the tents and 🐏 groups in the valley in summer, and the villagers in the mountains in the distance joke with us, which is more paradise than the touristy Zhagana!
Reluctantly, I left Jiangzha Township, had lunch at a Sichuan restaurant in Hongxing Township, and soon came to Langmu Temple (+ Gerdi Temple) in one temple spanning two provinces.
View of Langmu Temple from a distance on a hill outside the town 
The splendid Horse-headed Ming Wang Hall of Langmu Temple 
Langmu Temple looks at Geerdi Temple and the Namor Grand Canyon on the Sichuan side from afar 
Intrigue, the Langmu Temple building that combines China and Tibet 
The cornices of the main hall reflected by the sun are warm and brilliant 
The temple after the rain is sparsely populated, and the whole building is built along the mountain in a staggered manner, with bright colors and majesty and solemnity 
Red Stone Cliff opposite Langmu Temple Early the next morning, we came to Geerdi Temple, which is across the river from Langmu Temple.
Gerdi Temple 
The academy of the Gerdi Monastery 
Teachers and students of the academy 
Naughty Little Lama (Student) 
The Great Sutra Hall opened by Gerdi Monastery 
Monks and sika deer in front of the Great Sutra Hall 
The guest house of the monks of the Gerdi Monastery is on the side of the road where the car enters, and the Great Sutra Hall is on the hillside behind. Jiangzha Hot Springs, Langmu Temple Tips:
A. External transportation - Zhagana is less than 100 kilometers directly to Langmu Temple, and there is a sign to Jiangzha Hot Spring on the side of the road about 2/3 of the way to reach it by turning right directly.
B. Internal traffic in the scenic spot - If you want to take a walk in Jiangzha Hot Springs, you can take a look, if you want to experience it in depth, the hot spring pool is open, you can prepare a swimsuit to soak, but the pool water may be a little muddy for natural reasons, which you need to be mentally prepared for. In addition to the hot springs, the scenery of the plateau, hills and meadows that the car drives in is also very beautiful, it is recommended to get off the car and take a walk, at that time there were Tibetans on the opposite mountain who went to play and joked with us, and the scene of the local Tibetans living comfortably in the beautiful scenery of the plateau also added a lot of fun to the itinerary.
Langmu Temple and Geerdi Temple are not too convenient to park at the attractions, it is recommended to browse on foot, in fact, they are all in a small town. Langmu Temple can be visited in the morning or evening, there are relatively few tourists, and its main hall is built on the mountain, its level and rhythm are better than the Labrang Temple and Longwu Temple that go later, and the painting color of the whole temple is also very bright, and if there are few people, you can take some commercial blockbusters.
TheGerdi Temple on the Sichuan side is relatively simple, and the general tourist car will directly enter the square at the entrance of the Namo Canyon to see the corresponding hall and then walk down the canyon.
C. Food - Lunch can be solved by finding a clean Sichuan restaurant in the town you pass by after going to Jiangzha Hot Springs, there are many Sichuan restaurants in Qinghai/Gansu, no matter whether it is authentic or not, the general taste is not outrageous, anyway, the tomato scrambled eggs I have eaten are still well cooked. There are various Chinese restaurants in Langmusi Town for dinner, and it is recommended to be similar to Zhagana, you can order hot pot, mainly because the local cold yak meat is of good quality.
D. Stay - this should also be emphasized, Langmu Temple we booked a regular quasi-star hotel (China-TravelNote 4 diamonds) but the overall situation is not good, the room hygiene is average, the water cup is obviously dirty, the breakfast is simple, and the front desk management staff leave at will... It is recommended to consider a homestay with a certain level of reputation, which is also a comparison experience in Labrang Temple later.
Day6 Labrang Monastery, one of the six major monasteries of the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism
Departure from Labrang Monastery early in the morning of the sixth day, The undulating plateau meadows on the side of the road are particularly beautiful against the background of blue sky and white clouds.
Alpine meadow at an altitude of 3500 above sea level 
Tibetans on the side of the road are playing linka (outing) and warmly welcome us to join 
"Raze" on the roadside hill. 
Labrang Monastery is built on the mountain 
The top of the Buddha platform looks at the entire temple area (town) from a distance 
Because the Panchen Lama came to give lectures, most areas of the temple area were under martial law, and the empty red passage was even more solemn. 
Some of the surrounding Buddhist halls and famous prayer halls are still open 
There is no prayer gallery behind the mountain, and devout Tibetans continue to pray on foot. 
Due to martial law, only a small number of monks roam around the entire monastery 
Overlooking the entire Labrang Monastery from the back mountain, the same magnificent view from a different angle 
Access to the monastery area from the back mountain 
Entering the main hall area of the temple from the back mountain passage, we are the only ones in the empty square, quietly experiencing the solemnity and tranquility that the temple should have. 
After finishing the sutra circulation around the entire monastery and returning to the entrance, the sunset and martial law were not yet over, and the monks who had listened to the sutra were walking back to their residences, holding the statue of the Panchen Lama in their hands with joy. 
The wood carving decoration in the lobby of the homestay at night was completed by painters from the hometown of Regong Art, and the standard was very high. Tips:
A. External transportation - Langmu Temple is less than 200 kilometers from Labrang Temple, and you can go there after visiting Gerdi Temple and Namo Grand Canyon in the morning. Along the way, it is basically a plateau meadow (original), if you don't ride a horse, you can go to the free observation deck or Jingmei halfway, Tibetans park and walk around the linka, with the participation, the Tibetans will warmly invite you to taste the food they burn, do the game and jump the pot village together, the scenery and experience are the best experience, I personally think it is not necessary to go to the so-called grassland attractions such as Sanke.
B. Internal transportation in the scenic area - Labrang Temple is almost the entire Xiahe Town, which is huge in scale from the temple, but not big from the perspective of the town, just walk. If you have a certain amount of physical strength, it is recommended to be like the local Tibetans to complete the sutra turn, that is, in addition to the 3.5-kilometer prayer gallery, continue to go around the entire temple along the outer wall of the temple, almost 6-7 kilometers, and you can enter the temple area from the passage of the back mountain on the way to visit again, which is also a different experience.
In addition, if you are interested, you can get up at 5 o'clock in the morning and go to the Great Sutra Hall to listen to the morning class, and it is said that you can also go to the temple cafeteria to eat at noon. Buddhist temple opening hours: Open at about 6 a.m., and morning classes start at 6 a.m. Gongtang Pagoda and Wensi College are closed at 6 p.m., other Buddhist halls are closed at 4 p.m., and the temple area is not closed.
There is also a July puja in the local area - from June 29 to July 15 of the lunar calendar, 17 days (held in major monasteries), but unfortunately the time is not right this time. Every day, Buddhist philosophical debates are held in the monastery, and the debaters have to offer flowers in front of the Buddha in various scripture halls and Buddhist halls the day before, and scatter flowers to the monks in the Great Sutra Hall, and the petals are like rain, which is quite a spectacle.On the eighth day of July (8/15), the "Milareba Persuasion Meeting" was held, and at noon on the same day, the religious dance "Milareba Persuasion Meeting" was performed in the Great Scripture Hall, performed by the monks wearing masks, and the content told religious stories, and Milarepa persuaded the hunters to convert to Buddhism and other allusions.
C. Food - Lunch, you can eat in the town you pass by on the way to Labrang Temple, order a green pepper beef fried rice with beef soup, or beef dumplings, which are good light meals. For dinner, there are many restaurants in the town on the side of Labrang Temple, and you can find a good business with a good overall taste.
D. Accommodation - It is recommended to stay in a homestay of a certain level, with software and hardware close to the level of the coast, which is much better than the regular quasi-star hotel in Langmu Temple in front. In the evening, I talked to the front desk (the proprietress of the house?) chatting, I learned that the Tibetan wood carving decoration paintings in the lobby were by colleagues Regong painters, and in addition to appreciating them, it also made a good preparation for the next trip of colleagues.
Day7 Octagonal Ancient City and Regong Art Hometown Tongrenwutun Shang/Xiazhuang Temple
Day 7 Leaving Xiahe early in the morning and driving to the focus of this trip, the hometown of Regong art, the Ganga Valley and the Octagonal City on the way are also very distinctive.
View of the White Stone Cliff from the hillside next to the octagonal city in the Ganga Valley. 
A hillside overlooking the octagonal city. 
The ancient walls of Octagon City and the white stone cliffs guarding it in the distance. 
The scenery of the plateau meadow at the pass of the Tongxia Highway, the road is winding, and the yak is like a musical note, dotting it. 
After crossing the pass, we had a light meal in the town of Guashize on the way, and soon came to the Wutun Xiazhuang Temple in Tongren. The place is not big, as the main temple of Regong art, the construction and decoration are exquisite, but it is not inferior to the previous two major temples, and the part is even better! "Regong is the Tibetan name for Tongren County and Zeku County in Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province; In the general concept, Regong is just the name of the Longwu River Basin, where Tongren County is located. Tongren County is located in the southeast of Qinghai Province, the first bay of the Jiuqu Yellow River, located at 101°38'-102°27' east longitude and 35°01' to 35°47' north latitude. It is adjacent to Xiahe County in Gansu Province in the east, Zeku County in the south, Guide County in the west, and Jianzha County and Xunhua Salar Autonomous County in the north. . . Regong is considered a city of wisdom, and the Tibetan people call it the land of eight achievements, that is, the so-called one place, one temple, one head and one temple, one family and one Buddha hall. About the origin of Regong art... This golden valley of hope has long been where various arts related to Tibetan Buddhism and secular life have been born, grown, matured and influenced at home and abroad. With the stabilization and development of Tibetan Buddhism in the Regong area, a large number of folk artists have emerged who have made painting, sculpture, architecture, etc. their lifelong careers. For hundreds of years, there have been many artists in the Regong area, passed down from generation to generation, and the art of Regong has also spread its stage name because of its exquisite skills, unique techniques and the spread of Tibetan Buddhism. - Excerpt from [Regong Art]
The gate and temple building of Wutunxia Temple. 
A tall prayer flag at the end of the entrance passage. 
The monk's house under the blue sky and white clouds is beautifully painted. 
The prayer flag at the entrance is still the same as it was 14 years ago. 
The brightly colored monastic house and the huge Buddha statue in the square outside. 
The exquisite frescoes of the main hall 
The exquisite frescoes of the main hall 
scripture hall 
A large stupa in a corner of the square, the sculptures and paintings on it are representative of Regon art. 
Overlooking the entire Sino-Tibetan monastery building from the large pagoda. 
The pagoda and the Big Buddha in the square. Not far from Wutun Xiazhuang Temple is Wutun Shangzhuang Temple, which is much smaller in overall scale than Xiazhuang Temple.
The mountain gate and the large studa in front of the gate of Wutun Xia Temple. 
The temple of Wutunxia Temple. Leaving Wutun Shang/Xia Temple, due to the closure of the Regong Art Museum for some reason, the driver took us to the studio of a local living Buddha, and the Regong art works in it can be described as dazzling and exquisite!
The mandala is beautifully crafted and has profound meanings. 
The studio's award-winning Bodhisattva statue. 
Fine thangka. 
A rare Bodhi leaf thangka, the painting is fine, the characters are vivid, and the colors are bright but not vulgar. Octagonal City, Tongren Tips:
A. External transportation - Labrang Temple (Xiahe County) is about 130 kilometers away from Tongren, and you can go to Ganga Valley and Octagonal City on the way. Most of the first part of the journey is still dominated by the plateau meadow (original) scenery, of which you can overlook a large area of rolling meadow at the junction with Qinghai, and the winding road and the cattle dotted in between are like notes on the earth, and the scenery is very spectacular! After entering Qinghai Guashize, the scenery and grassland along the way will gradually fade, and there will be completely different Danxia landforms...
B. Internal transportation in the scenic spot - driving and walking. The ancient city of Octagon is located about 35 kilometers north of Xiahe County, located on the plateau where the two rivers of Yangqu and Yangla meet, blocking the key point of transportation in Gansu and Qinghai. You can climb to the observation deck on the hillside behind the city, overlooking the ancient city and the white stone cliffs behind you, and the Grand Canyon landform. You can also walk around the ancient city, there are natural villages inside, which is different from many ancient city ruins in the northwest.
On theside of colleagues, the first thing to see from Gansu is the splendid temple building and the huge Buddha statue in the square of Wutun Xiazhuang Temple, the whole temple can take some time to follow the guide of the monastery and the monks to take a good look, the level of murals and sculptures in each hall is very high, especially the thousand-handed Guanyin of the Guanyin Hall, the huge volume, peaceful and solemn demeanor, looking up at it, the awe and calm in the heart arise spontaneously! There are still not many tourists in the entire temple, and they sit quietly, under the blue sky and white clouds, between the solemn Buddha halls, as if everything has become a frozen eternity... In addition, the large pagoda on the square outside the temple can also be visited at the top, and the intricate sculptures and paintings on the pagoda are breathtaking!
C. Food - Lunch can be eaten in the passing town entering Qinghai, and the pasta and beef soup taste quite good. There are more choices for dinner colleagues, and the driver invited us to taste the local hand-grabbed mutton and the special pasta "dog urine", which was delicious and authentic.
D. Stay - This key recommendation is a quasi-high-star hotel newly opened by colleagues, the room hardware/bedding is quasi-5-star level, and the breakfast is also decent. According to the homework done beforehand, this one should be much better than other hotels, although the price is higher, the actual satisfaction is good!
The main destination on the eighth day was Heri Temple in Zeku County, Huangnan Prefecture, less than 200 kilometers from Tongren, Along the way, it passes through Maixiu Forest Farm and enters the plateau meadow again, and the scenery changes greatly and has a strong visual impact.
Enter the highland meadows of Zeku County, where mountains are full of wildflowers. Heri Temple is a Nyingma temple, and there are 4 large stone scripture walls on the mountain behind the temple, commonly known as the Heri Stone Sutra, which is the largest stone scripture found in our country so far. The largest stone sutra wall stands on the right side of the Great Sutra Hall, 3 meters high, 2.5 meters thick, and 200 meters long, and the scriptures engraved on it are the world-famous Buddhist classic "Kangyur" Tripitaka. Together with the other three stone scriptures, the total length is nearly 300 meters, all made of large and small stone slabs engraved with scriptures. The content of the scriptures is the Tibetan Buddhist masterpieces "Danjur", "The Great Prajna Sutra", etc., as well as more than 1,000 stone carvings of Buddhist stories. The number of scriptures is more than 200 million, and the stone carving project is huge, which fully demonstrates the spirit and wisdom of the Tibetan nation to endure hardships and stand hard work, and is a rare cultural landscape at home and abroad, known as the world's "stone book wonder". At the east end of the sutra wall, there is a prayer pier 9 meters long, 9 meters wide and 10 meters high, and the scriptures engraved on it are the world-famous Buddhist classic "Tengyur" Tripitaka. There is also a stone scripture wall on the east side of the scripture pier, and the scripture engraved is "Taduo", which is carved 108 times. To the west of the largest stone scripture wall, there is a stone scripture wall with a length of 15 meters, a width of 1.3 to 1.5 meters, and a height of 1.2 meters, with 17 kinds of scriptures engraved.
Temples and pilgrimage routes on the slopes of Wagisa Temple. 
Stone through the fence and iron gate around the perimeter of the wall. 
The local Tibetans are circling around the main stone sutra wall, and according to 2 girls in the distance, it takes 108 laps. 
The [Danzhuer] scripture engraved on the stone tablet. 
Guardian Stone Lion. 
Spectacular main wall. 
A view of the stone sutra wall on the hillside from Wahiji Temple at the foot of the mountain. After visiting Heshi Jing, I had a simple lunch in the town and planned to return to Tiecheng Mountain (Diaochao City) next to my colleagues, not wanting to run into one of the main purposes of this trip in Gazedong Village on the side of the security road, which was to meet in June.
Colleagues, June Blood Festival (Huangnan Regong Cultural Festival) is held from the 17th day of the sixth lunar month (2021/7/26) to the twenty-fifth day (2021/8/3) of the lunar calendar, and is the most solemn festival in Huangnan Prefecture. The celebration includes worshiping the gods, carrying the upper back, dancing, climbing the dragon pole, playing the dragon drum, and finally the mage "opening the mountain". During the festival, you can watch the military dance in Guomari Village and Gashari Village in Nianduhu Township, and watch the divine dance in Siheji Village, Gachamo Village, Herijia Village, Tiewu Village, Suhuri Village in Longwu Town (Longwu Old Town) and Xiazhuang Village, Gadui Village, Shiharon Village, Harabatu Village, and Nianduhu Township in Nianduhu Township, and watch the dragon dance in Langjia Village, Bao'an Township. During the June Fair, the villagers are very particular about their costumes, and the dancers must be dressed in costumes. Men wear white or red high-top felt hats with Tibetan knives, while women wear colorful Tibetan robes decorated with natural gemstones, colorful and dazzling. The Regong June Fair contains rich cultural content such as religious history and folk customs, and is full of magic and joy. Among the many activities, the upper back and the opening of the mountain are the most concerned, the upper back is to stick 10 to 20 steel needles on the back, the dancers are shirtless, holding the drum in their right hand, beating the drum with their left hand, and dancing while beating. The unique rhythm of the dragon drum is lined with rough and beautiful dancing postures, colorful costumes, and mysterious and devout prayers, bringing joy and romance to the festive and harvest Regong Tibetan Township. The opening of the mountain is when the master cuts the top of his head with a knife and scatters blood in all directions, which is a simple and peculiar way of worshiping the heavens, which fully expresses the industrious, simple, wise and brave character of the Tibetan people.
The young man on the side of the square who was seriously looking at the information. 
Women who marry into the village also attend in full costume. 
An elderly man tidying up his granddaughter's clothes. 
Quite a star-studded child, performing songs in the square. 
The village man who was dancing the divine dance (Rashze) looked very engaged. 
The little girl was full of joy as she watched her mother tidy up her clothes. 
The little girl participating in the dance and the villagers watching around. 
A focused lead gongmaster 
The women in the village are dancing with soothing movements and solemn expressions, which is in stark contrast to the enthusiasm and unrestrained of the man in front. 
A village girl dancing the god dance. 
Nice belt and costume. 
After opening Red Mountain, pay attention to the mage of the divine dance on the sidelines. After the June Divine Dance in Ga Zedong, it was still early in the morning, so we drove to Guomari Village not far away, where there is a very local castle walled city and Guomari Temple, one of the representatives of Regong art.
On both sides of the Longwu River north of Longwu Town, Tongren County, there are five natural villages dominated by Tu people, namely Nianduhu Village, Guomari Village, Gashari Village, Wutun Village and Tuojia Village, which the surrounding Tibetan people call "Jia Ce Yu" (meaning Han Si Zhaizi), and they themselves are also called "Duoduo" (dalda). These forts are built with walls and gates surrounded on all sides, and the city walls are all earthen walls, tall and thick, and are called "earthen cities". Tucheng is a building in a specific historical period at that time, and from the perspective of its architectural form, it generally has an obvious defensive function... Along the west bank of the Longwu River, there is Guomari and Gashari Village, where the upper and lower Litun are located, and the ancient village of Guomari (meaning "Red Gate") was built in present-day Guomari Village. The ancient village is preserved as a whole, and it is also rammed earth, rectangular, about 220 meters long from east to west, with three gates opening, the east gate is the main gate, and the top of each gate is set up with a prayer tube. This is the uniqueness of the four villages, just like the ancient villages of Nian Duhu. There is no more space in Guomari Ancient Village except for the deep lanes that run through each other. The courtyard of each household occupies a small area, only about two parts of the land, and the space in the ancient village is fully utilized.- Excerpted from [Regong Art]
The east gate of Guomari Castle 
The castle's façade is still largely well preserved 
The south gate of the castle, with parking at the entrance, is now the main entrance. The thangka painters of the Buddha statues on the gatehouse are very meticulous, and it is worthy of being the hometown of Regong art. 
The streets in the castle are very narrow. Not far from the river outside the village is Guo Ma Ri Temple, because it is late and the summer retreat has been closed, although he communicated with the master he met at the door and talked about his pleasant experience in Shanghai, he still politely refused the request to visit, but the door was once the largest large pagoda in the Amdo Tibetan area is still very exquisite and spectacular.
The Great Stupa of Kwok Ma Ri Temple and the villagers worshipping devoutly. 
View of the monastery from a distance from the pagoda Heri Temple, Tongren Tips:
A. External transportation - Tongren to Heri Temple is less than 400 kilometers round trip, the distance is not very close, but along the way from the Longwu (Tongren) River Valley through the tree-lined Maixiu Forest Farm, and then up to the endless plateau meadow, the scenery along the way is large, and there are many places to stop and watch. The road conditions on the road are still good, and you can rush back to your colleagues to take a look around in the morning and afternoon.
B. Internal transportation in the scenic spot - driving and walking. Except for the Heri Temple, which is far away and the hill behind the temple needs to climb a little mountain road, the other destinations are not far from Tongren, and you can drive for about half an hour and walk on the flat ground. In addition, the Heri Temple, especially the hill where the stone scriptures are located, has been built as a trail for tourists, and the periphery of the main stone scripture wall has also been fenced off, which is estimated to be not far from commercial operations, and it is recommended to go as soon as possible if you are interested.
C. Food - Lunch can be eaten in the town a little later after visiting the Heri Temple Stone Sutra, and the fried noodles taste pretty good. We had dinner at the hotel where we were staying, a little surprise, it was the main Cantonese cuisine, the taste was okay, especially the hot pot, Sichuan cuisine and pasta I ate along the way.
D. Stay - This continues to recommend colleagues This newly opened quasi-high-star hotel, the room hardware/bedding has a quasi-5-star level, and the software management is passable.
According to the confirmation of the villagers who took our rides when they came from Gansu, the time of Langjia's June meeting this year was around 1 pm on 7/31, According to the time, we drove to the famous Longwu Temple in Tongren City in the morning.
TheBuddhist garden complex composed of dozens of scripture halls, Buddhist halls and thousands of monks' quarters under the southwest corner of Longwu Town (Tongren) is the famous Tibetan Buddhist temple in Tibet - Longwu Monastery. Longwu Monastery is located 186 kilometers from Xining and is one of the oldest Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in Qinghai and the largest Gelug monastery in southern Qinghai. "Longwu" is a Tibetan word meaning agricultural area, and the full name of Longwu Temple is "Longwu Dale Falunzhou", which is a national key cultural relics protection unit. In the Amdo region, the scale, status, and influence of Longwu Monastery are second only to Labrang Monastery in Gansu Province and Ta'er Monastery in Qinghai Province.Longwu Temple has a long history, and it is recorded that it was first built around the fifth year of Dade in the Yuan Dynasty (1301), when it was a Tibetan Buddhist Sakya monastery, and on the 15th and 30th of each lunar month, the monks would also hold ceremonies for monks to chant scriptures and repent in front of the Buddha.
The gate of Longwu Temple is simple and solemn. 
A corner of the Great Sutra Hall of Longwu Temple and Tibetans circling the main hall. Longwu Temple is surrounded by mountains and rivers, with a beautiful environment. It is an important religious and cultural institution in the Amdo region, with three major colleges: Wensi, Xubu and Kalachakra. The whole monastery is magnificent. The roof of the Buddha hall is covered with green tiles, and the middle ridge is high and gilded. In particular, the large scripture hall in the center of the temple is more solemn and majestic, and the decoration is gorgeous. There are 18 giant columns and 146 short columns, covering an area of more than 1,700 square meters. Dozens of colossal statues such as Shakyamuni enshrined in the sutra hall are known for their exquisite shape and solemnity. In particular, the statue of Master Tsongkhapa is 11 meters high, with a circumference of 26 meters at the base of the seat, and the gold and jade treasures are inlaid with lotus seats, and the whole body of the Buddha statue is stained with gold powder, which looks brilliant and brilliant, and the Buddha's light shines.
The huge, sunny Dajing Hall is huge, and a sense of awe arises spontaneously when walking in it. 
The vicissitudes of the Dajing Hall's courtyard door and exquisite copper knocker. 
The Academy of Literature is being renovated, and the vast Debate Institute reflects the cultural depth of the monastery. 
The majestic porch beside the Wensi Courtyard and the pious old man in the corridor. 
The Summer Warehouse Living Buddha Palace built on the mountain at the back of the temple. 
View the temple area and colleagues from a distance from the palace. 
The tall fruit tree in the palace. 
The mountains in the distance and the temple on the side of the palace. 
In the fifth year of the Ming Dynasty (1625), the plaque of "Western Regions" given by Emperor Xizong of Ming Dynasty. 
The main entrance of the Wensi Debate Academy and the monks' quarters are scattered on the side. 
Like Labrang Monastery, Longwu Monastery is a town in itself, consisting of dozens of sutra halls, Buddhist halls and thousands of monastic houses. Leaving Longwu Temple, we drove to the old street near the Longwu River, as one of the 99 historical and cultural cities, the short street seems to have been renovated for a long time, and there are few pedestrians, which is not enough compared to Longwu Temple.
Longwu Old Street 
A slightly historic building on the street, a supply and marketing cooperative. After seeing the old street, the next destination is the focus of the colleague's trip, Langjia Village June meeting, leaving the city on the side of the road not far from the security guard, the noise and gongs of the crowd inside and outside a courtyard once again attracted our attention, get out of the car and go in to find out that the June meeting was being held in Herijia Village here.
The divine dance of Herijia Village is held in the large courtyard of the temple in the village, and the dance is different from the formation of Gazedong Village, and it is a mode of 4 people. 
Young people beating drums and dancing around the simmering Sangtai (White Festival). 
The village guys who attended dressed up and played drums. 
Village children dressed up. 
The guy beats the drum and dances to the mage. 
The whole family attended in full costume. 
At the end of the divine dance, the villagers walking on the road holding the divine seat flew all over the sky. After watching some of the June meeting with Rijia, we had a light meal in Bao'an Town, and we came to Langa Village, which is famous for its dragon dance (Leshze).
Security Roadside Transport to Langa. 
Temple and Mani pile on the hillside of Langa Village. 
The six-character proverb carved and written in different techniques on the mani pile has neat words and strong colors. Langjia Village is located in the east of the Tongren Longwu River Valley, its dragon dance (Leshze) is large in scale, rich in rituals, is one of the representatives of the local June meeting, especially their dragon dance in addition to the dragon god's summoning clouds to rain, praying for good weather, which is also interspersed with the performance of reproductive worship witch dance ceremonies, containing rich content, its "June Xiong Festival" is a religious sacrifice song and dance celebration with the purpose of worshiping the gods, people and animals are prosperous and unfolded, the performance rhythm is rapid and strong, each group dances the established rhythm, determined by the mage's divination. The ultimate goal is to please the gods with a series of cheerful dances to bless the safety of humans and animals, a bountiful harvest, and at the same time pray to the dragon goddess to bless the birth of children and multiply the population.
When I came to the June Meeting Square in Langjia Village, I obviously felt that it was much bigger than the two villages I had seen before, and the anticipation in my heart arose spontaneously...
Representatives of Langa Village are preparing white sacrifices (simmered mulberry), that is, sacrifices such as grains, white wine, hada, and colored silk to worship the gods. 
At the entrance of the temple, handsome young men dressed up to guard the statue. 
Facing the venue, the young man who guards the statue can see that there are two simmering simmering sand platforms in the venue in the distance, one near and one far away, and the dance will be performed around them one after another. 
By the square, the villagers at the temple gate are dressed up. 
13:15, the old gong master on the side of the square sounded the prepared gong. 
The statue is in place, and the young gong master strikes the gong that will begin in June. 
The dance ceremony begins, fireworks are set off in the venue, and the men of the village dance the dragon dance around the simmered sandai (white festival) according to age. 
A mage dressed in yellow enters the venue and begins the ritual of sacrifice and dance. The mage in yellow robes entered the venue and began the sacrifice and dance ceremony, and the attendants on the side carried buckets of wine and porridge in their hands, and poured soup on the surroundings during the sacrificial dance to show the reproduction and reproduction. In the past, this barrel should have soaked the woodcarved statue of Ama Lemao (dragon girl) and the wooden phallus in the temple on the mountain and held related reproductive worship ceremonies, but this time I didn't see it.
The mage's dance after pouring the soup is casual and mysterious. 
The mage dances and points to the symbolic soup. 
The men of the village danced the dragon dance around the mage and the white altar according to their age. Traditionally, the people who dance the "Leshze" (dragon dance) are all men, and the clothes are basically the same as the "Maheze", but the feet wear specially made cloth shoes and gaiters with patterned straps, symbolizing dragons and snakes. There are as many as 100 people dancing in Langa, and the dance team is mighty, the formation is like a dragon winding and undulating, and the dance posture is simple, imitating the shape and movements of dragons and snakes, which means that it is a dance for the dragon god. Among them, the protagonist each holds a rectangular woodcut god and monster head-shaped mask, with two pointed ears high above his head, a mask in his left hand, and a small wooden axe in his right hand, which is said to be used to subdue the earth demon. In addition, there are two wooden masks called "Zanz", one resembling a toad head and the other resembling a snake head, both of which are said to be vicious water monsters. There are 13 ways to dance "Leshze", including holding a mask dance, eagle spreading wings dance, snake dance, dragon girl joy whirlwind dance, etc. The dance method of the snake dance is roughly like this: that is, all the dancers, first bend their bodies slightly to the right, turn around and jump three steps outward, and then jump three steps inward, and so on repeatedly. The "Dragon Girl Joyful Whirlwind Dance" raises her hands high in front of her head, inhales her legs left and right, bows three times per inhalation, and then puts the mask held by both hands on her chest and sways left and right, a bit like a dragon girl laughing and playing, hence the name.
The primitive primitive people believed that the god of rain was usually the dragon, because the dragon was the totem protector of Fuxi, and since ancient times it has been regarded as able to bring rain to the clouds, so they usually pray for rain by sacrificing the dragon god. The dragon dance performance was to greet the old mage at the edge of the village in the afternoon, and the etiquette was quite grand. At a distance of tens of meters, the two sides tried their best to beat the sheepskin drum, stepped horizontally on the cat's waist, and shortened the distance between the two from time to time while jumping, until the drumming action became more violent at two or three steps. Then the old mage was welcomed into the venue, and all the dancers danced even more crazy under the leadership of the two mages, and the whole dance team soared into the air like a dragon. - Excerpt from [Regon Art]
After about half an hour of the mage's dance, he returned to the temple to rest under the escort of his attendants, waiting for the gods to possess him again. Prepare for the next sacrificial ceremony. 
The dancers in the square held a woodcut monster head-shaped mask in their left hand, still engaged in the dance, and the small wooden axe used to subdue the earth demon in their right hand was placed on the ground. 
The village children who participated in the dance in the middle of the square, and the children who led the dance looked particularly selfless. 
Soon, the mage, who had been re-possessed by the gods after repairing, returned to the dance square and led the villagers to the white altar on the other side, where fireworks were set off again. 
The white altar on the other side was set on fire, and the villagers called out to the gods and threw Longda into the air to pray for happiness and peace, and Longda, who flew all over the sky, also fell on my head. 
The mage in the middle of the field continues the sacrificial ceremony and prepares to lead everyone to welcome the old mage. 
The old man on the side of the square, she must have watched the June sacrifice a lot more than my age, but her expression was still focused. 
The mage held Hada in his hand and led everyone down to the road on the edge of the village to welcome the old mage. 
The old mage held a satin hata in his hand and went to the road on the edge of the village surrounded by people, with the traditional mage's braids on his head. 
The two mages met at the statue and danced madly under it. 
The old mage offered Hada to the high god and the crowd. 
The two mages danced wildly and passionately. 
The attendants of the guardian idols also echo the mage from time to time. 
The villagers in the square who attended the viewing were all dressed in festive costumes, especially the young girls who loved beauty. 
After the greeting ceremony, the villagers returned to the square again, and some of the young men took off their shirts and actively participated in the sacrificial ceremony of inserting back and mouth brazels. 
After inserting the shovel, the villagers continued to dance to the gods until the steel shovel fell off their backs. 
The mage continues the sacrificial ritual in the middle of the villagers who insert the shrine, and the whole of Langjia will reach its climax in June. 
The villagers continued to dance around the shrine/statue and the mage, and the dancers in the shrine were barefoot, I think it was to get closer to the gods (the earth). 
The villagers who attended the scene dressed on the sidelines were also attracted by the climax, although it was not their first experience. 
The young man who finished the sacrifice put on his shoes. 
Before three o'clock, the June sacrifice of the day came to an end, and the supervisor who maintained the order in the venue came into my sight again, and the image of not being angry and self-assured remained in the camera and memory forever. 
At the end, the village children walking outside the venue were still repeating a simple dance, vividly illustrating the vitality of this unique local culture. Finally, when the June festival was over in Langa, the village children who walked outside the venue at the end suddenly understood the reason for the tenacious vitality of this unique local culture.
Thetrip of colleagues has also come to the time when I have to say goodbye again, and I hope that if I have the opportunity to return in the future, everything here is still in my memory.
Longwu Temple, Tongren June Meeting Tips:
A. External transportation - Longwu Temple is actually the old town of Tongren, and Langjia Village is not far from the east of Tongren through Bao'an Town, and these two destinations are very convenient to drive to.
B. Internal traffic in the scenic area - The internal traffic is mainly Longwu Temple, and the entire temple area is as large as Labrang Temple, and it is still the best way to visit while walking. At present, the temple has begun to require foreign tourists to buy tickets (60 yuan) at the gate, but the entire temple area is still relatively original and completely open, except for the temple at the entrance with monks to check the ticket, the rest of the halls, the scripture hall and the living Buddha palace can be freely entered and exited, and the tourists are sparse, and the experience of regional customs is much better than that of the two famous temples in Gannan. If you are interested in the humanities of the local monasteries, it is recommended to do more homework in advance, so you can spend more time exploring and experiencing it.
In addition, as far as the June meeting sacrifice activities are concerned, it is recommended to arrange the itinerary according to the sacrificial date of the representative village of the year, it should be noted that although the June meeting schedule of each village can be queried online, most of the specific start time is not listed, this can be asked the local villagers in advance, reasonably arrange the itinerary, and observe the whole process in time (attached is a list of June meeting activities related to 2021).
C. Food - For lunch that day, you can find a clean halal noodle restaurant in the town of Tongren or Bao'an to have a simple pasta meal, which is delicious and fast. For dinner, I drove to Yongjing City by the Yellow River as planned in the afternoon of the same day, and found that there was a foreign brand chain fast food on the street that I had not seen along the way.
D. Stay - On this day, I stayed in a 4-star hotel on the bank of the Yellow River in Yongjing City, the overall level of software and hardware is acceptable, and the window of the river view room is the rolling Yellow River of the deceased, which is good value for money.
>The tenth day is the last day of the trip, and the destination is Bingling Temple, which has a deep influence on the ancient Silk Road, Buddhism and cave art. In order to have enough time to browse, we drove to Yongjing, a small town by the Yellow River, after observing the June festival of Tongren Langjia the day before. 
The Yellow River passes through the small city. 
The setting sun shines on the Yellow River that passes through the city, coating the small city with warm gold. On the morning of the tenth day, we first came to the Yellow River and the Tao River Confluence Pavilion not far from Liujiaxia Reservoir.
The Yellow River and the Tao River converge at the viewing pavilion, where the turbid Tao River and the turquoise Yellow River form a distinct natural wonder. Bingling Temple, built 1600 years ago during the Five Hu and Sixteen Kingdoms period, was built by the Western Qin regime established by the Xianbei people, Linxia, not far from Bingling Temple, was once the capital of the Western Qin State, Bingling Temple was once considered to be the royal temple of the Western Qin State, and the Yungang Grottoes in Datong and the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, reflecting that religious beliefs and culture are jointly established and accumulated by the entire Chinese nation in the long river of history.
The stone forest opposite the Dasigou River in Bingling Temple is majestic and magnificent, reflecting the extraordinary sound of this place from the other side. 
Looking in from the Great Temple Gully, the valley is green and the peaks are amazing, which is really an excellent place to create grottoes and practice. Bingling Temple was first called "Tang Shu Cave" (Li Daoyuan's "Water Classics Note"), which means "ghost cave" in Qiang, and you can imagine how desolate the local area is! Later, it was renamed Longxing Temple and Lingyan Temple, and it was not until the Ming Dynasty that it was translated from the Tibetan word "100,000 Buddhas" and called Bingling Temple. On the other hand, the change of name also illustrates the change of local regime and the integration of ethnic groups.
From the first year of the Western Qin Dynasty (420 AD) to the Song Dynasty, the grottoes had a great influence on Han Buddhism, Pure Land Buddhism, Huayan Buddhism and Zen Buddhism. In the Sui Dynasty, it was the only way for the ancient Silk Road to go south to Tibet. The introduction of the Huang School in Tibetan Buddhism at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty has been used since then.
Bingling Temple is divided into three parts: Upper Temple, Lower Temple and Donggou, most of which are distributed on the red sand rock on the northwest side of Dasi Gully, which is characterized by loose stone and easy carving, but is very easy to weather. At present, Bingling Temple has more than 200 caves, more than 700 statues, and 1,500 square meters of murals. Most of the statues in the grottoes are stone carvings, but also clay sculptures, long-term wind and sun and war have made most of the sculptures incomplete, the largest of which is located in Cave 171, built in the Tang Dynasty, the upper body is stone carved, the lower body is clay sculpture, up to 72 meters high (including the base?), is the ninth largest Buddha in the world.
The Big Buddha in Cave 171, Cave 169 in the upper left corner of the head is the essence of the entire grotto 
In the 60s, the expedition team crossed the river to go to Bingling Temple opposite (online borrowed picture) 
In the 60s, the expedition team set up a ladder to survey the grottoes above. The large cave above the head of the Big Buddha looks like a huge question mark is Cave 169, which is nearly 40 meters above the ground, which is the founding work of Bingling Temple and a rare Western Qin Grottoes in China.This irregular natural cave has been damaged due to the Buddhist pavilions built in the Tang Dynasty and later generations, and no one has climbed it for nearly hundreds of years (the inscriptions found in the cave are as late as Ming Jiajing), and the statues and murals are fortunately preserved relatively intact. In May 1963, the expedition team found a line of words in the grottoes "The first year of Jianhong was made on the twenty-fourth day of the third month of Xuanxiao", and "the first year of Jianhong" is the era name of Qifu Chipan, the king of Western Qin in the Sixteen Kingdoms, that is, 420 AD! This discovery proves that the earliest grottoes in Gansu are at least a few decades to half a century earlier than Yungang and Longmen. This ink book inscription of the "first year of Jianhong" has made the Bingling Temple Grottoes the earliest existing cave with a clear chronological statue inscription in our country, and is an important chronological ruler for the study of early Chinese Buddhist grottoes.
The inscription on the inner wall of Cave 169 reads "Made on the twenty-fourth day of the third month in the first year of Jianhong" (photography is prohibited in the cave, borrowed online) 
The identifiable text in the inscription. 
From the Big Buddha and Cave 169, you can see the entrance of Dasigou from a distance, showing a steep and amazing situation. 
Mural in Cave 169 (borrowed online) 
Cave 169 murals, the earliest known Vimalakirti statue (online borrowed picture) 
Cave 169 statue (photography is prohibited in the cave, online borrowing). Cave 169 and Cave 172 of Bingling Temple are shaped Buddha statues in natural caves, these two caves are the highest point in the entire cave area, and now a very tall wooden plank road has been built to climb up, and under the two stone caves are the Great Buddha of Cave 171 excavated in the Tang Dynasty, in addition to the Western Qin inscriptions inside, it is worth noting that there are some remnants of wooden structure cave eaves preserved in Cave 169, or the remains of the Tang Dynasty. If the Tang Dynasty Buddhist Pavilion was built around the nineteenth year of the Tang Dynasty (731), then it is more than 50 years earlier than the earliest existing wooden structure in our country, which was built in the third year of Jianzhong (782) in the main hall of Wutai Nanchan Temple in Shanxi, and should be the oldest known wooden structure in China!
Cave 169, the location of the suspected oldest wooden structure (Tang Dynasty) (photography is prohibited in the cave, borrowed online) 
The details of the suspected Tang structure (photography is prohibited in the cave, borrowed online), the shape of the wooden pillars is very similar to that of the Tang Dynasty Nanchan Temple in Wutai Mountain. 
Next to the Big Buddha, the wooden stairs and plank paths leading to Caves 169 and 172 built in modern times are extremely steep. 
From the plank road from Cave 169 to Cave 172, you can see the opposite cliff, which is extremely steep and extraordinary. 
View of the entrance of the Great Temple Gully from the plank road of Cave 169. In 1967, the Liujiaxia Reservoir of the Yellow River was flooded, flooding part of the grottoes, of which an 8.6-meter-long clay reclining Buddha in Cave 16 was relocated and preserved in 9 pieces; It was not until 1999 that the Reclining Buddha Temple was built opposite the grottoes, and the nine limbs of the reclining Buddha were combined into one and reappeared in front of the world.
Opposite the grotto is the Reclining Buddha Hall, which houses the Great Reclining Buddha that was moved in 1967, and although it has lost its original foundation, it can be considered a place to stay. 
Standing on the bridge in front of the Big Buddha and looking into the ditch, a pedestrian is walking into the depths where there are no tourists, which is said to be the site of Bingling Temple now. Before leaving, looking back at the ditch, there was a pedestrian walking into the depths where there were no tourists, which was where we could not explore further. Just like this journey, whether it is the magnificent landscapes of Jiuzhai and Huanglong, the amazing mountains of Zagana and Cuomeifeng, or the unique architecture and art and humanities of Langmu Temple, Labrang Temple, Heri Temple, Longwu Temple and Tongren June Meeting, they are all to explore the unknown world, and the journey of life is not like this...
Yongjing, Bingling Temple Tips:
A. External transportation - Bingling Temple is about 160 kilometers away from Lanzhou, and the straight-line distance of colleagues in the past should not be too far away from about 200 kilometers. This time, I chose to transfer to Yongjing first, and in fact, from the itinerary and map, I feel that the direction of Linxia transit is smoother, but Autode can't find a corresponding route, maybe because the current road construction is not complete across the Yellow River. In addition, the road in Yongjing has been repaired in the past, and now the car can drive directly to the parking lot not far from the temple gate, 60 kilometers in less than 1 hour, compared with the previous boat, the time and cost are saved a lot, but the boat can enjoy the scenery along the Yellow River Reservoir, and it should be a good choice to have plenty of time.
B. Internal traffic in the scenic area - The entire scenic area of Bingling Temple is not large, just walk slowly and look at it. But the main essence of Cave 169 is not included in the big ticket as a special cave, at present, if you want to see it, you will be charged an additional 300 yuan per person for a special cave fee, compared with the same level of Dunhuang special caves are difficult to find (basically not open) Personal suggestion must be to see, the story and history of the Bingling Temple Grottoes, the artistic value is basically in Cave 169, the full-time explanation is also very professional, it should be said that 169 came to Bingling Temple in vain! Such ancient and valuable cultural relics may be completely restricted from being visited for the purpose of protection in the future. In addition, pay attention to the wooden plank road built in Cave 169 is relatively narrow and steep, when buying tickets, the service staff will ask in advance if you are afraid of heights, in fact, climb slowly, pay attention to your feet, anyway, it is still the same sentence, the infinite scenery is on the dangerous peak!
C. Food - Lunch can be eaten later in the town along the way from Bingling Temple to Lanzhou, we have a noodle shaving restaurant in Sanyuan Town, and the beef slaughter in it tastes unexpectedly authentic! When I arrived at Lanzhou Airport in the afternoon, I would definitely not hit thunder when I tasted Lanzhou beef noodles.
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