I asked Yanqiu, "Have you ever been to this place?" ”

Yan Qiu shook his head and said, "Of course not, this place is remote, and I have been abroad for so long, how can I have been here?" ”

I wondered why she looked like a local since she hadn't been here, was it because of the dinosaur sculptures? I continued to ask, "Then how do you know that this is Erenhot?" Is Erenhot directly related to dinosaurs? ”

The fat brother was also very curious, and asked: "Could it be that the totem here is a dinosaur?" That's earlier than sea holly, right? ”

Yan Qiu glanced at the fat brother with disdainful eyes, then turned his head and continued driving, slowing down the speed of the car while saying, "Although I haven't been to this place, I have heard of it a long time ago. If you don't know Erenhot, you will learn it in vain. ”

Jiang Li immediately sat up straight and said to Yan Qiu: "Sister, don't sell Guanzi, talk about it quickly." ”

Yan Qiu was amused by Jiang Li's cuteness and studiousness, and then told us about the connection between Erenhot and archaeology.

Yan Qiu said that Erenhot is located in the middle of the Inner Mongolia Plateau, north of the Yinshan Mountain Range. The terrain is relatively flat, gently sloping from southwest to northeast, and the urban area is in the sedimentary zone of the Erlian Basin. The basin is very rich in dinosaur and other vertebrate fossils, which is called "dinosaur cemetery" by paleontologists and praised as "the hometown of dinosaurs" by Chinese people.

This is one of the earliest areas in Asia to discover dinosaur fossils, and there are many varieties of dinosaur fossils, among which Cretaceous dinosaur fossils represent the characteristics of the most recent biota of global dinosaur activities, and the scientific research value is extremely high.

Over the past century, there have been paleontologists and geologists from Russia, the United States, Canada and other countries and China to conduct research here, and there are about five or six large-scale investigations and excavations alone, and there are many kinds of dinosaur bone fossils found one after another, including Crocosaurus, Euclidean Acaisaurus, duck-billed dragon, ornithosaurus, ankylosaurus, ceratosaurus fossils, etc. At the same time, a large number of Paleozoic marine animal fossils and Cenozoic mammal fossils have also been found.

In 1921, dinosaurs and dinosaur egg fossils were discovered for the first time in Erlian Salt Pond, which made a start for the study of dinosaur fauna in Erlian, especially the first discovery of dinosaur eggs, which confirmed that dinosaurs were oviparous reptiles and laid an important foundation for dinosaur research.

In 1998, the Chagannuoer Dinosaur Fossil Nature Reserve was established, and later the Erenhot Dinosaur Museum was established.

In 2012, it seems that pterosaur fossils were also discovered, and since then, Erenhot's reputation has become more and more resounding.

Jiang Li was puzzled and asked: "I saw from the book that dinosaurs live in places like tropical rainforests, why are there dinosaurs in the Gobi, which is full of sand?" ”

Obviously, this question is to the point, and Yan Qiu took the trouble to answer: "Studies have shown that in the late Cretaceous period 70 million years ago, the area around Erlian Salt Pond was full of lakes and swamps, the climate was humid and hot, and the dense forests were dense, which was very suitable for dinosaurs to live and reproduce." Later, with the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which blocked the warm and humid air flow from the southwest and southeast, the change of atmospheric circulation led to the gradual drying out of this area. ”

I asked Yan Qiu, "Then where is the Erlian Salt Pond where you said that dinosaur fossils were found?" ”

Yan Qiu said: "Erlianhot is a Mongolian language, named after the nearby Erennao (nào), Naoer means lake, Erlian is the Chinese transliteration of Mongolian Eren, which is the name of Tongguò pronunciation, and the Mongolian meaning of Erren is actually a mirage." This is a beautiful description of the desert Gobi scenery by the herdsmen, which means mirage. This city is on the Gobi, and when travelers come here and see a city on the desolate surface, they will think that it is a mirage. The meaning of the Chinese language of Hot, the two of them should know it, right? ”

The fat brother replied: "Haote means city, and it is also Mongolian." That Erenhot is the city of mirage. ”

Yan Qiu continued: "The Erlian Salt Pond in Zhan Xiaowen is a salt pond nine kilometers northeast of the city, and it is also the earliest inhabited place in this area. There is the famous Ilyin Station. ”

The fat brother asked: "I always say that the post station, what does the post station mean?" Is it a station? ”

Yan Qiu replied: "In ancient times, the post station was mainly used to transmit government orders and military information, receive past envoys and officials, and also undertake the transmission of military transfers and material transportation, and provide respite, food and lodging, supplies, transfer of horses and vehicles, and provide militarized protection and other services for civilian business travelers. To put it bluntly, it's a transit station. During the Mengyuan period, the Jade Dragon Stack was built here, and it was not until the twenty-fifth year of Jiaqing, that is, around 1820, that the Yilin Post Station was officially established. Yulong and Yilin are both transliterations, which should mean the beginning and the era, indicating that this is an important transit station, and it is a new beginning to the north or south here. It was not until the fifteenth year of Guangxu later, according to the current time, that is, in 1899, that Zhangjiakou and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia opened telephone lines and set up a telegraph office, which included this place in the territory and named Erlian. ”

I smiled and said, "It's really uneducated, it's better to call it Jade Dragon City, and the dragon with dinosaurs is good, and the pronunciation is a little bit on the side." ”

Yan Qiu also laughed, and didn't forget to sarcastically say: "You don't use your brain, and you didn't know that there were dinosaur fossils here when you named it." ”

I thought to myself that she was right, so I didn't argue anymore, but looked at the sculptures outside the window and said, "The sculptures look like Jurassic Park in Hollywood blockbusters." ”

Yan Qiu said: "In fact, in the past, China's national strength was weak, and the important fossils obtained during the investigation were packed into 120 boxes and shipped to the west coast of the Pacific Ocean by scientists from the United States in the name of further in-depth research. They said they would send it back after they had finished researching, but they still haven't fulfilled their promise. The dinosaurs in Jurassic Park you see are likely to be based on the dinosaur fossils found here. ”

After learning the beginning and the end from Yan Qiu, I couldn't help but curse secretly, the trust between people could not be sustained. After that, I asked Yan Qiu again: "You said that Erlian Salt Pond is in the northeast of the city?" Which side is the Northeast? ”

Yan Qiu said angrily: "I haven't been here again, how do I know the direction?" Then he ignored me.

Jiang Li pointed to the window on the right and said, "Over there." ”

Only then did I realize that after walking all the way, I was delayed by messy things, and I almost forgot about business, so I asked Jiang Li: "Is the whirlpool you saw nearby?" ”

Jiang Li shook his head and said, "I have to go north." ”

It's not going to be easy, it's already very north, do you want to go further north? Wouldn't we have to head to Hulunbei? It seems that this journey is just the beginning. Anyway, the car has already driven into Erenhot, settle down first, and then think about the next plan.

Although it is rich in tourism resources and an important port for trade with abroad, it is also a border city after all, not very prosperous, and there are not many high-rise buildings.

As it was morning, the road conditions were very good, there were few vehicles, and there were no traffic problems at all. There are many jeeps eliminated by the former Soviet Union running on the road, and the fat brother said that it is called a gas car, which is specially used by the Mongolian people to transport goods and do business, and travel between the two countries. Some gascars are still parked on the side of the road, and they simply open the doors and act as mobile shops, selling small goods full of them.

What's hilarious is that I actually saw a gas car, in addition to the chassis, it is completely spliced with a wooden frame, this kind of car can also be happily on the road, to the novelty, it looks quite sturdy, and it does not delay the use at all.

Our car was parked in front of a roadside charcoal grill that was open all night and still hasn't closed, with many tables neatly placed in front of the door.

We found a place to sit around, ordered the special grilled lamb chops and lamb legs here, took the knife provided by the store, ate it in a big gulp, and drank free hot milk tea, which also had a unique flavor.

Jiang Li was extremely happy and said to me: "It's really good to come out with you rich people, eat lamb legs early." ”

I looked at the leg of mutton on the table distressed and said, "It's not us, I paid for it all the time, I really owe you in my last life." With that, he began to eat again.

The charcoal shop is a three-storey street-level shop with a hotel next to it, and we went straight to find a place to stay before we made long-term plans.

As soon as I entered the hotel, I was filled with the strong smell of perfume from the Mongolian brothers, and it smelled very choking, but I could only endure it if I followed the local customs. The accommodation fee is not expensive, the standard room is one hundred and two per day, we want two, and we can't wait to go to the second floor.

I also asked for a map from the front desk, this person is not familiar with the place, I have to study it carefully.

Due to the narrow hallway, as soon as we went up to the second floor, we bumped into a big brother who seemed to be a resident. I hastened to apologize and be polite.

Unexpectedly, when he saw me, he smiled and said to me, "Yo, why are you guys?" Long time no see. ”