Chapter 021: Qinghai-Tibet Highway
"Goodbye, Lhasa", early the next morning, as the car drove out of Lhasa, Shen Hu said lyrically on the walkie-talkie.
On the 109 National Highway, everyone drove to Dangxiong and Naqu again, and Namucuo had already played when he came, so everyone didn't stop in Dangxiong, but just got off the bus halfway and ate something and went straight to Naqu. Early the next morning, the two cars left Naqu and drove along the 109 National Highway to Golmud in the direction of Qinghai, and truly entered the legendary most beautiful Qinghai-Tibet line.
The Qinghai-Tibet Highway is known as the "Suez Canal on the Roof of the World" and is responsible for 80% of the transportation of materials into Tibet. The average altitude of the whole line is more than 4,000 meters, the trail is on the Qinghai-Tibet line, the reckless Kunlun, the vast grassland, will make people shocked, the heart swaying, produce a natural rise and surpass the long-term feeling of self.
After starting from Naqu, everyone found that the road conditions were surprisingly good, it was completely a highway, and it was the kind of one that stepped on the accelerator and didn't need to move the direction, it was really a heavenly road. Soon, the two cars drove through Amdo County and continued to move forward, from here, there was a feeling of climbing, it should be almost to Tanggula Mountain, the car turned a bend to a mountain pass, found that there was a sign that said 5140 meters above sea level, but there was no road sign and did not know what kind of mountain this is, and when the car turned a mountain bend, everyone saw the colorful prayer flags fluttering in the distance, and unconsciously everyone had come to the pass of Tanggula Mountain.
Tanggula Mountain is the dividing line between Qinghai and Tibet, 5231 meters above sea level, is the highest point of the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, the mountain pass has the statue monument of the People's Liberation Army dedicated to the construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, the altitude monument, and the "Monument to the Completion of the Military-Civilian Joint Construction of Lanxila Optical Fiber Optic Cable Project", it is the only place to enter Tibet along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, and it is also the birthplace of the Yangtze River.
Tanggula Mountain is a famous mountain in Tibet, there are many wide basins between the mountains, it is a good plateau grassland, standing on the Tanggula Pass, under the sky, looking at it from afar, the snow-capped mountains are one after another, and the mountain pass is fluttering with colorful flags.
The car drove off the road and stopped next to the monument, which is a pass, there is a large piece of flat land, standing here you can be condescending, see the beautiful snow-capped peaks in the distance, everyone can't hide their excitement, and they have got out of the car to take pictures.
"Tiger, now you can shout, goodbye Tibet, because from here it is the territory of Qinghai. After Huang Hua helped Shen Hu take a photo, he reminded Shen Hu.
"Oh, yes, then you can record a little video for me, I'm going to shout goodbye to Tibet. Then he shouted.
Shen Hu's behavior resonated with everyone, thinking that the dream of entering Tibet for many years had just come true, and now he was about to leave immediately, and everyone finally had a trace of reluctance in their hearts.
"Goodbye Tibet, goodbye Lhasa, but I want to come again, I still have to go to Mount Everest......", "I will come again, goodbye Tibet", "Goodbye Tibet, see you next time in Nyingchi" All kinds of cries echoed in the mountains.
After everyone vented their hoarseness, they got into the car and continued to move forward, and at noon, they arrived at the Tuotuo River Bridge.
Tuotuo River, also known as Tuotuo River, is considered to be the source of the Yangtze River, the source of the Yangtze River is very inconspicuous, originally formed by some glaciers, cirque meltwater, snow water from Jiang Gendi Glacier, Jiang Gendi Glacier is located in the southwest side of the main peak of the Tanggula Mountains, Gela Dandong means "high and sharp peak" in Tibetan, 6621 meters above sea level, is the highest peak of Tanggula Mountain. Jiang Gendiru is 6,548 meters above sea level, there are two large glaciers in the north and south in a semi-arc, and there is a two-kilometer ice tower forest at the tail of the glacier, and the snow water melted by this large glacier is the source of the Yangtze River.
Bit by bit of snow water converges into a small stream, the small stream slowly converges into a small river, this small river is the Tuotuo River of "the first river of the Yangtze River", it is the source of the Yangtze River, when the Qu River is the south source of the Yangtze River, the two rivers blend, thus forming the Tongtian River in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and the Tongtian River is 813KM in length, until the mouth of the Batang River in Yushu, after flowing into Sichuan through the direct gate of Yushu in Qinghai, it was renamed the Jinsha River.
The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau once spread such a folk proverb, "go up to the Kunlun Mountain, enter the Ghost Gate, to the Tuotuo River, do not know whether to live or die", to describe the terrain and harsh environment here, but today, the Qinghai-Tibet Highway is majestically across the Tuotuo River across the Kunlun Mountain, and after crossing the Tuotuo River Bridge, it arrived at the Hoh Xil Nature Reserve.
The Hoh Xil Uninhabited Area is the largest and last piece of native land in China, covering a vast area at the junction of Qinghai, Tibet and Xinjiang. It has a steep terrain, an average altitude of more than 5,000 meters, a harsh climate, perennial winds, the fastest wind speed can reach 20-28 m/s, the average annual temperature is minus 4 degrees Celsius, and the lowest temperature can reach more than minus 40 degrees Celsius. Because the air is thin, the boiling point of boiling water is only more than 80 degrees, things are difficult to cook, because of the restrictions of various harsh natural conditions, it is difficult for ordinary people to go deep into its hinterland, and human beings cannot live for a long time, so it is known as the "third pole of the world" and "the forbidden area of life". However, because of this, it has created unique living conditions for plateau wild animals and has become a "paradise for wild animals". It is home to more than 230 species of wildlife and is home to Tibetan antelopes, and the Qinghai-Tibet Highway runs through the border of Hoh Xil.
The vehicle continues to move forward, and soon arrives at the wind crater, the wind volcano, also known as Longjib Mountain, is located in the uninhabited area of Hoh Xil, with an altitude of 5010 meters, which is famous for the windy rolling thunder, and the wind volcano foothills are surrounded by a year-round frozen layer. Its main peak Totodunsai is a cirque glacier, the soil of the wind volcanic mountain is maroon-red, the stone is brown, the mountain stone is strangely shaped, forming the wonder of "Stone Forest Tablet Sea", legend has it that Sun Wukong Bao Tang Seng went to the west to learn scriptures and passed by the Flame Mountain, because he couldn't pass, he had to borrow a fan from the princess of the iron fan to extinguish the fire, and the princess of the iron fan refused to borrow, so the two fought. The princess of the iron fan used a fan to fan the fire in the sky, and as a result, Sun Wukong's tiger skin skirt was burned, and Sun Wukong was in a hurry to turn over to Kunlun Mountain, at this time, a piece of a burning dress fell from the air to the wind volcano, because the wind was strong here, the wind helped the fire, and all the stones on the mountain were burned red. Later, people called this mountain Wind Volcano. After the wind volcano is five beams, after the five beams and then before is the Kunlun Pass.
The Kunlun Mountains, starting from the Pamir Plateau in the west, are the basic skeleton of the plateau landform. The Karakoram Mountains in the western part are the natural boundary between the Tarim Basin and the Northern Tibetan Plateau, and the eastern Kunlun Mountains are composed of three major mountain systems, the Tanggula Mountains in the south, the Kunlun Mountains in the middle, the Altun Mountains and the Qilian Mountains in the north. The status of Mount Kunlun in ancient Chinese mythology can be compared to Mount Olympus in Greek mythology, as a mountain of gods and goddesses. Kunlun Mountain has the prominent position of "the ancestor of ten thousand mountains" in the cultural history of the Chinese nation, the ancients respected Kunlun Mountain as the Chinese "ancestor of the dragon vein", "Dragon Mountain", "Classic of Mountains and Seas" records, the Yellow Emperor, the Queen Mother of the West and other prominent gods all live here, and the mountains and rivers are strange, the mountain is rich in precious jade, and there are also sacred springs such as Yaochi, Pan Tao and other sacred fruits for them to enjoy.
For thousands of years, reckless Kunlun has woven countless beautiful and moving legends. In China, the folk legends of Chang'e running to the moon, Dayu controlling the water, Houyi shooting the sun, Jingwei reclamation, Journey to the West, and the legend of the White Snake all belong to the mythological system of Kunlun Mountain, all of which are related to Kunlun Mountain, and it is the location of the Taoist dojo in the late Ming Dynasty, and it is the first sacred mountain in China.
Standing in Kunlun Pass, you can see Kunlun in the east and west. Looking to the east, in the quiet eternal snow field, Yuxu Peak rises lonely, overwhelming the mountains, creating a unique natural landscape in the ice and snow world. According to legend, Yuxu Peak is the place where the Jade Emperor's sister Yuxu Priestess lived. Legend has it that the Jade Emperor built a Xuanyuan Palace on the top of Kunlun Mountain, the Jade Emperor's sister Yu Xuan was unwilling to learn about it, saying that the Jade Emperor occupied too many places, the Jade Emperor had no choice but to give one of the peaks to Yu Xu, and Yu Xu also made great efforts to build a clear and jade palace for himself on this peak, and this peak has been called Jade Peak since then.
It's really a beautiful scenery all the way to see endlessly, straight highway, on both sides is a wide grassland, at the end is a snow-capped mountain, the sky is blue, the white clouds are low and floating, a few Tibetan wild asses and white-lipped deer appear in the grassland from time to time, there are eagles in the air occasionally flying over, it is worthy of being the most beautiful heavenly road, everyone is really extremely comfortable to drive along the way.
"Car No. 1, car No. 1, have you seen Tibetan antelopes, there seem to be a few on the grass on the left", the voice of Lao Su on Shen Hu's car came from the walkie-talkie.
"It doesn't seem to be, it is said that the buttocks of the Tibetan antelope are white, and I can't see clearly, I can't see clearly," Yang Xukuan replied on the walkie-talkie.
"Why don't we drive down the car and take a look, it would be a pity not to see the Tibetan antelope when we get to Hoh Xil," Lao Su continued to talk.
"There is a dirt road on the side of the road ahead, but you are not sure where it leads?" replied Yang Xukuan.
"If there is a road, you should be able to go down, you see that there is a small lake a little farther away, it is estimated that those wild animals will go to drink water, we can just get close to it, the opportunity is rare." Shen Hu's voice came from the walkie-talkie.
"Okay, receive it, we will enter the grassland from the dirt road in front", Yang Xukuan replied after asking Han Ming.
The Qinghai-Tibet Highway built through the grassland, the road surface is higher than the grassland ground, both sides are roadbeds, except for specific places, there is generally no fork road, but not far ahead, there is really a fork road that can lead to a small lake in the depths of the grassland, and after a while, everyone drove along the dirt road to the small lake.
"There is no road, let's get out of the car and move, by the way, see if there are any Tibetan antelopes", Han Ming said again on the walkie-talkie, although the scenery was beautiful all the way, but after a day of driving, everyone was really a little tired, so they got out of the car and started activities.
Han Ming and the others actually came to the artificial water source specially built for wild animals in the reserve without authorization.