Qaidam, loneliness 315
Flying stone
Preface: Select from the Altun Mountain in Xinjiang Ruoqiang climb to reach Qaidam The reason is simple: there is one of China's largest no man's land. 315 State Road, is the only option.
2003-10-5, sunny, Xinjiang Ruoqiang - Qinghai asbestos mine - Huatugou, lodging Huatugou Post Hotel.
Crossing the Altun Mountains, connecting the Qaidam Basin in southern Xinjiang and Qinghai, 315 State Road, which locals called the worst of China's national highway. Is worst, I Wucongkaozheng, but at least it was I walked so far in China, one of the worst national highway. The desolate way you asphyxia, exposure to which, once lived in Vanity Fair that the world seems very far away from you, Yunnan-Tibet line compared with Sichuan-Tibet line, all claim to be a bustling thoroughfare of. This band, is the largest no man's land, and the most arid regions, the existence of life, here is a luxury. Fortunately, 315 Road, although bad, but nowhere near as strategically located and difficult road conditions and Yunnan-Tibet line and the Sichuan-Tibet line more.
In the time-consuming month, completing the entire Xinjiang's large ring, I chose to leave from the Ruoqiang Xinjiang, Tibet continues to own the next trip. Ruoqiang County, is the world's most inhospitable regions, but also the smallest population density where more than 20 million square kilometers of land (more than the size of China's many provinces also large), with only two population of 30000. Lop Nur, Loulan city, Milan city ... ... is engraved on the land of the Ruoqiang had a glorious history.
Take me away Ruoqiang is an oil base from a scrapped after opening a six-year old Toyota car, walking in the unlikely event of any help this along the way, luck is to allow me to safely and smoothly arrive in Qinghai the only God.
Qinghai leaving more than a month, I again set foot on this piece of land in Qinghai. 5 pm or so, the car stopped at the asbestos mine, the map can not find a place where names can be found from its recent place names, is a new Mang Ya, but the people here are like this name for strangers, people got used to this name for the asbestos mine. Here is said to have the nation's largest asbestos mines and Glauber's salt mine, said that although the administrative part of the Qinghai here, but mine are mostly in Xinjiang, Qinghai, so that the grazing areas in Xinjiang fortune of others, for the two provinces is also a bit unhappy downtown .
Some of the hillside to see sporadic mining equipment, a sky full of dust and a shabby street, that is, you can find here all the modern signs. Here, the film was more like a Western cowboy always love to patronize the place, is different is that property here replaced by the asbestos and Glauber's salt benefits the entire people are willing to search for gold.
Cowboy I am not, so there are no pubs here do not care add beautiful, I just need to transport, any band I leave this place looks less comfortable means of transportation people. Unfortunately, spend a great enthusiasm, and failed to be successful enough to find, I had to continue their efforts to find.
Want to leave here, in addition to me, and there were two from BJ and TJ donkey JJ, their destination was the Dunhuang and Ejina flag Populus euphratica, and come from Hebei to do selling a big brother. Tens of kilometers away from here Huatugou became four of us eager to reach common goals.
In this street, there are two like the film "Dragon Inn" as a small hotel, shabby old dirty without any decoration can be pulled into the screen to do the scene. There are a group of like flirtatious, but not up how women are glamorous, probably they are here, the long-term tenants who asked them, received the unanimous reply was amazing today, there will be no bus to Huatugou, and can only stay here one late.
The boss called the hotel to call and called a surface from below the car to pick us down, just finding a way out get called from the driver to take us Ruoqiang come down, also he used various pretexts refused. It seems this group of villagers that they (could see between them is very familiar with) is an ironclad of thought, let's stay here tonight, four of consumption, and yes, we should be here tonight, the only passing through. Unfortunately, the four of us have ironclad of the heart must be out of here tonight.
Heaven always leaves people a way out, Hebei, where hired the brother who knows a surface over, the driver to take us down, asking price 100 yuan (go to Huatugou price is 12 yuan / person), this time, there are cars on the fun , and no one regardless of the price of the driver.
An hour later, we came to Huatugou, also can not find a name on the map, was known locally as a small place in Hong Kong. Very ashamed of my ignorance, I only learned to Ruoqiang Huatugou The name. It is now the Qaidam oil base, a fully built up in the desert town. Internet cafes nightclubs shops here, the market has a gymnasium part of everyday, people call it small in Hong Kong, probably because no one here ever seen a real bar in Hong Kong, Hong Kong, here should be a popular adjective, rather than names.
Get off, Hebei big brother figure to facilitate the station live in the hostel, I told the other two are looking for other places, well-intentioned people have suggested that we stay at hotels of oil, saying it was cheap. I told JJ to the two donkeys there, before we know, price is not inexpensive, ordinary standard rooms to be 120 yuan, and good points to 200, and the desk is extremely stiff manner, they are probably a joke that several of us do not know here is Hong Kong, So the price should be noble, high profile, as they should.
Worthless waste, not monk style, finally, we were staying at the Post and Telecommunications Hotel, 40 yuan / bed and have hot water bath, there is amiable waiter Xiaomei. Dinner is very simple, it was going to be head of point eat dumplings.
My room lived a long time here on business, he took me as his peers, just wonder why I had such a big one back pack trip. Here at night the temperature is relatively low, but also nothing to stroll, and early to bed, and just hope that tomorrow will go out of here, go to Golmud.
2003-10-6, sunny, Huatugou - Cold Lake - Da Qaidam, Su Da Qaidam.
The morning after getting up, the first thing to understand is that the station under the traffic conditions. Passing through the oil hotels, the two happened to meet a donkey JJ, they are going to sit here, 8:00's car Dunhuang, not on the bus, just the two of you can catch up with her say hello to bid farewell to the next. Dunhuang is the family living area in Qaidam field, so every day, several shuttle bus to Dunhuang.
To the station, it was very disappointing to know that today, had no car to go to Golmud to Xining can only sit Shidianzuoyou car, then get off at Da Qaidam to transfer. I had no choice but to buy a ticket, and then rushed back to check luggage check-out shelter.
Before the car, but also met the Hebei brother, who was also sitting this car is going to Golmud, a common destination, perhaps we should squeeze in a last row of the upper berth, next to a child's older sister with all the way miserable.
Bleak is the only scenery along the way can be seen in Xinjiang can be seen Yardang Landform, desert, Gobi can be met here, occasionally bowed machine (pumping wells) in the constantly busy, and, 3322 of the road workers. All the way roads, before long, the road will be better to go here a lot, pity I was only given me along the way to catch up with dust and bumps when passing through it.
The afternoon, arrived at Cold Lake, a small town has been a depression, which was formerly the lives of the Qaidam oil base, with the near depletion of oil resources and now bases to move Huatugou of.
Driving at night in the desert feeling is strange, the sky's the stars, to remind myself still living in the world. Occasionally, vehicles passing by told me come here for yesterday's Altun is already a real human has. My thinking in this desolate desert inadvertently immersed in the invasion, gradually passivation.
Do not know a few minutes, stopped the car, tires blown up, tires and spent a lot of time. In such a place, distant slow-moving lights, give you a strange illusion began to think very close, can be seen later that a full 40 minutes after the car drove from the opposite direction, before we know from the begin to see lights in the distance there are at least tens of kilometers away.
Middle of the night a little odd minutes to get to Da Qaidam, the driver told us to get off. In order to facilitate the ride tomorrow, we live in the station guest house before going to sleep to the following Fentang a bread to eat a bowl. Without water or tap out, but added that cell phone signals.
Physiological responses told me that should not be here, basin, and belong to the highlands.
Tomorrow, I will arrive in Golmud, Qinghai-Tibet line it tries to Lhasa (continued).
Author: AHAO7
