Hulunbuir Wanderings Prose
In August 20XX, Hulunbuir, a pure trip
A rented Kia Sportage took us over a distance of more than 3,000 kilometers. The two of them walked and played, and got off the car when they saw a place they liked. They stayed in a different place every night, sleeping in a wooden house and on a kang. If the clothes couldn't be dried, they would put them on the back seat of the car to continue drying. Let's go. Let's go, secretly I feel like I'm wandering.
Impression of the grassland
Driving into the grassland, you will see white clouds in the sky, green grass on the ground, and undulating hills, forming soft curves. Groups of cattle and sheep chewed grass leisurely, and sometimes walked carelessly on the road, leaving passing vehicles waiting helplessly. The horses nodded in unison on the roadside. Tourists thought they were soliciting business, but in fact it was just because the weather was too hot. Occasionally, a shepherd dog can be seen wandering among the cattle and sheep; but the herdsmen are mostly invisible and don't know where they are hiding.
On both sides of the straight road, you can see large tracts of rapeseed flowers everywhere, swaying gently in the wind and twinkling in the sun; there are also large tracts of sunflowers, orange, bright yellow, and dark red. , all of them raised their big faces towards the sun, like a group of children eagerly looking forward to the teacher's praise.
When I first entered the grassland, I was filled with joy when I saw everything. Looking around from a distance, green grass, flowers, cattle and sheep... they are all the tenderness of nature, which makes people linger and indulge in it, and reminds people of the songs they listened to in childhood.
But when a dark cloud floats over quietly, nature reveals its gloomy and cold face. Huge raindrops fell involuntarily, and in the blink of an eye, they became densely packed. The sky is blue, the fields are vast, the wind and rain are everywhere, and there is nowhere to hide. The cattle and sheep have long been accustomed to accept the situation, and the only ones who are embarrassed are the tourists scurrying around on the road. The car is speeding in the rain. If you can still see a touch of blue on the horizon and drive in that direction, there is still hope of escaping from the dark clouds and returning to the clear sky. Otherwise, you can only wait silently like cattle and sheep for the wind and rain to stop.
When the sun sinks below the horizon, the sky turns blue-purple, and then gradually darkens. In Hulunbuir in summer, the sky never gets completely dark. The sun lingers not far from the horizon, and the eastern sky reflects a dark red. The bright moon appeared and disappeared in the thick clouds, and there were not many stars visible. These weak lights are not enough to illuminate the night on the grassland, and boundless darkness surrounds the vehicles on their way. The car moved forward silently along the short stretch of road illuminated by the headlights. The excitement and pride during the day turned into a trace of apprehension in the unfathomable prairie night.
Finding Bell Lake
The Hulunbuir Plateau is named after the two lakes on it - Hulun Lake and Bell Lake. Hulun Lake is located on the border between China and Russia, and most of its area belongs to China. It is one of the popular attractions on the grassland. Lake Bell is located on the border between China and Mongolia, and most of its area belongs to Mongolia. Due to its remote location and inconvenient transportation, there are very few tourists. .
That morning, it was raining heavily. We set out from Manzhouli and planned to go as far as we could along Provincial Highway 203. Hulun Lake is our first stop. Leaving the rain clouds behind, we drove onto an unknown road lined with wild flowers. Suddenly, we turned a corner and the water of Hulun Lake suddenly appeared in front of us. The sky, lake, and grassland are a soft transition from blue to green. Cows of various colors are randomly dotted among them. The picture is peaceful and peaceful.
I got off the car and walked to the lake, only to find that such a beautiful picture was just an illusion that could be easily broken. The lake water is a dull green color, the water body is seriously eutrophic and exudes a foul odor. There is a pavilion in the distance, and there is a towering boulder beside the pavilion. Legend has it that this is the place where Genghis Khan once tied his horse. However, in order to control pollution, the scenic spot is no longer open to the public.
After the surprise, the disappointment deepened. To make up for the shortcomings in our hearts, we decided to go to Bell Lake in the afternoon. To go to Bell Lake, you need to drive off Provincial Highway 203 and go south through the hinterland of the grassland. The 70-kilometer journey is entirely an unknown road. There are many such roads on the grassland. They are called "roads", but they are actually just two lines of wheel marks repeatedly made by many vehicles. The moment I made the decision, my mood immediately became high, and I had a bit of pride of "bravely venturing into the world" - the sky is the cover, the earth is the house, the sun, moon and stars are the road signs, this is the real grassland! ?
We followed the navigation system and entered the dirt road on the grassland. At first, we were amazed that the navigation system even recognized the "wheel mark" (and it was also called XX County Road). However, after walking for a few minutes, we discovered that The navigation does not match the actual path. It had just rained, and the sun's rays barely peeked out from the clouds in the west. We can only judge the direction based on this and walk towards the south.
It is unavoidable to feel anxious when heading forward, not to mention that many areas on the grassland are fenced off by herdsmen with barbed wire fences, and you may encounter a situation where "the road is blocked" at any time. At this time, a "Wuling Light" with a local license plate appeared in our rearview mirror. When we stopped and asked, the master said that he had been there once and that we should be heading in the right direction. Feeling a little relieved, I decided to follow the master for a while. The road was full of potholes and full of deep or shallow water, but the "Wuling Light" could actually drive so fast that our off-road vehicle struggled to catch up.
While walking, I came to a "crossroads". I suddenly discovered that the light-transmitting cloud layer had reached the back of the car at some point - we had already driven a long way east.
At this time, the "Wuling Light" also stopped, and we walked forward. The master was on the phone, telling people that he was "lost on the grassland." We looked at each other in shock. This master couldn't follow him anymore. Let's continue going south.
Not long after walking, a group of road construction workers stood in front of us. The cement road is being built here and there is no way to go down. There is no place for driving on both sides of the road. The workers were all from other places, and no one could point us to a new road
We drove back to the intersection silently, not knowing where to go. He raised his hand and looked at his watch. It was already past six o'clock, and it would be dark in more than an hour. There was no way we could reach Bell Lake before dark, not to mention that we would have to come back and find a place to stay. The grassland was too big, with no roads or lights. No matter how unwilling we were, we knew we couldn't risk moving forward. We turned around and returned the same way. We comforted ourselves and took a ride on the grassland, measuring the vastness of the grassland with our wheels. It was a worthwhile trip.
Return to Provincial Highway 203 and continue moving forward. Dusk fell slowly, and I accidentally caught a glimpse of a lonely yurt on the hillside in front of me, glowing red. I didn't pay much attention to it at first, but after a while I turned around and looked, and I was surprised to find that the "yurt" was floating in the sky - it was actually a huge, red full moon! In the beautiful mountains and rivers of the south, there is no such moon to rise. It is so majestic and solemn, with a chilling air, as if it is about to summon a werewolf to reveal its true form.
The mood became high again, it was indeed a worthwhile trip!
Traveling through the mountains
The first time I entered the Daxingan Mountains was at the beginning of my trip.
We started from Harbin and headed west along the G10 Highway, passing through the black land of the Songnen Plain and entering Inner Mongolia. The terrain began to undulate, and the further we walked, the more obvious the undulations became; the patches of corn and rice on the roadside were no longer replaced by straight trees - this is the Greater Khingan Mountains.
Looking at the moon in the sky, you can see mountains and trees all around. The forest is filled with mist, sometimes as light as smoke, lingering indistinctly; sometimes as thick as clouds, making it difficult to see the way in and out
Passing through the Daxinganling Tunnel, which is more than 3 kilometers long, The terrain gradually leveled off again, and Lin Hai was already behind him.
After traveling on the grassland for several days, we entered the Greater Khingan Range again from the Aershan National Forest Park. The park is located at the southwest foot of the Daxingan Mountains and is a volcanic lava landform. Larix, aspen, elder... grow tenaciously from among the exposed black rocks, forming a forest, hiding numerous volcanic barrier lakes in the forest.
At five o'clock in the evening, the park bus stopped running, the car was free again, and we drove to find the lake again. Some lakes have been developed into scenic spots, which can be reached along the cement road on the mountain. You can enjoy the beautiful scenery of the lakes and mountains; some lakes are still "kept in the boudoir" and can only be found after bumping for several kilometers along winding paths, but they are in the jungle. Unable to get close, the lake is cut into irregular shapes by the branches of trees, and the twilight of the sky is reflected on it, making it look extremely peaceful and mysterious.
In quiet and uninhabited places, squirrels will come out to look for food. A squirrel is only as tall as a hand. Its tail takes up half of its body. It is covered with brown-gray fur and is just a cute fur ball. It stood in front of a short plant, quickly grabbed the food with its hands, and chewed it quickly, with the unique sense of urgency of a tooth-eating animal. Walk softly and don't talk, because as long as the slightest disturbance can scare it into running away immediately.
At night, we live in the mountains. The hotel room is made of wood, and the floors creak when you step on them. After dinner, it started to rain again, and the room felt damp and cold. We sat on the water-heated Kang, bored and listening to the gurgling rain outside the window, and fell asleep without even realizing it.
The next day, the rain was still falling endlessly, and we decided to leave. Along the Mo'a Highway, we travel through the continuous mountains of the Greater Khingan Mountains. Above our heads are the looming mountain tops in the clouds and mist; below our heads are the trees full of pits and valleys. Under the circling cuts of the road, they are like layers on a cake. Layers of green lace. The slender and straight trunks of larch trees stood in unison, extending from the side of the road to where they could not be seen. This is the forest I have imagined countless times. You will get lost if you walk in. It is a forest where dwarfs live and where candy houses are hidden.
On this journey, my heart kept churning with the desire to live in seclusion, to be a shepherd or a forest guard, quietly walking through the cycle of seasons among such grasslands and mountains and forests. Between heaven and earth, there is only one person.
Perhaps the most wonderful thing about traveling is that it allows you to imagine a completely different life in a strange place, and then keep your imagination in mind along with the beautiful scenery there?