It's the weekend again. Thinking about how we've been hiking for the past few weeks, this time let’s take our little donkey to the grasslands. Roast whole lamb, horseback riding... mmm... I quickly went online to see if there were any trips to the grasslands. Yep, there was one — a team from the Eco-Travel Club called Wild Wolf, self-driving to TaiPu Temple Banner. With spots still available, I snagged two right away. Actually, my wife also really wanted to go, but she couldn’t because her company asked her to work overtime. I drew a little curse circle for her company...LDShe really wanted to go, but she couldn’t because her company asked her to work overtime. I drew a little curse circle for her company...LD...
27On the morning of the day,5something past six, I woke up my sleeping son. Looking outside, there was already light rain falling. After a quick tidy-up, it was already6o’clock. My son and I, carrying all kinds of bags and holding umbrellas, went to load the car. We decided to have breakfast at the meeting point instead — had to get gas first.
The meeting point was at the northeast corner under the Jiande Gate Bridge. In a moment of carelessness, I actually ended up4outside the Third Ring Road — I could even see the Qinghe Toll Station. I quickly turned around and arrived right on time at the meeting point. Heh, guess what? I was the first one to arrive... The leader, Wild Wolf, said sorry and mentioned he’d be late. Just then, a lady drove up behind me in a gray Bora. I went over to ask and found out she was also joining this group.6.50We quickly grabbed a bite to eat. By the time Wild Wolf arrived, I was fiddling with the car antenna and handheld mic. Ha, it was the first time I’d used them... I greeted Wild Wolf, and he said there were a total of
11 cars. Besides me and that Bora, the other three were vans. I got assigned5car number 1, the Bora was5number 2, and the van that hadn’t arrived yet was2number 3. I voiced my concern about traffic jams — the Badaling Expressway is notorious for it. Honestly, if it were up to me, we should’ve gathered and set off after work on Friday so we’d have the whole Saturday to explore...6Around 8 o’clock, after Wild Wolf contacted everyone via walkie-talkies, we started the journey. First, I want to thank the team leader. Heh, he assigned three beautiful ladies to our car. My little donkey is more generous than I am — he started chatting with the ladies as soon as he got in...7.40After setting off, it was nothing but traffic jams. We took a break at the first gas station after the toll gate and waited for
car number 3. There were so many people — just look at the long line at the restroom to get an idea... It kept raining. After passing Badaling,6car number 3 had a minor scrape with a large truck. By the time I caught up with the rest of the convoy, I didn’t see the vehicle involved. Everyone got out to check — thankfully it wasn’t too serious — and we continued on.2Around 6 o’clock in the evening, we arrived at the Wanquan Service Area. The leader said we’d miss the meal service window, so we took a break and ate here.
14Around 7 o’clock, we exited the Gongbaolage Toll Station. After driving some distance on a national road, we hit a muddy road... On this stretch, our car bottomed out16times. The next day, we noticed the right front fender was bulging — you could press it down with your hand — and the area where it connected to the fender liner was cracked. Looks like we’ll need a thorough bottom inspection during the next maintenance. This muddy road was extremely slippery — driving on it felt like dancing, swaying left and right. We could only drive in first or second gear. When meeting other vehicles, one side would always stop to let the other pass. Of course, there were also skilled drivers — a Jinbei van zoomed past us from behind, honking all the way.nWe drove on this muddy road for over half an hour before arriving at something called the Malagai Temple. Wild Wolf said it was a very famous temple, but it looked pretty run-down — we couldn’t even read the description plaque. We walked around briefly and took a few photos before leaving. Some team members wanted to check out a small lake up ahead, but the herder’s home Wild Wolf had arranged for had already sent someone to pick us up. They arrived in an unlicensed, beat-up car and drove ahead very fast, leading the way. We backtracked a bit along the way we came, then turned left to get there.
There were already
10 cars and a bus parked at the entrance. On the nearby grassland, many people were horseback riding and driving grassland motorcycles. There must be quite a few such reception points around here. The whole way, vehicles of all sizes kept coming and going. This place was called the Axiatu Herder’s Home. Before leaving, they gave me a business card — feel free to contact me if you need anything.7.8But to be honest, this place wasn’t great. First, their capacity was insufficient. There were already two other groups ahead of us, and we had to wait for them to finish eating before it was our turn (they called it “table turnover”...). The accommodation wasn’t even here (maybe they were full). When we first got out of the car, we were all carrying various bags. Wild Wolf saw this and told us to put them back, saying we weren’t staying here. It made me not even dare to drink alcohol during dinner — even though I knew the lodging wasn’t far and there was no nighttime DUI checkpoint, the road was just too bad, so better to be safe. Second, the horseback riding — I asked how much it cost per hour,
and they said 80 yuan. The next morning, we booked a half-day ride —50horses and a grassland motorcycle. As for the price, you’ll have to ask Wild Wolf. But honestly, riding those horses was not enjoyable at all. The horses here could only be led by the hand; the saddles were bare with nothing to hold onto, and I could only get the tip of my foot into the stirrups.3 Later that afternoon, after leaving this place, we saw a larger reception point nearby. There, you could ride horses freely — the saddles had proper handles — and they even had a stage set up where a dozen girls in ethnic costumes were rehearsing. Of course, such places were more expensive. Third, the bonfire party — when we first arrived, the two team leaders came to discuss things with Wild Wolf...
The next day at noon, after leaving this place, we saw a slightly larger reception spot nearby where horses were available for riding at will, with handles on the saddles. Inside, a makeshift stage had been set up, and over a dozen girls in ethnic costumes were rehearsing. Naturally, the prices at such a reception spot were definitely higher. The third option was the bonfire party. As soon as we arrived, the two team leaders came to discuss it with Wild Wolf.3The team was putting on this evening party together, with the cost to be700split evenly among everyone. Ye Lang gathered everyone to ask around, and seeing no objections, he agreed. Since we had to move tables, before anyone could even finish eating, a team leader came to inform Ye Lang that the bonfire would be lit in15minutes. Actually, there wasn’t much food left — the8dishes (4hot and4cold) had already been polished off by the ravenous participants, all waiting eagerly for the main course: the whole roasted lamb. But first, let’s talk about the performances, with the whole lamb shown in the photos below. After the bonfire was lit, due to the old sound system, the microphone kept cutting in and out like it was possessed. A Mongolian guy could only sing one song a cappella, then the front desk cashier MM danced a dance. I didn’t bother taking pictures since she had a blank expression while dancing. Finally, someone from another team performed a fast-paced tongue twister, and then the party ended.
The next day was sunny with clear blue skies. Everyone took turns riding horses and motorcycles, showing off and taking photos before heading off. Maybe because everyone thought the food wasn’t great, there weren’t even pickles for breakfast. Ye Lang had to take out several packs of pickled mustard tubers from the van to share.
After lingering for a while on a grassy slope, the convoy set off along National Highway 207 toward Baochang Town, planning to check out local specialties after lunch. My front-seat companion, Lian Lian Xing Kong, wanted to bring back some “Grassland White” liquor for her husband, and I wanted a couple of bottles too, but unfortunately, after lunch, everyone seemed to have forgotten about shopping and just filled up the gas and left.
After finding two homestays along the road were both fully booked, the lead car (Car 3, which had GPS and had been leading the way while reminding everyone of speed limits) mentioned there was a holiday inn ahead where the food was pretty good, though it might be a bit more expensive. And indeed, the taste was great, especially the stir-fried tofu with scallions — absolutely top-notch, haha... After the meal, Ye Lang calculated the total cost for everyone: 317 yuan per person. Yesterday, I asked a Green Field (LVYE) member — they had come by bus, paying 280 yuan, which only included transportation and accommodation. For our small-car trip, this price was reasonable.
On the way back, the moment we stepped into Hebei, the sky wasn’t blue anymore, the trees weren’t green, the grass looked wilted — everything seemed lifeless... Turning off Zhangshi onto the Beijing–Tibet Expressway, we hit traffic jams again. Car 3 suggested getting off the main road ahead and taking the detour via Route 109 back to Beijing. After finally exiting the Donghuayuan toll gate, everyone stopped to discuss it and felt Route 109 was too far, so we decided to take the service road and cross the upcoming toll gate before deciding again. Fortunately, after bypassing the toll station, we saw that the main road was already clear.
Near Beijing, the various cars said their goodbyes. I dropped off three beauties at Madian Bridge, and everyone went their separate ways — my passengers were from the eastern, western, Chaoyang, and Haidian districts, with none of us heading the same way. I got home at 9:30 PM. This grassland trip ended smoothly, covering a total distance of 737 kilometers.
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