Every road trip enthusiast carries a deep respect for nature. When we approach various geographical landscapes, the nature we see is the most real and pure. We cannot fantasize about changing or conquering nature; instead, we should revere and adapt to it. During the 2018 National Day holiday, the 10th edition of the "Journey to the West" charity poverty relief road trip, jointly initiated by Beijing Xing Tianxia Auto Club, China Traffic Radio of the Central People's Broadcasting Station, MiXing Network, and Zhihui, and sponsored by Danfu Lubricants, traveled to Gansu. It not only presented an unforgettable golden autumn road trip for road trip enthusiasts, taking everyone through Baotou North Weapons City, Badain Jaran Desert, Ejin Ghost Forest, Heicheng Ghost Forest, Jiuquan Gobi Desert, Zhangye Seven-Colored Danxia, and Ningxia Shapotou, among others. Additionally, the finale of the "Journey to the West" charity poverty relief road trip entered Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County, Wuwei City, where activities such as charitable donations took place, making this unique natural exploration journey through northwest landforms even more meaningful.
Day 1: September 30
To avoid the peak traffic of the National Day holiday, we decided to depart on September 30. However, there were still many vehicles leaving Beijing, and many fellow travelers, including myself, got stuck on the G6 Beijing–Lhasa Expressway, forcing us onto side roads. Our convoy gathered at Guanting Service Area for a brief rest before heading toward our destination for the day, Baotou.
After driving over 600 kilometers on the Beijing–Lhasa Expressway, we arrived in Baotou, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. We first visited North Weapons City, which covers an area of 153 mu (approximately 112,000 square meters). This is a distinctive tourist attraction that combines national defense education, science popularization, environmental protection, patriotic education, arms exhibitions, military culture dissemination, and leisure entertainment. The site displays 28 representative weapons, including the first 100mm anti-aircraft gun developed in the People’s Republic of China — the “First Cannon of the Republic” that was inspected by Chairman Mao Zedong during the 10th anniversary celebrations.
After visiting North Weapons City, we returned to the hotel, concluding the first day of the trip.
Day 2: October 1
Today was one of the more challenging days of the trip, as we had to drive 850 kilometers on the G7 Beijing–Xinjiang Expressway — roughly 10 hours. For those without much long-distance driving experience, this was truly a test. The G7 Beijing–Xinjiang Expressway officially opened on July 15, 2017. This newly opened expressway had relatively light traffic and excellent road conditions. However, there were not many gas stations at the service areas, so it's recommended to closely monitor your fuel level when traveling this route. After ten hours of long-distance driving, the convoy finally reached its destination for the day: Ejin Banner, Alxa League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, where we stayed for two days.
Day 3: October 2
We woke up at 4 a.m. to head to Juyanhai Lake to watch the sunrise. Located about 40 kilometers northeast of Dalaihubu Town, Ejin Banner, Alxa League, along the northern edge of the Badain Jaran Desert, Juyanhai is the terminal lake of China’s second-largest inland river, the Heihe River. Known as Juyanze during the Han Dynasty and Juyanhai during the Tang Dynasty, the Heihe River originates deep in the Qilian Mountains. After flowing over 800 kilometers through Qinghai, Gansu, and Inner Mongolia, it converges at two gobi depressions on the northwestern edge of the Badain Jaran Desert, forming the East and West Lakes collectively known as Juyanhai.
After watching the sunrise, we returned to the hotel for a short rest and slept for another couple of hours. Around 10 a.m., after a short walk of about ten minutes, we went to see the Populus euphratica forest. The Ejin Populus euphratica National Nature Reserve in Inner Mongolia is located in the central part of Ejin Banner, covering a total area of 26,253 hectares. It is a nature reserve dedicated to wild plant species.
Day 4: October 3
The convoy set off from Ejin Banner toward Jiuquan City, Gansu Province, covering approximately 370 kilometers for the day. Compared to the previous days, today’s journey felt like a “light drizzle.” After breakfast, the convoy departed with its first stop being Khara-Khoto (Black City) and the Ghost Forest.
Khara-Khoto, known in Mongolian as Khara-Khoto and also called the Black City, is located on the barren northern bank of the dried-up Heihe River (Black Water), 25 kilometers southeast of Dalaihubu Town, the seat of Ejin Banner, Alxa League. The ruins of Khara-Khoto were initially built during the Western Xia Dynasty, when the Western Xia regime established the “Black Water Town Yan Military Command” here. Khara-Khoto served as an important agricultural and pastoral base as well as a frontier fortress in the western region for the Western Xia. In February 1226, Khara-Khoto experienced a devastating and bloody battle, and today the grounds outside the Black City are littered with shattered bones, half-buried in the sand.
Not far from Khara-Khoto lies a vast expanse of “Ghost Forest,” which is actually formed by the withered remains of large numbers of Populus euphratica trees. The Populus euphratica is a unique tree species with extremely strong vitality. It is among the earliest-originating tree groups and is referred to as a “living fossil” of plants. A single Populus euphratica root can penetrate over a hundred meters underground. It is said to be “alive for a thousand years, dead for a thousand years without falling, and unrotted for a thousand years after falling.” There is also a legend about the Ghost Forest: it is said to be the resting place of the undying spirits of General Hei and his soldiers. Legend has it that the Black City once had a defender named Halabate'er (i.e., General Hei), a brave and renowned warrior. Later, when enemy forces attacked and besieged the city, they cut off the water supply. With no reinforcements and no access to drinking water, General Hei led his troops in a desperate breakout. Before the battle, he threw over 70 carts of gold, silver, and treasures, along with the city’s treasured crown of the Western Xia Dynasty, into a dry well within the city. To prevent his family from being violated by the invaders, General Hei pushed his own son and daughter into the well and buried them under soil. Leading his soldiers, General Hei charged out of the city, fought all the way, and eventually died in the Ghost Forest not far west of the city.
After visiting the ancient city of the Western Xia and the desolate “Ghost Forest,” the convoy continued on to Jiuquan City, Gansu Province. The entire journey from Ejin Banner to Jiuquan was along national highways, with the Gobi Desert stretching along both sides of the road. After driving for over an hour, we organized a stone-collecting activity. The Gobi Desert is scattered with oddly shaped stones in various colors.
Jiuquan, named for “a spring beneath the city” and “water as fragrant as wine,” is the homeland of Dunhuang art and the cradle of modern aerospace. It is located in the northwestern part of Gansu Province, in the western section of the Hexi Corridor, nestled between the Altyn-Tagh, Qilian, and Mazong Mountains.