Hexi Corridor Road Trip
On the afternoon of November 3, 2024, I set off from Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, to start a road trip along the Hexi Corridor. I passed through Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu, and Qinghai, and crossed the Yellow River, the Great Wall, the desert, and the Gobi Desert. I returned to Taiyuan on the evening of November 18. The trip lasted 18 days.
I chose to travel in the off-season to avoid crowds and enjoy a relaxing trip. I chose the Hexi Corridor in the northwest because I had never been to Gansu, Qinghai, or Ningxia, and I wanted to fulfill my wish.
Route: I set off from Taiyuan in the afternoon, took the expressway west, passed Qikou, and after playing for an hour, I went to the Wave Valley in Jingbian, Shaanxi Province, to stay overnight.
On the second day, I visited the Wave Valley in the morning, passed through Jingbian County and Ordos in Inner Mongolia in the afternoon, and stayed overnight in Yinchuan.
On the third day, I visited the Ningxia Museum in the morning, the commercial street in the city center in the afternoon, and the Huaiyuan Night Market in the evening. I stayed overnight in Yinchuan.
On the fourth day, I visited the Western Film and TV City in the morning, and the Najiahu Mosque and Dong Mansion in the afternoon. I stayed overnight in Wuzhong City.
On the fifth day, I visited the Yellow River Grand Canyon in Qingtongxia and the Western Xia 108 Pagodas in the morning. I stayed overnight in Zhongwei City.
On the sixth day, I visited the Gaomiao Temple in the city center in the morning, where Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism coexist. I also visited the Drum Tower, Zhongwei Museum, and Shapotou Yellow River Scenic Area, which integrates the Yellow River, desert, and oasis. In the afternoon, I visited the popular Route 66. I stayed overnight in Jingtai County.
On the seventh day, I visited the Yellow River Stone Forest in the morning. I stayed overnight in Wuwei.
On the eighth day, I visited the Wuwei Museum and Leitai Han Tomb in the morning, and had the famous Wuwei dish "Three Sets of Carriages" for lunch. I stayed overnight in Zhangye.
On the ninth day, I visited the Danxia landform in the morning. I went to Dunhuang to stay overnight in the afternoon.
On the tenth day, I visited the Mogao Caves in the morning and Crescent Lake in the afternoon. I stayed overnight in Dunhuang.
On the eleventh day, I visited the Yadan National Geological Park and the West Sea Fleet. I passed the Yangguan Pass and the Yumen Pass. I also visited the Dunhuang Ancient City Film and TV City. I stayed overnight in Dunhuang.
On the twelfth day, I visited the Dunhuang Museum in the morning and the Jiayuguan Great Wall in the afternoon. I stayed overnight in Jiayuguan.
On the thirteenth day, I visited the Jiayuguan City Museum, the Great Wall Museum, the Overhanging Great Wall, and the First Pier in the morning. I went to Zhangye to stay overnight in the afternoon.
On the fourteenth day, I visited the Zhangye Museum and the Giant Buddha Temple in the morning. I crossed the Qilian Mountains and entered Qinghai in the afternoon. I stayed overnight in Xining.
On the fifteenth day, I visited the Qinghai Provincial Museum and the Tibetan Culture Museum in the morning, and the Kumbum Monastery in the afternoon. I stayed overnight in Lanzhou.
On the sixteenth day, I visited the Yellow River Iron Bridge, the White Pagoda Park, and the Yellow River Mother Sculpture in the morning, and the Zhangye Road Commercial Street in the city center. I stayed overnight in Lanzhou.
On the seventeenth day, I went shopping and visited the Gansu Provincial Museum in the morning. After lunch, I drove back to Taiyuan and stayed overnight in Hongsi Fort District, Baiyin City.
On the eighteenth day, I visited the Ningxia Immigration Museum in the morning. After lunch, I returned to Taiyuan in the evening, ending the trip.
The Hexi Corridor is an important node on the Silk Road, with a rich history and culture. Every place has many fascinating stories.
The museums in each place are must-see attractions. The provincial museums in Ningxia, Gansu, and Qinghai have rich exhibits and detailed content. There are free volunteer guides. It takes about 3 hours to visit and listen to the guides, and you will have a general understanding of the local culture, history, and customs. The Wuwei Museum, like the three provincial museums mentioned above, is a national first-class museum. The Dunhuang Museum and the Zhangye Museum (with free volunteer guides) are also worth visiting. I spent more than two hours in each. After visiting the Jiayuguan Great Wall Museum and the First Pier Scenic Area Museum, I gained a comprehensive understanding of the history and development of the Great Wall.
I saw online that there is a Ningxia Hui Museum, which introduces the history of the Hui people. However, when I arrived, the gate was closed. The courtyard was overgrown with weeds, indicating that it had been closed for some time. I was about to leave after lunch when I saw a large mosque, the Najiahu Mosque, a national treasure. This mosque is not in the traditional Islamic style with a dome, but in the Han and Tang architectural style. The mosque is quite large, with two prayer halls for men and women. Each can accommodate more than 1,000 people. Several elderly people were basking in the sun. I chatted with them and learned that I was from Shanxi. One of the elderly people said that one of the mosques was built with donations from a Shanxi merchant, and there is a monument next to it. I asked if I could enter the prayer hall to have a look. The elderly person said I could go in after taking off my shoes. I expressed my gratitude and did not go in.
There is a Western Xia Museum in Wuwei, which was closed two days before I arrived because it failed the fire inspection. In Hongsi Fort District, Baiyin City, I got off the expressway to stay overnight when it was dark on the 17th. I read the introduction in the evening and found that there is a Ningxia Immigration Museum here. I went to visit it the next day. It was worth the visit, and I gained a lot. The museum was built with investment from the autonomous region and is of a high standard. The exhibition theme is immigration, briefly describing the ten major migrations in world history. Several major migrations in Chinese history are also listed in detail. The final focus is on Ningxia immigration. In 2020, China aimed to eliminate poverty completely. The living environment in some parts of Ningxia is very harsh, and the poverty alleviation task is arduous. The autonomous region government formulated a plan for overall relocation and immigration, selecting ten resettlement sites to receive immigrants. Hongsi Fort Town in Baiyin City has a good geographical environment and a sparse population, and it received one-tenth of the immigrants. A new immigrant village was built, and Hongsi Fort Town was upgraded to Hongsi Fort District.
Scenic spots: Because it was the off-season, there were not many people in each scenic spot. Most scenic spots offered off-season ticket prices. People over 60 years old could enter for free or at half price. The service attitude in each scenic spot was very good. The total ticket cost for 18 days was CNY 1,587.
Food: The northwest region is known for its beef, mutton, and noodles. Lanzhou beef noodles, hand-grabbed mutton, Hu sheep stewed cake, and "Three Sets of Carriages" are all delicious and unique. The two of us had a meal that cost CNY 150, and we also bought beef noodles for more than CNY 10. Overall, the price of ordinary meals is relatively affordable, and the portions are large. I remember buying a bowl of mutton noodles in Lanzhou, which was a large bowl and very filling. The total food cost for 18 days was CNY 1,495.
Accommodation: The total accommodation cost for 17 days was CNY 1,250. We usually chose clean and hygienic accommodation near the scenic spots and booked online. Because it was the off-season, the cost of a standard room for two people was between CNY 50 and CNY 99, while the listed price in the hotel was CNY 110 to CNY 180, a big difference.
Transportation: The expressway was smooth throughout the journey. After entering Gansu, the traffic volume on the Lianhuo Expressway was large, with many large trucks. The service areas were full of large trucks. There were many speed cameras on the expressway. From Zhangye to Xining, because the expressway was not completed, I had to cross the Qilian Mountains. The road was narrow, with many cars and large trucks, and it was difficult to overtake.
The total mileage for 18 days was 5,200 km. The total cost of expressway tolls and parking fees was CNY 1,606, and the total cost of fuel was CNY 1,924.
The total cost for 18 days and 17 nights was CNY 9,000, with an average daily cost of CNY 500.
I was fined CNY 400 for speeding twice on the expressway. In a parking lot in Lanzhou, I found that the right rear tire was flat when I was about to leave the next day. It turned out that a nail had punctured the tire. I changed the spare tire and repaired the tire on the roadside for CNY 30.
Unfortunately, I missed three scenic spots. One was the Western Xia Imperial Tombs, and the other was Qinghai Lake. They were very close, and I could have visited them in two more days, but I gave up. The third was Guyuan City. I should have passed it on the way back and visited it for a day, but I accidentally drove past it on the expressway and stayed in Hongsi Fort District. I checked the map and found that it was more than 300 km to go back to Guyuan, so I gave up.