Is the Gannan Secret Realm really worth visiting?
The Gannan Secret Realm, with cliffs, grasslands, streams, stone forests, canyons, temples... is a mysterious, simple, and somewhat isolated place of wonder, located in Xiahe County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. There are many online posts advising on what to avoid, and while I find the Octagon City just okay, I really like the Báishí Cliff and Báishí Cliff Temple area. Watching the Báishí Cliff Temple bathed in gold at sunset, enjoying a yak hotpot in the Báishí Secret Realm while watching the evening glow, and slowly driving through the winding mountain roads to see the spectacular Báishí Cliff are all wonderful memories of the Gannan Secret Realm.
🚗‼️When visiting the Gannan Secret Realm, I highly recommend driving to the Báishí Cliff Cave Viewing Platform (which offers a direct overlook of the Báishí Cliff Temple and Báishí Cliff, with a parking fee of 5 yuan). Along the way, you will pass by the Báishí Cliff Temple. If you have plenty of time and energy, you can first visit the Octagon City Viewing Platform to overlook the Octagon City (it requires climbing a wooden walkway for 30 minutes to overlook the Octagon City, which I personally find average and could be skipped, parking lot fee is 5 yuan, and the walkway is free of charge)
🏡Octagon Ancient City
Built during the Western Han Dynasty, the Octagon Ancient City has a history of over 2000 years and was a strategic military town during the Han-Qiang and Tang-Tibetan periods. The architectural shape of the Octagon Ancient City is unique in the world, with the outer city shaped like an octagon, and all the open spaces outside the city walls within the range of the archers on the walls, making it a defense with no blind spots. The shape of the Octagon Ancient City perfectly matches the mandala of Tibetan Buddhism, representing the perfect integration of the spiritual and material worlds.
⛰️Báishí Cliff
Báishí Cliff is a natural barrier stretching 15 kilometers long, majestic and towering over the Gannan land, vertically dividing the Gannan grassland into two high mountain grasslands with a drop of 1000 meters. Standing on the viewing platform, the sight of Báishí Cliff is even more breathtaking!
🌞It is recommended to take photos from the Báishí Cliff Cave Viewing Platform at sunset, where you can see the beauty of the golden light enveloping the area!
🐴It is said that entering the Báishí Cliff Grand Canyon on horseback is the best way to experience the essence of the Gannan Secret Realm. We gave up this method because we did not have much time reserved.
🏠About accommodation:
We chose the latter between the Xiahe Gannan Ecological Camping Site and the Báishí Secret Realm Homestay in the Gannan Secret Realm. The entrance to the Báishí Secret Realm Homestay campsite is right at the Báishí Cliff Cave Viewing Platform, which offers an overlook of the Báishí Cliff Temple and Báishí Cliff. The Gannan Ecological Camping Site is located at the entrance of the Gannan Secret Realm, 12 kilometers away from the most beautiful scenery, a 20-minute drive.
The Báishí Secret Realm Homestay has bubble tents and wooden houses, with no bathing facilities or toilets in the rooms. There is no bathing at the homestay, the public toilet is a dry toilet, and there is a basin in the tent for washing face and brushing teeth. The tent has charging facilities and an electric blanket. However, due to the high altitude and it being the first night of our trip in Gannan, we hardly slept well due to altitude sickness.
🍲The yak hotpot in the homestay is highly recommended, with good quality yak meat, available as buffet or à la carte, with the latter being more recommended. Next to the homestay, there is also a Tibetan tent selling yak yogurt.
💰The entrance fee to the Gannan Secret Realm is 80 yuan, but we were not charged when we visited, reportedly due to internal renovations.
The scenery is nothing to say, beautiful, travel and clothes. There are scenery along the way, picturesque and beautiful. It’s also very good to see the scenery. I drive with my friends. The scenery is on the road. Everyone travels to enjoy the scenery and pay attention to safety.
Ganjia Secret Land Octagon Ancient City, The city wall is 2193 meters long and 11 meters high. The city covers an area of 200,000 square meters. My strategy is good, but unfortunately I have no chance to travel by car. I will go to my friends' photos first. I must go in the future.
The ancient city of Octagon in the secret of Ganjia. The ancient city of Octagon presents a hollow cross shape, with piers built on the corners of each cross, forming eight corners, so it is called Octagon City. This ancient building with a long history was an important transportation road in ancient China and a military heavy land.
Beautiful prairie, flocks of cattle and sheep, and lovely groundhogs. The earth wall is not the focus, the natural scenery is more beautiful.
Gannan is a beautiful place, all the way to the beautiful scenery, Ganjia secret is one of them, it is worth visiting.
Great place worth a visit is beautiful
The secret territory of Ganjia is located on the west side of Bajia Village, Ganjia Grassland, Xiahe County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest Gansu Province. It is surrounded by thousands of years old temples as Hai Temple, and is adjacent to Ganjia Xihuo in the east and Dalijia Mountain in the north of Lingyue. The total area is 131.23 square kilometers. The altitude gap in the north and south reaches 1300 meters, and the unique geological structure makes it contain all the scenic features of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau including cliff walls, grasslands, plateau lakes, stone forests, canyons, prehistoric caves, rivers and other geological resources. The ancient temples of Octagon Ancient City, Zuohai Temple, Baishiya Temple, and other thousands of ancient Tibetan Buddhist temples have become the historical and cultural accumulation of Ganga, and academic masters such as Zongkaba, Gong Niicang Woman Living Buddha, Geng Dun Qunpei, and the Tenth Panchen Master have emerged.
Ganjia Secret Land is a must-see attraction in Gannan. After passing the locals' charging point, continue to open. Don't be afraid of the narrow road. After a small earthen gate, you will arrive at the Octagon City Observation Deck. Parking here is not particularly convenient, everyone try to continue parking on the side. After watching the observation deck, you can continue to drive forward. Remember that the driving tour here is counterclockwise, passing the entrance of Ganjia Secret Land, the Octagon City Observation Deck, the Baishiya Temple, and the Secret Land of meteorites, and then returning to the entrance. Because the road is narrow, you must not visit clockwise, otherwise some places will be a problem with the wrong car.