Roadtrip Beijing to Dunhuang and looping back

[suMMit]

Anyone have recommendations for Qinghai (or Gansu)? 

 

Wife and I planning a somewhat ambitious driving trip very soon from Beijing through 山西，陕西，甘肃, 青海，宁夏. We have most of May, we both can drive. Basically aiming for round trip to Dunhuang and back. Kind of something like the map attached (but the qinghai part is just a line because I have no idea). 

 

Shanxi, Shaanxi we are going to stop at a few less popular places, no Xian as I've been there many times. Then from Yan'an approach Gansu or Qinghai. 

 

Gansu seems pretty self explanatitory(at least the western part, but I'm not quite sure about Qinghai. Such a large province. 

 

I'm trying to decide if I want to go Qinghai first and then up to Dunhuang or get to Dunhuang and then head down to Qinghai. Also unsure if I should attempt driving all the way down to Yushu or just stick to the North part of the province. Anyone have any first hand experience in Qinghai, what to see where to go, routes? I'm researching online, but I thought I'd ask here too. 

 

I will probably put pictures from the trip on my blog as we go. 

[lordsuso]

Literally hours ago I learned that I have to cancel a very similar trip I had booked... I didn't need to see this post right now haha. Anyways enjoy the trip! 

[abcdefg]

On 4/25/2024 at 8:30 AM, suMMit said:

Anyone have any first hand experience in Qinghai, what to see where to go, routes?

 

Be sure to include the lake. It's the biggest inland lake in China and very scenic. Salt water. I didn't believe it until I tasted it. Went there by public bus in late spring or early summer, but don't remember the route. 青海湖

[suMMit]

On 4/26/2024 at 8:51 AM, abcdefg said:

Be sure to include the lake.

Will for sure

 

This route looks really good, and I'll aim to follow it:

https://vanessaintan.medium.com/qinghai-road-trip-76d127bbbb74

[Jan Finster]

On 4/28/2024 at 9:48 PM, suMMit said:

This route looks really good, and I'll aim to follow it:

https://vanessaintan.medium.com/qinghai-road-trip-76d127bbbb74

I would love to do that. Unfortunately I do not have a Chinese driving license. Hiring a driver is probably too expensive 

[Jan Finster]

I read on Reddit about restrictions for foreigners in Qinghai (areas yiu are not allowed to visit, hotels that so not accept foreigners, etc). Do you have more information? 

 

(I plan to travel Gansu/Qinghai for 8 days in July) 

[suMMit]

The C-trip App I use for hotels only shows me hotels that can accept non-chinese. I've come across a couple places in Qinghai where I can't stay, ie. a city (can't remember the name right now) halfway between Chaka Salt lake and Dunhuang. May have to drive to Golmud and then to Dunhuang. That's all I know so far.

 

Edit: This needs to be English language Trip.com , Not the Chinese C-trip version, which is the same company but will show you all hotels. I still use rmb to pay through WeChat etc, but it knows I'm not Chinese and streamlines the hotels. Can also use for trains, flights etc. Prices are same as Chinese version as far as I have seen. Qu Nar is sometimes marginally cheaper, which I can also use, but it will show me all hotels. 

[Guest realmayo]

The Chinese C-trip APP has a filter setting which will exclude hotels that don't accept 外宾. But I don't think there's any difference in prices so probably easier to use the Trip.com one anyway.

[suMMit]

I've changed the title of this thread now that my road trip is completed. Although this is not a travel website, I thought I'd post some pics and thoughts from the trip. Maybe someone will find it useful or interesting. If you don't want spoilers on places you haven't been, then maybe avoid reading. I'm surprised how closely we followed my thumbnail plan(with a few small changes) of this route:

 

My wife drives and I also have a Chinese driver's license, so with took turns driving. We don't have a car, as it's not that necessary living in Beijing, so we rented a char for the trip. We just chose the cheapest car they had, a Chevy Monza, and it was very affordable because we got a deal for renting it for so many days(May 6th to Jun 1) and since it was off season. We paid around 100rmb a day. 

 

Hotels were amazing and reasonably priced(we didn't go for the cheapest, mostly ranged from 180-350 a night). Using the English C-Trip app was excellent. It only showed hotels foreigners could stay in, could cancel for free until 6pm of the check-in day, lots of choices in every city, sometimes I didn't even book the hotel until just before we arrived.

 

Day 1: Beijing to Datong

Please see my original post here for photos and comments: https://www.chinese-forums.com/blogs/entry/1361-roadtrip-beijing-to-dunhuang-and-loop-back/

 

I want to answer @lordsuso 's question:

 

 

So, that museum was in Datong. The main museum in Datong required advance registration(free) to go, but it was actually booked full in advance for the day, apparently because it was Tuesday and it's closed on Monday. I suspect if Non-Chinese tourists turned up, they'ed probably just let them in. Most places we went to on this trip did not require booking in advance, but this one did. Anyway, we decided to just go to the other big museum in town which was the 大同市北朝艺术博物馆 (Northern dynasty arts museum). It was a nice museum with lots to see. However, some displays were labeled as "replica", some listed the date and location where an object was unearthed, and some did not mention either. 

The clay figures in my photo did not mention specifics, so I do not really know if they were replicas or actual pieces. They looked in very good condition. I should have asked someone, but none of the employees nearby really looked like they knew, and somehow I felt awkward about asking, like making someone lose face if they didn't know or if they said it was a copy. I also didn't want to push my wife to ask. So I just enjoyed it and left it an unknown. Most of the museums we went to on the  trip DID state if something was a replica or the date and location it was found, so this was somewhat of an exception. At other museums, I took photos of some of these descriptions and I'll post them later. Museums in China are often a mixed bag. On a side note, throughout the trip I saw a lots of groups of kids on field trips to museums, which I thought was nice. 

 

[suMMit]

Day 2: Datong to south of Taiyuan

 

 

We stayed the night in a suburb of Taiyuan , just about 20 mins away from Grace Vineyards. Nice morning drive through the countryside with fruit orchards all along the road.

 

China produces and drinks a lot more wine than I had realized before researching this trip. Although the primary wine regions are Ningxia, Shandong and Xinjiang, we decided to visit Grace Vineyards in 山西. They make really nice wine and it's easy to call them up and book a tour. Tour is free. The guide spoke Chinese the whole time, so there was some good practice for me.

 

Lunch was 120 rmb each, but let me tell you it was phenomenal, and almost impossible to finish it all. There were like 8 courses, including Pingyao style Donkey 驴肉， roast lamb and a local dish called 过油肉. 

 

Luckily for me, my wife was the designated driver

 

Wine was not free, starts at around 100rmb a bottle and up. I bought a bottle to go with lunch. You can stay overnight at the vineyard, but it was out of our budget. The vineyard is only about a 45 min drive east of Pingyao, so after the visit we(my wife) drove there to spend the night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jan Finster]

Thanks. Are you going to write about Dunhuang etc? I am going there in July. Were did you stay? For how long?  Was it hard to get tickets on site? Etc

[suMMit]

On 6/1/2024 at 8:10 PM, Jan Finster said:

Thanks. Are you going to write about Dunhuang etc? I am going there in July. Were did you stay? For how long?  Was it hard to get tickets on site? Etc

Yeah, I will post the whole thing. Dunhuang was a little rushed, we stayed 2 nights. Went to Mogao grottos which was very good. That is a place where it's good to book in advance, but foreigners cannot do it on whatever app my wife was using. However, we called them and they said they reserve tickets for non-chinese at the door. It's pretty expensive, as you have to go with a guide. We chose an English speaking guide because my Chinese is not enough for talking about ancient grottos, but it was perfect, because we could all just speak both languages as needed AND we got our own private guide, rather than a big group. She was professional and friendly. We also went to the sand dune oasis place (Yueyaquan?). That is a bit cheesy with camel rides, dune buggies and stuff off in the distance, and the oasis is a very new structure - all that said, we had fun climbing the dune, taking photos and stuff, it looks cool. The other thing we did was drive to Yumenguan 玉门关 about an hour or so west, it's an old castle and Han get wall from 200 BC - Amazing and one of my highlights of the whole trip and our furthest point from Beijing. There were busses and taxis taking people there, so I think it can be easily organized in Dunhuang. And there are 2 or 3 other sites near-ish to there, a nature reserve and another 关， but we didn't have time. Driving to Yumen pass there was excellent for the stark and lonely scenery. I'll post some pics later. On the negative side, Dunhuang was the most expensive city we went to - restaurants, hotels, food. The meals there were the worst on our whole trip, my wife commented that they did not seem like real cooks, just out to profit from tourists. Probably if we did more research there is good food to be found. I did like that there were lots of street food and beer near where we stayed, But not the best food. Our 宾馆 was the only one my wife didn't like on the trip. I thought it was 还可以， it was cheap, 180 a night and clean and quiet. It was right behind the sand dune oasis, you could sit on the roof and drink beer from the cornerstore and look at the dunes. The road leading to it was covered with camel dung, so it was a bit 臭 outside, inside was totally fine though. There are some other things to see there and in the outlying area, but we needed to start heading back towards BJ because we were already running behind schedule and its a long drive back. I think there's no problems getting tickets for anywhere except Mogao, but we were in the off season. We actually went to a very good Dunhuang museum in Lanzhou, before getting to DH itself.

[Jan Finster]

Thanks. I am also just staying 2 nights. So, did you do the grottoes and the pass in one day? 

Do you remember the name of the hotel? (prices seem high for what you get, esp compared to Lanzhou) 

[abcdefg]

Thanks for posting this! Looks like a splendid trip. Makes me feel like I was there again. Lots of these places I visited with a Chinese lady friend. We always hired a Chinese guide for explanations, since my friend didn't speak any English. Guides, in my experience, usually speak clearly and are great for language practice. On breaks, when we stopped for a brief rest, I would pepper them with questions. 

[suMMit]

On 6/2/2024 at 12:47 AM, Jan Finster said:

Do you remember the name of the hotel?

It was called Impression Boutique Inn

[Baihande]

Thanks for sharing! Is there more coming?

[suMMit]

Day 3 and 4: Grace vineyards to Pingyao

From Unesco: The Ancient City of Ping Yao is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a traditional Han Chinese city, founded in the 14th century. Its urban fabric shows the evolution of architectural styles and town planning in Imperial China over five centuries.

 

This guy was just a tourist, maybe 6o yrs old, he threw his jacket and cellphone onto his left hand , grabbed this pretty heavy martial arts rock with his right hand, spun it in the air and grabbed it back mid- air. He did this several times, I was impressed. Should have videoed it. Lots of Hanfu.

 

Pingyao niurou. Pickled beef from the leg. The waitress saw me struggling to get a piece of noodle apart and offered to separate them for us. She then explained the story behind the dish, which name translates to "Reward of food". A general ordered it to be created as a reward for his soldiers who stuck together and won an important battle. (or something similar)

 

Early Iron Maiden fan.

 

There are lots of nice little traditional style hotels in Pingyao and they are cheaper and more fun than regular hotels, plus you stay right in the old town, inside the walls. Hotel had a nice garden where you could relax in the evening.

 

I liked Pingyao. In the off season it wasn't very crowded. It is definitely very developed, with shops and resturaunts but you can go down plenty of quiet side streets and people still live there. The ticket system is really good, pay once 125 for 3 days and you can get access to everything.

 

 

The locals have a very strong Shanxi accent. All in All stayed two nights in Pingyao and enjoyed it. Bought some vinegar the hotel boss and had it shipped home to enjoy upon return

 

 

 

 

 

[lordsuso]

Thank you for the answer! The clay figures do look in very good condition that's why they caught my eye, I'll try to stop by that museum (or the other you mentioned) if I ever return there. And I agree with you, Pingyao is lovely and a nice balance between touristy (convenient) and authentic.

[suMMit]

Day 5: Pingyao, Shanxi to Yan'an, Shaanxi 山西平遥-陕西延安

 

This is a fairly long drive, so we broke it up With 2 stops: The 汾酒 Fenjiu baijiu distillery and the Hukou waterfall on the Yellow River.

 

Fenjiu is one of the biggest Baijiu brands in China. They make 清香型 or "light aroma baijiu" as opposed to say Maotai who make 浓香型 "strong aroma". I have become a fan of Baijiu myself, and it's located about an hour west of Pingyao, so I definitely wasn't going to miss it. I was kind of expecting to be the only visitor there, but surprisingly there were lots. It's required to pay for a guide(Chinese only), which is fine, but damn she was really unfriendly. Curt and rushed answers to my and my wife questions, she obviously wanted to be somewhere else. It was unfortunate, because the group in front of us had a jovial, friendly guide. In spite of that, I still enjoyed the tour. This place is massive btw, a whole huge campus, and we were taken from building to building on a small bus. I think the whole town of 杏花村 is centered around the company.

 

In the first picture I'm not entirely sure which part of the process this is, I believe they are preparing the grains for the fermentation pits in picture 2. Here's a link a bit more about Baijiu production process, if interested: https://cen.acs.org/environment/food-science/What-s-baijiu-and-where-does-its-unique-flavor-come-from/96/i33

 

 

We then saw the bottling and packaging operation(a small part of it anyway). The storage facility is 7 stories high and completely run robotically.

 

We were given a tasting of several different Fenjiu's, and since my wife likes baijiu about as much as the woman in the photo appears to, she was the designated driver. They did not show us any of the aging rooms, which I find quite beautiful, and I have a feeling this guide skipped it to get to lunch earlier. She didn't even say goodbye to us, not even a Zaijan or a xiexie. At the end of the tour, I bought a bottle of Fenjiu and the manager of the store was helping me choose one, I could not help myself but tell her our experience with the guide, she apologized on her behalf. I'm also very tempted to to send an email to the company with her picture, but I probably won't.

 

 

Next went to see the Hukou waterfall. You can chose the 山西 side or the 陕西 side as it divides the two provinces. This is not the best season for seeing the falls, but still pretty cool. Last pic is the Yellow River from the road on the 陕西 side.

 

 

[suMMit]

Day 6: Yan'An 延安

 

So for this whole trip, my aim was to chose places neither of us had been to, not too near or far from the last stop and a smaller city. Yan'an fit the bill for all three, although Xi'an was a choice, I've really been there a lot of times. Yan'an was pretty interesting, lot's of long march and patriotic sites to see, most of which were free. I ran into one other laowai there, an older guy from Alabama, who was also surprised to see me there. We stayed at a nice hotel, not very expensive for what you got and I could not believe the view when I opened the curtains:

 

From Encyclopedia Brittanica "Yan'An":

The communist armies, driven from their bases in the Jiangxi Soviet areas by the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) in 1934, eventually reached Yan’an after their epic 6,000-mile (9,600-km) Long March (1934–35). They made the town their headquarters during the Sino-Japanese War (1937–45) and during the subsequent civil war that brought communist victory in 1949. Yan’an has thus come to represent a symbol of the heroic phase of the Chinese communist revolution, when the leadership of Mao Zedong was firmly established and the communists mastered both guerrilla warfare and the peasant-based reform policies that were to bring them to power in 1949. Remote Yan’an stands as a national shrine for the communist government, which recalls the spirit and example of its pioneer period.

Revolutionary Memorial Hall

 

 

Yan'an city from the hilltop

Caves where Mao, Zhou Enlai, etc lived for a number of years

 

Really liked this dish, I'm afraid I forgot the name, but it was a Northern 陕西 dish that was a combination of potato and pasta.

 

How Yan'an has changed in the last 50 years

 

Yan'an night market is very organized and clean