Chapter 8 6. Walk into Ali

Walking on the streets of Lhasa, a girl smiled at me and greeted me in English; she said that the sacred mountain and holy lake in Ali is the place she most yearns for in this life, no matter how difficult the journey is, she will not hesitate.My heart that was ready to escape was fascinated again... According to geography books, the Ngari area is located in the west of the Tibet Autonomous Region, bordering India to the west and Nepal to the south, with a total area of ​​300,000 square kilometers, an average altitude of over 4,500 meters, and a population of only 50,000, most of which are uninhabited areas.It is such a barren land, but it has the sacred mountain that is regarded as the center of the universe by Hinduism, Buddhism, Bon and Senaism - Kailash Rinpoqin, the holy lake of the lord of all lakes - Mapang Yumco, and has The ruins of the Guge Kingdom with a splendid civilization history of 700 years.

If I hadn't met Xiaoying, a female student from Hong Kong, my trip to Tibet would have come to an end in Lhasa.Since crossing the Qinghai-Tibet line, my body has been troubled by altitude sickness and I have a terrible headache. On the morning of July 31, I took a walk on the street of Balang Preschool, preparing to take a last look at Lhasa before buying a ticket to leave.I accidentally found a girl smiling at me and greeted me in English. After a few words, she changed to Mandarin. It turned out that she was a student of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.Xiaoying told me that Ali's sacred mountain and holy lake and the ruins of the Guge Kingdom are the places she most yearns for in this life, no matter how difficult the journey is, she will not hesitate.Suddenly I felt a little ashamed, and it was from that moment that my fascination with Ali was reawakened in my heart, and I made the final determination, no matter how far away I am, no matter how difficult and dangerous the future is, I will go to Ali—— The place I miss day and night.

Beautiful Lhasa River scenery With the help of the Expedition Department of Tibet China Youth Travel Agency, I rented two Toyota Type 62 "Land Cruiser" jeeps, a Dongfeng equipment vehicle, and invited a Tibetan guide named Gesang Wuzhu.Five female tourists from Guangdong, Xiaoying, her two classmates, and Lao Liu, a teacher from Changzhou, were also accompanying her.After completing all approval procedures and purchasing equipment, our 11-member team set out for the distant Ali on August 4th.We chose to go to Ali by taking the southern line (namely National Highway 219), because this line is relatively short and the scenery along the way is very good.After leaving Lhasa, the convoy has been driving along the Lhasa River. Not only the scenery here is good, but the road conditions are also good. We stop to take pictures from time to time.Shortly after passing the Qushui Bridge, the car entered the road along the Yarlung Zangbo River.The terrain here is steep, with straight cliffs on the right and the galloping Yarlung Zangbo River on the left; the ground is narrow and undulating, and the driver drove the jeep with extreme care, and we passengers were also sweating.Fortunately, more than an hour later, the road widened, and patches of golden rapeseed flowers appeared beside the road, as if you were in a water town in the south of the Yangtze River.Due to the good road conditions, we arrived at Shigatse, an important town in Houzang, at noon.Because I was in a hurry, I only had a meal in Shigatse, and left in a hurry before leaving any impression on this famous city; I arrived in Lazi County after bumping on the terrible road for nearly 6 hours.

Lazi is an important transportation point leading to Zhangmu Port, and it is also the only place to go to the Everest Nature Reserve.There are many Chinese and foreign tourists gathered here, and most of them go to see Mount Everest, the "third goddess".The conditions in this small county town are very difficult. Most of the time there is no electricity and no washing water. We are all squeezed on the bunks in a small room in the Lazi Hotel.In order to accumulate strength, after a hasty dinner, everyone got into sleeping bags. The altitude sickness and difficult conditions made it another sleepless night.

When it was daylight, we hurried on the road.After leaving Lazi County, the previously indistinct road completely disappeared at this time, and the jeep was driving on the dry river bed, bumping people up from time to time.Our Tibetan driver displayed his superb driving skills at this time, snaking on the river beach full of pebbles.The weather was gloomy, and driving on such a bad road made everyone feel bad; but to encourage the driver, every time the car made a beautiful evasive action, everyone cheered loudly.In this way, the journey of more than 100 kilometers took a full five hours.Near noon, the weather turned fine. When the car turned over a mountain pass and drove on a relatively flat road again, there were suddenly rolling snow peaks in front of us. The white snow shone golden in the midday sun.This is the first time to see such a spectacular snow-capped mountain scenery since arriving in Tibet, and everyone cheered excitedly.The car traveled through the uninhabited mountains and valleys for a long time, and finally saw a village at two o'clock in the afternoon.After stopping to inquire, I learned that the town is called Sangsang, and I even found a restaurant opened by a Sichuanese.Sichuan people are like grass with strong vitality, which can grow no matter how harsh the natural environment is.Later, in Ngari and Quzong Township at the foot of Mount Everest, there were restaurants opened by Sichuanese everywhere.We all decided to have lunch here.Because of our arrival, the town seemed to be lively all of a sudden, especially a group of Tibetan women and children came, chattering around us, and we took out the pencils and toffee we had prepared and distributed to them.

In order to be able to reach today's destination Saga County earlier, I hurriedly ate a bowl of noodles and set off.The weather on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau seems to be like a child’s temper. Sometimes it’s sunny, and sometimes it’s stormy; after the car entered the Daxung Zangbo River Basin, it rained heavily and the road conditions became extremely bad. Our car often got stuck in mud Fortunately, the two jeeps were able to tow each other, so no breakdown occurred.In this way, we climbed over countless mountains and swamps, and when it was dark, we arrived at Saga, a small county located on the banks of the Yarlung Zangbo River.Because there was no electricity, the street was pitch black. The guide Gesang seemed to be very familiar with this place, so he took us to the county government guest house.In the dark, I found a small restaurant on the street to eat noodles, and found that the noodles were half-cooked.It may be due to the high altitude, everyone suffered from altitude sickness to varying degrees, and spent another sleepless night.

In the early morning, I was awakened by the sound of the loud bugle, and I set off after eating some compressed biscuits.The car passed through the county town only to find that there is a very large-scale military camp here, with all kinds of antennas, neatly arranged oil tanks and barracks. It is hard to believe that there are such modern facilities in this remote place.On the way out of the county, I met a group of soldiers who went out to shoot targets, and everyone waved to each other.According to the driver, Saga means "lovely place" in Tibetan. Wild animals are very rich here, including Tibetan antelopes and wild yaks. You may see them on the road after a while.After the car left Saga County, the scenery outside was no longer the vast mountains and valleys of the previous two days. After entering a large plateau grassland, the terrain was flat, and sheep and yaks could be seen dotted on the grass mats like blue carpets from time to time. .Just in time for a sunny day, the blue sky, white clouds, prairie, and flocks of sheep formed a poetic picture scroll. Being here, it seems like a world away, causing everyone to get out of the car to take pictures from time to time.If you are not in a hurry, you really want to enjoy this rare tranquility here.

At noon, the car entered the Maquan River Basin in Zhongba County, and the road conditions began to deteriorate. Most of the time, they were either climbing mountains or driving on river beaches.In the past three days, the long turbulence and arduous travel have made everyone taciturn. Most of the time we just stare at the front silently.When the sun was setting, the car drove into an open area, and the sun that was about to sink into the horizon softly radiated orange light.Suddenly there is a feeling that these days, we seem to be a day-by-day Kuafu, going west, never giving up.Because there is a belief in everyone's heart, no matter how hard or dangerous it is, we must see the sacred mountain and holy lake that we have longed for in our hearts.Before dark, we arrived at a small village called Payang, where the Tibetan atmosphere is very strong.We lived in a Tibetan family, and after eating compressed biscuits for many days, we tasted delicious buttered tea and air-dried meat here.The guide Gesang told everyone that tomorrow they will be able to see the sacred mountain and holy lake, and the haze on everyone's faces in the past few days has been swept away.Everyone had a good night's sleep that night.

Wild black-necked cranes in Ali No Man's Land In order to get to Taqing Village, Pulan County, today's destination earlier, we set off before dawn. Our car was really like its name "Land Cruiser", traveling through a large wetland; The power of wheel drive always allows it to lead us out of trouble.Fortunately, I saw a group of wild black-necked cranes in the wetlands by the Payang River, and I will never forget that vivid moment.The car has been traveling westward, and after a long journey, after passing through a border checkpoint, it finally entered the territory of Alipuran County.In this narrow strip between the Gangdise Mountains and the Himalayas, countless snow-capped peaks greet you.

Pulan, which means "a place surrounded by snow-capped mountains" in Tibetan, is indeed well-deserved.Everyone knows that after many days of hard work, the most exciting moment is coming.Just as the sun was about to sink into the horizon, the holy lake Manasarovar came into our sight.