The most famous city in Hexi Corridor, I'm just a tourist along the Hexi Corridor all the way to the west, and I just need to cross the Gobi desert all night to reach Dunhuang. I was also born in the northwest Gobi.
When I arrived in Dunhuang in the morning, the first thing I saw was the eaves and loess of the railway station designed as Mogao Grottoes. Mogao Grottoes is the most attractive business card in Dunhuang. The immortal images of Tian Fei and Rebound Pipa naturally appear in the center of Dunhuang in the form of sculptures, which is obviously their cultural pride.
Mogao grottoes culture represents Dunhuang, and you must go to Mogao grottoes to go to Dunhuang.
When we arrived at the Mogao Grottoes, it was almost the most annoying noon. The scorching sun seems to be suffocating, and the temperature keeps reflecting between the Gobi and the sky. The crowd was caught in the middle, so the clothes wrapped themselves tightly, leaving only a pair of eyes for observation.
It should be a Buddhist shrine, but people who advocate Buddhism don't have to cling to the Mogao Grottoes. The merit box in the grottoes may be empty. There are far more literati dressed up than monks, and the value contribution of Mogao Grottoes is not religion.
Buddhism was introduced into the Central Plains in the Han Dynasty because of a dream of the emperor. Then, under the rich cultural background of the Central Plains, Buddhism in the Han Dynasty formed its own system. For the mural sculpture art of Mogao Grottoes, the research value of its own historical customs far exceeds the religious significance. The cultures of Buddhism and Taoism blend together, and the sculptures of the two major religions coexist. Central plains culture and precious magic. Different religious beliefs led to all kinds of bloodshed in the war. Only in the Central Plains culture, they stand side by side, while in the western culture, Tian Fei, who is based on angels, is painted in Buddhist stories with the image of Chinese painting. No one forced absolute assimilation, but over time, the customs of all parties merged and used in one place. In ancient times, Han people had the confidence of China.
People with faith may be down-to-earth at heart, but I think the freedom of not worshiping God is more desirable. Of course, these do not hinder my respect and appreciation of religious art. On the contrary, I can face up to the gods, because I don't have to be afraid, and I can observe all aspects of them from the perspective of appreciating art.
Works of art always leave bad regrets under the rolling of time. The color of the murals in the depths of the cave is completely different from that in the low light. Long-term exposure has made them oxidized and discolored, from the original bright color to grayish black or brown. The face of the portrait is dark, and only the jewelry with gold on it has shiny gold. The staff who regard it as a treasure are here to guard the last color in panic. I can only rely on the appearance of mottled historical sites now, and try to imagine the eyebrow eye shape of beautiful bones and clear faces described by craftsmen in the past. The clothes carved with one hammer and one chisel are the wind and the color is the wide face of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. The style of the prosperous Tang Dynasty is already the dust and ink in the ancient scrolls, and the mural cultural relics cannot be polished and colored. So the former dynasty let it fall into the torrent of history, and the world no longer fondly remembers it.
When I leave the Mogao Grottoes, the sun on the Gobi is still vicious and hot, and my skin will be hurt by this untouchable golden sunshine. Outside the Mogao Grottoes, there are several ancient poplars with cracked trunks. Only they and those who stubbornly resist nature can live around them, but the two or three people are folded together and stand in front of the dry and brown ruins of the Mogao Grottoes. Anyway, it is desolate.
Surrounded by barren wasteland, there are few cables pulled up manually, and the mountains are farther away.
No matter how far it is, it is' Yumenguan' that sees far.
Another scene in Dunhuang is the Crescent Spring in Mingsha Mountain, which is not far from the Mogao Grottoes and is directly accessible by bus. The tune "Crescent Moon Spring" is played everywhere in Dunhuang. Before I went, my fantasy was a miracle, and a mist suddenly appeared in the sand deep in the desert.
But I forgot that where there is water, there is life. Even before I saw Crescent Moon Spring, there were clumps of short grass in the nearby desert.
I saw camels dotted with brown and white.
Crescent Spring in Mingsha Mountain.
Mingsha Mountain was silent.
I only heard the heavy breathing in the camel's nostrils, and the camel bell rattled. All the companions were separated by a whole tall camel, so there was no sound and the sound of the vast desert was lost, and then there was silence around.
Occasionally, there is the sound of sand blowing on clothes, but there is no sound of sand in the wind.
Maybe listening to sand needs a more lonely environment. There are no people for dozens of miles in Fiona Fang, Fiona Fang. Travelers in the desert are asked to chase the illusory mirage, kneel by the crescent spring and pick up a cool spring water in the sand, their lips are wet and chapped in the sand, and then their ears are accompanied by low sobs.
More and more people tend to say that humiliation is a legend. Maybe they, like me, can't convince themselves that the words of such an endless desert can be suppressed and covered up by two thin voices brought by little monkeys like human beings, so they secretly convince themselves that they haven't found a way to listen correctly.
I can't help but imagine whether the camel's nasal voice was hoarse thousands of years ago. In the past business fair, he snorted, like a disgrace. In the past, the burly northwest man shouted gruffly, and his voice was as thick as humiliation. The Arab businessman wearing a headscarf speaks Chinese in a strange tone and a ashamed tone. There was a hoarse humiliation from Mingsha Mountain in the distance. Deep in the desert hinterland, the only prevailing language is the language of sand, which is very lonely and seems to be an independent language. Later, time erased the existence of this world, so Mingsha Mountain was lonely and silent forever. What a romantic and absurd story.
Under the irradiation of sunlight, the colors of sand dunes are divided into yin and yang, and split into gold and black from the side peaks of sand dunes. Riding a camel around a hill, and finally the road to Crescent Spring has to be moved step by step in the sand. The road in the sand is hard to walk, and it falls one inch at a time. /kloc-the distance of 0/00 meters is like climbing mountains and mountains, which is staggering. It's like a long and distant journey. You swing your arms, but in the end, you won't leave a few shoe prints on the beach. Although travelers shout, their traces are too easy to be wiped clean, so the best travelers are all.
There are too many tiny grains of sand in the sand of Crescent Spring, so I gave up my plan to help my friend bring a bottle of sand from Mingsha Mountain. The sand at the dead water's edge is not as clean and smooth as the sand washed by running water. If I have to step on it barefoot or put it in a bottle, I'd rather choose the orange gravel at Shapotou on the Yellow River. After all, it is a desolate Gobi. The yellow soil is thin and dry, with no nutrients. When the wind blows, it turns into dust all over the sky. Mixed in the desert is gray sand, and mixed under the water plants beside the crescent spring is mud. This is the land where the northwest people have lived for generations. Relying on the narrow area of Qilian Mountain, the land will dry up forever. There is no spring breeze here, and it is difficult to leave a willow song. However, it is this loess that built the Great Wall of Wan Li, or sweet grapes grew from this loess, and a piece of jade with a luminous cup was dug out from this loess, which became a sad cup for defenders or poets to relegate soldiers in front of the Great Wall. Alcohol has become a virtual and real thing, which is a way for them to vent their resentment and talk. This kind of literati interest is unique here.
Crescent spring is a clear spring in the desert, and there is a gentle song about it, missing and longing. You can't hear the sand whistling by the crescent spring, and the euphemistic voice in the speaker can even be clearly seen through the noisy voices, which is probably half the credit of this song. A thousand years ago, a hundred years ago, the crescent moon spring may have saved the lives of too many passers-by, and how many travelers missed and hoped for a curved water. The ancients paid homage to ghosts and gods and spent a lot of money digging caves to accumulate virtue. In fact, it is better to pay homage to this curved spring, which is a god who saved people from the brink of death by compassion. Perhaps believers only agree that their prayers brought the gods back to life, but the scientific fact is that water can save his life. Now the spring water is gone, dirty and messy, and tourists don't have to drink it persistently. Roadside vendors sell all kinds of drinks. Besides, the Crescent Spring is now surrounded by a crescent-shaped wooden fence, and the reeds at the water's edge are out of reach. Southerners born in water towns may laugh at it, but the northwest people have to bow to its magic.
The sunset in the desert should be beautiful, but even in midsummer, it will be bitterly cold winter after sunset. I didn't wait until sunset. After all, I'm not an orphan girl who went to Yangguan in the west. After all, I can't play the pipa, and I don't have a jiaowei piano. I may be able to sing some old songs on the guitar like a modern prodigal son, but I am not a wandering singer. I am just a vulgar tourist who loves the yellow land. Visitors who are not engaged in artistic creation should not be too affectionate. Visitors should return to the visitor center after sunset.
After sunset, you have to go back to a crowded place to see the lights like during the day.
The city center is close to the scenic spots, or the city center is just a small settlement built by the scenic spots. Dunhuang is not a big city, and the city center seems to be an ordinary block that is not square. Local residents may be dismissive when they see us foreign tourists who are careful about sun protection. They walk clean in the sun, and only tourists will do their best to resist ultraviolet rays, so it is clear at a glance whether they are owners or outsiders. I noticed that most of them have brown skin, especially taxi drivers have burgundy shadows on their faces, and most of them are burly, and their eyes remind me of the small eyes of the western envoys on the murals. Northwest China has been a place with complicated nationalities since ancient times. The product of the blending of Hu and Han is that we are tens of millions of residents in Hexi Corridor, and a new tone slang has evolved in the dialect. The stomach only depends on the water, soil and pasta here. Although it is a city in the desert, there is no shortage of trees on both sides of the streets here, and the streets are well planned. The city is full of huge billboards printed with Mogao Grottoes or flying in the sky, reminding travelers from time to time that they are in Dunhuang. Passing through the neon-lit Dunhuang city, you will find that most houses are deliberately built in imitation of the Mogao grottoes, and they all want khaki buildings and scarlet pointed roofs, which is a self-defeating commercial behavior. But if it is not such a building, it is hard for me to imagine what kind of urban planning Dunhuang should have. After all, they copied the Mogao Grottoes with confidence.
There are all kinds of tourist souvenirs in Shazhou Night Market, all of which are handicrafts related to murals, decorations made of colored sand, or postcards printed with scenery. Some of them are also unique and interesting, but they are not much different from various scenic spots all over the country. The same trinkets are repeated on the shelves of all shops, most of which are made in Yiwu, but tourists buy them home to show a local style. But this doesn't prevent me from buying some fancy colored sand bottles as souvenirs. Travel in a hurry, always leave some souvenirs of memories, watch something and miss a city that has walked through mountains and rivers. From then on, that city always has unspeakable feelings for you. We are gentle creatures, controlling emotions, buying an object tenderly, and keeping the memory of a city tenderly. Memories create a unique personality and a unique self.
You should leave Dunhuang the next day. After all, there is still the next stop on the journey.
Gobi or Gobi, khaki, slightly brighter desert color, golden yellow. These colors are the only colors in the life of northwest people. Finally, one day, they will turn into loess, still inseparable from this land, and everyone is just so attached to their hometown.
Born in the northwest, you will know that the desert is more beautiful than the water town in the south of the Yangtze River.
The effect is very shallow.
I love this land in the northwest most.