How mysterious is "Vientiane Tulin Valley", one of the scenic spots in Zhangye with a daily quota of 100?

Zhangye's geological wonders can really be called "magic"-as two scenic spots in Zhangye National Geopark, "Colorful Danxia" and "Binggou Danxia" are only 12 km apart, but they are very different in appearance and temperament! However, even the scenic spots in the "Colorful Danxia" gate are located in the Vientiane Tulin Valley, which belongs to the territory of southern Jiangsu, and its shape is far from the "Colorful Danxia".

The Binggou Danxia Scenic Area of Zhangye National Geopark is located in Le Kang Township and Baiyin Township of Sunan Yugur Autonomous County, accounting for three-fifths of the total 536 square kilometers of Zhangye National Geopark, while Vientiane Tulin Valley is also located in Baiyin Township of Sunan, but it is classified as "Colorful Danxia" in Linze County for the sake of unified management of scenic spots. Although the Tulin Valley in Vientiane is a "colorful Danxia" scenic spot, ordinary tourists can't see it unless they spend seven times the price of ordinary tickets and can take the "special car" with 100 places every day.

China people are no strangers to Zhangye's Danxia landform. Because the endless red hills in Zhang Yimou's Three Guns Surprise spread the Danxia landform of Zhangye the most widely.

I visited the colorful Danxia, knowing that it introduced itself as "colorful hilly landform". However, there are not many words about "self-introduction" in Binggou Danxia and Wanxiang Tulin Valley. Judging from the appearance and temperament, it really conforms to the tonality of "Chinese Danxia", but there are also a few places mixed with "colorful mountains".

In a orogenic movement, a special landform in China rushed out of the bottom of the sea and stood proudly in the universe. With its dazzling beauty and unswerving tone, it finally has its own special user name-"Danxia, China", which has become a worldwide landform language.

Unfortunately, however, Zhang Ye Danxia, who failed alone, was not included in the world heritage list of Danxia in China approved by UNESCO in August 20 10. Don't be surprised, it's a fact.

The geoscience term "Danxia in China" is a compromise of what the international community calls "Danxia landform" in China (the latter is collectively referred to as red bed landform internationally). Previously, China's World Heritage application projects were all declared under the international common name, but "Danxia Landform" was the first compromise of UNESCO, adopting the traditional name of China.

China Danxia is a natural heritage declaration made by China, which comprehensively shows the formation and evolution of Danxia landform including Taining, Fujian. The six declared scenic spots are Langshan in Hunan, Danxia in Guangdong, Longhushan in Jiangxi (including Guifeng), Jiang Lang in Zhejiang and Chishui in Guizhou. This "binding" declaration took four years, and the official data is10 billion.

These six declaration points tell the development legend of Danxia landform in China from infancy, youth, precocity, maturity, pre-old age and old age, presenting a complete natural story, which is the best example of Danxia landform from "minimum erosion" to "maximum erosion".

The words "World Heritage List" did not appear at the entrance of Binggou Danxia Scenic Area or even "Vientiane Tulin Valley". I asked the tour guide, and then I went home and carefully studied the application for "Danxia in China", and found a very interesting thing: the Danxia landform in Zhangye, which was called "one of the seven most beautiful Danxia landforms in China" by National Geographic, was one of the earliest places to apply for "Danxia in China", but Chishui in Guizhou did not enter the first batch of "binding" lists at that time.

At the beginning of the application project, it was reported that Zhang Ye thought that the application conditions were not yet mature and decided to withdraw from the application. For this retraction, a staff member of the Propaganda Department of Zhangye Municipal Committee said in an interview with China Economic Weekly that year: "The city is not allowed to report this matter, and there is nothing to say."

However, media reports may be just an excuse. In fact, Zhang Ye's withdrawal from the "World Heritage Application" is a wise move for some geologists-because Zhang Ye's landform can't be "tied" with the geological structure of "Danxia in China" at all. Zhangye landform is a part of sandstone landform in northwest arid area, and it is a very special part in various papers of geoscience!

At the beginning of the 20th century, with the discovery of Kuqa Grand Canyon in Xinjiang and the establishment of Kuqa Grand Canyon National Geopark, this "Hongshan" landscape in the northwest of China attracted more and more attention. Now, from Tarim in the south, Junggar and Alashan in the north, Hehuang Valley and Liupanshan in the east and Pamir in the west, many such "Hongshan" scenic spots have become tourist attractions. Zhangye National Geopark is one of the most famous scenic spots.

The question now is: What kind of landform is this "Hongshan" landscape?

At first glance, anyone can easily think of the landforms of Langshan Mountain in Hunan, Danxia Mountain in Guangdong, Longhushan Mountain in Jiangxi, Jiang Lang in Zhejiang and Danxia Mountain in Chishui, Guizhou. But they are all red without exception! Color! Sand! Rock! However, the "Hongshan" in northwest China, such as Danxia in Zhangye Binggou and Tulin Valley in Vientiane, is completely different from the above landforms in climate, mountain shape and geological structure. Red sandstone is only one of them, and its strata are more extensive.

First of all, it belongs to the temperate continental arid climate zone, with sparse vegetation on the surface, even bare grassland and bare bedrock. If we say that the Danxia landform under the subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest in South China is like a "traditional building" that pays attention to external decoration; Then, the "Red Mountain" in the northwest is like an "anti-traditional building", and the bare skeleton and vein are completely exposed in front of you. Due to the special climate, the erosion here is mainly physical weathering and wind erosion caused by mechanical disintegration, and the micro-landforms on the hillside surface are mostly angular and uneven, unlike Danxia landform.

Secondly, these "red mountains" are located in the front of the transition from Qilian Mountain, Tianshan Mountain and Kunlun Mountain to the basin. Due to the strong tectonic compression and nappe, the stratum folds are very strong, and the stratum dip angle changes greatly, forming a castle-like hill with a flat top, a single-sided mountain with a gentle side and a steep side, Zhubeiling with steep slopes on both sides, Shilin-Fengcong hill with abrupt peaks and other landforms, which are particularly asymmetrical.

Thirdly, these "red mountains" involve a wide range of strata, including Cretaceous-Paleogene-Neogene-Quaternary lower Pleistocene, and although the color of strata is mainly red, it also includes the combination of yellow, white, green and gray. At the same time, due to the alternation of sandstone with weak siltstone and mudstone, in addition to steep cliffs, "rock ridges" and skirt landforms with different heights are often formed on slopes, and mushroom stones and various hieroglyphics formed by differential weathering are more peculiar.

As a comparison of landforms, among more than 1000 Danxia spots found in more than 20 provinces in China, Sichuan, the "mother of Danxia", is the most typical. Sichuan is located in Sichuan Basin, the largest red bed basin in China. The "Sichuan Lake" in the basin gave birth to Danxia, and its Danxia scenic spots, such as Qingcheng Mountain in Dujiangyan, Giant Buddha Temple in Leshan and Doutuan Mountain in Jiangyou, are typical Danxia geological landforms in China.

This contrast, the difference is obvious?

Although there is a great difference between the two, it does not mean that people who are not in Danxia landform are inferior. On the contrary, the "Binggou Danxia" and "Vientiane Tulin Valley" in Zhangye National Geopark are not only unique in the rivers and lakes with their personalized landforms, but also attract tourists to worship them-the slightly puffed red in the sky and the vague and unruly shapes in various ways make people who come from the secular feel a kind of psychology more or less. These extraordinary peaks and cliffs are like a monk and a great virtue in a red cassock, standing on the pure land on earth, chanting and preaching. They are dazzling and majestic, with extraordinary aura and feeling like dust.

Whether overlooking the "Danxia in the Ice Gully" or looking up at the "Vientiane Tulin Valley", the hidden red and blue sky shines like a paradise of red robes, and the harmony between heaven and man makes people realize the wonderful meaning of "the world of mortals is everywhere" ...

In fact, "Hongshan" or "Danxia" seems to have a deep origin with Buddhism. Because red sandstone is easy to carve, many Danxia landform areas have precious Buddhist cultural and artistic heritages such as stone carvings and grottoes. It can be said that Buddhism is spread by Danxia landform, which is famous for its integration and infiltration. The annotation of Nanyang Mansion Records of Jiajing in Ming Dynasty and Taming written by natural Zen master in Ming Dynasty indicate that Danxia Temple in Nanzhao, Henan Province was founded by natural Zen master in the fourth year of Tang Changqing. Nature Zen master, named Danxia, named Danxia Nature. There is a cloud in Nanzhao County Records in Qing Dynasty: "A natural Zen master is as colorful as Dan, as bright as Mingxia, and shines with Danxia Mountain." As can be seen from these ancient books, Danxia and Buddhism are indeed quite related.

The most typical representative of this origin is Leshan Giant Buddha, the highest Maitreya stone carving Buddha in the world. The red Danxia, which is exposed from the cliffs around the giant Buddha, makes the compassion of the giant Buddha more vivid. With kind and compassionate eyes, the giant Buddha looked at the people traveling to and from the Three Rivers and blessed the passing ships, which made people see it vividly. Buddha's persistence and tolerance infect everyone who believes in Buddhism and also infect us in the world of mortals. Buddha is in the world of mortals, and the world of mortals has love.

After talking about Leshan Giant Buddha, let's look back at "Danxia in Ice Gully" and "Wanxiang Tulin Valley".

The fate of Buddha here is actually the eternal swan song of the Silk Road. I can't tell you how many camel teams went west from here and drank up the dust and wind and frost. An old friend's flute is long and exciting. ...

When my greedy eyes reluctantly leave this fiery mountain range, I know in my heart that any written description looks so pale and powerless in front of you. After thinking about it, I just said weakly: You are a paradise where my mind can come and go freely ... # Graduation trip #