The first section of the itinerary starts from Bosten Lake to the southwest and walks westward along the Kongque River until we find the ancient river channel heading south.
Bosten can be translated as standing. The origin of this name is because there are three mountains standing in the middle of the lake. In ancient times, this lake was also called the Sea of Fish. It is the largest inland freshwater lake in China, from which the Kongque River originates.
It originates here and flows to the depths of Taklimakan.
When everyone passed by the lake, they looked around and saw the vast and far-reaching blue water that was dazzling. Inadvertently, they had the illusion that they had reached the end of heaven and earth.
In the first two days after departure, Fatty Wang, Chu Jian, Sa Dipeng and Ye Yixin entered the desert for the first time in their lives. They found it fresh and fun. One moment they were imitating the whistle of old man An Liman commanding the camels, and the other moment they were chasing after each other.
They were playing around and singing. It didn't look like someone who was here for archaeology, but more like someone who was traveling.
Hao Shuai followed the team, holding a bottle of ice-cold Sprite in his hand and drinking slowly. At the same time, he looked at the high-spirited young people and thought that there would be a lot of hardship for them. The journey had only begun now. What would they realize later?
It's a real desert.
According to the old man An Liman, it is not considered a desert at all. This section of the ancient river channel of the Kongque River existed before the river changed its course. The river bed in some areas has not completely dried up, and the surrounding sand is also very shallow. There are scattered small trees everywhere.
In lakes and seas, there are occasionally a small group of red-billed gulls and red-billed pochards swimming on the water. Along the bend of the Kongque River, there are small patches of oases where Elaeagnus angustifolia, Populus euphratica and some shrubs grow.
After crossing the Kongque River and changing the route, the conditions became more and more difficult, and everyone truly entered the desert. The hot climate and full of wind and sand made the smiles of the archaeological team gradually disappear.
At dusk the next day, a group of people walked to the land called the Holy Sepulchre Mountain. From here on, it is the so-called Black Desert. Everyone decided to camp here, rest for one night, and continue moving forward tomorrow.
At this time, An Liman began to tell Hu Bayi and others about the horrors of the Black Desert, hoping to dissuade the group from going deeper, so that he would have completed his mission.
Unfortunately, everyone was busy with their own affairs, and no one cared what An Liman said. The only one who knew the danger, Hao Shuai, had an indifferent attitude.
"Ye Yixin, what are you doing?" Suddenly, a loud shout sounded in the camp.
Everyone followed the sound and saw Hao Shuai standing in front of Ye Yixin and Professor Chen, looking at them seriously.
"I~I just saw that the professor's hands were dirty and wanted to pour him some water to wash his hands." Ye Yixin had a kettle in her hand and looked at a loss.
"Wash your hands with water in the desert? How capable are you? Why don't you take a bath for yourself?" Hao Shuai scolded mercilessly.
After saying that, he didn't pay attention to Ye Yixin, who had red eyes. He turned to Professor Chen and said, "Professor Chen, Ye Yixin has never been to the desert and doesn't know how precious water is. As an archaeological expert, don't you understand?"
"Hao Daozhang, I was negligent. I apologize to you. I won't do it next time." Professor Chen also realized his mistake and apologized sincerely.
"I hope you understand that in the desert, water is the most precious resource. Especially tomorrow we will go deep into the black desert. No one knows what conditions we will encounter then, so you should save some water.
." Hao Shuai looked around at the people around him, especially looking at Chu Jian, Sa Di Peng and others.
After Hao Shuai taught him this, the atmosphere in the entire camp seemed a bit dull. Everyone lost interest in chatting. After eating dry food, they all stayed in their places to rest.
Hao Shuai found Hu Bayi, who was also about to take a rest, and said: "Old Hu, you are the leader of the team. As a company commander, you should know how to lead a team. If you have anything to do in the future, speak out boldly and I will support you.
of."
"Shengun, I was negligent this time. Thank you for reminding me." Hu Ba nodded to express his understanding.
Hao Shuai patted Hu Bayi on the shoulder and returned to his seat.
…
The temperature difference between day and night in desert areas is quite large. Especially during the day, the surface temperature can reach 40 to 50 degrees. Hao Shuai and his team avoided the direct sunlight during the day and chose to travel between evening and noon.
So after resting for an hour, the group continued on their way under the stars.
Once you pass the Holy Sepulchre Mountain, you truly enter the realm of the Black Desert. This is a large flowing desert, with strong winds blowing the sand dunes. The landscape changes day by day, without any features, and the ancient rivers have long since disappeared.
Fortunately, Anliman, a living map of the desert, is here. The castles, houses, and towers are mostly buried in the yellow sand, with only half of the roof exposed; the poplar trees are tilted by the strong wind, forming an angle of thirty degrees with the ground.
; There are several small Haloxylon ammodendron plants in the desert, but they cannot escape the eyes of old man An Liman.
According to him, at the end of this disappeared ancient river is the legendary ancient city abandoned by Hu Da.
This journey of day and night lasted for several days. On the morning of the third day after entering the black desert, a ray of sunshine rose from the eastern horizon, reflecting the clouds on the horizon red, and the rising sand dunes in the desert shrouded the sky.
Under a layer of rays of light, the dry Populus euphratica and the corrugated yellow sand were all reflected in golden red. The rich colors formed a magnificent picture between heaven and earth.
Everyone who was tired after traveling all night couldn't help but feel refreshed when they saw this scenery. Shirley Yang praised: "The desert is so beautiful, God, look at that Populus euphratica tree, it's like a golden stripe in the desert.
Shenlong." He took out his camera and clicked the shutter button repeatedly, hoping to preserve this beautiful scenery.
When everyone was intoxicated by the beautiful scenery, Hu Bayi noticed that An Liman was staring at the rising sun in the east, with a faint uneasiness on his face. The experienced Hu Bayi also noticed that something was wrong.
After all, even children know: if the morning glow does not go out and the sunset glow travels thousands of miles, the fiery red clouds in the morning are not a good sign.
"Old man, are things going to change?" Hu Bayi asked uncertainly.
"The clouds in the sky are bleeding. God is probably angry. The wind is going to blow in the desert, and it's going to be very, very strong," An Liman said.
As soon as Hu Bay heard this, he didn't hesitate and immediately ran to explain the situation to Professor Chen and others.
When they heard Hu Bayi say that there was going to be a big storm that not even a sand wall could stop, everyone's expressions changed. They hurriedly followed Hu Bayi's instructions, got on the camels and prepared to run away.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, he saw old man An Liman slowly getting off the camel, taking out a blanket, slowly spreading it on the yellow sand, kneeling on it, his eyes slightly closed, his expression pious, and his hands stretched out to the sky.
, then covered his face and chanted loudly.
"Hey, Lao Hu, do you think this is urgent or not?" asked the impatient Fatty Wang.
"Okay, leave him alone, Old Hu, take them away first, as fast as possible without delay." Hao Shuai knew that this black sandstorm was no joke. If it was blown away, even if it was stronger than Hao Shuai, it would
There is nowhere to find them.
Hu Bayi immediately called to everyone, urged the big camel on his crotch, and started running first.
Sure enough, not long after everyone set off, they heard the sound of "oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh", and then, a camel quickly passed by the crowd and ran forward.