9-Day Motorcycle Riding Itinerary – Hexi Corridor – The Intersection of Mountains, Rivers and Culture

Route Map about the Journey

The Development and History about the Hexi Corridor

Qilian Mountain is located in the northeast of Qinghai Province and the western border of Gansu Province. During the Han Dynasty, it was a battleground for military strategists. When Huo Qubing defeated the Xiongnu and established the four counties of Hexi, the Xiongnu sang: “The loss of Qilian Mountain has made my livestock unable to reproduce.” This also proves that Qilian at that time already had foothills with abundant water and grass. When talking about Qilian Mountain, the Hexi Corridor is an unavoidable topic. Between Qilian Mountain and the mountains composed of Mazong Mountain, Heli Mountain and Longshou Mountain in the north, there is a narrow plain running from southwest to northeast, shaped like a corridor, so it is named Hexi Corridor.

When talking about the Hexi Corridor, many people think of it as “Gobi, desert, and a city deeply affected by sandstorms”. To some extent, the desert smoke is indeed its “external image”. It is located in the northwest inland area, more than 1,300 kilometers away from the nearest ocean. In addition, the surrounding high mountains make it difficult for warm and humid air currents from the ocean to reach here.

The surrounding mountains are high enough to block the ocean moisture, but high enough to have permanent snow and numerous glaciers.Most of the rivers in the Hexi Corridor originate from the Qilian Mountains and rely on mountain precipitation, snowmelt and groundwater from the Qilian Mountains as their source of replenishment.

The melting snow forms rivers, which irrigate farmland, grasslands, and forests after flowing out of the mountains, and cut the land into various landforms such as plains, canyons, Danxia, and Gobi . This region encompasses almost all the scenery in China except for the oceans and islands and reefs, so some people say: having been to Gansu is equivalent to having traveled to four-fifths of China.

Detailed 9-Day Motorcycle Riding Itinerary Along the Hexi Corridor

Day 1 : Lanzhou – Gulang – Wuwei (293KM)

• Confucian Temple
• Leitai Ancient Han Tomb
• Haizang Temple

Day 2 : Wuwei – Yongchang – Zhangye (255KM)

• Ming Great Wall
• Dafo Temple
• Han Tombs
• Yanzhi Mountain
• Longshou Mountain

Day 3 : Zhangye – Jiuquan – Jiayuguan (259KM)

•  Colorful Danxia
• Wei and Jin Tombs
• Jiayuguan Great Wall

Day 4 : Jiayuguan – Guazhou – Dunhuang (386KM)

• Son of the Earth
• Wind Power Plant
• Dunhuang Yadan Geopark
• Yumenguan Ruins
• Mingsha Mountain

Day 5 : Dunhuang – Daxiadan (343KM)

• Dachaidan Emerald Lake

Day 6 : Dachaidan – Golmud (190KM)

• Xiaochaidan Lake
• Qarhan Salt Lake

Day 7 : Golmud – Dulan (334KM)

• Reshui Tubo Tombs
• Rock Paintings and Stone Carvings
• Nomhong Site

Day 8 : Dulan – Chaka Salt Lake – Daotang River (327KM)

• Chaka Salt Lake
• Qinghai Lake
• Daotang River

Day 9 : Daotang River – Lanzhou (407KM)

• Sun Moon Mountain
• Ta’er Temple
• Jinyintan Grassland