Traveling the Hexi Corridor in the Off-Season: Zhangye Edition

During the off-season, the Hexi Corridor is truly 'vast and sparsely populated'. There's no need to queue anywhere, hotels are cheap, tickets are free or half-price, and the daytime temperature is above zero. It's quite comfortable when the sun is out, making it very worthwhile! This trip to the Hexi Corridor included Zhangye, Jiayuguan, and Dunhuang, with this guide focusing on Zhangye. 👉Pre-trip Preparation: Watch the documentary 'The Hexi Corridor' to understand the background and directly pick places you want to visit; recommended book 'The Great History of Dunhuang' 👉Travel Gear: Scarf, hat, snow boots, a set of autumn clothes, a thin sweater, a thick down jacket, a pair of autumn trousers, a pair of down pants 👉Major Transportation: We departed from Guangzhou in the early morning, flew to Xining, and then took a high-speed train for about two hours to Zhangye 🚘Local Transportation: We booked a one-day tour of Zhangye on Ctrip (including the day's car fare from the hotel to Matisi and the Rainbow Danxia, a five-seater sedan, 142 yuan per person) 🏪Hotel: Recommend Zhangye Huachen International Hotel, impeccable service, basically the most upscale locally, the snow mountain view room is less than three hundred yuan per day; 🌅Tickets: Matisi currently waives the first ticket, which is the ticket to the Thousand Buddha Caves. Visiting the Thirty-Three Heavens Grottoes and special caves No. 1-4 requires an additional fee, costing just over a hundred; Rainbow Danxia tickets are 95 yuan per person 👉Strategy: 1. The first day of the journey is all on the road; 2. Matisi: Depart at 8:30 on the second day to Matisi, the journey takes more than an hour. Since the sunrise is late, you can see the unique beauty of the sunlight shining on the Qilian Mountains on the way; Matisi has three key points of interest, the Thirty-Three Heavens Grottoes are highly recommended, but you need to climb in very small tunnels, so wear clothes that are easy to move in; special caves No. 1-4 are very small, and there were no other visitors when we went, we had the place to ourselves, the ticket checker is also the guide, if you need an explanation, just go find her; the caves near the Thousand Buddha Caves are hard to climb, especially the 90-degree ones, don't try it lightly if you don't have rock climbing experience (to experience the hardship of the former Qin hermit Guo Yu's teachings, I almost got stuck in a vertical cave and couldn't get down...) 3. Zhangye Rainbow Danxia: After lunch, head to the Rainbow Danxia. Since Zhangye had just had snow, we thought there would only be one color left in the Rainbow Danxia, but surprisingly, half of the snow had melted, making the Rainbow Danxia under the white snow even more beautiful. Make sure to visit at sunset; 4. Zhangye Giant Buddha Temple: On the third day, we took the noon car to Jiayuguan, and in the morning, we had time to visit the Giant Buddha Temple in the city, the largest reclining Buddha in Asia, very impressive! 🥗Food: Recommend the local rolled chicken and apricot peel tea, the glutinous corn is also very good; breakfast shops open later in winter, it is recommended to have breakfast at the hotel.