Route: Xiakou Ancient City → Shandan Horse Ranch → Matisi Grottoes →
Zhangye’s Rainbow Danxia → Baersi Snow Mountain → Glacial Highway 9 → Qilian
Back-Country Traverse → Hanxia (Dry) Gorge → Yulin Caves
DAY 1 – The Gate Called Xiakou
The desert wind hits the ramparts of Xiakou at sunset, sanding centuries of brick to a honey-coloured glow. We pick up the 4×4 in Zhangye, stock up on water and naan, and reach the fortress at last light. Camping on the parapet, we hear the Gobi hiss like a restless sea.
DAY 2 – Gallop on the Roof of the World
A 90-minute dawn drive south-east brings us to Shandan Horse Ranch,3,000 m above sea level and still run by the PLA. We swap horsepower for horse power—saddling chestnut stallions that once carried Ming-dynasty couriers. Snow-crested Lenglong Ling looms over emerald pastures; phone signals vanish, replaced only by the clatter of hooves.
DAY 3 – Carved into Living Rock
The road corkscrews into the Qilian foothills to Matisi Grottoes.We climb plank-and-bolt stairways bolted to sheer cliff, entering 5th-century meditation cells where monks once listened to wind for sermons. From the highest “Thirty-Three Heavens” cave, the valley floor looks like a spilled tray of jade.
DAY 4 – Palette of the Gods
Sunrise at Zhangye Danxia is pure theatre—vermillion, marigold and emerald ripples frozen mid-flame. We walk the elevated boardwalks, then drive the restricted photographers’ track at sunset when the ridgeline sets on fire. GPS reads 38°56′N, yet it feels Martian.
DAY 5 – White Pyramid of Baersi
Leaving the paved G213, we turn west on a gravel spur toward Baersi Snow Mountain .At 5,100 m its glacier glints like polished steel. We park at 4,200 m and hike the last ridge; prayer flags snap in air thin enough to taste metal. Camp inside a yak-herder’s stone hut, stars dripping into the corridor below.
DAY 6 – Highway 9 and the Qilian Traverse
The newly opened “Glacial Highway 9” threads 180 km of tundra and talus between 4,000 m passes. Snow walls tower above the hood. By late afternoon we drop into the Qilian back-country—no villages, no signal—only turquoise lakes and roaming kiang herds. Navigation is pure GPS waypoint to waypoint; fuel jerrycans essential.
DAY 7 – Through the Dry Gorge
We descend through Hanxia，a wind-sculpted canyon where the walls whistle like flutes. Petroglyphs of ibex and sun-wheels appear every kilometre—graffiti left by Bronze-Age travellers. By nightfall we reach the Guazhou oasis; hot showers, cold beer, first internet in three days.
DAY 8 – Last Light at Yulin Caves
A pre-dawn 120 km dash west ends at the Yulin Grottoes .With only six visitors allowed per group, we have Tang-dynasty murals of silk-clad Bodhisattvas to ourselves. Outside, the cliff falls straight into a jade-green river; swallows trace calligraphy in the air. Engine on, we roll back toward Dunhuang, the western gate of the Corridor, already planning the next escape.
