The most representative one is Lenghu Town, which is located in the border areas of Qinghai, Xinjiang and Gansu. The first time I learned about this place, it originated from my cultural trip. In the chapter "Construction of Lenghu Oilfield", he used a lot of pen and ink to describe what he saw and heard in the Qaidam exploration area.
In the 1950s, Cold Lake was originally a no-man's land. Later, because of the discovery of oil, Lenghu Oilfield was established, and the first oil of New China was born here. Oil workers in Qaidam struggled hard under difficult conditions, dug oil conscientiously and engaged in construction in full swing, making this desert city a "little Hong Kong" in its heyday.
Although it has now become an empty city, for me, a lover of ruins travel, it is full of imagination, as if the scenes of past production and life came to my eyes.
When crossing Aksai Kazak Autonomous County, crossing Dangjinshan Mountain, and going to Mangya, Qinghai where Lenghu Town is located, there is a sudden feeling of time-space transformation. Along the way, the snow-covered saline-alkali land changes with the Gobi Desert. Drive along the 305 provincial highway until you see the road sign of "Old Site of Cold Lake Petroleum Base", and the old base of Cold Lake will arrive.
Looking around after getting off the highway, broken walls can be seen everywhere, which is even more desolate in the hinterland of Gobi, as if it had experienced an unprecedented disaster, more like an abandoned ancient city. Walking in the ruins, the four characters "Cold Lake Oil Mine" are particularly eye-catching. It used to be a state-owned trading company in Lenghu No.5 oil mine. The wide square under the dilapidated signboard vaguely revealed the excitement of that year.
Looking around, almost all the houses have been opened and the windows have been removed. Most of them have only a brick wall left. Old objects such as kerosene lamps and cotton shoes are occasionally found in the ruins. Maybe an engineer carried it on his back and checked the production progress meticulously.
There is also a special area in the fourth district of Lenghu, which is a cemetery surrounded by walls, where oilfield leaders and relatives of employees who have died in the line of duty or due to illness since the development of Qinghai Oilfield are buried. In the cemetery 12 meters high monument and more than 400 tombstones behind the monument stand tall, backed by the continuous Qilian Mountain, all facing the direction of the hometown of the East.
These tombstones are not gorgeous, some are just topped with a stone tablet, and some are simply nameless tombstones. Standing in it, I feel more and more that the old base of Lenghu is like a huge monument, quietly waiting for the lonely land. It records our past life and tells every visitor about the past prosperity.
Now it is Aobaoliang Ya Dan Group, located about 80 kilometers west of Lenghu Town, that brings it back to people's sight. There are magical landscapes such as turtle backs or domes on the continuous ridges. Because it is barren and arid, sparsely populated, and the landform is similar to that of Mars, it is also known as one of the "most unlike places on earth". At night, bright stars twinkle in the sky, forming a wonderful grand occasion with the magical landform.
On the way from Lenghu Town to Oberlian Ya Dan Group, I stopped at a small noodle restaurant, and the proprietress enthusiastically told me the past of Lenghu Town. At that time, it was MINUS 20 degrees in winter and the scorching sun in summer, which was very hard. I used to live and work here and always felt desolate. Only when I come back this time can I truly appreciate the infinite beauty of my hometown.
More than once, she expressed her belief that landscapes such as Cold Lake Site and Oberlian Ya Dan Group will surely attract more tourists. So do my thoughts.