-This article is reproduced from the official account: Rural Human Geography-
Desolation, remoteness, and backwardness, when it comes to the northwest, these words are the impressions of most people. Vast and boundless, vast and majestic, the wind blows through the sky without a bird, and the stone flies across the ground without a blade of grass. This is the portrait of Northwest in most people’s minds.
It is true that the desert and Gobi are her blurred features due to drought and sparse vegetation; rough and bold are her regional characters that have been shown to others for a long time. This kind of northwest is single, with flying sand and rocks, and a lonely city with long clouds; this kind of northwest is also silent, with the loneliness of the desert and the solitude, and the rustling of the west wind and fierce horses…
However, these are “impressions of Northwest”. In the real Northwest, everything is ready. Once you walk in, you will find that she is a Northwest that completely subverts your inherent impression.
The northwest area is vast, accounting for about 30% of the total area of the country. It is one of the seven major geographical divisions in China. In terms of administrative divisions, it includes Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, and Xinjiang.
Due to the deep inland location, coupled with the blocking of the humid climate by the high mountains and plateaus, the precipitation in the northwest region is scarce and the climate is arid. The natural landscapes from east to west are also distinct, as follows: Loess Plateau, Gobi Beach, Desert Grassland, Gobi Desert.
loess plateau
The Loess Plateau, one of the four major plateaus in China, is the most concentrated and largest loess area on earth, and it is also the area with the most serious soil erosion and the most fragile ecological environment. Here, it was once one of the birthplaces of the ancient civilization of the Chinese nation.
Yinchuan
The Hetao Plain, located in Inner Mongolia and Ningxia, is an alluvial plain along the Yellow River, with flat terrain and fertile soil. The northern part of Ningxia, located on the Hetao Plain, is known as “the south of the Yangtze River” because of its many lakes and beautiful scenery.
Figure 1 by Desert Eagle | Qilian Mountains
Tianshan
Yinshan Mountain, Helan Mountain, and Qilian Mountain, these mountains form a long line from northeast to southwest, and become the dividing line of famous geography, climate and history.
The Altai Mountains, Tianshan Mountains, and Kunlun Mountains in Xinjiang, from north to south, sandwich the Zhungeer and Tarim Basins. In the vast Xinjiang, they form a beautiful landscape of rivers and mountains, while the Taklamakan Desert is a vast desert. The exotic customs of Xinjiang make the scenery of Xinjiang more majestic.
Figure 2 by Lai Erka | Tarim River
Figure 3 by Song Weitao | Weihe
Except for the Irtysh River, which flows into the Arctic Ocean, the rivers flowing in the deep inland northwest region are all inland rivers. Among them, the Tarim River is the largest inland river in my country. The other big river is the Weihe River, the largest tributary of the Yellow River, which has left a rich and colorful history in the history of Shaanxi and Gansu.
Find an administrative map of China, and connect Xi’an, Xianyang, Yan’an, Yinchuan, Tianshui, Wuwei, Zhangye, Dunhuang, Turpan, Yining, and Kashgar in sequence from east to west according to longitude, which is most of Chinese history. The time that has flowed through these places is the entire history of the Northwest region, from the period of the Three Emperors and Five Emperors to the pre-Qin, Han and Tang, Song, Xia, Liao and Jin Dynasties, and then to the Qing and the Republic of China.
Xihuang’s Hometown Tianshui (Maiji Mountain)
Figure 4 by vince | Xi’an, the ancient capital of thirteen dynasties (Bell Tower)
Dunhuang
Figure 5 by Luo Sha | Yumen Pass
History is in Tianshui, leaving behind the ancient legends of Fuxi and Nuwa. It also allowed the people of Qin to start from here and embark on the great process of unifying China. Then in Xi’an, the bloody Han Dynasty and the prosperous Tang Dynasty were placed. With a frank wave of his hand, he threw the chaos of the Song, Xia, Liao, and Jin Dynasties to the borders of Yinchuan, Wuwei, Zhangye, and Dunhuang. Finally, with a beautiful technique, Xinjiang, which was attached to China when it was still a small country, became the last place in the Northwest. One stop has become an inalienable territory of China.
Wuwei (Liangzhou White Pagoda Temple)
Zhangye (Big Buddha Temple)
Kashgar (Id Kah Mosque)
Northwest, Northwest, she is a desolate border, where many “foreigners” left their Qiang pipes and covered the ground with frost; it was the former Shura field, where many soldiers wore golden armor in yellow sand; People stepped on her body and established immortal achievements…
The Northwest in history is the prosperity in the agility and the desolation in the prosperity.
The Northwest is one of the areas inhabited by ethnic minorities in China. It also has a vast land, a rough natural environment, and a rich historical and cultural accumulation… Various factors, on the land of the Northwest, in the years of the Northwest, formed the people of the Northwest. character.
Qin Terracotta Army
Huo Qubing Statue
If it is said that the emperors and generals in the Qin and Han Dynasties concentratedly represented the vigorous and heroic spirit of the Northwesterners, then An Weijun, an upright and unyielding hero in Longshang in the Qing Dynasty, represented the integrity and unyieldingness of the Northwesterners; The older generation of proletarian revolutionaries such as Liu Zhidan and Xi Zhongxun in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Revolutionary Zone represented the spirit of Northwesters who dared to resist and pursue justice.
The long-term integration of various ethnic groups has also made the Northwesterners develop the custom of hospitality. The hospitality of the Northwesterners is epitomized in a Kazakh proverb, “If you let the guests go when the sun sets, it will be a shame that cannot be washed away by jumping into the river.”
The culture of Northwest China is almost all in the Hexi Corridor.
The Hexi Corridor is the hub of the ancient Silk Road, connecting material trade and cultural exchanges between Asia, Europe and Africa. The cultures of the East and the West interacted and merged with each other here, and finally formed a magnificent historical civilization.
At the earliest time, Han culture and its material manifestations spread to all parts of the world through the Hexi Corridor; cultures from all over the world also entered China and Han culture through the Hexi Corridor. Among them, Buddhism is the most important. Numerous eminent monks of Mahayana and Mahayana Buddhism entered Chang’an and Luoyang through the Hexi Corridor, and spread the seeds of Buddhism all over the world.
Mogao Grottoes
Jiayuguan
After the Yongjia Rebellion, China fell into an unprecedented 300-year-long war. Some of the prominent families in Chang’an and Luoyang chose to cross to the south, while others entered the Hexi Corridor. They wrote books here to promote Confucianism. The turmoil and massacres in the Central Plains caused a major blow to Confucianism, but Hexi Confucianism was unique and prosperous.
Ji Xianlin once commented: “There are only four cultural systems in the world with a long history, vast territory, self-contained system, and far-reaching influence: China, India, Greece, and Islam. There is no fifth one. Where these four cultural systems meet There is only one, the Hexi Corridor in China, there is no second.”
Danxia landform
Shandan Army Horse Farm
Kongtong Mountain
In addition to the Hexi Corridor, there is a famous mountain called Kongtong in Pingliang, the first city of Chang’an in the west. Surrounded by two rivers, Kongtong Mountain is connected to Liupan Mountain in the west, Qinchuan in the east, Guanshan in the south, and Xiaoguan in the north. It is said that the Yellow Emperor once asked Guangchengzi here. The first mountain of Taoism”.
The Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and the vast Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region provide a vast area for the inheritance and development of Islamic culture.
The ethnic minorities in the Northwest account for one-third of the total population in the Northwest. All ethnic groups have their own customs, such as Naadam Festival and Obo Festival of the Mongolians; Tibetans also have Buddha Sun Festival, etc. In addition, according to the habits and calendars of different ethnic groups, they have different customs.
Mongolian Naadam Conference
Gannan Buddha Sun Festival
Just as there is never a shortage of majestic scenic spots, the Northwest has never been short of delicacies. Many delicacies carry the smoke and dust of history, and a large part of the history is quite ancient. In terms of eating habits, the locals like to eat cold food in summer and tonic in winter. Every major festival, the hospitality is sincere, the banquet time is long, there are often singing, dancing and musical instruments to add to the fun, the family is busy with the banquet, and the guests who enter the door are never neglected.
Northwest Huamo
Northwest Mutton Soup
Due to limited space, this article only roughly summarizes a “Northwest in all aspects” from a macro perspective. If you really want to understand a place, you still have to go in to empathize with it.
Northwest is thick and colorful, and the stories that once happened here have become eternal, and the steps towards the future are still going on.
Some of the pictures and texts in this article are organized from the Internet
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