The miracle of salt flower
It is said that there are two earth-shattering flowers in Qinghai, one is the butter sculpture in Ta 'er Temple, and the other is the salt flower in Chaerhan Salt Lake.
Hundreds of millions of years ago, Chaerhan Salt Lake was once the sea of Wang Yang, but it became a basin because the crust rose and the seabed was exposed.
Because of the hot and dry climate, the evaporation of lake water is much higher than the precipitation, which forms high-concentration brine in the lake and then gradually crystallizes into salt particles.
Salt flower is a crystal with special shape formed by salt crystallization in salt lake. Because of the different temperature, climate, time and concentration during crystallization, various beautiful salt flowers are formed.
In the forbidden area of life, everything is silent, and only "salt flowers" are the most prosperous. It is a wonderful flower that nature has given to mankind, guarding this pure land day and night.
These salt flowers don't need manual carving and have different shapes. Some are like shells, some are like terraces, and clusters stand in the salt lake, decorating it like a fairyland.
If you are lucky, you can still see a mirage.
Beautiful legend
If Chaka Salt Lake is a smooth mirror, then the vast Chaerhan is like a flawless rough jade, quietly leaning against the south of Qaidam Basin.
Because there are few people, Chaerhan Salt Lake looks a little quiet and desolate during the day, but it is precisely because of this that you can enjoy the shock brought by 5,800 square kilometers.
The calm lake is full of water and sky, and the white clouds in the distance are like the waves of the sea, coming at you layer by layer.
Thick salt cover, ups and downs, is the waves of the sea, washing your heart again and again.
At dusk, here is another scene. The beautiful glow and sparkling lake water, the next second, I feel that Xia Zixian will come from a distance in colorful auspicious clouds, and the scenery is simply a memory that I will never forget.
Legend has it that Chaerhan was full of gold, silver and jewels a long time ago, but the mountain gods and demons were irresponsible and indifferent, and they fought endlessly for the treasure all the year round, which brought great disasters here.
The Queen Mother of the West, who lives in the depths of Kunlun Mountain, said, "This is outrageous" and decided to settle these matters. She ordered the water god to put down Tianshui and drown all these treasures, so that no one could get them, leaving only the descendants of the world.
As a result, salt lakes appeared here.
Although it is only a beautiful myth, it also adds a lot of "mood" to this land. It is no longer a cold forbidden area, but a fresh "life".
Zhang Wan Yan bridge
In addition to the beautiful scenery, Chaerhan Salt Lake also has a 32-kilometer-long Qinghai-Tibet railway subgrade and a Dunge highway paved with salt and crossing the salt lake. Locals call it "Zhang Wan Salt Bridge".
It doesn't sound like a big deal, but you should know that according to the general requirements, the soil salt content reaches 10%, which does not meet the road construction standard, and Chaerhan Salt Lake obviously far exceeds this standard.
The biggest problem encountered in the process of road construction is the brine cave under the salt lake, which will cause the danger of bridge deck collapse and fracture.
Later, after repeated consideration, people decided to fill the cave with salt cover. It really worked later. The compressive strength of the highway can reach 7 kilograms to 20 kilograms per square centimeter, and cars can pass safely on it.
Remember the water railway in Spirited Away?
This "salt bridge" has no guardrails, piers and running water. Seen from the air, it looks like a cross on the lake. It divides the salt lake into two parts, and it seems that along this road, you can reach the immortal's residence.