驾车西部三万里

我们俩作为中学时代的校友，共和国的同龄一代，有着许多共同的旨趣和爱好。有一年，我们共同驾车作了一次西部游，历时80天，减去从北京到西部往返的路程4000多公里外，在西部青海、、新疆的行程，足有3万里！

我们走过的这条路，是没有多少旅游者完整走过的路线，是一条很多人都十分想走但又让不少人半途而废的路线，可以毫不夸张地说，这条路线是中国西部自然风光旅游路线之最！

80个日日夜夜，3万里所见所闻，充满着视野的穷尽、体魄的历练、心灵的震撼。这些刻骨铭心的记忆，通过文字和照片，已于去年8月结集出版。这里将其中的一些片断发表出来，供旅游爱好者点评和欣赏。

塔尔寺的故事

塔尔寺是藏传佛教格鲁派的六大寺院之一，位于青海省湟中县莲花山中，距西宁市仅20多公里，市区有直达塔尔寺的公交车。

吃过午饭乘公共汽车到塔尔寺，塔尔寺流传着许多感人的故事。

故事成了这里的旅游资源，寺前聚集着许多导游小姐，这在别的寺院是很少见的。我们买好门票就有两三个姑娘围上来要为我们导游，她们的态度很好，开价60元，先讲解，后付费，若客人不满意可以不付或少付费。看到她们这么热情，我们就毫不犹豫地选了一个导游姑娘，在她的引导下参观了寺院，并一路上听她讲有关塔尔寺的历史和传说。

故事中的许多内容都很新鲜，像宗喀巴大师就是第一次听说。在藏传佛教历史中，他是一个无人不晓的伟大人物，他的出生地就是现今塔尔寺所在的地方。据传说在他降生时剪脐带滴血的地方，不久长出了一棵菩提树，后来宗喀巴的母亲和他的信徒用石砌了一座塔，将这棵树及“十万佛像”裹藏在内，以纪念大师的诞生。此塔建成180年后，有人在塔旁修了第一座庙，尔后又随着黄教（藏传佛教格鲁派）的发展，这里的寺院便逐步发展成为藏传佛教格鲁派的六大寺院之一（与的色拉寺、哲蚌寺、扎什伦布寺、甘丹寺以及甘肃的拉扑楞寺齐名）。因为这里先有塔，后有寺，此庙便由此得名“塔尔寺”。

现今，这座纪念宗喀巴大师的塔被裹在塔尔寺的大金瓦殿中，它已成了信徒们朝拜的圣地。

宗喀巴生于1357年，7岁时被送到夏琼寺学经，以后他离开青海入藏，师从藏传佛教的噶当派、萨迦派、噶举派、夏鲁派。至1390年初，他已遍学藏传佛教各派教法教义，逐渐形成了自己的思想体系，以后大师著书立说，讲经讲法，创立了格鲁派，修建了格鲁派的寺院，并将其发展壮大成藏传佛教的主要流派。

塔尔寺内如今不仅供奉着宗喀巴大师的塑像，还供奉着他的两个弟子的塑像。故事讲到这儿，我们才知道宗喀巴的第十四代传人和第十一代传人，是继承宗喀巴开创的事业的这两大弟子。

的经典风光纳木错

纳木错是最大的湖，面积有1900多平方公里，是中国仅次于青海湖的第二大咸水湖，海拔4718米，它也是世界上最高的湖。

从当雄去纳木错，有60多公里，但要翻山。当我们爬上山顶时，视野豁然开朗，天地间远山和绿野环抱着一捧水，这就是纳木错。那水蓝蓝的，静静的，充满着诱惑，它像是在召唤我们：快来吧，这里是仙境！看一眼这光彩夺目的纳木错，一种令人不可思议的美感立即镇住了我们，特别是那摄魄的蓝色，太令人着迷了！

时不我待，真想一下就冲下山去。当我们走近湖边时，先进入我们眼帘的是念青唐古拉山，它的主峰海拔7111米，巍然屹立在纳木错南端，雪线以下是绿色的草原，且由高到低一直延伸到湖边。纳木错湖水清澈见底，湖面广阔连着天宇，那诱人蓝色，那朵朵白云，是一幅多么令人惊叹的山水巨作啊！

在这幅美丽的画卷中，我们看到绿茵茵的草地上牛羊在漫步，蓝莹莹的湖水中水鸟在嬉戏，湖边一片湿地中，还居住着雁类鸟，看着它们自在地飞翔简直就是一种享受。草地上开遍了小野花，浅黄的、粉红的在绿草的衬托下显得格外鲜嫩俏丽。

不过在这幅美丽的画卷中，我们的视野里还没有见到人迹，于是我们先是虔诚地向神山圣湖朝拜，继而躺在草地上享受着蓝色的目浴和微风带来的草花香，最后又赤条条地投入到圣湖水中。

在这里游泳最大感受是喘气困难，每划一次水都得大口呼吸。这里海拔4700多米，活动稍一剧烈就会大喘气，更何况在低温的水中运动呢！

我们在湖边流连了一下午，返回时按原路翻山。下山时，在一条较大的溪水处，迎面上来了两辆北京牌照的车，一辆是和我们一样的北京吉普，主人是《民族画报》的记者；另一辆是一对年轻人开的夏利轿车。此地遇老乡，惊喜之余就是交流。画报记者说，他是第11次来纳木错了，这里实在是太美了！听了这番话，我们觉得我们来纳木错真是来对了。

古格王国遗址的壁画

古格王国遗址在札达县城西18公里处，沿路走到一个叫札布让的村子后就找不到路了，几经问人才弄明白，原来在这个村的西边有条干河床，沿干河床往上走，就能找到遗址。

到遗址山下时已是太阳西斜了，这光线最适合摄影，于是我们先在周边从各个角度拍摄遗址的外景全景以及北岸的土林远景。照完外景已是夜晚8点多了，我们走进了古格王国遗址售票处。遗址售票处有两名工作人员：一是普布曲桑，整年守山，冬季里就他一人。另一名叫老王，河北人，县文物局驻遗址工作人员，1999年从老家调到这里工作。普布一有闲暇就画唐卡。我们参观了他所有的作品，有的已画得相当不错了。画一张唐卡非常费工夫，因此当地售价也不低，成百上千元是平常事，八角街有专门卖唐卡的商店。唐卡直译是卷轴画，是绘画的一种主要形式，它是继壁画兴起之后的又一种传统绘画艺术。它的画法类似工笔画，先画出精细的轮廓线条，再上颜色，鉴于这种画的（表现）内容、技艺和用料都极显特色，所以人们把唐卡理解为画的特定称谓。

普布曲桑打开遗址大门，让我们和北京来的旅客欣赏壁画。走进大殿，见殿里的佛像大部分毁坏，尚存的也很残破，我们真感到可惜。壁画是古格王国时的艺术精华，也是遗址中最有价值的文物。红殿、白殿空间都很高大敞亮，壁画从地到顶占满了墙体。最有看头的壁画在山顶的坛城殿，该殿不大，但它是王室专用的佛殿，由此可想象其精致程度。供佛台在殿中央，四周全是表现各宗教故事的连环壁画，这些画除画工精细外，在内容和造型上也颇有新奇之处。只可惜殿内光线太暗，只能借助一支笔型手电的微光来欣赏它，因此，往往会在一团弱光前聚集着好几个脑袋。对于搞美术的人来说，这里可真是一座艺术的殿堂啊！

神木园观奇

早饭后我们出发去阿克苏市。一路上村连村、房挨房，一直连到阿图什市，长达20公里。如此规模的村落和人口，着实令我们吃惊不小。

出了阿图什市，公路又宽又平，下午6时就到了阿克苏。这是一座新兴城市，平静整洁，主要居民是内地支边的人（上海人居多）。在一家面包房里，一位朋友请我们喝了一杯草莓酸奶刨冰，味好又爽口，这也算是品味了这座小城的风格了。朋友讲，阿克苏地区最值得一看的地方是温宿县的神木园，于是我们于第二天上午直奔神木园。阿克苏市到神木园74公里，途经温宿县城。小县城相当现代化，显然是个较富裕的地方。城外都是整齐的稻田，绿茵茵的长势很好，据说，此地的大米很好吃，是全国闻名的。公路两边白杨树茂盛，将天挡住，然而这么好的地方却是和戈壁荒滩紧挨着，让人难以想象。后来我们在偌大的一片荒滩上看到一小块绿洲，那就是神木园！

一进神木园大门，有块牌子写道：“五岳归来不看山，神木园归来不看树”这口气可真不小！这里的树大都为杨树（青色）和柳树，还有杏树、核桃树等，多是几十至几百年的。所谓神木，指的是31棵有千年以上寿命的杨柳树，这地方土层薄，水丰富，树根系却不发达，所以让大风一吹，大树就会直挺挺地倒地，连根翻起，而倒地的大杨树不仅不死，接触地面的树皮会继续吸收水分和养分，因而又很快地形成新根，所以这些树从此又开始非正常的第二阶段生长。这样经过上千年的生长变化，许多树均以卧姿为主，树干蜿蜒曲折、起伏不平，像多条舞动的龙，而且还张牙舞爪！特别是有一棵树被称之为“无根树”的，看上去它的树干浮摆在地面上，而向上的枝叶却很茂盛，有的树竟能独木成林，它倒在地上，竟长成了一片林子！

除了这31棵千年“树怪”，其他的树也有长得怪怪的，如马头树、鳄鱼树等。

班公错鸟岛

吃过早饭，我们和阿里军分区的同志一一告别，直奔日土，踏上了北上新疆的路程。上路不久，一队丰田越野车飞驰而来，会合后方知孔繁森夫人及女儿和河北代表团当天要去班公错鸟岛，地区还特安排了两艘汽艇供游览，真算是赶得巧，于是我们也参加了这支队伍。到日土已是下午2点，饭都没来得及吃，县武装部李副部长便立即带我们去湖边码头。

碧波粼粼的湖面掀起了白色浪花，两艘汽艇一前一后在湖上飞驰。我们惬意地感受着汽艇的高速运动，似乎有些陶醉，20来分钟后，我们的眼前出现了一个小岛。

小岛是黄色的，湖水是碧绿的，小岛周围的水面上浮游着成片成片的白色鸥鸟。当汽艇靠岸时，惊起的鸟铺天盖地从我们四周疾飞而去，叫声不绝于耳，天地间一片白色！这是令人痴迷的一幕。其实这里的鸟并不怕人，我们试着大声轰赶或用石块溅水花，它们几乎不予理睬，看来要想调动这“千军万马”也不是件容易的事情，它们是被汽艇巨大的声响吓了才惊飞的。

鸟岛很小，宽不过百米，长不过几百米，每年5月份鸟到此产蛋、孵化、育雏，现在小鸟都已长大了，白天它们大都在水中或天上练本领，晚上才会在岛上落脚休息。

两船人上了岛，各自拿着长枪短炮（相机、望远镜）瞄准鸟群，不远处那游弋在周边水域的鸟就好似一支支密集的舰队，时而有几只从湖面起飞翱翔空中，就像正要俯冲的战斗机，整个场面犹如大战在即似的。

班公错海拔4242米，其鸟岛可能是世界上海拔最高的鸟岛之一。据说，班公错还有一神奇之处，它由东向西湖水由淡变咸，我们所到的是最东边，那是淡水湖，最西边在克什米尔境内便是咸水湖了。

班公湖水特别好，很适合游泳。老史一头扎进湖水里，水清色幽，浪涌连连，人就像是在大海里扑腾。班公湖的水太迷人了，就是多见几眼也舒服，这里阳光明媚，旷无人迹，不仅能痛痛快快地在水中漫游，还能自自在在地在阳光下舒展腰肢。如此裸浴大自然的机会，平生实在不可多得！

The New Journey to the West

By Shi Ningning, Wang Maoming

As we both were born in the year of the founding of New China and were middle school classmates, we have a lot in common. One summer a few years ago, we drove to the country’s west and back to Beijing. The 80-day 15,000-kilometer journey opened our eyes to the wonders of Qinghai, Tibet and Xinjiang. The adventure revealed the physical tribulations, aesthetic sensations, and picturesque wilderness in the west. Our memories of the amazing experience, in the form of text and photography, were published in the summer of 2006. Here are some excerpts for the readers?appreciation and comment.

Ta’er Temple in Qinghai

Located in the Lotus Flower Mountain about 20 kilometers from the capital city of Qinghai Province, the temple is one of the six major temples under the Gelug Sect of the Tibetan Buddhism. One day after lunch, we took a bus to the temple. After getting two tickets, we were approached by two tour guides, a situation rarely seen around other Buddhist temples. These enthusiastic girls looked quite professional. They offered to give us a tour on the condition that we could choose not to pay if we were not satisfied with their work. We picked a guide and went in. The guide told us many things about the temple and Tibetan Buddhism never known to us before. Tsong-kha-pa is a great man in the history of Tibetan Buddhism. He was born in the place where the temple stands today. It is said that the blood from his umbilical cord dropped into the ground, where a linden tree grew out later. His mother and disciples later built a stone pagoda to include the tree and 100,000 Buddha images there in celebration of the birth of the master. A temple was erected around the pagoda 180 years later. Gradually, the temple expanded and became a major monastery for Tibetan Buddhists. Today, the 11-meter-tall pagoda stands inside a magnificent hall roofed with golden tiles. The first Dalai and Panchan, two important religious chiefs in the hierarchy of today’s Tibetan Buddhism, were two disciples of the master.

Namco Lake in Tibet

Covering an area of 1,900 square kilometers, Namco is the largest lake in Tibet, only second to the Lake Qinghai which is the largest salt-water lake in the country. Situated at 4,718 meters above sea, it is the world’s highest lake. We traveled 60 kilometers from the capital seat of Dangxiong County to reach the lake. At one spot on our mountainous way to the lake, we stopped and took a commanding view of the lake in the distance. What a breathtaking view! Between heaven and earth against a spectacular view of distant mountains and green grassland spreads the blue blue Namco, the heavenly lake.

A close-up view on the lake reveals different fascination. The snow-capped 7,111-meter Nyainqentanglha Mountain towers in the south. Below the snowline of the mountain stretches the verdant grassland, rolling down all the way to the lake. The endless expanse of the limpid waters reflects the shadows of clouds against the soulful azure firmament. Flocks of birds frolic on the shallow water. The wetland there is home to geese. The undulating grassland is carpeted with little dots of flowers in bright pinks and light yellow hues. In this spectacular view, we were alone. After a brief and silent prayer session toward the snow mountain and the lake and a leisurely lounging on the grassland, we swam in the lake. On our way back, we met a jeep and a Xiali-brand car with Beijing plates. They were going to the lake. We stopped and chatted with the travelers. The man with the jeep was a photograph journalist with Nationalities Pictorial. It was his 11th trip to the lake. The other two were newlyweds.

Murals at the Site of the Guge Kingdom

The site of the ancient Guge Kingdom resides in a remote place 18 kilometers west of the capital seat of Zhada County in Tibet. We traveled to a village and then there was no trace of a road beyond the village. After several rounds of inquires among villagers, we learned that we should trek up a dried riverbed to reach the site. The sun was slanting when we arrived. We grabbed the golden opportunity to photograph the site from all sides till 8 pm. Then we walked up to the ticket office. We learned that two men worked there and that in the winter the Tibetan man stayed alone there as the housekeeper. The Tibetan man showed us his Tangka paintings he had made in his spare time. A Tangka painting requires the total dedication and patience of an artist. It can cost one a small fortune to buy one at Lhasa. Then we were shown into halls on the site. Most Buddha statues are wrecks, but murals are the most precious part of the site. In the three halls, the ceiling-to-floor murals relate stories about Buddha and his disciples.

Magic Trees in Aksu, Xinjiang

The Magic Trees Garden is a major tourist attraction in Aksu. Located 74 kilometers away from Aksu, the garden is actually a 15-hectare oasis within the endless desolation of Gobi. On our way to the garden, we stopped over at a small city which looked modern and affluent. The tidy rice paddies paralleled the highway, showing an exuberant crop. The highway was flanked on two sides by tall poplars. It was hard for us to imagine that such a nice place was just next door to the Gobi.

The garden shows the magic of nature. There are more than 100 trees. The most outlandish trees there are 31 poplars and willows. They are more than 1,000-year-old. The millennium-old trees do not stand upright. They are prostrated and stretched. Once felled by storms, they simply refuse to die. Roots come out from the trunks and get into the ground. Nowadays, they look like dragons showing their talons. One giant tree, lying on the ground, seems rootless. Another horizontal tree grows into a wood itself, with upright trees standing upright out of its giant trunk.

The Bird Island of the Bangong Lake, Tibet

We waved goodbye to soldiers at the Ali Military Subarea after lunch and hit the road north to Xinjiang. Shortly after we started, a jeep overtook us and pulled off on the roadside. We did the likewise. We learned that the local government officials were taking two important guests for a sightseeing trip on the bird island in the Bangong Lake. There would be a boat trip on the lake. We tagged along. We reached the lake around 2 pm and we did not have time for lunch. After a 20-minute fast boat ride on the lake, we saw a small island looming rapidly. The two yachts roared to the shore and thousands of birds took wings and darted away in all directions above us, flapping their wings and screaming loudly. They were startled by the roaring of the arriving yachts, but they simply ignored us even though we tried to make them fly. The island is small, measuring about 100 meters in width and several hundred meters in length. The birds lay eggs in May. The birds we saw were grown ones. They usually fly or rest in waters during daytime and they come to the island for the night.

Stepping onto the islet, we set up our cameras and kept taking pictures. Situated at 4,242 meter above sea, it is probably the bird island at the highest altitude in the world. One peculiarity about the lake is that it is fresh in the eastern part and it is salty in the western part.

(Translated by David)