Lassoes Plateau

Along the northern border of Shaanxi, the first sight comes into your eyes is a great successful land--Lassoes Plateau. Coated up with sands, wind and Gobi desert, the Plateau is dotted with a lots vales, humps and valleys. Maybe from the apertures of poplar trees you will find layers of Yao Dong ( cave-house ) stand by the mountains. Thus the impression one can never forget towards Lassoes Plateau upon his arriving.

Far from the bustling metropolitans and picturesque limpid rivers in central Shaanxi, the Plateau was born with little verdure and splendid colors. It is always filled up with deadly tranquil, solitude and arid. Does a person understand Chinese well when he appreciates only these big cities, towns or those breath-taking sceneries? An extremely different idea could suddenly arise out of your mind while you traveling North Shaanxi; more symbolic lives are really exited in high mountains, vacant Gobi area, allayed Yao Dong, arid yellow slopes and simple peasants.

Lassoes Plateau, takes up 45% of Shaanxi total area with an average height of 800 to 1,300 meters, is around 92,521 square kilometers. After 50 years’ renovation works of China government, quiet a lot of shelter forest belts have been built along the northern border which was often attacked by sandy wind from Mongolia.

If you threw a glimpse at valleys, rows and rows of dark green trees and bright green grass-lands appear at once. Crystal brims convivially shuttles among the rocks; herbs of white goats gluttonously eat the grass and a young maid is singing while she riding a little black donkey along a river bank. Perhaps you would think of you are still staying in South China.

Under the weather-storm thousands of years by, the Lassoes Plateau suffers a lot and contributes a lot. The great mine preservation of coal, petrol oil and natural gas have been explored and utilized by people; the vast quantity of farming plants are spread all over the once-arid fields. In front of Yao Dong, several old women are cradling the babies under sunshine.

Ripped apples, potatoes, dates, golden piles of millet and bright-red peppers have entered into many families thousands miles away. Paper cut, puppet shadow play, waist-drum and melodious folk songs are also transferred to the overseas countries. Does the peasants here don’t know how to enjoy their live? No, they prefer to pursue their live in an unconstrained and bold style. The natural wildness inherits them a kind of artistic inspiration during their long terms of life.

Yellow river, the mother river of China, saturated with the enthusiasms of the local inhabitants who have lived on Lassoes Plateaus generation by generation. Once the Plateau was a wild highland but it has become a greatly wide delta now.