Travel Prose: Travel Notes of Sichuan and Yunnan

Due to the road closure from Lugu to Manshuiwan section of Yaxi Expressway, we took a section of national highway from Lugu and then turned into county road. After a short rest in Shaba Town, I replenished supplies, found a restaurant that looked like a farmhouse, ordered some local specialties such as dandelions and mushrooms, and after eating a delicious Chinese meal, I continued to set off for the sacred and mysterious xichang satellite launch center.

Strange to say, not only xichang satellite launch center is mysterious, but even Xichang is somewhat mysterious. When our car navigation searched Xichang on Yaxi Expressway, the only thing we could find was Xichang Qingshan Airport, and even the Xichang Municipal People's Government could not find it. Helpless, I had to search Liangshan Prefecture and navigate here. Similarly, xichang satellite launch center can't be found in Lugu.

According to the investigation, xichang satellite launch center is located in Yuanze Township, Mianning County, the hinterland of Daliangshan Gorge, but it does not belong to Xichang territory. It stands to reason that Xichang and Mianning are both county-level and have no affiliation. It may be that Mianning is not as well-known as Xichang, or that Xichang, the capital, can represent Liangshan Prefecture, so it is not surprising that the mountain road from Ya 'an to Mianning in Liangshan is called Yaxi Expressway, and the satellite launch center in Mianning County is called xichang satellite launch center.

Most county roads are mountain roads, which are narrow and steep, but the overall road conditions are not too bad. From Lugu Lake to Yuan Ze, there are almost signs to xichang satellite launch center all the way, so you can't go wrong if you pay a little attention. As foreign vehicles are not allowed to enter the scenic spot, we have to park our car in the grand square of the tourist reception center a few kilometers away from the scenic spot.

Before the car stopped, several men and women whose faces were bronzed by ultraviolet rays came around, each with a car, staring at it. "Do you want to take you in? If you go to buy tickets, each person 120 yuan. Your own car can't get in, so they can only take you far away to see it. We will take you directly through the people in the army, which is also 120 yuan. " It turned out that local villagers were soliciting customers.

"100 yuan? Can you give the money when it arrives? " Someone in the company has been transferred. I know they are tempted because they can take it in and have a look, not because they are greedy for cheap. My friend has always been cautious and afraid of being cheated, so he resolutely refused. Several villagers suddenly looked helpless and froze. Subsequently, the vehicles drove into the parking lot one after another, and the villagers then surrounded the vehicles that had not stopped and continued to attract business.

There is a particularly wide expressway in the middle of the square, with the tourist reception center on the right, the tourist bus parking lot in front of the scenic spot on the right, the super parking lot that can accommodate hundreds of cars on the left and the scenic spot exit on the left. Right in front of the square is the gate of the satellite launch center. In the middle of the black marble door, there is a big gold letter "xichang satellite launch center" engraved on the wall. The font is fine, meaningful and free and easy, and it is a master's handwriting. The gate is controlled by the army, and there is a duty booth at the gate with soldiers on duty. The words "no shooting in military areas" are written on the sentry box, but tourists often take pictures, but no one stops them.

Although it is National Day, there are not many tourists coming to xichang satellite launch center, and more than half of the huge parking lot is still empty. We bought tickets at the tourist reception center, lined up at the reception center to check in, and got on the tourist bus directly without waiting. However, due to the large number of us, we didn't have seats when it was our turn to get on the bus. The driver suggested that those who are willing to stand can get on, and those who are unwilling to stand can get on the next bus. Fortunately, it was only a minute or two away, and we got on the bus without saying anything.

From the gate to the observation deck, it is a winding mountain road. Although there are many bends and steep slopes, the bus still runs faster because of fewer vehicles and wide roads. If the road conditions are not good, I think people are not allowed to stand on the tourist bus. As soon as the bus stopped at the parking lot of the observation deck, the tourists who got off the bus were shocked by the satellite launch tower standing high on the opposite mountain and picked up their mobile phones to take pictures.

"Hurry up, there is an observation deck above, someone can explain it or take pictures." I don't know if it's the driver or the security guard. Anyway, the management of the parking lot has been reminding tourists to get on the viewing platform quickly, probably because they are afraid of congestion in the parking lot.

As the tourists climbed the stairs, they boarded the platform 20 or 30 meters higher than the parking lot, which is the panoramic viewing platform of the launch center and the only scenic spot of the launch center. It is said that it used to be allowed to enter the observation deck closer to the launch tower for close viewing. It was not allowed to enter a few years ago and can only be seen from the current observation deck. The narrator may have explained it in cycles on the observation deck, so we started to explain it when we went up. I heard a few words on the way, probably introducing the scale, construction history and function of the launch tower. Because almost all these materials can be downloaded from Baidu, I took advantage of the tourists' concentration in listening to the explanation and found several better locations to take pictures.

Standing on the observation deck, you can see the magnificent satellite launch center. The launch center is located at the bottom of the deep mountain, surrounded by overlapping mountains, and the launch tower and lightning protection tower rise from the ground, standing tall and shining in the sun. Near the observation deck is the No.2 launch tower, which consists of a movable service tower with a height of 97 meters and a weight of 4,500 tons, a fixed umbilical tower with a height of 74 meters and a weight of 1.040 tons, and three lightning protection towers with a height of 1.75 meters. The silver-white tower body of the mobile service tower is inlaid with blue flowing lines, and the top of the side is the English abbreviation "XSLC" of xichang satellite launch center. This No.2 launch tower, which enjoys the reputation of "the first tower in Asia", was built in the late 1980s, and China's first "Long March II" bundled high-thrust launch vehicle was launched from here.

Far from tower 2 is tower 3. Tower 3 was built in 1978. The fixed tower is 77 meters high, and there are 1 1 floors on the tower that can rotate horizontally at 180 degrees. The No.3 launch tower, which is 93 meters high and weighs 3,000 tons, has been transformed twice, and has been able to adapt to the launch of the "Long March 3A", ensuring that the No.2 and No.3 launch towers can be launched alternately. The No.3 launch tower not only successfully launched China's first geosynchronous orbit satellite, the first practical broadcasting communication satellite and the first Beidou navigation satellite, but also successfully launched Chang 'e, Beidou, Fengyun and other satellites. It is a veritable "meritorious tower".

But strangely, xichang satellite launch center only has Tower 2 and Tower 3, and there is no Tower 1. According to the declassified data, when the country was building xichang satellite launch center, there was a "secret plan" to build a manned spaceship launch tower in the center, that is, 1 launch tower. However, due to factors such as comprehensive national strength and technical conditions, the launch tower of manned spacecraft has never been built.

In fact, the launch center is composed of the corresponding fields of test launch, command and control, tracking and measurement, communication, meteorology, service guarantee and other systems. What we see on the observation deck is only the test launch site, and other fields are scattered and hidden in other different areas.

After visiting the satellite launch site from the observation deck and returning to the tourist reception center by tourist bus, we drove to visit the the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon Goddess Exhibition Hall, which is located about five or six kilometers from the satellite launch site to Manshuiwan. Here, we mainly show people the spectacular launching process of Chang 'e-1, Chang 'e-2 and Chang 'e-3 with detailed pictures. The "Chang 'e-1" carrier rocket engine, Yutu lunar rover and other objects are even more amazing.

The most magnificent 1: 1 scale Long March 3b model stands proudly in the square. The Long March 3B has successfully launched the Philippine Mabuhai satellite, the Asia-Pacific II R satellite and the "Chang 'e III" lunar probe independently developed by China, which is the main rocket in the international launch service market in the past decade. Even if it is only a rocket model, people are proud to take a photo with it.

"It's so worthless! I have worked hard so far, but I can only look at the mountains. " Xichang satellite launch center's visit soon ended, and some of his companions began to complain. Indeed, from the perspective of pure tourism, xichang satellite launch center, as an AAA scenic spot, is too single. "Tourism is like this. In some places, if you don't go, you will regret it for a lifetime. If you go, you will regret it for the rest of your life. But after all, it is a world-famous satellite launch center, and many people may never see it! " Who knows, a friend's words made the complaining companions disappear immediately, turned grief into joy, and began to discuss the geographical advantages of Xichang as a "natural launch site" with satisfaction.

Xichang has been the best place to enjoy the moon since ancient times because of its natural advantages such as high altitude, low latitude, suitable temperature, abundant sunshine and great air transparency, and is known as the "Moon City". As early as more than 2,000 years ago, after enjoying the moon in Qionghai, Xichang, Sima Xiangru wrote a beautiful sentence, "The moon rises out of Qiongchi, and the sky is clear," which made the "Moon City" famous. With the continuous launch of satellites around the world, Xichang, once known as the best place to enjoy the moon, has now become a veritable "moon city"!