My home in the grassland: Duku Highway--Turgut--Bayinbuluke Grassland

My home in the grassland: Duku Highway--Turghut--Bayinbuluk Grassland

Day 2 of 8-day small tour in Xinjiang

In the morning we had breakfast and got on the bus. There is a distance of 360 kilometers from Korla to Nalati Grassland. The tour guide told us to bring more snacks. Wouldn’t it be beautiful to eat while looking at the scenery on the road?

The Duku Highway runs from Dushanzi to Kuqa. It is the Duku section of the 217 National Highway. It runs through the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains and has a total length of 563 kilometers. Most of the sections circle around high mountains and pass through deep valleys. The Duku Highway is listed by "China National Geographic selected it as "the landscape avenue running through the backbone of the Tianshan Mountains". Now, our bus is driving on this legendary road of heroes, the most dangerous road - Duku Highway. The tour guide told us to fasten our seat belts and pay attention to safety.

Our bus is traveling on mountain roads. Sometimes the roads are wide and straight, and sometimes they are winding. Up the mountain, down the mountain, up the mountain again, down the mountain again. Looking out from the car window, the winding road is really dangerous. I originally wanted to stand up and go to the driver's position to take a few photos, but at this time, someone's seat belt was not fastened and it was making a buzzing sound. The tour guide immediately reminded everyone to fasten their seat belts, don't walk around casually, and pay attention to safety. I was so scared that I quickly sat down. The Duku Highway has dangerous terrain, many steep slopes and sharp turns. More than 280 kilometers of the road section are above 2,000 meters above sea level. It is only open five months a year. Every time it snows and freezes in the Tianshan Mountains, winter traffic control will be implemented for seven months from the end of September to the following May. Therefore, we are lucky that our bus can now drive on the Duku Highway.

In the 1970s, the country decided to build the Tianshan Highway, which was built by a certain engineering department of the People's Liberation Army in nine years. The project was completed and opened to traffic in September 1983. The completion of the Duku Highway has shortened the distance between north and south Xinjiang by half from the original more than 1,000 kilometers. The road-building officers and soldiers at that time dug tunnels through Daban. After going through many hardships and dangers, they built passages on Daban where even the yellow sheep who could cross mountains and ridges were intimidated. They also crossed insurmountable peaks and finally built the Duku Highway. . 128 people died while building the Duku Highway. Therefore, the Duku Highway is a heroic road.

Looking out the window, there are hills and Gobi Desert along the Duku Highway, and there are very few plants. The mobile phone signal was very poor along the way, and there was often no network. When there is a gas station, the signal is better. The bus ran for a long time, and I took two naps. I clicked on the location on my mobile phone while there was a signal, and the location showed Yukeke (Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture and Jingxian County). I don’t know where Yukeke is? Anyway, we are still in Hejing County. Drivers must abide by traffic rules and get off the vehicle to rest for 20 minutes every four hours to prevent fatigue driving. We quickly got out of the car to stretch our muscles and take some photos. The driver's car drove very slowly, with the speed limit not exceeding 40 kilometers per hour. Stop and go, there are gas stations and you have to go through security.

By about two o'clock in the afternoon, we could slowly see the grassland. There are many yaks and sheep grazing leisurely on the grassland. There are not many people grazing. Occasionally, one or two shepherds are seen wandering slowly on their horses, or simply lying on the grassland with their arms pillowed on their backs. There are also yurts and yurts scattered on the grassland. At 18:20 we arrived at Bayinbuluke Grassland Scenic Area. Bayinbuluke Grassland is located in the hinterland of Tianshan Mountains, northwest of Hejing County and at the southern foot of Tianshan Mountains, covering an area of ??approximately 23,835 square kilometers and an altitude of approximately 2,500 meters. This is the largest alpine grassland in China. The sky is particularly blue, white clouds are floating leisurely in the sky, the Tianshan Mountains in the distance are clearly visible, the green grass stretches endlessly, and wild flowers of various colors are dotted among them. The meaning of Bayinbuluk in Mongolian is fertile spring water.

During the Qianlong period, the Mongolian Torgut tribe lived in the lower reaches of the Volga River for nearly 200 years. The Tsarist Russian regime gradually strengthened its rule over the border peoples and recruited a large number of Torgut cavalry to engage in long-term foreign wars. Unable to bear the genocidal policy of Tsarist Russia, under the leadership of its leader Ubasi Khan, after several years of preparation, he broke through numerous obstacles and returned eastward from the Volga River Basin in Russia. The TV series "The Heroes Returning East" tells the story this history. After the return, the Turhu tribe settled in Bayinbulak Grassland and Kaidu River. To this day, I still clearly remember the shock and emotion I felt when watching this TV series. In order to pursue dignity and freedom, and for future generations not to be enslaved by Tsarist Russia, the Torgut people must return to the embrace of their motherland.

The distant and desolate song "Swan Geese" sounded from the horizon, exaggerating the tragic and heroic spirit of the returning heroes to the extreme.

Bayinbuluke grassland covers a vast area, with large and small lakes scattered throughout it. There is also Swan Lake here. Thousands of swans and other migratory birds come to Swan Lake to make their home every May and June. After September, they fly south with their young to spend the winter. We came to Swan Lake, but unfortunately we didn't see the swans. We don't know where they flew to play. We only saw some white water birds flying freely in the lake. These water birds are not afraid of people at all. They even fly up to people and peck out their hands.

Bayinbuluke Grassland also has the Kaidu River, which is known as the Nine Winds and Eighteen Bends. The Kaidu River is gentle and quiet, flowing quietly in the Bayinbulak grassland. The Tongtian River in "Journey to the West", one of my country's four famous novels, is the Kaidu River. Tour guide Xiong said that the beautiful scenery of the Nine Winds and Eighteen Bends takes on a different kind of beauty at sunset. The afterglow of the setting sun is reflected in the Kaidu River, which has nine twists and turns. At this time, by adjusting the shooting angle, you can shoot the nine suns reflected in the water. Unfortunately our itinerary doesn’t allow us to wait until sunset. In order to make up for our regret, Director Xiong specially sent us photos of the Tongtian River that he had treasured for many years. Those photos are really beautiful: the sun sets in the west, and the nine-to-eight-turn Tongtian River is quiet and deep, with a mysterious and mysterious feel. Dreamlike beauty.

Faced with the beauty of nature, we not only admired it but kept taking pictures with our mobile phones, hoping to record the beauty of this moment. We didn’t stop shooting until our mobile phones were almost out of battery. .

Overnight stay in Nalati. It was already 23:00 when we got back to the hotel.

Tomorrow’s itinerary: Sky Grassland--Nalati Grassland