Guide to Travel Around Xinjiang Is Travel Around Xinjiang Fun?

Xinjiang is located in the northwest border of China, accounting for one-sixth of China's land area. To those of us in the South, she seems distant and mysterious. Its vast territory makes people unable to feel Xinjiang and how big China's territory is. Guide to traveling around Xinjiang. Is traveling around Xinjiang fun?

Driving hundreds of kilometers a day, the road is still deserted. Gobi, grassland, desert, rich geological resources, vast scenery. The thousands of years of history of the thirty-six countries in the Western Regions are waiting for us to slowly read. The lost ancient country of Loulan, the mysterious Gobi Lop Nur.

On August 9, 2018, we started our journey of exploration in Xinjiang. The flight arrived too late that day, and it was already past one o'clock when we arrived at the hotel to rest. But looking at the shops still open on the roadside, I suddenly realized that the time difference in Xinjiang is more than 2 hours later. After sunset at 9:30 every day, their nightlife time is at 1 am . In the next ten days, we will also have to get used to the schedule of having breakfast at ten in the morning and going to bed at one in the evening.

We set off at ten o'clock on the morning of the 10th and headed north to Burqin today. We need to cover more than 700 kilometers today. We drove all the way north on high speed and passed through the oil city of Karamay at three o'clock in the afternoon. On both sides of the road are red kowtow machines that mechanically swing up and down. The spectacular scene surrounded the entire city of Karamay, which made us realize that we were in the most famous Karamay oil field in my country. The words in the book have become reality, and it feels so amazing! Mainly, we also ate the more authentic fish roe noodles. This was the first delicacy we ate in Xinjiang, which relieved the fatigue of the journey.

Chasing the sunset all the way, we are racing against time. The grasslands and Gobi deserts are connected by natural chasms, but the traffic restrictions along the way are time-limited. It is no exaggeration to say that there is a post at five steps and a check at ten steps. It is very frustrating to see that the speed on the road without cars can only be 80 or 60 below. Fortunately, the sun is still hanging in the sky in Xinjiang at nine o'clock in the evening, the gorgeous sunset, and the colorful sunset on the colorful beach are today's themes.

The colorful beach is located on both sides of the river, different in the north and south. It is located in the Irtysh River Basin. It was formed due to the long-term influence of wind erosion, water erosion, leaching and other natural processes. It is a typical Yadan landform. To the south is the only Irtysh River in my country that flows westward into Kazakhstan - Russia - the Arctic Ocean. It is the second largest river in Xinjiang after the Ili River. It can be said that "a river separates two banks, and there are two heavens." The rocks are colorful and dazzling under the setting sun.

I stayed in Burqin County for the night. In the season when Xinjiang tourism becomes more and more popular, housing prices naturally rise. Ordinary hotels can be sold at four or five-star prices.

The next day, I woke up naturally and rushed to "Hemu", one of the ten most beautiful villages in China. It is the largest village where the Tuva people gather. The entire village is made of logs. Cheng, simple and primitive, deep in the basin of the primeval forest. Circling up and down the mountain road. You can't drive in at the entrance of the scenic spot. You have to take a shuttle bus from the scenic spot for about an hour to the visitor center, and then change to the village bus to go to various accommodation points. Xinjiang is so big that you can know the truth from just one village.

However, the scenery was not as beautiful as imagined. It was just a primitive and simple scenery under the blue sky and white clouds. Moreover, Hemu has now been seriously commercialized. There are no Tuva people in the village anymore, and it is completely turned into a tourist center. The prices are ridiculously expensive, which is two or three times more acceptable than outside. The main reason is that it is not authentic and not run by locals. The entire Hemu tree has only its shape left, and there is no way to contact the simple aboriginal people.

The first reason for staying overnight in Hemu's cabin was to watch the star trails at night, but there were only a few scattered stars in the night sky. Moreover, the night was very cold, which completely failed to arouse the interest in stargazing at night. The second is to go to the viewing platform the next morning to watch the morning fog and sunrise over the whole village. Unfortunately, the weather was not kind. The clouds were thick at 6:40, and it started to rain steadily while we were climbing. You can only climb high and look into the distance, but you cannot fully appreciate the beauty of the morning light in Hemu Village as advertised. But our luck was not too bad. Under the leadership of senior traveling friends, we went deep into the hinterland of the grassland to find the primitive uninhabited land. When a piece of original and dense wild flowers and grass appeared in front of us, we laughed like children. Play, pick flowers and take pose photos. It turns out that people can be so simple and easily satisfied.

Leave Hemu Village and go around the mountain road to Kanas Scenic Area. God is still not beautiful, and the rain is accompanying us all the way. Kanas was still overcrowded in the rain. Starting from buying tickets, there were queues for shuttle buses and shuttle buses everywhere. Even the heavy rain could not dampen everyone's enthusiasm for coming to Kanas to explore the beautiful scenery. Although our whole bodies were wet from the rain, and the temperature dropped to freezing point due to the heavy rain, we regretted that we didn’t wear thick enough clothes.

After struggling until three o'clock in the afternoon, we finally found the Kanas cabin we had booked and put down our luggage with peace of mind. But we were exhausted. Although Kanas was very big and two days was simply not enough, our bodies were the capital of the revolution. Everyone decided to take a nap and rest first. Moreover, the sunset in Xinjiang is after nine o'clock, so we thought we still had time to play. Besides, it was raining, the light was not good, and the scenery was not good.

Fortunately, the rest was over, the weather cleared up after the rain, and I was in a good mood. Kanas Scenic Area is so big that you have to take a shuttle bus to every scenic spot. We live in Xincun and need to take the free bus in the village to the visitor center and transfer to the shuttle bus to each scenic spot. We first went to the most famous three bays in Kanas, and our first stop was Shenxian Bay. Shenxian Bay is so named because it is surrounded by clouds and fog all year round, and the lake surface sparkles due to the sunlight, making it look like the residence of the gods.

The second stop, Moon Bay, is named because its shape resembles a half-month-old moon. What’s even more amazing is that there are naturally formed waterweed footprints on the side, one large and one small. There are many beautiful legends spread. The third stop, Wolong Bay, is named because the water plants in the lake are so lifelike that they look like Tyrannosaurus rex. The uncanny workmanship of nature really amazes us, and makes us feel like we have returned from the Three Bays without looking at the Bay! After visiting the Three Bays, it has been nearly nine months. 0:00, the shuttle bus stops operating after 9:00, so it would be too tiring to walk. We decided to go back to the hotel first and continue the rest tomorrow.

The weather in Kanas changes like a baby's face. It rained heavily just now, and soon the sun shone brightly again. The next morning, it was still raining heavily at around 7 o'clock, and we thought that our plans for today would be ruined. Guanyuting is the highest point in Kanas, with an altitude of more than 2,000 meters. From the top, you can see the panoramic view of Kanas Lake. But when it rains and the fog is covering you, you probably won’t be able to see anything, so you can convince yourself not to make the futile climb to the top. So, we chose to go to the boardwalk of Kanas Lake to enjoy the scenery of the lake and mountains from a distance. Due to the different depth and topography of the lake, the color of the lake water and the momentum of the flowing water vary. Go deep into the original old Taiga forest and enjoy the intricate scenery. If you have enough time, you can stay in Kanas for a few more days to enjoy the tranquility.

But we wanted to watch the sunset at Urho Devil City in the afternoon, so we had to end the fun in Kanas in a hurry. I got in the car and rushed on the road. I had to cover more than 600 kilometers today! But when I got off the shuttle bus from the scenic spot, it was already past four in the afternoon. I felt that the sunset in Devil City would be missed. Maybe we could speed in other places, but here is the speed limit in Xinjiang. The speed limit is so strict that you can’t even think about speeding. There are cameras everywhere, making it difficult to guard against. I heard that someone was fined 66 points after driving for 15 days! Complying with Xinjiang traffic regulations is the top priority.