Urumqi
Urumqi International Airport is located in Diwopu, a suburb of Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, 16 kilometers away from the urban area. Urumqi Airport covers an area of 4.84 million square meters and has a newly built runway of 3600×4, which can be used for Boeing 757 and other large passenger aircraft to take off and land. The east and west station grounds of the airport are 110,000 square meters, and more than 30 aircraft can be parked at the same time. Urumqi Airport was originally the Sino-Soviet Civil Aviation Airport. In July 1970, it was expanded and expanded with the approval of the State Council. Opened to the outside world after its completion in 1973, it is one of the five major gateway airports in China.
My friend Xiao Cai came to pick us up in a Honda off-road vehicle. After half an hour's journey, we arrived at the "Lihua Hotel" in the city center. After the resettlement, Xiao Cai took us to the "May Flower" restaurant, which claims to have the most ethnic characteristics in Xinjiang.
Xiao Cai ordered roast lamb, roast lamb kidney, pilaf, yogurt, pomegranate juice, fruit, etc. It was so rich that he couldn't finish it, so he had to pack it. I have eaten roast lamb, which is similar to other places. The first time I ate roasted lamb kidney, it was very fishy and I was not used to eating it. Chopsticks are actually used for pilaf rice, which is similar to fried rice in Shanghai, but the inside is halal. The yogurt is delicious, you have to add sugar yourself. It’s also the first time I drink pomegranate juice. I used to put pomegranates one by one into my mouth. I can only get out a little juice, and I have to spit out a grain. I can’t taste it. Drinking a glass of pomegranate juice is quite enjoyable. The sweetness is sour and a little bit astringent. It is pleasant to drink a sip of pomegranate juice after eating greasy barbecue or dry mouth.
From time to time, there are Xinjiang song and dance performances. At about 11 o'clock, the first meal in Xinjiang was over, and it was also the second dinner of the day.
After returning to the hotel, I connected with the travel agency, paid, signed a contract, and agreed to get on the bus at the square in front of a supermarket at 8:00 tomorrow morning. Considering that I will be in the car for 12 hours tomorrow, I will go out of the hotel to purchase water, food, fruits, etc. Due to the time difference, the road is still very lively, and some tourists are shopping like us. We have prepared Xinjiang's unique food for tomorrow-"bags", mauzi grapes, apples, and mineral water. The sac was just baked and very fragrant. Although I ate dinner twice and was very full, I couldn't help but eat a piece. It felt very good. It was nearly 1 o'clock in the morning when the preparations were completed. Thinking that tomorrow I will start to realize my dream for many years, I was so excited that I couldn't sleep.
On the way from Wushi to Burqin
Woke up at 6:00 am on the 13th. Xiao Cai sent us to the gathering place on time, stayed with us for a while and then went to work. We arrived at the waiting place according to the time required by the travel agency, because yesterday the people from the travel agency mysteriously told us to arrive early in the morning, so we can choose a good seat (in fact, they say this to every tourist). The tour guide and several tourists arrived earlier than us, waiting for the bus to choose a good location. It was agreed that the car coming at 8:00 would not arrive until after 8:30, and the anxious tourists flocked to grab seats, and I was forced to join the scramble. Get in the car early. After I sat down, I wondered why the travel agency didn’t arrange the seats on a first-come, first-served basis. Later, I realized that the travel agency’s car was also dispatched temporarily. I heard from the driver that I just returned to Urumqi last night and will go out again this morning. Seeing that the tour guide and the two drivers were communicating and arranging the itinerary for the next 7 days, I realized what was going on with this travel agency.
Our FIT group comes from three travel agencies, Shanghai (7), Beijing (4), Shenzhen (3), Shantou (5), Hefei (2), Fuzhou (2), Chengdu (4), Jinan (2) Zhengzhou (2) There are 31 people in total, plus 2 drivers and 1 tour guide, a total of 34 people. A 35-seat King Long bus accompanied us through the 7-day tour of northern Xinjiang. The tour guide, surnamed Fan, was a fat girl in her early 20s who claimed to be a descendant of the Construction Corps. Young but quite seasoned. The two drivers are in their 50s and look relatively stable. We are relieved to have such a driver in control of the steering wheel.
The car started around 9:30 and started the 7-day tour of northern Xinjiang. Go out of Urumqi and enter National Highway 216 and drive north. There are no major tourist attractions today. Basically, we are in the car and stop every 2 or 3 hours for our convenience, rest, and shopping.
Along the 216 National Highway across the Junggar Basin, there are deserts and Gobi on both sides of the road, and there are some buildings at intervals. China Telecom's optical cable is laid and extended northward along the national highway. The car is driving on the endless 216 National Highway, and the same scene is repeated outside the car, which makes people look boring. The excitement and novelty in the car continued, and everyone began to know and communicate with each other. During the conversation, I learned: there are several couples who are newlyweds, and they used their wedding leave to enjoy the mountains and rivers of the motherland; A mother and daughter from Beijing and a young man from Shenzhen (only this young man travels alone, we call him "single man") just came from southern Xinjiang and introduced us to the Khunjerab Port and the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County on the border with Pakistan Case. At the beginning, everyone was quite interested. Looking at the scenery outside the window, they teased the youngest member of the group - a primary school student "Xiao Niu" from Shantou, and kept laughing. But after a long time, it becomes drowsy.
When the car stopped in front of a red soil hill, everyone thought they had arrived at Huoshao Mountain, and they got out of the car to take pictures with excitement, but it was actually a red soil hill.
When we saw wild horses in the Kalamaili Hoofed Nature Reserve (it is not easy to see wild animals after listening to the tour guide), the people in the car were very excited, the driver parked the car on the side of the road, and everyone got out of the car to take pictures . It's a pity that they were too far away from the wild horse, so some people got off the road and tried to get close to the wild horse. Unexpectedly, the opposite happened, and the wild horse went further and further away.
We also got off the road and stepped on the so-called Gobi. The road is built very high in the desert, estimated to be 2 meters. This may be to prevent the wind and sand from drowning. The Gobi is bustling with desert vegetation - Haloxylon, Pipachai, Tamarix, Artemisia argyi and so on. A small animal was found on the ground, maybe it was a lizard, it is hard to find if it does not move.
When everyone had enough fun, they found that the driver was not in a hurry to leave, and many cars behind him stopped. It turned out that there were many cars parked in front of us. When we found out that there was a car accident in front of us and we were dealing with it, people who got on the car got off again. Some went to see the scene of the car accident, and some got off the road to take pictures. Fortunately, the car accident happened very early, and we arrived near the end, so we didn't delay much time.
At 3:00 pm, we arrived at a resort on the edge of a small town (name forgotten) for lunch. We had already eaten dry food in the car, so we took the short time to walk around. There is a river next to the hotel, the water is not deep but very clear and cool, you can pull up your trousers to cross the river to the other side in shallow places. There is a meadow on the opposite bank. Many cattle and sheep are grazing leisurely, and some are drinking water by the river. The edge of the grassland is the busy Gobi. There is such a place near the water in the Gobi, which can be regarded as a treasured place of geomantic omen.
After lunch, continue on the road, about 2 hours drive into the mountains - the Altai Mountains, circling up and down the mountain. Finally arrived at the first stop of the 7-day trip - Burqin at 9:00 pm. On the first day, I traveled more than 700 kilometers and took 12 hours.
Burqin
Burqin County is located in the northern part of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, at the southwestern foot of the Altai Mountains and along the northern edge of the Junggar Basin. It borders Russia and Kazakhstan in the northwest, Mongolia in the northeast, Altay City in the east, Habahe County in the west, and Jimunai and Fuhai Counties in the south. The county has a total area of 10369.45 square kilometers and a total population of 65217 (2003). There are 21 ethnic groups including Kazakhstan, Han, Hui and Mongolian.
Burqin County got its name from Burqin River. "Burqin", Oirat Mongolian. In the Oirat language, the three-year-old male camel is called "Boer", and "Jin" means the herder. The local Kazakh language also calls this place "Kuigan" (meaning confluence), where the Imburqin River flows into the Irtysh River.
In the Western Han Dynasty, it was the nomadic land of the Western Huns. It belonged to Xianbei during the Three Kingdoms period, and belonged to Turkic during the Sui and Tang Dynasties. After the Qing Dynasty pacified the Junggar tribe, the Burqin area was under the jurisdiction of the Counselor Khobduo under the control of Uliasutai Dingbian Left Deputy General. In the 31st year of Guangxu (1905), it was under the jurisdiction of Altai Minister of Affairs. In 1919, Altai was placed under Xinjiang Province, and Ashan Road was established. In the same year, Burqin was formally established as a county, which was successively under the jurisdiction of Ashan Road, Ashan Administrative District, Ashan Special District, and Altay Special District. After 1970, it belonged to the Altay region.
Due to the time difference, the sun had not yet set at this time, and I felt very tired after a day of driving. But the sight of the light and the thought of grilled fish lifted my spirits. After finishing your stay, head to the night market.
The county seat is small but very clean. The buildings along the street are all newly built, and there are many shops and hotels. According to reports, Burqin used to be very poor, and many people went out to work. Since the development and opening of the Kanas Lake Scenic Area, Burqin is a must-stay place for tourists going to the Kanas Lake Scenic Area, so it has also brought infinite vitality to the people of Burqin. They returned to do business after going out to work, and attracted many foreigners to Burqin for development.
Not far from the night market, you can see the white smoke from the barbecue. Due to the wind direction, you can't smell the smell of grilled fish for the time being.
Both the tour guide and the Internet have introduced that Burqin’s grilled fish is very special and the price is not expensive. According to the stall owner, it is mainly "pike" and "red fish" (I don't know if it is written like this). Some were killed on the spot, and some had already been killed and put away, presumably prepared during the day. "Pike" is 5-10 yuan/piece, and "red fish" is more than 20 yuan/piece. The grilled fish tasted good, and it was perfect with beer. Fish can also be boiled in soup (Cantonese require this). According to reports, the Burqin Riverside Night Market currently receives more than 5,000 tourists a day and sells nearly 3 tons of fresh fish every day.
The tools for grilling fish are the same as those for grilling mutton that we have seen. The fish is skewered with flat iron wires. One fish is skewered with 3-4 iron wires and placed on the oven, oiled, sprinkled with seasonings, grilled for a few times, and it will be ready to eat in a few minutes.
There is also a local drink called "Kavas" in the night market. Kavas is fermented from barley, corn and other grains, honey, mountain nectar, and hops. It looks like wine, but its alcohol content is only 0.3%. To 0.5%, is a beer-like beverage, known as Xinjiang's "local beer".
The four of us ordered grilled fish, grilled buns, grilled corn, boiled corn, yogurt, pasta, etc., and ate very comfortably. The taste of grilled fish is really good, if you come to Burqin, you must try it.
The dairy products here are all homemade, including yogurt, mare's milk, goat's milk, camel's milk, etc. It is unknown about sterilization. So we dare not taste anything except yogurt. Since it is homemade yogurt, the taste of each stall is a little different, but the taste is good.
