From June 26 to July 29, 2018, 8 people in two cars went to Xinjiang and Qinghai for a 34-day self-driving tour. The self-driving route is: Chengdu -- Tianshui City -- Datong County -- Linze County -- Guazhou County -- Dunhuang City -- Hami City -- Turpan City -- Urumqi City -- Qitai County -- Shihezi City -- - Karamay City - Huocheng County - Yili City - Zhaosu County - Tekes County - Xinyuan County - Hejing County - Kuqa County - Korla - Yuli County - Heshuo County --Turpan City--Hami City--Guazhou County--Zhangye City--Qilianshan County--Gangcha County--Tianjun County--Huangzhong County--Tianshui City--Chengdu City, the journey is about 12,000 kilometers , The per capita cost is about 10,000 yuan. Due to the length of the book, the travel notes are divided into the first, middle and second episodes as follows:
We traveled across the four provinces of Sichuan, Gansu, Qinghai, and Xinjiang, and visited successively: Qinghai Menyuan Baili Rapeseed Flowers; Gansu Jiayuguan; Xinjiang Hami Huiwang Mansion, Wubao Devil City; Karez, Sugong Tower, Junwang Mansion, Grape Valley; Urumqi Nanshan Ranch, Hongshan Park, Xinjiang Museum, Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar; Tianshan Tianchi, Jiangbulak, Changji Prefecture; Shihezi Xinjiang Corps Military Reclamation Museum; Karamay Dushanzi Grand Canyon; Sailimu Lake in Ertala Prefecture (the above scenic spots are introduced in the first episode); Yili Guozigou, Horgos Port, Huocheng Lavender Garden, Huiyuan Ancient City, Hanren Street, Zhaosu Rapeseed Flowers, Grassland Stone Man, Xiata , Kalajun Grassland, Nalati Grassland, Gongnaisi Grassland (the above scenic spots are introduced in CIMC); Aksu Duku Highway, Kuche Grand Canyon, Kuqa Palace; Bayingoleng Bayinbuluk Grassland, Rob Village, Bosten Lake ; Suoyang City Ruins in Guazhou, Gansu; Zhangye Grand Buddha Temple; Qilian Mountain Grassland in Qinghai, Mazongliang Original Ecological Scenic Spot, Qinghai Lake, Chaka Salt Lake, Kumbum Monastery in Xining and other scenic spots (the above scenic spots will be introduced in the next episode).
D14: Sailimu Lake-Guozigou-Horgos-Huocheng
July 9. Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture used to be the seat of the highest administrative and military officials in Xinjiang in the Qing Dynasty, and it was the political and military center of Xinjiang. It is now the only sub-provincial autonomous prefecture in the country. We came out of Sailimu Lake in Bortala State and traveled to Ili Prefecture. Ili Prefecture is the seventh stop of our Xinjiang tour.
Yili is known as "South of the Great Wall", "Wet Island of Central Asia", and "Flower City". It is a large tourist area in Xinjiang. We spent seven days traveling.
The main scenic spots in Ili are: Guozigou, Lavender Garden, Huiyuan Ancient City, Yili Museum in Huocheng County; Guomen Scenic Spot in Horgos City; Kazanqi Folk Village (Hanren Street) in Yining City, Yili River; Zhaosu Zhaosu Grassland, Xiata Tourist Area, Zhaosu Rapeseed Flowers, Grassland Stone Man Tourist Area, Gedeng Mountain Stele, Zhaosu Tianma Cultural Park (Zhaosu Racecourse), Lighthouse Educated Youth Museum; Kalajun Grassland in Tekes County , Tekes Bagua City, Qiongkushi Terrace, Taiji Eye of Bagua Park; Nalati Tourist Scenic Area, Gongnaisi Grassland, Panchen Ditch, Xinghua Ditch in Xinyuan County; Qiaoerma and Tangbula in Nilek County Grassland; Kurdening and Qiaxi Forest Park in Gongliu County, etc. We have a choice of scenic spots to visit.
Guozigou is the natural gateway of the Ili area. It is a canyon channel that goes north to Sailimu Lake and goes south to the Ili River Valley, with a total length of 28 kilometers. Guozigou was the throat of our country leading to Central Asia and Europe in ancient times, known as "Tieguan", and now it is the passageway of 312 National Highway (the first-class highway section of Wuyi Highway).
Guozigou is named for the abundance of wild fruits. The scenery in the valley is beautiful and strange. It has the reputation of "the first scene in Ili".
There is a viewing platform in Guozigou, on which you can watch the famous "Guozigou Bridge". On the viewing platform, local herdsmen came to charge, 10 yuan/person (I don’t know if it is an official fee).
The Guozigou Bridge is the first cable-stayed bridge and the highest bridge in Xinjiang, and it is also the first cable-stayed bridge with two towers and two cable planes and steel truss girders in China.
The total length of the bridge is 700 meters, and the bridge deck is as high as 200 meters from the bottom of the valley. After the bridge is opened to traffic, Ili Prefecture can reach Urumqi all-weather.
There are several farmhouse-style accommodations in Guozigou, and there are also many colorful Kazakh yurts for tourists to stay in. The price of each Kazakh yurt is more than 300 yuan.
Guozigou-Horgos Port, 80 kilometers, expressway, 1 hour.
Khorgos Port is located in Khorgos City (county-level city) in Yili Prefecture. It has the world's first cross-border free trade zone. Due to the extremely favorable tax policy, a large number of film and television companies have registered in this city, so it is located in many At the beginning of the film, you can see the words "Horgos".
Facing Kazakhstan, Khorgos Port is a first-class national land road port with the longest history, the largest comprehensive transportation volume, the best natural environment and the most complete functions in western China.
There is a "Horgos National Gate Scenic Spot" at the port, no passport is required to enter, and the ticket is 30 yuan/person (Xinjiang card cannot be used).
In the scenic area, there are Guomen Observation Deck, No. 18 Boundary Monument in Qing Dynasty, No. 324 National Boundary Monument, etc.
It was too hot and we didn't go in.
There is also a duty-free shop at the port, which mainly sells products from Russia and Kazakhstan. There are telescopes, tin jugs, carpets, etc., but there are many imitations.
The temperature in Horgos reached 38 degrees that day, and we were dizzy from the heat. We were not very interested in shopping in the mall.
Khorgos Khorgos Port - Huocheng County, Yili Prefecture, 50 kilometers, 1 hour. Stay at "Huocheng County Tianrui Hotel" at night, and the standard room is 99 yuan.
D15: Huocheng, Huiyuan ancient city, Yining city
July 10. From 8:30 to 9:30, we will visit the national 4A-level tourist attraction "Princess Jieyou Lavender Garden", which is 2.2 kilometers away from Huocheng City. It takes 60 minutes. The ticket is 35 yuan per person, and the half-price discount for the elderly is 17.5 yuan (the Xinjiang card cannot be used. ).
There are many places to watch lavender in Huocheng. There are large lavender fields on both sides of the road for viewing and shooting. The scenic spots that are enclosed and charged include "Princess Jieyou Lavender Garden", "Princess Hanjia Lavender Garden", "Lavender Cultural Tourism Scenic Spot", "Keguerqin Ten Thousand Mu Lavender Garden" and so on.
The princess, as a princess of the Han family and a historical celebrity, symbolizes the embodiment of nobility, wisdom, gentleness, tolerance, and accessibility.
Jieyou Princess Lavender Garden is a scenic spot for comprehensive understanding of lavender culture. There are not only lavender fields with a wide view, but also museums about lavender and essential oils, essential oil factories, and sales of lavender series products.
Huocheng County is a veritable city of lavender. It has the largest area (accounting for 95% of the national planting area) and the highest density lavender field in the country. It is the world's three largest lavender planting bases (one is Provence in southeastern France, The other is Furano in Hokkaido, Japan), known as "the hometown of lavender in China" and "Provence in China".
The first viewing period of Huocheng lavender is from early to mid-June to early July every year, and the flowering period is about 20 days (different from year to year). When we arrived on July 10, most of the large lavender fields were before June 20 The harvest has been completed, and only some flowers are left for viewing in the scenic area. The second wave viewing period is at the end of September, only partially open.
Jieyou Princess Lavender Garden has scenic spots such as museum, colorful flower field, variety garden, Zihai Yuntian, Mr. Xiangshuai, vanilla culture corridor, and essential oil factory.
The scenic spot is decorated with scarecrows, colorful gates with flowers, windmills, sculptures and so on.
The colorful flower field is planted with a variety of colorful flowers in the shape of strips, and the flowers of different colors are interspersed with each other, which is very beautiful.
The lavender in the variety garden undulates up and down like deep purple waves layer upon layer, and the fragrant lavender swaying in the wind is like a fairy tale world.
The large purple lavender field seems to be wearing a purple coat, like a purple ocean, and the purple pastoral is very romantic.
The flower language of lavender is "waiting for love". In the sense of smell of many lovers, the fragrance of lavender is romantic. Strolling in the dreamlike sea of flowers, smelling the fragrance of flowers, makes people intoxicated!
The essential oil factory has a production line, and you can visit the essential oil refining process.
The essential oil extracted from lavender is widely used in the manufacture of various daily cosmetics such as shampoo, soap, and toilet water. The dried flowers of lavender can be used in medicine as sedative, carminative, diuretic, exciting, and strong medicine. Lavender also has the function of enhancing immunity and promoting skin regeneration, and has special effects on the recovery of scars caused by burns and operations.
Jieyou Princess Lavender Garden, Huiyuan Ancient City, 25 kilometers, half an hour's drive.
The ancient city of Huiyuan is located in Huocheng County, Yili. The name "Huiyuan" was bestowed by Emperor Qianlong himself. At that time, the buildings in the city were neat, with four vertical and horizontal streets leading directly to four city gates.
In history, Yili was an important passage from Xinjiang to Central Asia. In order to strengthen the governance of the Yili area, Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty set up General Yili in Huocheng, built Huiyuan City, and successively built eight satellite cities around it, collectively referred to as "" The Nine Cities of Ili".
In 1871, Tsarist Russia occupied Ili, and the ancient city of Huiyuan was destroyed, and it was rebuilt after the return of Ili in 1882. Huiyuan Bell and Drum Tower was also built at the same time, which is now the only traditional high-rise wooden structure building with a long history in Xinjiang.
The ancient city is very small, and many scenic spots are not yet open, so we traveled for 1 hour.
The scenic spots in the ancient city are charged according to the number of visits, Yili General's Mansion (45 yuan, under maintenance and not open), Confucian Temple (10 yuan, under maintenance and not open), Lin Zexu's garrison (20 yuan), Huiyuan Ancient City Exhibition Hall (40 yuan ), Dongchengmen (10 yuan), Bell and Drum Tower (20 yuan) (Xinjiang card cannot be used). We didn't go in a single attraction.
The Temple of Literature closed.
The patriotic general Lin Zexu was exiled in Xinjiang and lived in Huiyuan for two years and one month. Lin Zexu once led the people to open water conservancy here, and was respected by the people of all ethnic groups in Ili.
The ancient city of Huiyuan-Yining City, 40 kilometers away, the provincial road, one hour's drive, and Xinjiang melons and fruits are sold along the way. Xinjiang folklore says: "Grapes from Turpan and melons from Hami, pears from Korla are praised by everyone, and pomegranates from Yecheng are top-notch." Xinjiang is known as the "hometown of melons and fruits" for a long time. There are many varieties of melons and fruits with excellent texture. Dried and fresh melons and fruits are always available in the market all year round.
Yining City is the capital city of Ili, and its scenic spots include: Kazanqi Folk Tourist Area (Hanren Street), Yili River Tourist Scenic Area, Shaanxi Temple, Baidula Temple, Huolong Cave, etc.
We tour "Kazanqi Folk Tourist Area" at noon, 3 hours. At that time, the temperature was as high as 37 degrees, which was very hot.
Kazanqi, the only original ecological residence of the Uyghurs in Yining, is located in the old town of Yining. It is an original ecological cultural scenic spot that mainly reflects the folk customs of Yili Uighurs. It is the image window of Yining, and it is free to enter and leave the tourist area.
"Kazanqi" in Uighur means "a person who makes pots". Now the pot casting industry has been replaced by mechanized production, but this area still retains many traditional handicraft products, such as saddles, iron art, wood carvings wait.
There is the most prosperous commercial street in Yining (Xinhua East Road) in the tourist area. This commercial street used to have a famous name: Hanren Street. The locals say, "If you haven't been to Hanren Street, you haven't been to Yili".
Hanren Street got its name because it used to be the residential area with the largest number of Han people. It was originally an alley about two kilometers long. There are many shops on both sides of the road, full of time-honored Beijing goods stores, grocery stores, restaurants, pharmacies, and pawnshops. Wait, it can be said to be extremely prosperous. At that time, about 3,000 "Han Chinese" gathered here, and there were more than 400 shops.
Now Hanren Street has been transformed into Xinhua East Road, becoming the most prosperous place in Yining. In the current Hanren Street, there are no Han people.
The streets and alleys of the tourist area are dotted with European-style buildings, Chinese and Western-style buildings, and local characteristic houses.
Wandering in Kazanqi, the colorful buildings make people feel like they are in Central Asia. The combination of colorful small houses and magical colors has become a local style, and every door and window is a scene.
But the famous "Hui Nationality Temple (Shaanxi Great Temple)" is not open to the public.
For foreign tourists, the faces of the people here seem to be the faces of foreigners.
The most distinctive feature of Kazanqi is the "horse", which is enough to satisfy the wishes of "running in a horse-drawn carriage" and "feeling ancient traditional folk culture in a modern city".
The tourist area still retains the original traditional Uyghur lifestyle, and there are restaurants and cafes in the quaint Uyghur houses.
We escaped the 37-degree heat under the grape trellis in the courtyard of "Ancient Courtyard Food".
We enjoy roast lamb, baked buns, jelly, jelly, pilaf, strips, kavas...
The super delicious handmade ice cream is highly recommended. It is called Xinjiang's Haagen-Dazs ice cream, which is a must in the old city.
In the afternoon, we stayed at the "Yining Five Oaks Hotel" (formerly Binhe Hotel) by the Yili River, with a standard room of 218 yuan.
The most beautiful scenery in Yining is on the Yili River, and the sunset is the most wonderful scenery in Yining. At 10:00 after dinner, we drove 5 kilometers to the second bridge of Yili River to watch the sunset.
Yili River is located 16 kilometers away from the suburbs of Yining City. It is the largest inland river in Xinjiang with a total length of 1,500 kilometers. The river is wide and beautiful.
The nearest section of the Yining River is the famous Yili River Bridge. The bridge is an excellent place to shoot sunsets. "Sunset on Yiqiao" has become a good subject for photographers. Tourists who come to Ili will also walk on the Yili River Bridge in the evening to watch the sunset.
There are two "Ili Bridges" on the Yili River. The hotel staff suggested that we go to the "Second Yili River Bridge (New Bridge)" to watch the sunset. The sunset there is more beautiful than the "Ili River First Bridge (Old Bridge)".
Standing on a high place overlooking the Yili River illuminated by the setting sun, the water flows slowly and sparkles.
The afterglow of the setting sun reddens the edge of the sky of the Yili River, which is magnificent.
D16: Yining-Texas-Zhaosu
From 8:00 to 15:00, Yining City-Texas County-Zhaosu County, 190 kilometers, provincial road, enjoy the beautiful scenery of "Yizhao Highway" along the way.
The Yizhao Highway starts from Yining City and ends in Zhaosu County. It is known as one of the nine most beautiful highways in Xinjiang.
There are actually two roads, one is Yining--Chaxian--Zhaosu. Along the way, you have to cross the Anglet Daban on Wusun Mountain (3000 meters above sea level). The road is steep, with many bends and steep roads. Open to traffic from June to October.
The other one is Yining-Texas Bagua City-Zhaosu County. There is a very good asphalt road along the way. We drove this one by ourselves.
Yizhao Highway is one of the sections of the ancient Silk Road "Gongyue Road".
Walking on this road, there are mountains, meadows, fir forests, and snow peaks, all the way to the scenery.
At the rest station, you can look at the mountains and the clouds and mist around the mountains.
We kept taking pictures along the way, stopped and stopped, and ate kebabs at the Baima Tourist Service Center. It took 7 hours to reach Zhaosu County on a 190-kilometer road.
Zhaosu County belongs to Yili Prefecture and is the only county in Xinjiang without deserts. Walking into Zhaosu is like thinking of a vast dreamland.
When we arrived in Zhaosu County, the climate was cool, and rapeseed flowers and perilla flowers were in full bloom everywhere, and the eyes were full of beauty.
If Yili in June belongs to Huocheng, then Yili in July belongs to Zhaosu.
Every July, when the rape blossoms bloom, the endless "Zhaosu rape blossoms" become one of the most famous scenic spots in Xinjiang.
Due to the open terrain of the Zhaosu Grassland and the more suitable climate for growing rapeseed and other crops, Zhaosu has become the largest rapeseed flower field in the country and the largest spring rapeseed production area in Xinjiang, known as the "Hometown of Rapeseed in China".
The planting area of rapeseed in Zhaosu is nearly one million mu, accounting for 40% of the rapeseed area in Xinjiang.
Every July, the golden rapeseed field is like weaving a blanket.
Zhaosu rapeseed is the latest blooming rapeseed flower with the longest flowering period in the country. Both sides of the Yizhao Highway are full of endless golden oceans.
Standing on the viewing platform of "Colorful Fields" (observation platform is free), there are continuous snow-capped mountains in the distance, and a sea of flowers in the vicinity.
It was as if a huge oil painting had been painted on the sky.
In Zhaosu in July, there are not only rapeseed flowers, but also perilla flowers. Purple perilla flowers and yellow rapeseed flowers are intertwined into ribbons.
Zhaosu Huahai is named Yang Tianxia.
Let's visit the "Prairie Stone Man Scenic Spot", the ticket is 20 yuan, and the half price discount is 10 yuan (Xinjiang card cannot be used), 60 minutes.
If you want to see the Zhaosu Grassland, then go to the "Prairie Stone Man Scenic Spot", which is the most important scenic spot on the Zhaosu Grassland.
Zhaosu Grassland is one of the most famous grasslands in my country, and it is also an important scenic spot for tourists to visit Yili.
Different from other grassland scenic spots such as Nalati and Bayinbulak, Zhaosu Grassland does not enclose an area as a special scenic spot, but is distributed in the entire Zhaosu County. When you drive here, you can walk on both sides of the road Photograph.
There are many stone figures on the grassland, standing on the wilderness, there is an ancient and mysterious atmosphere.
The stone man is the cultural relic of the Turkic people in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. According to textual research, the stone man is actually the stone man (gravekeeper) in front of the Turkic tomb.
During the Sui and Tang Dynasties (581-907 A.D.), on the prairie of Inner Mongolia, there used to be an ethnic group that had a much greater influence on the world than the Huns—Turks, and Turkic cavalry dominated the northern land. But later Datang destroyed the Turkic regime.
A Turkic branch fled to Asia Minor, gradually developed and expanded, conquered the Byzantine Empire, established the Ottoman Turkish Empire, and evolved into today's Turkish Republic. Turkey is the translation of "Turk" from a foreign language into Chinese. Turks consider their ancestors to be Turkic.
Turkic people worship the sun and have the habit of erecting stone statues in front of their tombs. The statues carved mainly in stone are lifelike.
These stone figures are carved from a whole piece of rock, with round or peach-shaped faces, round eyes, square nose, small mouth, and triangular patterns on the shoulders and chest.
In addition to viewing the stone man, there are many grassland entertainment projects in the scenic area, such as horse riding, grassland karting, grassland off-road motorcycles, grassland paragliding, archery, etc., we did not participate.
The scenic spot is not big, and you can finish the tour in an hour.
Zhaosu County used to be the hometown of Wusun (the Wusun Kingdom was established by the nomadic Wusun in the Western Regions in the Western Han Dynasty). The Hometown of Tianma, the Sweaty BMW, the hometown of Wusun, the ancient Xiata road, the ancient ruins of Xiata, the sea of rapeseed flowers, the grassland wetlands, the Gedeng Mountain Stele, the Shengyou Temple... It can be said that Zhaosu is a place for all-for-one tourism.
However, when we arrived at the "Shengyou Temple" to visit, for some reason, it was not open.
It may be the peak tourist season in Zhaosu, and the prices of hotels in Zhaosu County have increased a lot. We stayed at "Zhaosu Hongfu Hotel", the standard room was 180 yuan, and the conditions were very general.
In the evening, we went to Zhaosu "Food Street" for dinner. The Food Street is at the intersection of Wenhua Road and Jianshe Street in Zhaosu County.
In addition to the traditional Xinjiang specialties such as large plate chicken, hand-caught lamb, and roast lamb, there are also many Sichuan-style and Muslim restaurants on the food street, which whet our appetite.
D17: Zhaosu-Xiata-Zhaosu-Tex
July 12. 8:00--10:30, Zhaosu-Xiata, 75 kilometers, provincial road, 2 and a half hours by car.
All the way is "Zhaosu flower sea", the flower sea under the snow mountain is very charming.
We stopped and went, couldn't help rushing into the sea of rapeseed flowers again, patting and patting.
Xiata (also known as Xiate, Xiatai) means "stairs" in Mongolian.
The Xiata Ancient Road is located in Zhaosu County. It crosses the Tianshan Mountains and has a total length of 120 kilometers.
The Xiata Ancient Road is the most dangerous and dangerous ancient narrow road on the ancient Silk Road, also known as the Tang Monk Ancient Road. With the completion of the North-South Xinjiang Highway, no one cares about this ancient road.
But now the ancient trail has become one of the most challenging and popular hiking adventure routes.
11:10--14:10, we will visit "Xiata Scenic Area" for 3 hours. The ticket for the scenic spot is 40 yuan (Xinjiang card cannot be used), and the transportation vehicle for the scenic spot is 60 yuan.
Xiata Scenic Area is a scenic spot integrating snow peaks, glaciers, river valleys, flower seas, grasslands, hot springs, ancient roads and other scenery.
The scenic spot is very large, and you need to take a bus to the various scenic spots to see the scenery.
There are not many scenic spots along the way, mainly to view the scenery in the traffic car. There are only a few attractions such as Jiuqu Xiata River, Quicksand Waterfall (Double Peacock) and so on.
Nine bends of the Shata River. The Xiata River, which gushes out from the high mountains of the Tianshan Glacier, winds its way into the Tekes River along the grassland.
The quicksand waterfall is actually a natural disaster caused by peacock-shaped landslides caused by mud and rocks flowing down the mountain.
Take a 1-hour bus ride, and finally arrive at the destination - Xiata Hot Spring Hotel, which is the only hotel with good facilities in the scenic area. The Xiata hot springs only start to flood in mid-June every year, and they have dried up in mid-November. We still have no hot springs to soak in.
After getting off the traffic bus, there are still more than ten kilometers away from the Muzart Glacier. Tourists can choose to continue to take a sightseeing bus, or ride a horse, motorcycle, or go on foot.
We chose to walk along the boardwalk. The boardwalk is about 2 kilometers long, and the rest is along the river beach road.
Xiata Canyon is shaped like a promenade, with walls standing on both sides, forming a barrier. Snowy ridge spruce is the main tree species here.
In the middle of the canyon, the water of the Xiata River is sometimes slow and sometimes rushing, rushing forward, and both sides are full of stones.
The water of the Siata River is different from other rivers because it flows through limestone rocks and has the color of milk.
The biggest attraction of the Xiata Scenic Area is to watch the "Muzarte Glacier". The glacier is the "Lingshan Mountain" that Xuanzang crossed on his westward journey as recorded in "The Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty", which is also the "bottleneck" of the Shater Ancient Road.
Muzarte Glacier means "White Glacier" in Mongolian. It is 3,600 meters above sea level and covered with snow all the year round.
We walked for about 5 kilometers, then turned back to Xiata Hot Spring Hotel. The whole scenic spot is very primitive, there is no place to eat at noon, you need to bring your own food.
Take the bus back to the gate of the scenic spot. There are scenic spots such as "Valley of Lovers" along the way. Kazakh herdsmen can stay in the yurts.
Zhaosu also has two tourist cards, one is "Xiata Ancient Ruins", including the ancient city and ancient tombs.
Xiata used to be the summer capital of the Wusun Kingdom, which was established by the nomadic Wusun in the Western Regions during the Western Han Dynasty (202-8 BC). Because the ruins are still in the process of restoration, we did not go.
Another tourist card is "Sweaty BMW". Zhaosu Grassland has bred a large number of "Xiji horses" (Zhaosu was called Xiji in ancient times). It used to be the production area of military horses in successive dynasties. There are many horse farms with about 100,000 horses. And the fighter jets in Mazhong are "sweaty BMWs".
Sweaty horses have thin skin and well-developed sweat glands. After running and sweating, the local color will appear brighter, giving people the illusion of "bleeding", so they are called sweaty horses. The bloody BMW is a national treasure of Turkmenistan, and there are only about 3,000 left today. There are about ten horses in Zhaosu, but we didn't see them.
Zhaosu is known as the "Hometown of Tianma". Most of the existing horses are "Ili horses" of excellent quality. They also have long legs, good running, and handsome looks. They are world-renowned horses. The predecessor of Zhaosu Racecourse was the largest military horse farm in the country. Now there are horse races at the racecourse every day. Tickets are 70 yuan per person, about an hour, and we don’t have time to go.
From 14:30 to 17:30, Xiata-Zhaosu County-Texas County, 138 kilometers, provincial road, 3 hours by car. The county seat is undergoing major repairs, and there is a lot of dust, making it inconvenient to enter the city. That night we stayed at the "Tex River Dragon Hotel", with a standard room of 168 yuan.
Tekes County belongs to Yili Prefecture and is famous for its Bagua layout. Its county seat is the only complete and regular Bagua city in the world.
It is said that the Bagua City was first laid out by Qiu Chuji, one of the Seven Masters of Quanzhen Taoism in the Southern Song Dynasty.
In the central square of the county seat, eight main streets protrude outward like rays at equal distances and at the same angle in the direction of the gossip. There are four ring roads in sequence, including eight streets on the first ring, sixteen streets on the second ring, thirty-two streets on the third ring, and sixty-four streets on the fourth ring. These streets form sixty-four hexagrams according to the directions of the eight hexagrams.
The layout of Turks Bagua City can only be seen clearly from high altitude, and the gossip cannot be seen in the city. When we drive in the city, we only feel that the city is radially circular, and the street layout is like a labyrinth. The roads are connected in circles and connected by each other. Vehicles and pedestrians can reach their destination no matter which direction they go, without traffic jams and road blockages. , but it will take a lot of detours.
There is now a "Tai Chi Bagua Museum" in the central square of the county seat, 20 yuan/person. Go to the top of the altar and look down, there are gossip corresponding to various roads, but you can only see the scenery within the second ring road.
D18: Turks-Kalajun
July 13. 8:00--9:30, Turks-Kalajun, 30 kilometers, township road, one and a half hours by car. From Tekes to Kalajun, you must first pass through the "Kalajun Visitor Center", which is actually the gate of the "Kuokesu Grand Canyon". We thought we had arrived at the Kalajun Scenic Area, so we plunged into it, and when we asked something wrong, we backed out and started on the road again, arriving at another gate of the scenic spot, "Blake", which is 2 kilometers away.
Kalajun Grassland Scenic Spot is located in Tekes County, Yili. It is a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site and one of the most famous grasslands in Xinjiang. There are only two gates in the scenic area, one is the "Kalajun Visitor Center" (travel to the Kuokesu Grand Canyon), and the other is the "Blake Gate" (travel to Kalajun).
The scenic spot is a national 5A-level tourist attraction. It is divided into three areas that sell tickets separately and are far apart. The scenic spot cannot be entered by car and needs to be entered by a sightseeing car. Tickets + sightseeing tickets: 90 yuan for East Kalajun, 90 yuan for West Kalajun (commonly sold tickets), 50 yuan for Kuokesu Grand Canyon (Xinjiang card card cannot be used). We didn't want to see the Grand Canyon, so we only bought tickets for Dongxi Kalajun and round-trip sightseeing tickets, a total of 180 yuan.
The scenic spot is very large, and it takes about 1-2 days to play normally. We entered the scenic spot from 9:00 to 15:00, and only visited the essence of the entire grassland—East Kala Jun for 6 hours, but we didn’t have time to go to West Kala Jun, where there is a heritage museum.
The roads in the East and West Kalajun Scenic Spots are mainly Panshan Road, the route is very long, and the sightseeing bus only stops at three stops: World Heritage Exhibition Center (because there are no tourists, we did not get off), Flower Terrace and Falcon Terrace.
After getting off at the "Flower Terrace stop", walk up the mountain along the "Wuhua Meadow" wooden plank road to the "Flower Terrace", the whole journey is about 1 km.
The five-flower meadow is full of colorful wildflowers, which is very beautiful.
The Flower Terrace is like a suspended meadow, with gentle slopes and boundless slopes, like a wonderful blue carpet, stretching all the way to the foot of the snow-capped Tianshan Mountains.
"Kara Jun" is a Kazakh language. "Kara" means dark, rich and vast, and "Jun" describes the dense appearance. Literally, "Kara Jun Grassland" can be translated as "black wilderness".
The Kalajun tourist area is the area with the richest biodiversity and the highest aesthetic value in the "Xinjiang Tianshan" World Natural Heritage Site.
Colorful flower clusters, dark green primeval forest, deep Grand Canyon, together with the blue sky, white clouds and snowy mountains and ice peaks in the sky, constitute a beautiful picture scroll!
The grassland was once the seat of Wusun Kingdom, the largest ancient nomadic country in the western regions of China;
There are no entertainment items in the Flower Terrace, only watching nature.
After visiting the Huahua Terrace, return to the original road, and there are falcons taking photos on the road, 10-20 yuan per time.
There are also pictures taken with little lambs in Wuhua Meadow.
Get on the sightseeing bus again at the "Flower Terrace Stop" and arrive at the "Falcon Terrace Terminal". The terminal is very dilapidated, just some simple sheds.
It is about 3 kilometers from the "Falcon Terrace Terminal" to Falcon Terrace. Visitors can walk along the boardwalk or ride a horse.
The horse riding here is not for tourists to ride by themselves, but for local riders to ride with tourists in their arms. It costs 80 yuan for an hour to and fro.
We chose to walk and go back and forth for 1.5 hours, with beautiful scenery along the way, and "Piebald Forest" appeared from time to time.
The Falcon Terrace includes scenic spots such as the Kurdai Forest Grand Canyon and the Three-pole Plane Plane. It has snow-capped mountains, grassland scenery, and forest canyons. The scenery is diverse and very beautiful.
Falcon Terrace is a traditional place for Kazakhs to train falcons. Kazakh falconers are known as the last falcon hunters in the world, and they are good at hunting wild animals and birds with various raptors.
The average depth of the Kurdai Forest Canyon is about 350 meters, with high and steep mountains on both sides, undulating peaks, and spruce spruces all over the place.
The upper part of the canyon is covered by cascading Snow Ridge spruce, and the lower part grows a lot of dense-leaved poplar, Tianshan birch, walnut, wild apricot, and cherry plum as the altitude decreases.
Looking from a distance, the dark green snowy spruce belts and the green and furry grasslands are interlaced like a mosaic, forming a rich and diverse "variety forest" belt.
The so-called "flattened plane" is the land surface formed by various flattening actions, like accordion folds. The three-level planation plane is that the original unified planation plane is divided into three levels, which rise into a mountain in a step-like manner.
The three-pole flattened plane of the Kalajun Grassland is in the shape of continuous hills, backed by towering snow-capped mountains and spruce forests, with strong color contrast and very beautiful.
The most unique landscape of Kala Jun is like emeralds inlaid one by one, and the green and hairy grasslands are like gems embedded in the snowy spruce.
In addition to horse riding, Falcon Terrace does not have any entertainment items, and can only sit on the grass to enjoy the scenery.
We return to the "Falcon Terrace Terminal" along the road, and there are many tourists riding horses on the road.
There are also two horse riding projects at the terminal of Falcon Terrace. One is to go to the "Kurdai Forest Grand Canyon Viewpoint", which costs 120 yuan for one and a half hours, and the other is to go to the "Sanji Flattening Plane Viewpoint", which takes two 160 yuan per hour, we don't have time to go.
There are no fixed restaurants in the scenic area, only simple sheds built by local herdsmen for meals.
Herdsmen serve mutton noodle soup (20 yuan) and instant noodles (10 yuan). Along the scenic spot, there are Kazakh herdsmen's yurts for accommodation.
15:30--21:00, Kalajun-Xinyuan County, township road + 316 provincial road, 180 kilometers.
Due to road construction and diversion, a section of the road was very bad. I got off Hetan Road and drove for 5 and a half hours. Fortunately, the scenery along the way was good.
In Xinjiang, there are beautiful scenery everywhere inadvertently, and we get out of the car to take pictures from time to time.
Originally, our plan was to go directly from "Karajun Scenic Spot" to Nalati Town at the entrance of "Nalati Scenic Spot" in Yili Xinyuan County (250 kilometers). Since it was dark and we didn't want to hurry, we stayed in Xinyuan County" Xinyuanshan Jiu Business Hotel", the standard room is 140 yuan, and it is 68 kilometers away from the scenic spot.
D19: Xinyuan-Nalati
July 14. "Xinghuagou" 30 kilometers away from Xinyuan County is quite famous, but the viewing season has passed, so we didn't go (Xinghuagou blooms in mid-April, and it only takes about 7 days from flowering to flowering).
8:00--9:30, Xinyuan County-Nalati Scenic Area, the provincial road, 68 kilometers, and the beautiful scenery along the way.
Nalati means "the first place to see the sun". According to legend, when a large army of Genghis Khan marched westward to the Nalati Mountains, they suddenly saw the clouds and the sun rising, and the vast grassland was like a carpet in front of them, as if they had entered another world. The soldiers couldn't help shouting " Nalati (there is the sun)! Nalati!", so this place name was left. Because the scenic spot is very large, we have to divide it into two days, so we went to the "Nalati Town" outside the gate of the scenic spot to find accommodation.
There are hundreds of hotels, hotels, inns, and restaurants in Nalati Town, which are very complete. We chose to stay in the "Jinshunyuan Inn", the standard room is 140 yuan, the inn is only 100 meters away from the scenic spot and the gate, so we don't need to drive there.
The Nalati Grassland is one of the four major alpine grasslands in the world (the other three are: Inner Mongolia Hulunbuir Grassland, Xinjiang Bayinbulak Grassland, and South American Pampas Grassland), and it is also one of the six most beautiful grasslands in the country. Its scenic spot is a national 5A-level tourist attraction. The scenic spot is very large and is divided into three tourist routes: River Valley Grassland, Sky Grassland, and Panlong Valley Road. Scenic spot tickets, 95 yuan per person in peak season from June to September; 75 yuan from April to November, 47 yuan from December to March, valid for two days. We entered the scenic spot twice with Xinjiang Kakatong for free.
All scenic spots in the scenic area need to take a shuttle bus. The ticket for the shuttle bus: Line 1 (River Valley Grassland) is 40 yuan/person/32 kilometers round trip, and the journey takes about 1.5 hours. Line 2 (Air Grassland) 60 yuan/person/44 kilometers round trip, about 1.5 hours by car. Line 3 (Panlong Valley Road) is 100 yuan/person/round trip. This line actually passes through the river valley grassland.
The scenic spot is allowed to enter by car, 300 yuan/person, the whole journey is about 110 kilometers, and you can stay in the scenic spot. The inn rooms in the scenic area are very expensive, the standard room is about 600 yuan, and you have to make an appointment in advance. Because self-driving can only go to the two routes of the river valley grassland and the air grassland, you cannot go to the Panlong Valley Road (you also need to buy a section ticket, 100 yuan). Under the suggestion of the staff of the scenic spot, we chose to live outside the scenic spot, tour the Panlong Valley Road (including the valley grassland) on the first day, and tour the sky grassland on the second day. We bought a two-day interval ticket, 160 yuan / people.
From 12:30 to 17:30, we will enter the scenic spot and visit Panlong Valley Road + River Valley Grassland for 5 hours. The whole journey of the shuttle bus is about 80 kilometers, and the route is: Tourist Service Center - Tawusani - Time Comes Around - Jiaolong Going to the Sea - Grassland People - Woniugang - Resort - Tourist Service Center. After arriving at each scenic spot, tourists get off the car to view the scenery, and continue walking with the car after taking pictures.
The average altitude of the valley grassland is 1600 meters. It is the spring and autumn pasture of herdsmen and a scenic spot integrating forests, hillsides, grasslands and rivers.
The shuttle bus first stops at the "Tawusani" scenic spot in the valley grassland area for 20 minutes.
"Tavusani" means "beautiful valley" in Kazakh, and the valley is as beautiful as an oil painting.
Walking into the ravine, the grassland is lush and wild flowers are blooming, just like "Jiangnan beyond the Great Wall". Among the waist-deep weeds, there are field paths for tourists to watch, and tourists rush to take pictures.
The shuttle bus goes up the mountain and enters the Panlong Valley Road. This road from Panlongsong to Wusun Ancient Tomb is one of the nine most beautiful roads in Xinjiang, with a total length of 26 kilometers.
This ecological highway "tailor-made" for the Nalati scenic spot passes through the green sea.
The road is perfectly integrated with grasslands, pastures, mountains, forests, and wild flowers, creating a magnificent summer landscape painting.
The shuttle bus stops at the "Times Come and Go" scenic spot for 10 minutes. This is a pine forest scene. Tourists circle around a thousand-year-old transshipment pine tree in the mountains to pray for safety.
This pine tree is also called the love LOV tree because of its shape, because the shape of the branches cleverly constitutes the three letters of LOV. At this time, tourists only need to compare the shape of an E next to it, and a picture of LOVE is completed by the tourists themselves. The picture appeared, and I hope that the tourists who come here will have a happy love and a happy family.
The shuttle bus stops at the "Jiaolong Going to Sea" scenic spot for 20 minutes.
Stroll the boardwalk up the hillside.
The majestic mountains in the distance are like "dragons going out to sea".
The shuttle bus stops at the "Prairie People" scenic spot, 30 minutes. The Nalati Grassland is the grassland with the largest population in Kazakhstan. Most of the white yurts of the herdsmen in the mountains are built along the water.
The yurts of Kazakh herdsmen here provide tourists with snacks such as kebabs, baked potatoes, and dairy products.
The shuttle bus stops at the "Woniugang" scenic spot for 20 minutes. The terrain on the post is condescending, and the view is wide. From a distance, it looks like a cow lying on the mountain and grazing.
Looking from here, the Nalati Tourist Scenic Area is surrounded by mountains on three sides, and the Gongnaisi River flows through it.
The shuttle bus stops at the "resort" scenic spot, and tourists choose their own departure time. Tourists who need to go back to the tourist service center can get on a shuttle bus at will here. We played for an hour.
The resort is a place that provides tourists with comprehensive services such as transfer, rest, sightseeing, entertainment, small commodity sales, meals and accommodation. In addition to hotel accommodation, there are a variety of entertainment items, such as horse riding, European-style carriages, multi-person bicycles, power delta wings, etc.
The resort also has facilities such as the Sweaty BMW Museum and the racetrack. At fixed times, there are also Xinjiang folk song and dance performances.
A little Kazakh girl with a little white sheep in the resort can speak seven languages and is very cute.
There is a hiking route in the resort: Forest Park - Tianying Terrace - Eagle Whirlwind - Return. The resort also has a sightseeing bus to Voltajiaota (the tour distance is about 32km round-trip, and the tour time is 2-3h), but we didn't go there.
D20: Nalati-Bayinbulak Town
July 15. From 9:30 to 12:00, we will enter the Nalati Scenic Area again and take a tour of the aerial grassland route. It was raining lightly that day, and my interest suddenly decreased, and I only swam for 2 and a half hours.
The aerial grassland is a summer pasture for herdsmen, with an average altitude of 2,200 meters and a maximum height of 3,500 meters, so it is called "air grassland". In the middle and late June of each year, the local herdsmen will switch to the air grassland and take turns to graze. The difference from the river valley grassland is that you can see the snow-capped mountains here.
June, July, and August are the golden seasons for the summer ranch. The forest and sea snow sources disappear, and the ice caves in the ranch melt, presenting beautiful mountains and clear waters. The route of the air prairie shuttle bus is: Tourist Service Center—Tianjietai—Qiafu River—Nomad House—return, about 50 kilometers round trip.
The shuttle bus first stops at the "Tianjietai" scenic spot in the air grassland area for 20 minutes. Tianjie Terrace is the "watershed" between the valley grassland scenic spot and the alpine grassland, taking the meaning of "the entrance to heaven on earth, the boundary between heaven and earth".
Climbing along the boardwalk to the highest point of Tianjietai, you can have a panoramic view of the beautiful scenery of Nalatisha Ranch.
The shuttle bus stops at the "Qiafu River" scenic spot for 20 minutes. Standing in the middle of the summer pasture, looking around the vastness of the summer pasture, I can see the water of the Chapu River meandering westward on the grassland.
More than 10 kinds of wild flowers, such as wild roses, wild roses, nasturtiums, and wild poppies, are in full bloom in the summer pasture, as if the ground is covered with flower felt.
There is also a rare spectacle in the aerial grassland: wild lilies blooming on top of the ice.
Every year in late March, the ice and snow on the Nalati Grassland gradually melt, and the wild lily breaks out of the ice under the sun. Therefore, the wild lily is also known as the top ice flower. This flower is named after it blooms against the ice and snow.
It is said that the wild lily will wither after only a few hours of blooming! The wild lily is the first flower that blooms in the Nalati grassland, which means the coming of spring. It makes us understand the meaning of the song "Wild Lily Also Has Spring"---don't forget that in the lonely corner of the valley, wild lily also has spring.
The shuttle bus stopped at the terminal "Nomad People's House". Visitors can choose their own departure time. We played for an hour.
Nomad House is a place that provides tourists with comprehensive services such as transfer, rest, sightseeing, entertainment, small commodity sales, meals and lodging.
The nomads are surrounded by prairie with plank roads.
Tourists can go deep into the grassland to play, or ride horses or enter the white yurts of herdsmen.
There is a hiking route at the nomad’s house: Tianchengtai—Snow Lotus Valley—return. There are also sightseeing cars to Tiancheng Terrace (30 yuan) and to Snow Lotus Valley (100 yuan/person, about 18km round trip, and the tour time is 1-2h).
It was raining heavily, and we didn't want to play anymore. We took the shuttle bus back to the tourist service center and left the scenic spot.
13:40--18:00, "Bayinbulak Scenic Spot" in Nalati-Bayingoleng Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture and Jing County. Since a section of the Duku Highway leading to Bayinbulak Town was damaged and could not be opened to traffic, we had to detour to the provincial road 321+G218. The original 65-kilometer road became a 170-kilometer detour.
This detour gave us the opportunity to see the scenery of the "Gonnais Grassland". Gongnaisi, which means "Sun Slope" in Mongolian, is distributed in Xinyuan, Yili, and is the hometown of Xinjiang fine-wool sheep.
This grassland spreads along the line of the Gongnaisi River. On the green land, wild flowers of various colors compete in splendor. You can often see groups of sheep and horses grazing leisurely.
Snow-capped peaks, multi-flowered meadows in full bloom, and green spruce forest belts.
, Silver water streamers, gurgling streams, ding-dong springs.
We had to drive past scenic spots such as "Gongnaisi Forest Farm" and "Panchen Ditch", but we didn't have time to enter them.
There are many resorts along the route. The vast grasslands, beautiful hills, herds of cattle and sheep, and dots of yurts constitute the summer life circle of the grasslands. Tourists can live there and experience the beautiful scenery and ethnic customs of the grasslands.
We drove away from the "Gunnaisi Grassland" and ended all the travel itinerary in Ili Prefecture. We will continue to travel to Bayingoleng Mongol Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang, Gansu, Qinghai and other places. For more travel details, please read the next episode - Qinghai Lake in the Qilian Mountain Grassland of Bayinbuluk Kukuerle.
In "Travel Notes Part 2", we will continue to introduce: Aksu Duku Highway, Kuqa Grand Canyon, Kuqa Palace; Bayingoleng Bayinbuluk Grassland, Rob Village, Bosten Lake; Suoyang City Ruins in Guazhou, Gansu; Zhangye Great Buddha Temple; Qilian Mountain Grassland in Qinghai, Mazongliang Original Ecological Scenic Spot, Qinghai Lake, Chaka Salt Lake, Kumbum Monastery in Xining and other scenic spots. Do not read!
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Works of Odagi's Travels, No. 10, 2018, No. 079
December 29, 2018
