Instructions for this guide

Duku Highway + Yizhao Highway + self-driving around Yili Prefecture, the previous article (8 days before) has fully described this itinerary Ushi-Shawan-Dushanzi-Northern Section of Duku Highway-Joerma-Tangbula- Huocheng—Horgos—Salimu Lake—Yining—Yizhao Highway—Zhaosu—Xiata—Tekes—Jongkush Terrace—Tekes—Gongliu Kurdening & Arel Village—New Yuanduan self-driving strategy (see "Duku+Yizhao+Ili Prefecture Self-Driving 2019 Midsummer Best Route 6000 Words 100 Pictures Walking Strategy"). This guide is a continuation of the previous one. The route is Xinyuan-Tangbula-Joerma-Middle Section of Duku Highway-Bayinbulak-South Section of Duku Highway-Kuqa-Tarim Desert Highway-Korla-Ulu Buqi ( International Grand Bazaar, Xinjiang Sweat BMW Base).

The ninth day of self-driving in Xinjiang (June 25)

Xinyuan County - Zeketai - Black Bee Town - Baili Gallery - Qiaoerma - Middle Section of Duku Highway - Bayinbulak (live).

This day, I did not go directly to the Nalati Scenic Area from Xinyuan County for 80+ kilometers, because it was a reasonable abandonment after seeing the geographical features and natural scenery from the Turks self-driving Qiongkushitai + Kurdening. At the same time, it was also for a complete self-driving Duku Highway (the northern section of Duku Highway has been completed before) / a consideration of visiting the Qiaoerma Martyrs Cemetery, and Bayanbulak - the second largest grassland in China as an alternative to the Nalati grassland.

It is necessary to go back to the Baili Gallery from Xinyuan, because at the junction of the S316/S315 line of the Nileke Baili Gallery, the rapeseed flowers are blooming all over the mountains, and the golden landscape greatly makes up for the information asymmetry in Zhaosu. It's a pity (I didn't know that Zhaosu changed to other plants this year).

10 days ago, I passed through the Baili Gallery at the zero kilometer of Qiaoerma S315. In my mind, there was a high-profile image of the brilliant sunset. On a sunny morning, the image of the Baili Gallery was fresh and refined, which made people want to stop—— Different light has different Baili Gallery, don't think you have been there before and choose to give up or drift all the way.

Visiting the Cemetery of the Martyrs of Qiaoerma is one of the must-have options for all self-drivers on the Duku Highway. About the construction of the Duku Highway, the more than 200 soldiers who died for the construction of the Duku Highway, and the stories of the gravekeepers who sacrificed their comrades for decades... 10 years of road construction, life and death are boundless-this is an epic road of heroes —On the 561-kilometer Duku Highway, an average of one soldier died every 3 kilometers-blood and sweat have forged this magical road. Walking into the Qiaoerma Martyrs Cemetery, thousands of words can be summed up in one sentence: don't forget the well digger when drinking water. As a self-driver, the moment he walks on the Duku Highway, he will never forget the road builders of the Duku Highway, and he is grateful to them for using their lives to create a magnificent road across the Tianshan Mountains!

After paying homage to the martyrs, we went straight to Bayinbulak at 3 o'clock in the afternoon after having lunch here. Qiaoerma-Bayinbulak is the middle section of the Duku Highway. Starting from the Nalati checkpoint, the National Highway 217 Duku Highway section overlaps with the National Highway 218 for 10+ kilometers and then separates. Daban. This section of the road is very good, as long as the speed is controlled, there is nothing thrilling. The rivers, mountains, forests, snow ridges, alpine meadows and other landscapes crossed along the way are roughly the same as those seen along the Ili River Valley self-driving before. With the continuous rolling of the wheels, the snowy spruces in front of us continued to decrease until they disappeared. At this moment, we officially bid farewell to the beautiful Ili and entered the Bayingoleng Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, the second largest grassland in China after Hulunbuir: Bayinbulak.

Bayinbulak means "rich spring water" in Mongolian. This scenic spot is famous in the land of China because of the sunset scenery of nine bends and eighteen bends in the prairie wetland. And this wetland was once selected as the second place in the "Six Most Beautiful Wetlands in China" by "China National Geographic" "Beauty Pageant China". Therefore, few people who drive the Duku Highway by themselves choose to give up. In addition, the seasonality of Bayinbulak tourism is in the same line as China's snow town, but the seasons are opposite.

The tenth day of self-driving in Xinjiang (June 26)

Bayinbulak-Duku Highway South Section-Kuqa, live in Kuqa New City.

The beauty of Bayinbulak is not necessarily all in the scenic area - from Bayinbulak Town along the Duku Highway G217 to Bayingoleng Township to the foot of Tianshan Mountain, this is a large section of nearly 20 kilometers that seems to be on the horizon. Grassland The road can be described as a very beautiful sky road, which is far more beautiful than the grassland in the scenic spot - blue sky/white clouds/grassland/cattle and sheep... especially the black-headed sheep that are unique to Bayinbulak, they are so beautiful!

The snow wall in the northern section of the Duku Highway, the transition between the alpine valley forest and the prairie in the middle section, and the N 360-degree loops in the southern section are the essence of the 561-kilometer Duku Highway. Xilegen, Yuximolegai and Tielimati are three Daban Dabans, but the most dangerous one is Tielimaiti in the southern section. Recently, the Tilimati Tunnel is being repaired, and it is unilaterally released—if you are blocked at the entrance of the tunnel, don’t complain, it is your luck, because you can enjoy the Tilimati Daban and its attractions during the forced stay The surrounding scenery is endless. On the other hand, if you are passing through, you cannot stay at the entrance of the tunnel, and you will pass by with the beautiful scenery.

Tielimaiti's winding mountain road is very steep, and you can't stop on the way. You can't see the reason with the parallel vision of the naked eye. Only when you reach the parking area at the bottom of the valley, here, the "God's vision" of the drone will feast your eyes!

Not far from down the mountain is one of the components of the Kuqa Grand Canyon National Geopark - the Xiaolongchi Scenic Area. Unfortunately, the Xiaolongchi and Xiaolongchi are currently closed and can only be seen from the side of the road.

This day coincided with the heavy rain in Kuqa in the morning, and the Kuqa Grand Canyon was closed due to flooding. Therefore, along the G217, watching the Kiziya (red mountain) landscape on both sides of the Kuqa River (Kiziya is Uighur, meaning red cliffs) and the "blood red" of the Kuqa River have become the main attractions. Do not park indiscriminately to enjoy the scenery along this road. There are multiple parking areas or observation decks on the road for shared use-there are many large trucks on this road, and all of them are driving fast. Please pay attention to safety when parking to view the scenery!

We arrived in Kuqa County early, so we didn’t go to the hotel booked online immediately. Instead, we navigated directly to the Kuqa Palace, parked the car, and focused on experiencing the customs and customs of southern Xinjiang. We visited the old city of Kuqa—the Chinese historical and cultural district Restanhe Autonomous region-level historical and cultural block Ordabag-Kokeqimaili street. Facing the famous Kuqa big naan, buy, buy, buy; at the gourmet stalls frequented by locals, buy, buy and buy lamb kebabs for 2 yuan each; , buy buy buy...the price is right, it is 2 yuan a bunch! The mutton pieces, which are bigger than pigeon eggs, are 20 centimeters long when they are skewered together. They are fat and thin, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. If you eat 2 skewers, you may stand up - I only hate my stomach for being too small!

The eleventh day of self-driving in Xinjiang (June 27)

Kuqa - Korla (live). This day is the same as yesterday, and it is also a free self-driving tour - a self-driving section of the famous Tarim Desert Highway. This is the desert road from Luntai County, Bayingoleng Prefecture to Minfeng County, Hotan, with a total length of 522 kilometers, of which the desert section is 446 kilometers long. This is the world's first grade highway built in a mobile desert. It starts from Lunnan Oilfield Highway and National Highway 314 in the north, and ends at National Highway 315 20 kilometers east of Minfeng County, Hotan in the south. It was established by the Tarim Petroleum Exploration and Development Headquarters in 1990. From June to September 1995, it was designed and built. In September 1999, he was awarded the Guinness Book of World Records certificate.

The route we took did not go to Luntai County first according to the navigation, but we asked the locals, navigating Lunnan Town, starting from Kuqa County, directly taking the Kudong Highway—the starting point of the Tarim Desert Highway—Tarim Populus euphratica Forest Scenic Area— desert road.

The self-driving Kudong Highway is very cruel, the road is flat and straight, the speed limit is 80, 90+ kilometers in an uninhabited area, an unchanging horizon, almost no traffic, and the vast Gobi and saline-alkali land on both sides of the road. Look, the scenery is copied and pasted, time and space seem to be frozen here, if not for the companions who are traveling, I would almost die alone. Occasionally, the reeds in the saline-alkali land on the roadside looked very beautiful. We, who were inexperienced, cheered and got out of the car to take pictures, screamed and fled back into the car, and the mosquitoes followed. They attacked in groups in the car, not biting. , but to bite, bite down, pain like a needle prick, can't wave it away, can't fan it off, quickly open the car window fully, drive with full horsepower, run at least a few kilometers at a speed of 100 yards, and then stop. Cleaning the battlefield, I just got out of the car, and took two pictures on the door of the car, with seven or eight bags on my head and hands!

The intersection of Kudong Highway and Desert Highway is the symbolic starting point of the Tarim Desert Highway. There are desert highway truss lintels and monuments here, which are definitely worth checking in.

Starting from here, the two sides of the road are not deserts, but the urbanized green land of Lunnan Oilfield - Populus euphratica forest - Gobi with a little grass... To get to the place where there are deserts on both sides of the road, it is 120 kilometers from the symbolic starting point of the Tarim Desert Highway. , I have been seeing the No. 120 road stele, which is the real zero kilometer of the desert.

Driving this section by myself, several friends who had never seen the desert with me, finally crawled and rolled in the hinterland of the famous Taklamakan Desert for a long time. Considering the time relationship, we turned back from the 130-kilometer road stele on the desert road. At the Tarim Populus euphratica Forest Scenic Spot on the roadside, we only checked in outside the gate of the scenic spot—the Tarim Populus euphratica Forest is super beautiful. once!

Turning back is a good thing. Navigate the old road of the Tarim Oilfield factory area + a short section of high speed, and successfully arrive at Korla, the capital of Bayingoleng Prefecture, where the roads are being excavated and buried pipelines all over the city.

The twelfth day of self-driving in Xinjiang (June 28)

Korla - Urumqi. National Highway 314 + Tuhe Expressway + Beijing-Xinjiang Expressway is nearly 500 kilometers. For lunch, I recommend Toksun Noodle Street (next to the highway, the birthplace of Xinjiang Noodles). It is recommended to live in an international club in Urumqi (it is relatively tight, you have to book in advance), 440 yuan / standard room, including exquisite double breakfast, you can watch sweaty BMW + world famous horses for free, and watch the performance of the rider driving the sweaty horse. Populus euphratica, the longest silicified wood in the world, as well as old houses, stone men, etc. - if you don't stay, you have to buy tickets, 160 yuan / person.

The 13th day of self-driving in Xinjiang (June 29)

Visit the Dazaba, buy Xinjiang dried fruits, and taste delicacies from all over Xinjiang in the Dazaba Food Street. Return to an international club at 5:00 p.m., and continue to watch the bloody BMW and the British royal family's favorite - the miniature horse.

The fourteenth day of self-driving in Xinjiang (June 30)

Return the car at another place at Diwopu Airport. Fly back to Chengdu.

Attachment: The basic situation of this self-driving

Personnel: The starting point of this self-driving trip is Chengdu. Relatives and friends form a group by themselves. The members are distributed in a gradient from their 20s to their 60s, with 6 men and 7 women.

Fee: AA system, the finance is handled by the circle bookkeeping applet, and every second is calculated without any difference. The per capita cost of the whole journey is nearly 8,000 yuan—including round-trip transportation, Xinjiang self-driving car rental fees, fuel fees, tolls, board and lodging, scenic spot tickets, dry food, drinking water, fruits, and fines for driving violations.

Route: Chengdu—Lanzhou—Zhangye—Urumqi (all trains in this section). Self-driving starts from Urumqi—Shawan—Dushanzi—North Section of Duku Highway—Joerma—Tangbula—Huocheng—Horgos—Salimu Lake—Yining—Yizhao Highway—Zhaosu—Xia Tower—Tekesi—Jongkushtai—Tekesi—Gongliu Kurdening—Xinyuan—Tangbula—Joerma—Middle Section of Duku Highway—Bayinbulak—South Section of Duku Highway—Kuqa—Tarim Desert Highway—Korla—Ulu Buqi (International Grand Bazaar, Xinjiang Sweaty BMW Base)—Chengdu (flying). The self-driving trip in Xinjiang is about 3,800 kilometers.

Main self-driving destinations: Yili Prefecture + Bayingoleng Prefecture + Aksu Region. The Xinjiang prairie, the Grand Canyon, the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, river valleys, alpine meadows, forests, wetlands, Yadan, Hongshan landforms, deserts and other natural scenery are basically all in one go.

Main tourist destinations: Duku Highway + Yizhao Highway; Sailimu Lake, Huocheng Lavender, Kazanqi Folk Tourist Area, Zhaosu Grassland, Qiongkushi Terrace, Kurdening Scenic Area, Kurdening Arel Village Kazakh herdsmen's village, Baili Gallery, Qiaoerma Martyrs Cemetery, Bayinbulak Scenic Area, Kuqa Old Town, Tarim Desert Highway, Urumqi International Grand Bazaar, Xinjiang Sweaty BMW Base.