Wedge: The First Journey to Xinjiang
A long time ago, many people heard countless praises about the scenery of Xinjiang:
When I was at the foot of the Swiss Alps, admiring the scenery of lakes and mountains, someone quietly told me that this scenery is very common in Xinjiang, my motherland;
When I was on the Kazbek foothills in the Caucasus, praising the rolling meadows and snow-capped mountains, someone whispered beside me that Xinjiang also has the same beauty.
How beautiful is Xinjiang? How big is it? Or how far?
They all left countless suspense and doubts in my heart, as well as some small regrets.
It is a pity that in those years when I was young and vigorous, I resigned to travel around the world, but I failed to appreciate the great rivers and mountains of the motherland.
So, this time I decided to go to Xinjiang, to make up for the regrets on the travel list, and to prove the beauty of Xinjiang with my eyes.
I remember seeing a sentence somewhere:
"If you don't go to Xinjiang, you don't know how big China is;
If you don't go to Yili, you don't know the beauty of Xinjiang;
If you don't go to Gongliu, you don't know the beauty of Yili. "
Yili, an oasis in the vast desert, the Tianshan River Valley in the south of the Great Wall;
Gongliu, the forest sea and snowfield in the oasis, the Chinese natural oxygen bar hidden in Yili.
So, I embarked on a journey of "oxygen" in the colorful butterfly Gongliu.
Chapter 1: Overview of Yili·Gongliu Travel
1. Butterfly City Gongliu County at the foot of Tianshan Mountain
Have you heard of Gongliu?
In fact, before this, I also knew this place for the first time. However, it is because of the freshness and surprise brought by the niche destinations that I remember that Yili still has such a beautiful place.
Gongliu is located in the middle of the Ili River Valley, on the south side of the upper reaches of the Ili River, at the northern foot of the Nalati Mountain, a branch of the Tianshan Mountains, in the middle of the Ili River Valley, and in the northwest of Xinjiang.
"Gongliu" is the name proposed when the county was established, and it seems to be named after the Gongnaisi River. According to the manuscript of "Gongliu County Chronicles" in the period of the Republic of China, Gongliu County had a vast area of jurisdiction at that time, so the two characters "Gongjisi, Tekstaliu" were used to name "Gongliu", which means "consolidate Changliu". meaning. In Kazakh, it is called "Tuogustarao" (meaning "nine tributaries", implying many tributaries of rivers), and in Mongolian and Uyghur, it is called "Tuogustala".
The climate in Gongliu is warm in winter and cool in summer. It is also one of the important pastoral areas in Yili. It has a long history of animal husbandry. The county has vast four-season pastures, most of which are high-quality pastures with rich water and grass.
Gongliu is also very rich in forest resources, with forests, seas and snowfields, treasures, and many rare species of animals and plants, some of which are the largest in the world, and has the reputation of "China's natural oxygen bar".
The tourism resources in Gongliu are also very rich, including West Tianshan National Nature Reserve, Yehetaogou Nature Reserve, Kurdening Scenic Area, Qiaxi Scenic Area, Tarim Forest Park, Tike Karaga Yilinhai and other famous scenic spots. There are also historical sites such as Wusun mound tombs, ancient city, rock paintings, holy mountains and holy caves.
2. Traffic strategy for travel
1. How to get to Gongliu
Departing from domestic cities, you can fly directly or transfer to Yining City directly, or you can choose to arrive in Yining City by train.
Then, take a car or self-drive from Yining to Gongliu, the journey takes about 2 hours.
2. Recommended travel method
Not only traveling in Gongliu, but actually traveling in the whole of Xinjiang, I recommend traveling by car. Because Xinjiang is really too big!
If you are a friend who loves hiking, you must not miss Gongliu. The Qiaxi-Tarim Scenic Area is one of the best hiking destinations.
3. Living in Gongliu
When traveling in Gongliu, you can choose to live directly in a hotel in the county, or you can live near the scenic spot. This time we chose to live in the Tianhong Shangdu Hotel in the urban area. The overall supporting facilities of the hotel are complete, the size of the room, and the bedding are very good.
4. Recommended travel routes
Day 1: Qiafuqihai - Kurdening Scenic Area
Day 2: Qiaxi - Tarim Scenic Area (Grand Ring Road)
Day 3: Butterfly Lake - Wild Walnut Valley Scenic Area
Chapter Two: Start Gongliu's Oxygen Journey
Departing from Chengdu, I flew all the way for nearly 5 hours, and finally landed at Yining Airport. The trip to Xinjiang that I had been thinking about for a long time finally came true.
With blue sky, white clouds and bright sunshine, Yili has already quietly entered summer in June. Non-stop, rushed to the destination of this trip to Xinjiang - Gongliu, all the way at high speed, all the way to Gongliu along the brilliance of the sunset. Although the time on the watch is already 9 o'clock in the evening, the sunset in Xinjiang has just arrived.
In Xinjiang, I feel that the daytime has been extended infinitely, and I don't want to waste it at all. I just want to take advantage of the sunshine to enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way.
First stop: Chavqihai
On the next day, the trip to Gongliu officially started.
Starting from the urban area of Gongliu County, drive southeast along National Highway 578. When you see the Tekes River, you will be close to the destination of Qiafuqihai.
In fact, this Qiafuqihai is not a sea in the literal sense, nor is it a lake at all. It is a reservoir to be precise. The library in "The Small Three Gorges in the Western Regions, the First Library in Xinjiang" is talking about this Qifuqihai.
Located 38 kilometers southeast of Gongliu County, Qiafuqihai is actually a reservoir. With a water area of 58 square kilometers and the original ecological landscape on both sides of the majestic Nalati Mountains, it takes the majestic Wusun Mountains as the background, leans against the West Tianshan National Nature Reserve in the east, and borders the Kalajun Prairie, a first-class winter and summer grassland in the south. . It forms a magnificent landscape of one river connecting two lakes in the Ili River Valley. The magnificent buildings, towering dams, steep canyons, and wide waters constitute the magnificent landscape of "Gaoxia out of Pinghu Lake" and grassland Yingyunling.
Therefore, in the Qiafuqi Sea, "the goddess should be safe when the high gorge comes out of the flat lake". In winter, the water surface freezes, forming a natural phenomenon as beautiful as the bubble ice of Lake Baikal.
Along the mountain road, drive uphill all the way to the viewing platform.
When you see the lake and mountains, the nearby undulating mountains, the villages in the distance, and the calm lake, you can have a panoramic view. At this time, this scene is very similar to the movie "The Sound of Music" in Salzburg, Austria. The scene in the mountains, I just want to sing and dance in the mountains with the music.
Second stop: Kurdening
After the tour of Chavqihai, we headed to the next destination——Kurdening without stopping.
The scenery along the way is infinitely beautiful, and occasionally you will be "blocked" by the passing sheep "accidentally". Looking at the round and fat sheep, you can't help but follow "baa baa baa", this kind of scenery is only You can only feel it when you go to Xinjiang.
Kurdening Scenic Area is located in the eastern mountainous area of Gongliu County, 86 kilometers away from the county seat.
The average altitude of the valley bottom in the scenic spot is 1500 meters. Its unique feature is that most of the usual valleys go down the mountain, but this wide valley is parallel to the snow mountain. In the local Mongolian language, "Kurdening" is the Sisi of Henggou, because compared with many east-west Henggou, Kurdening is north-south, which is a bit unique.
Kurdening is a famous scenic spot and a summer resort for tourists. In autumn, the leaves are like fire, and in spring, the mountains are full of flowers. Now this summer is even more charming, full of greenery, majestic and beautiful.
Kurdening is also the most luxuriant forest in the Tianshan Mountains. It has spruce forest resources that are rare in the world per unit of material storage, so it has the reputation of the hometown of spruce. As early as 1984, it was established as the Xueling Spruce Nature Reserve in the autonomous region.
In April 2000, it was identified as the West Tianshan National Nature Reserve. The complete primitive forest types and vegetation in the area are the most typical representatives of the entire Tianshan forest ecosystem. The spruce here has a complete range of types and a rich variety of wild animals, which can be called the "natural gene bank" of wild life species in the hinterland of Eurasia. There are more than 1,000 species of higher plants, 146 species of terrestrial vertebrates and 196 species of insects in the reserve.
Here, the straight spruce forests you see in front of your eyes are all thousands of years old. You can have a panoramic view of the sea of clouds, spruces, alpine grasslands, and the snow-capped mountains in the distance and the highest peak, Kabambay Peak.
From Qiafuqihai to Kurdening Scenic Area, along the way, we will pass the Crow Ridge Immortal Wall. The driver especially slows down the speed, let us pay attention to the caves on the crow hill, which are left by the crows before. In addition, the secondary forest on the river beach intertwined with wild apricot, seabuckthorn, and cork cypress on Wuya Ridge is also embellished with fruit, especially in autumn.
After driving through Crow Ridge, it didn't take long to enter the Kurdening Scenic Area. The ticket for the scenic spot is 60 yuan.
From the gate of the scenic spot to the tourist center of the core scenic spot, there is still a distance. For this section of the journey, you need to transfer to the shuttle bus of the scenic spot, and the journey takes about 20 minutes.
The scenery along this road is really beautiful. There are different views on both sides of the car window. On one side is an alpine meadow just like the startup screen of windows. Cattle and sheep, as well as occasional white yurts dotted here and there.
I hurriedly used my mobile phone and camera to quickly record the beautiful scenery in front of me. Although I knew that it was difficult for the camera to capture everything that directly entered the eyes, I still couldn't help but want to press the shutter:
"The most beautiful scenery is on the road."
The visitor center of Kurdening is located in a flat valley, surrounded by mountains, but with a very wide view: wooden houses, straight roads, rivers, spruce forests, and snow-capped mountains in the distance, the highest peak, Kabanbai Peak. within the field of vision.
There is also a viewing platform on the mountain. You need to hike up the mountain along the boardwalk. The scenery along the way is very similar to the Swiss Alps. There are leisurely galloping horses, herds of cattle and sheep, and a clear "reclining Buddha". Reminds me of an old movie "Heidi and Grandpa"...
After ascending, looking towards the south, against the blue sky and cotton candy-like clouds, there is a snow-capped, sword-like, tall mountain that stands on top of the mountains. This is Kabanbai Peak.
The river flows through, the mountains and rivers reflect each other, and the gullies and ridges intersect. Grasslands and forests are intertwined, deep canyons and wide valleys are scattered, meadows and forest shrubs alternate, under the forest shrubs, strawberries, marlins, and mushrooms are everywhere!
The wooden plank road on the mountain seems to be the entrance to the fairy tale world, and the grassland stone figures hidden in the alpine meadow are places where you need to check in yourself when visiting Kurdening. The majestic, rich and beautiful Kurdening is a piece deep in the Tianshan Mountains gem!
The third stop: Qiaxi - Tarim Scenic Area (Grand Ring Road)
There is a saying in Xinjiang that goes like this: "The south of the Yangtze River outside the Great Wall is in Ili, and the most beautiful in Ili is Qiaxi."
And the Qiaxi here refers to the Qiaxi Forest Park Scenic Area, which is now combined with the Tarim Forest Park into a large scenic spot, collectively called [Qiaxi-Tarim Ring Road].
[Qiaxi-Tarim Ring Road] is located in the mountainous area southeast of Gongliu, 70km southeast of Gongliu County, on the upper reaches of the Jiergalang River. Going east from the county seat, passing through the Tekes River Mountain Pass Water Conservancy Project, passing through Kapuqihai Canyon and Jiergalang Valley, leaving Jiergalang Township to the east, circling along the mountain road eastward, and arriving at Chaga known as Shaga West Taniguchi. The east and west roads meet here, and the west road leads to the famous scenic spot Tarim Forest Park.
There are two roads to enter the scenic spot, one road is the Tarim Forest Park, and the other road leads to it. You can enter and exit Qiaxi from Tarim, or you can visit in reverse. We chose the route from Tarim to Qiaxi.
The scenery of this large ring road allows you to experience everything that belongs to Xinjiang:
Tarim Forest Park is a national 3A forest park. Here, the grasslands are vast, the forests are lush, the air is fresh, the clouds and mists are lingering, the forests and grasslands are intertwined, the deep gorges and wide valleys are scattered, the snow mountains are accompanied by the blue sky, the white clouds and the green are blended together, there is no heat in summer, and there is no severe cold in winter. The epitome of Jiangnan.
There are mainly landscapes such as forest sea and pines, spruce sunset, Eight Immortals tree, lovers pine, Cowherd and Weaver Girl Pavilion, Silver Thread Waterfall, Swan Lake and so on. The white yurts of Kazakh herdsmen are patchwork, and there are herds of cattle, sheep and horses in the depths of the forest.
Qiaxi Scenic Area is a canyon basin in the Tianshan Mountains, which is called "Awulia" by local herdsmen, which means "paradise". Qiaxi has been a place for dignitaries to spend their summers since ancient times.
Every May and June, there are lush forests and flowers in Qiaxi Forest Park, colorful wild flowers are blooming all over the mountains, and there are groups of bees and butterflies. and folk customs.
There are rolling alpine meadows, scattered white yurt houses nearby, snow mountains and straight spruce forests in the distance, and the mountains are green and grassy, just like walking in a painting.
Fourth stop: Butterfly Lake
Gongliu is also known as the City of Butterflies, and the symbol of this butterfly is in Butterfly Lake.
Butterfly Lake Scenic Spot is a national 3A-level scenic spot, located in the core of Gongliu East New City. It is built with Gongliu's regional characteristic "butterfly" as the background, and is matched with surrounding children's playgrounds, cage basketball courts, badminton courts, fitness trails, water resources, etc. Leisure ecological scenic spot.
The opposite of our hotel is also a place that everyone who comes to Gongliu will see. Butterfly Lake, if you want to take a picture of the butterfly shape of the whole Butterfly Lake, you can only show it from the perspective of a drone.
Fifth stop: Yehetaogou Scenic Area
It is said that there is another place in Gongliu where the largest wild walnut forest in Asia grows, and there is also a thousand-year-old walnut king. This is the Wild Walnut Valley Scenic Area.
Wild Walnut Valley Scenic Area is located 13 kilometers east of Gongliu County. It is a national AAAA scenic spot and the wild walnut nature reserve of the autonomous region. It is named after a large piece of wild walnut forest that is rare in the world and unique to China. The wild walnut in the scenic area is a relic of the third century, which is rare in the world and the only one in Asia, so it is extremely precious.
Because it is midsummer and June, and it is not the season for walnuts to mature, so I searched for a long time on the tree, but I couldn't find a walnut. I heard that in autumn, the branches are full of wild walnuts, the skin is as thin as paper, and the fruit is sweet.
Chapter 3: Food
When it comes to Xinjiang food, there are really too many delicious ones. Gongliu, who came to Yili, can also eat various delicacies in Xinjiang.
Don't miss the large plate of chicken and large plate of beef, the stewed potatoes are powdery and delicious, and you can add a portion of strong noodles after eating the meat;
How can there be less hard dishes like kebabs? The kebabs in Xinjiang are simply the ceiling in the world of kebabs. The portion is big and the meat is delicious. Fragrance.
Speaking of this, how can we miss the staple food - Xinjiang's naan. The naan here is the best I have ever eaten. It is much more delicious than the countries in the Middle East. It is crispy and firm, and it is especially easy to "top" and can't stop.
Other delicacies can also be eaten here, such as baked buns, sheep's feet, pepper chicken, kavas, Xinjiang milk beer, century-old handmade ice cream, dried fruits in Xinjiang...
During the few days of traveling in Gongliu, I only "hated" my stomach for being too small, and only "resented" the portion size here.
Chapter 4 Conclusion
When I first encountered the great beauty of Xinjiang, I left my footprints in Gongliu - this small but amazing city of butterflies.
The Tianshan River Valley in the south of the Great Wall, the forest sea and snowfield in the oasis, and the Chinese natural oxygen bar hidden in Yili, you can’t get enough of the greenery. Every step here is full of scenery.
