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The Wuhong Line is the road from Urumqi to the national gate of Hongqirab. Hongqirab is located in the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County of Kashgar. It is located in the Pamir Plateau, with an altitude of 4,733 meters. It is the highest port in the world.
Today's itinerary, we will travel 300 kilometers south along the Wuhong Line from Kashgar City to Taxkorgan, passing Kezhou Glacier, Baisha Lake, Muztagh Peak and other scenic spots, all the way through the "Pamirs Scenic Corridor", with unlimited scenery.
About 80 kilometers south from Kashgar, the green hills on both sides are gradually replaced by red rock canyons, not far from the Kezhou Glacier, which has entered the boundary of Akto County, temporarily left the Kashgar area, and arrived at Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture (referred to as "Kezhou").
On one side of the canyon, there is a gate leading to the Kezhou Glacier. From there, drive westward into the path for about 10 kilometers to reach the Kezhou Glacier. This path is also a landscape corridor.
Not long before, a river appeared beside the road, and the river was turbulent, like a rolling mudslide. This valley is called the Oya Valley, which is the confluence of the Oytak Valley and the Yaman Valley. "Oytak" means "a depression in the mountains" in the Kirgiz language, and "Yaman" means "dangerous". Standing here to the southeast, you can overlook the beautiful scenery of the Oytak River Valley and the Aylanish Snow Mountain in the distance. Looking northwest, you can appreciate the beauty and danger of the nine bends and eighteen bends of the Yaman River Valley.
Not long before, we encountered another waterfall. The water flowed straight down from the mountain stream, which was quite spectacular.
The name of the waterfall is "Kanjike", with a drop of more than 300 meters. It was noon at this time, the weather was hot, and many people gathered under the waterfall to enjoy the cool water.
There is also a beautiful love legend about this waterfall: a long time ago, there was a young Kyrgyz hunter named Kanjik who lived in the Oytak Forest. He had a young and beautiful wife. Returning late, his wife herds cattle and sheep at home, living a peaceful and happy life. One day Kanjik went hunting across the snow-capped mountains, but unfortunately fell into an ice cave. His wife waited for a long time for her husband to come back, and was very anxious. The wife froze to death and turned into a stone peak. Kanjik witnessed all this. His blood melted the ice cave with anger, and soon a waterfall gushed out of the ice cave. The local herdsmen called it Kanjik Waterfall, which became a symbol of the Kirgiz people's pursuit of true love.
Half an hour later, we finally arrived at the Kezhou Glacier. Kezhou Glacier, also known as "Oytak Glacier" or "Qikraz Glacier", is only 2,804 meters above sea level. It is the lowest modern glacier in my country, lying across valleys and stretching for tens of kilometers. The slope of the glacier is very small, most of the place is very flat, there are huge ice caves and ice crevasses, and there are ice lakes, ice peaks, icicles, and suspended ice cirques below.
The snow mountain on the side of the glacier is Aylanish Snow Mountain, with an altitude of 6684 meters. The mountain is white and crystal clear, under the blue sky, the peak is steaming with clouds and mist, and under the sunlight, the mountain is both bright and dark, just like a scene of oil painting. If you are lucky, you can still witness avalanches here from May to September. The sound is earth-shattering and very spectacular. It is precisely because Ayranish Snow Mountain is steep and prone to avalanches. No one has climbed it yet. It is still the Virgin Peak.
There are two famous peaks in the snow mountain, one is called "Manas Warrior Peak" and the other is called "Xitian Yunv Peak".
Manas Warrior Peak is located on the side of the main peak, Otunche. Legend has it that Guli Qiaorao, a warrior in the Kyrgyz epic "Manas", is buried. According to the epic and the Kyrgyz mythology, the Kirgiz people want to bury their sacrificed warriors on high mountains and by the banks of rivers. The higher the burial, the closer they are to the gods. Legend has it that because Guli Qiaorao was betrayed by a traitor, his ambition was not rewarded, and he would rather die than surrender. After his burial, his head gradually emerged from the ground and integrated with the mountain peak, showing his indomitable spirit to the world.
Xitian Yunvfeng is located on the south side of Aylanish Snow Mountain. It looks like a woman. Legend has it that Xitian Yunvfeng was transformed by Kanjik's wife.
In addition to the glaciers and snow-capped mountains, there are also the whirling pines and cypress sea, the birds and beasts howling day and night, the lakes and clear streams with glittering lights and golden grasses, and the vast green grass carpet. , Every step is a scene, everywhere is shining, just like a fairyland on earth.
After seeing the glacier, return to the main road and continue to drive south for nearly two hours to reach Baisha Lake.
Baisha Lake was formed by the plateau wind and sand for thousands of years. The mountains around the lake were weathered to form off-white sand, which was called "Baisha Mountain". The lake under the mountain was also named Baisha Lake. The white sand by the lake is delicate and soft, like a baby's skin, which is so exciting that you can't bear to step down.
It was almost evening when we arrived at Baisha Lake. The setting sun shone on the beach, shining with metallic luster. The white sand in the distant mountains was like snow, and misty mist rose. oil painting.
Shortly after moving on, I saw another lake, which is the holy lake of Congling——Karakuli.
"Karakuli" means "Black Sea". It is a high-mountain glacier-eroded moraine lake. The lake's surface is set against the eighteen Arhat Peaks surrounded by white clouds on the opposite bank, which looks mysterious and spectacular.
There is another peak by the lake, which is the most desirable landscape for many tourists to the Pamirs - Muztag Peak.
"Mustag" means "father of the iceberg", with an altitude of 7,509 meters. Its majestic and tall body stands majestically on the Pamirs, like a jade pillar supporting the sky, and has become the symbol and representative of the Pamirs.
The setting sun shines on the golden mountains, and the mountains and lakes form an interesting contrast. The sunset and snow-capped mountains have always been the favorite subjects of photographers. They want to record beautiful moments regardless of the coldness of the plateau.
It was too hot to wear short-sleeves at the Kezhou Glacier at noon, and now I was still cold in a down jacket. I experienced the scorching summer and midwinter in one day.
Arrive in Ta County at night, and visit the Ta County Museum the next day. It is beneficial to understand the local history and culture before visiting the scenic spot. For example, if you see women kissing each other on the street, don’t make a fuss, let alone point fingers. This is just a meeting ceremony of the Tajik people, and their men will kiss each other's palms to show their greetings.
(Tajik singing and dancing)
Taxian County is located in the western border of the motherland, at the eastern foot of the Pamir Plateau, the "ancestor of thousands of mountains, the source of thousands of waters, and the roof of the world", on the west edge of the Tarim Basin, with an average altitude of more than 4,000 meters, bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan. There are 15 ethnic groups living in the territory, including Tajik, Uyghur, Han, and Kirgiz, of which Tajik accounts for 80% of the total population. It is the only Tajik ethnic autonomous county in China.
(Tajik clothing)
The Pamir Plateau is the only way for the ancients to go to South Asia. Celebrities who have made outstanding contributions to Buddhism and cultural exchanges have traveled through the Pamir Plateau. Song Yun, Tang Dynasty eminent monk Xuanzang... In 644 AD, Xuanzang returned to the Pantuo Kingdom after learning Buddhist scriptures from India. In his book "The Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty", he recorded the appearance, Products, religion, language and other content, the location of the Pantuo Kingdom is today's Ta County.
(Tajik folk houses)
There is also a cemetery with black and white stone strips found in Ta County, which is a Zoroastrian cultural site about 2,500 years ago. The Zoroastrian holy fire altar was found in it, which is of great significance to the study of the origin of Zoroastrianism and early culture.
The cemetery site is located on a platform in the northeast of Qushiman Village, Ta County. Let's visit it now.
Qushiman Black and White Stone Strip Cemetery is the earliest Zoroastrian site in the Asian continent. The surface is paved with black and white stone strips with pebbles, hence the name of the cemetery.
Zoroastrianism is one of the oldest religions in the world, neither monotheism nor polytheism, but a unique dualism religion. Zoroastrianism was once very popular in Xinjiang, and later gradually merged with the local primitive religion and became a part of folk beliefs. So far, Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kirgiz, Tajiks and other ethnic groups who have believed in Zoroastrianism in history still retain the custom of worshiping fire. Walk by the fire.
There is also a Pamir tourist attraction in the county seat, where there are buildings and performances showing Tajik customs, Jincaotan Wetland Park and the ancient Stone Town. Stone City was originally the royal city of Puli Kingdom, one of the thirty-six countries in the Western Regions. It was the intersection of the Middle Road and the South Road of the ancient Silk Road. In the Tang Dynasty, Congling Shouzhuo was set up here. Many travelers have stayed here in history. Such as Xuanzang and Marco Polo. Now Stone City and the newly built landscape are included in the same scenic spot. The area is too large and it takes too long.
About 60 kilometers east of the county seat, you can reach the Panlong Ancient Road. This is a 30-kilometer-long winding mountain road with 639 bends up and down. The slogan at the intersection is inspiring: "I have gone through all the detours in life today, and life will be smooth from now on."
If you take aerial photography, the road is indeed full of twists and turns from a height, like a giant dragon lying in the mountains, but just because the drone that does not fly high can capture the panorama, it also proves that although there are many curves, the scale is not large. Big, it’s not at the same level as the 72 turns of the Nujiang River and the Everest Ladder Road that I have traveled before. I even regret it a bit.
Walking through the steep and winding mountain roads of the Xinjiang-Tibet Line, I thought I would never encounter an exciting road again, but the next decision made me regain the excitement of self-driving.
There are two routes back to Kashgar from Taxian County, one is to return along the original route along the Wuhong Line, and the other is to take the Tasha Ancient Road eastward, and then go north to Kashgar. The former is a short distance, and some scenic spots along the road have not arrived, so you can just make up for it by walking again; the latter is a mountain road that cannot be found by navigation. It is said on the Internet that this road is very dangerous, and cars with a slightly lower chassis will not be able to pass it. Some mountain bends It needs one person to command and one person to drive to pass safely.
Ordinarily, the rational choice is to go back the same way, but maybe I was a little bored after the smooth journey for several days. After a little hesitation, I decided to challenge the Tasha Ancient Road.
Since there is no navigation, I can only ask the locals about the entrance of the Tasha Ancient Road. They told me that I can find the Tasha Ancient Road when I walk to Kukosiluk Township. So I returned to Ta County from the Panlong Ancient Road and drove 84 kilometers eastward, and finally found it. The landscape of the Tasha Ancient Road mentioned on the Internet - Kaneryang Longchi.
Kaneryang Longchi is a plateau artificial reservoir built in 2007, with a span of about 21 kilometers and a deepest depth of 90 meters. It is one of the largest reservoirs in Xinjiang. The minerals contained in the water make the lake water appear in different colors such as dark blue, light blue, and milky white, which is very beautiful.
Walking east along the lake for dozens of kilometers, the road is always covered with asphalt. From time to time, you can meet friendly Tajiks on the side of the road. It is a good road. I thought to myself, there is no danger. Until passing through a checkpoint, the staff saw that I was alone and gave me a "Reservoir Area Road Safety Notice" and advised me to return, but I insisted on passing. When I crossed the station, the car on the opposite side rolled down the window to persuade me not to go, but I continued to drive with the mentality of "don't hit the south wall and don't look back". The notification sheet said possible dangers such as "debris flow", "soft and steep slope", "concave steep slope", "landslide" and so on, so I started to feel a little vigilant.
Sure enough, not long after the journey, the smooth asphalt road suddenly disappeared, replaced by a bumpy gravel road, and the emerald green lake was replaced by a mud river.
A narrow mountain bend blocked the way. I read the online guide before and knew that this was the first difficulty that required careful driving. There are many falling rocks at the corners, and the road beside the car cannot be seen when cornering. This is why one person is required to direct the car. If it is too far inside, it will scrape rocks, and if it is too far outside, it will fall into the valley. There is no one to direct what to do, so I have to get out of the car to observe first, and leave the rest to intuition! Slowly climbing up the rocky platform, I suddenly lacked power. The gravel road was too slippery and the slope was too steep. I couldn't step on the accelerator hard. It’s time to test the micromanagement—gear in reverse, descend a little bit, and turn the direction lightly to adjust the tire’s grip angle. After many trials, find a stable friction, and then slowly go uphill. I moved out of the corner dangerously, I really sweated a lot!
After passing the first difficulty, my confidence increased greatly, and I encountered several similar dangerous roads later. The most dangerous curve was so narrow that it was just enough for a small off-road to pass. One point, the only way not to fall off a cliff is to sacrifice the paint on one side.
On a road like this, a small car with a low chassis can’t pass it, and a car that is too big can’t do anything about it. On the road, a caravan broke down on the side of the road, probably because it hit some important part when turning a corner.
The last difficulty is a collapsed road section. I just passed a section of road that has collapsed on one side. As shown in the picture below, the road in front of me is almost like that. The fault is not low, and the car will definitely get stuck. Fortunately, there is a narrow slope ahead, which will allow the small cross-country to descend. In this way, after passing all the dangerous roads of the Tasha Ancient Road, there is a sense of accomplishment of "passing five passes and killing six generals".
Compared with it, the Panlong Ancient Road can’t be regarded as a “detour”. So far, I have the feeling of “I have gone through all the detours in my life today, and my life will be smooth from now on”—the remaining more than 100 kilometers (to Shache ) There are still few smooth asphalt roads, and most of the time I still travel up and down the mountains, but I feel that I am traveling on a flat road, and I feel refreshed in my heart.
Xuanzang recorded his experience of crossing the ancient Tasha Road when he returned to the east in "The Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty": "Going down to the Donggang of Congling Ridge in the east, climbing the Weiling Ridge and crossing the cave valley, the stream path is dangerous and blocked by wind and snow. Ridge (that is, the Pamir Plateau) to the country of Wuchao (that is, Shache).” Xuanzang lectured for three days in the temple next to the east gate of Shache. At that time, Shache had only 30,000 people. There are 10,000 listeners!
The reason why Xuanzang can become a master of a generation is not to mention his profound knowledge, but more importantly, he has actually experienced wind, frost, snow, rain, hardships and dangers. His way is not an idea of a castle in the air, but a practice. life. When you talk about your own life instead of the truth, is there anyone who doesn't like to hear it? That's why some people say: "True philosophy is lived out with one's life!"
At the end of the mountain road, we saw green water and Danxia Red Mountain. It was almost midnight when we entered Shache, but we didn’t feel tired physically and mentally.
(Here is a safe driving experience at night: When driving on a road without lights, double flashing lights must be used for rest and parking on the side of the road, and the front and rear lights must not be turned on, otherwise vehicles will approach the fixed light source as a street light. Very dangerous if you go fast)
The next day, we visited Shache County.
Shache is also a famous historical and cultural city, prospered due to jade and the Silk Road. It has a history of more than 3,000 years and has preserved a large number of cultural relics. In the Han Dynasty, Shache was one of the 36 countries in the Western Regions; in the Tang Dynasty, Xuanzang set up a platform to preach scriptures beside the city wall, and the platform has been preserved to this day; in the Ming Dynasty, the Shache area was the capital of the Islamic local government of the Yarkand Khanate, in 1514 After the founding of the country, it died in 1680, with 11 generations of Khan in 166 years. The most well-known cultural business card of Shache County is Twelve Muqam, which is a large-scale traditional classical music unique to the Uyghurs. It combines songs, poems, music, dance, singing and playing. A gem of art".
There is a statue of a female musician in the center of Shache Square (Twelve Muqam Hometown). Her name is Amani Shahan, an outstanding Uyghur musician and poet in the 16th century. She was born in 1526 in a family of folk artists in Karsu Shakhtata Village, Shache, and became the concubine of King Abduresiti Khan of the Yarkand Khanate at the age of 14. She created many excellent literary and musical works throughout her life, and collected and sorted out the art of Uyghur muqams, compiling them into a large-scale suite of "Twelve Muqams".
The tomb of Amani Shahan is located in the Yarkand Khan Mausoleum in Shache. The mausoleum was built in 1533 to commemorate the first Khan Suri Tang Said of the Said Dynasty. The Khan and some of his concubines, ministers and scholars. The Royal Mausoleum consists of three parts: the Altun Mosque, the Amani Shahan Memorial Mausoleum and the Mausoleum of the Royal Mausoleum. The mosque has a unique architectural style and has high architectural artistic value.
In addition to various exotic buildings, the royal tomb can also appreciate the beautiful poems written by Amani Shahan as a poet, which read very passionately: "I was like a red apple, a pit that has been burned by love", " My right side is already like a ball of fire, my left side is still singing love songs", "my head is full of madness of love, who can't stop longing in the desert like this"......
(mosque)
Not far from the Yaerqiang Khan Mausoleum is the Yarkand Khan Palace, which has now been turned into the Shache Intangible Cultural Heritage Expo Park. There are Xinjiang singing and dancing performances here every day. Not only can you enjoy the charm of the Twelve Muqam on the spot, but the actors They will also step off the stage and dance with the audience, which is very lively.
The palace building is solemn and atmospheric, full of strong Islamic style, giving people a sense of exotic mystery and romance, just like the world depicted in "Arabian Nights".
There are exhibitions of Shache culture and ethnic customs in the onion-top building, from which you can learn about the history, diet, festivals, costumes, wedding customs, etc. of the Shache area.
Going north from Shache to Kashgar, we are about to go to Aksu, passing Kashgar Tianmen Grand Canyon. At the beginning of August, when heavy rains occur frequently in southern Xinjiang, the canyon has become a "river valley" and cannot be entered. However, we will encounter more in the following journey. Many canyons.
Next stop - Aksu.
