Self-driving for thousands of miles, Damei Xinjiang No. 2 (Duku Highway)

October 7th: Departing from Kanas Scenic Area, it was already 10:00 in the morning, and it was about 650 kilometers to Dushanzi, and it took nearly eight hours to drive. Overnight in Dushanzi, tasted the meat in the pit.

October 8: Departed from Dushanzi at 7:30, and ended up starting at 5 o'clock to catch up on the evening market. When we arrived at the public security checkpoint, the road was closed until 9:30. Duku Highway, as the name suggests, is a road from northern Xinjiang The road from Dushanzi to Kuqa. Because this highway will pass through the majestic Tianshan Mountains, it is also commonly known as Tianshan Highway. It is a section of National Highway 217 with a total mileage of 531 kilometers. This road is best described as majestic, strange, dangerous and steep. We drove 300 kilometers a day. At the beginning, the sun was shining brightly, and then it was snowing heavily in the middle, and the sun was shining again for a while. We really appreciated the unique charm of Duku Highway.

Watching Tianshan Road Monument

Scenery on the way

Sky Waterfall Viewpoint

sky waterfall

Tianpu Impression

Road Dance Tianshan Viewpoint

road dance stone carving

Road Dance Tianshan

Scenery along the way

Snow Crown Tianshan Viewpoint

Snow Crown Tianshan

Not far from the Snow Crown Tianshan Viewpoint is the "Hashlegen Tunnel" (meaning that the road is blocked), which is 3,400 meters above sea level and is the highest road tunnel in my country. After passing through the tunnel, there are continuous snow mountains.

hashil root tunnel

Aerial photography of the Hasligen Tunnel

snow mountain, highway

snow mountain impression

snow mountain, highway

It took only ten minutes for the aerial photography, and the snowflakes began to fall, and the snowflakes could already be seen from the camera

I wanted to hurry on my way, but my partner had something to do, and I was delayed for more than an hour. When I drove on the road, it was already snowing heavily, so I had to drive slowly in a low-speed four-wheel drive, and finally crossed the "Yuxi Molegai Tunnel" (meaning Huangyangling)" and "Tielimaiti Tunnel" (meaning insurmountable) tunnel, the Tielimaiti Tunnel is 1897 meters long and was the longest road tunnel in my country at that time.

Tilimati Tunnel

After passing through the tunnel, the snow basically stopped, and the sun came out after a while.

After the snow, the sky is sunny, and the scenery along the way

Scenery along the way

This day is the most beautiful section of the Duku Highway, with canyons, snow-capped mountains, meadows, and spruces. Unfortunately, I was not prepared enough. I arrived at Bayinbulak Grassland at around 5:30 in the afternoon.

Bayanbulak Grassland Impression

I drove directly to the Swan Lake Scenic Area, but when I arrived, I was told that I had to take the scenic spot shuttle bus, and I went back to the Tourist Service Center to buy a ticket and take the bus. I caught the last bus, and the driver drove slowly. I drove from the Tourist Service Center to Jiuqu Ten Bawan drove for nearly an hour and a half, took a few photos in a hurry, and it was getting dark. This is the least worthwhile scenic spot in this Xinjiang trip. If you want to visit Swan Lake from Dushanzi, you must arrive at the tourist service center before 4:30 in the afternoon, otherwise you basically don’t enter the scenic spot.

In the scenic area, you need to buy another battery ticket

sheep by the road

This is the famous nine bends and eighteen bends

Scenic impression

The plank road with nine bends and eighteen bends is still being repaired

Nine bends and eighteen bends scenic spot sculpture

After finishing the tour of Swan Lake in a hurry, it was around 22:00 when we arrived at the hotel. After dinner, we quickly rested. When we set off early in the morning on October 9th, there was light rain in the sky, and my heart kept beating. Will the road be difficult? Well all is well.

Clouds and mist shrouded in light rain.

There is thick snow on both sides of the mountain road, but fortunately the road is not difficult to walk

After descending from the mountain, the sky gradually cleared up.

Scenery along the way

Big and Small Dragon Pond Viewpoint

Dalongchi

The village next to Dalongchi

Impression of Dalongchi

Dalongchi Fortress

Aerial photography of Dalongchi Highway

The Duku Highway is indeed one of the most beautiful self-driving roads. The scenery along the way is beautiful. Unfortunately, because there are no parking belts on many beautiful scenery sections, I did not stop for safety reasons, and I missed a lot of beautiful scenery and did not take pictures.

Scenery along the way

There is a Red Rock Mountain viewing point on the road, the scenery is good, it is worth stopping for a tour.

Impression of Red Rock Mountain Viewpoint

When we arrived at the viewing point of the Potala Palace, it was cloudy and misty again, with drizzle falling

Viewpoint of Potala Palace

On the way, I passed the Tianshan Mysterious Grand Canyon. Because I arranged for a tour after four days, I didn’t stop. Because I was not familiar with Xinjiang, the later journey proved that this arrangement was the biggest failure. I should arrange to visit the Tianshan Mysterious Grand Canyon and Thousand Buddha Caves first. Kuqa, it’s good to go to Kashgar the next day. We arranged to go directly to Kashgar for accommodation. In the end, the Tianshan Mysterious Grand Canyon and Thousand Buddha Caves were closed due to rainy weather. The tour was not completed, and the total mileage of self-driving was more. Nearly 600 kilometers.

Saltwater Ditch Viewpoint

There is a stele introducing the Duku Highway at the Yanyangou Viewpoint

Shuiyangou Viewpoint Impression

The last viewpoint on the Duku Highway is the Pyramid Danxia Landform.

Pyramid Danxia landform

Next to the Pyramid Danxia Landform is the Monument at the End of the Duku Highway

After visiting the Duku Highway, we went all the way to Kashgar and arrived in Kashgar around 8:00 p.m.