The epidemic can't stop the pace of travel, two 30+ single young women's 11-day trip to Xinjiang

overview

Greater Xinjiang has always been a place I am very yearning for. I don’t know how big China is without Xinjiang. It accounts for one-sixth of China’s land area. Xinjiang covers an area of 1.66 million square kilometers, which is larger than Henan + Shandong + Hebei + Beijing + Tianjin + Shanxi + The 13 provinces and cities of Shaanxi + Hubei + Anhui + Jiangsu + Shanghai + Zhejiang + Hunan are even bigger together.

The scenery in Xinjiang is changeable, including almost all domestic landscape types, such as grasslands, wetlands, snow-capped mountains, deserts, plateaus, forests, lakes, etc. The scenery in northern and southern Xinjiang is quite different. Generally speaking, Xinjiang is bounded by the Tianshan Mountains. The south of the Tianshan Mountains is called the Southern Xinjiang, and the north of the Tianshan Mountains is called the Northern Xinjiang. The Duku Highway connects the northern and southern Xinjiang.

It is said that northern Xinjiang sees the scenery, which is true. Northern Xinjiang includes Urumqi, Changji Prefecture, Bortala Prefecture, Ili Prefecture, etc., bordering Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and other countries. It is picturesque all year round. The green grass of the prairie is undulating, the Altay region is colorful in autumn, and the grasses and trees in winter are comparable to the Northeast Snow Town. Therefore, no matter which season you go to northern Xinjiang, you can enjoy the most beautiful scenery. Among them, the scenery of northern Xinjiang that is most familiar to inland tourists is Tianshan Tianchi, the grasslands, lavender, and rapeseed in Ili, Sailimu Lake, the last tear of the Atlantic Ocean, Hemu and Baihaba, the most beautiful villages in China, Kanas with the legend of water monsters, and Uganda. Erhe Devil City and so on.

It is said that southern Xinjiang looks at humanities. Compared with northern Xinjiang, the natural scenery of southern Xinjiang is more rough, but it has a unique beauty. For example, the Taklimakan Desert, Populus euphratica in the desert, the villages of the Rob people, the Pamirs, the mysterious ancient city of Loulan, Gaotai dwellings and so on.

A 12-day undisciplined trip to Xinjiang for two 30+ single young women

We are on a self-driving tour of northern Xinjiang from July 2nd to 12th, 2020. This is really a walk-and-go trip. We only booked a ticket to Xinjiang the next afternoon on the afternoon of July 1st. We made a strategy in advance, so there was an oolong on the day of our arrival. We arrived at a hotel that we booked online at Qunar, and when we arrived, we found that the door of the hotel was closed. After a closer look, it turned out to be a hotel specially used for isolation. . And one week after we left Xinjiang, there was a small outbreak in Urumqi, which is really not too lucky. After rambling for a long time, let's go over the key information first.

(2) Location: Northern Xinjiang, including Urumqi, Sea Devil City, Hemu, Kanas, Dushanzi Grand Canyon, Sailimu Lake, Guozigou, Jieyou Princess Lavender Garden, Nalati Grassland, Bayinbulak Grassland, Duku Highway.

(3) Characters: Two 30+ single young women.

(4) Mode of transportation: self-driving, the total self-driving mileage is about 3400km, visited Urumqi City, Wujiaqu City, Shihezi City, Karamay City, Tacheng District, Altay District, Bortala Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Ba Nine districts, prefectures and cities including Yinguoleng Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture. We rented a Volkswagen Tange at EHI Diwopu Airport Store, which is at the entrance of the Airport Hotel, No. 1341, Yingbin Road, Xinshi District, Urumqi.

(5) Cost: about 7150 yuan per capita. The total cost of the two is about 14,300 yuan, including round-trip air tickets of about 4,000 yuan, 10-day car rental fee + insurance, etc. Anti-test 680 yuan / 2 people. Note that the following specific ticket prices may be slightly different from the daily price, because some tickets have been reduced in price during the epidemic.

(6) Necessary luggage: In addition to summer clothes, please be sure to bring a set of late autumn clothes, a pair of sports shoes, and sunscreen. Hemu and Kanas are relatively cold, especially at night.

(7) Special circumstances during the epidemic: In addition to entering Urumqi, only a health code and an itinerary card are required, other regions require a nucleic acid test report + double antibody report within 7 days, so we rushed to do the test at our own expense the next day after we arrived in Urumqi , and the testing along the way is particularly strict. The most frequently presented items during the whole itinerary are ID card + itinerary card + nucleic acid test report + double antibody test report.

(8) Overview of the itinerary:

D1 (7.2) Arrive at Urumqi Airport at 7:00 p.m., stay at "Ibis Hotel (Urumqi Youyou Mingyuan Branch)" in Shayibak District, 211 yuan/night, and the accommodation is satisfactory.

D2 (7.3) Urumqi: Nucleic acid + double antibody detection, International Grand Bazaar, Hongshan Park. Live in Shayibak District "Ibis Wine

Store (Urumqi Youyou Mingyuan Store)", 211 yuan / night, the accommodation is satisfactory.

D3 (7.4) self-driving 760km, Urumqi→Sea Devil City→Beitun. Accommodation: "Beitun Wangjing Hotel" in Beitun City, 83 yuan/night, the accommodation is satisfactory.

D4 (7.5) Self-driving 300km + Hemu Scenic Area shuttle bus 30km, Beitun → Hemu Village. Accommodation: "Hemu Narenhua Villa" in Hemu Village, the accommodation is average and simple.

D5 (7.6) Hemu Scenic Area shuttle bus 30km + self-driving 36km + Kanas Scenic Area shuttle bus 32km, Hemu Village→Kanas Lake, live: Kanas New Village "Lingxiao Wuge Villa", 150 yuan/night, satisfactory accommodation.

D6 (7.7) Kanas Scenic Area shuttle bus 32km + self-driving 500km, Kanas Lake → Colorful Beach → Karamay, live in: Karamay "Blue Bay Hotel (Karamay West Ring Road Branch)", 129 yuan/night, satisfactory accommodation.

D7 (7.8) Self-driving 500km, Karamay → Dushanzi Grand Canyon → Bole, stay: Bole "Bole Apple Hotel", 109 yuan/night, satisfactory accommodation.

D8 (7.9) Self-driving 265 km, Bole→Salimu Lake→Guozigou→Princess Jieyou Lavender Garden, live in: "Huocheng Qingshui Hotel" in Huocheng, 166 yuan/night, satisfactory accommodation.

D9 (7.10) Self-driving 400km, Huocheng → Nalati Grassland → Bayinbulak, live in: Bayinbulak "Bayinbuluk Bayin Hotel", 158 yuan/night, satisfactory accommodation.

D10 (7.11) Self-driving 300km, Bayinbulak → Duku Highway → Karamay Stay: Karamay "Bo'an Hotel (Karamay Daqing West Road Branch)", 168 yuan/night, the accommodation is satisfactory.

D11 (7.12) Self-driving 270km, Karamay → Xinjiang Agricultural University → Urumqi Diwopu Airport → go home

(9) Specific itinerary:

D1 (7.2) Arrive at Urumqi Airport at 7:00 p.m., stay at "Ibis Hotel (Urumqi Youyou Mingyuan Branch)" in Shayibak District. We rented a Volkswagen Tange at EHI Diwopu Airport store, which is located at No. 1341, Yingbin Road, Xinshi District, Urumqi.

The entrance of the hotel. The total cost is 3540 yuan, including 2120 yuan vehicle rental fee and store service fee, 500 yuan basic insurance service fee, 35 yuan handling fee, 885 yuan exclusive supplementary insurance (this is insurance, you can not buy it, considering that we are two Girls, safety first, we bought the most expensive insurance).

D2 (7.3) Urumqi: Nucleic acid + double antibody detection, International Grand Bazaar, Hongshan Park. Stay at "Ibis Hotel (Urumqi Youyou Mingyuan Branch)" in Shayibak District.

During the epidemic, except for entering Urumqi, which only needs a health code and an itinerary card, other areas require a nucleic acid test report + double antibody report within 7 days, so we can only stay in Urumqi for one more day to do a good job of testing. We went to The Third People’s Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region near the hotel (about 5 minutes’ walk) costs a total of 340 yuan (260 yuan for nucleic acid test + 80 yuan for double-antibody test). Test before 3 p.m., and you can get the report around 9 p.m. on the same day; After 3 o'clock, the test will be reported the next day.

After finishing the test, I went to the International Grand Bazaar, a must-go place for tourists. After the wandering, it was still early, so I went to the free Hongshan Park.

D3 (7.4) self-driving 760km, Urumqi→Sea Devil City→Beitun. Accommodation: "Beitun Wangjing Hotel" in Beitun City.

The trip to northern Xinjiang officially started. Our destination is Hemu Village in the Altay region. From Urumqi, you can choose the east route or the west route. The east route takes 1 hour longer than the west route. In order to avoid repeated routes, when traveling by car, you usually choose the east route to Hemu Village, and then choose the west route from Hemu Village to Sailimu Lake. If you plan to go to the "Keketuohai Scenic Area" in the Altay area, you must choose the east route to save time, that is, the Beijing-Xinjiang Expressway → Wuda Expressway → National Highway 216 → Provincial Highway 310 → National Highway 331, passing through Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture to the Altay area. Tuohai Scenic Area is on the way. The west line is Lianhuo Expressway → Kuia Expressway → National Highway 217 → Provincial Highway 331, passing through the Tacheng area, Karamay City, etc., and arriving at the Altay area.

In a daze, we chose the west route, went to the Devil City on the sea halfway, and then stayed in Beitun. When we entered Beitun, the policeman asked us where we were going. When we said Hemu, he muttered, "Why did you go to Hemu on the west route instead of the east route?" Only then did we know that people usually choose the east route to Hemu.

Fuhai Sea Devil City is located on the east bank of Jili Lake, at the estuary of Ulungu Lake, commonly known as Donghe Estuary, where there are both seaside scenery and canyon charm. This very rare Yadan landform runs north-south and stretches for more than ten miles. The slope is in the shape of a bucket and surrounds Jili Lake in Xiaohaizi. It is a scenic spot developed in recent years, the ticket is 28 yuan/person, the wind is very strong, and it is quite a scenic spot.

D4 (7.5) Self-driving 300km + Hemu Scenic Area shuttle bus 30km, Beitun → Hemu Village. Accommodation: "Hemu Narenhua Villa" in Hemu Village, the accommodation is average and simple.

Self-driving can only reach the ticket office of Hemu Scenic Area, and then you must take the scenic shuttle bus to reach Hemu Village. Tickets to Hemu Village are 50 yuan/person, and scenic area buses are 52 yuan/person.

Hemu Village is a village under the jurisdiction of Burqin County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Located on the bank of Kanas Lake in Burqin County, Xinjiang, it is a concentrated living place for Tuva people. It is the farthest and largest village among the only remaining 3 Tuva villages (Hemu Village, Kanas Village and Baihaba Village), with a total area of 3040 square kilometers. The houses in Hemu Village are all made of logs, full of primitive flavor, known as "God's private land". The village is peaceful and quiet, and there are small yellow flowers all over the mountains and plains in July.

Small yellow flowers all over the mountains at the entrance of Hemu Village

Hemu Village Observation Deck

In Tonghemu Village, you can only go to the ticket office of Kanas scenic spot by car, and then you must take the scenic spot shuttle bus to Kanas. Kanas ticket + shuttle bus, 230 yuan/person, Kanas Guanyutai shuttle bus 40 yuan/person.

Kanas Lake is a national 5A-level tourist attraction, a national geological park, a national forest park, a Chinese nature reserve, a national natural heritage, a national low-carbon tourism experimental area, and the most beautiful lake in China. Forests, lakes and mountains are so beautiful that it is known as "a fairyland on earth and a garden of gods".

The scenic spots in Kanas mainly include Kanas Lake (take a boat tour or walk around the lake), Guanyutai, and Sanwan (Moon Bay, Wolong Bay, Shenxian Bay). We only set off from Hemu to Kanas at noon, and it was already 4:30 in the afternoon after we settled down. We just walked around the lake that day.

Hike around Kanas Lake

Take the shuttle bus to Kanas Fish Watching Terrace, and then take the Kanas Scenic Spot shuttle bus passing Sanwan (Moon Bay, Wolong Bay, Shenxian Bay). Leave Kanas in the afternoon, go to Colorful Beach and stay in Karamay.

Kanas Fish Watching Platform

Fish watching platform overlooking Kanas Lake

Colorful Beach is located at the northern tip of Xinjiang, belonging to the Altay region, in Burqin County, 24 kilometers away from Burqin County, and it is also the only way to the Kanas Lake Scenic Area. The colorful beach is on both sides of the river, different from the north to the south. It is a national 4A-level scenic spot, and the ticket is 45 yuan/person. My companion has been to the Colorful Danxia Scenic Area in Zhangye, Gansu, and she said that the scenery is very similar.

D7 (7.8) Self-driving 500km, Karamay → Dushanzi Grand Canyon → Bole, stay: Bole "Bole Apple Hotel", 109 yuan/night, satisfactory accommodation.

Dushanzi Grand Canyon, known as "the secret place of Duku, a wonder of a hundred million years", is located in Dushanzi District, Karamay City, Xinjiang. It is 28 kilometers south of the urban area and is accessible by road. The valley bottom of the scenic area is 100-400 meters wide, the valley shoulder is 800-1000 meters wide, the height from the valley bottom to the valley shoulder can reach 200 meters, and the altitude is 1070 meters, which belongs to the canyon landform. It has been featured in National Geographic Magazine as the first scene of Duku Highway, the most beautiful highway in the country, and it was the filming location for the TV series "Kyushu Misty Records" and the movie "Flying Life". Up to now, it has rich tourism experience projects such as the tallest and widest Duku glass bridge in Xinjiang, startling step by step, canyon zip line, high-altitude bicycle, cliff swing, etc. Tickets are 30 yuan/person, Bubu Jingxin 58 yuan/person, and the prices of other items are similar.

D8 (7.9) Self-driving 265 km, Bole→Salimu Lake→Guozigou→Princess Jieyou Lavender Garden, live in: "Huocheng Qingshui Hotel" in Huocheng, 166 yuan/night, satisfactory accommodation.

Today it can be called "Sailimu Lake One-day Tour", the ticket is 35 yuan/person, and the admission fee for a 5-seater car is 375 yuan/car. It is highly recommended to drive around the lake by yourself, because the lake is very large and the scenery is beautiful, you can stop at any time to see the scenery and take pictures.

Sailimu Lake is the mountain lake with the highest altitude, the largest area and beautiful scenery in Xinjiang, and it is also the place where the warm and humid Atlantic air flow lasts, so there is a saying of "the last tear of the Atlantic Ocean". Sailimu Lake originally had no fish. In 1998, cold-water fish such as whitefish and whitefish were introduced from Russia to breed. In 2000, finished fish were caught for the first time, ending the history of no fish in Sailimu Lake. After ten years of development, It has become an important cold-water fish production base in Xinjiang. When you go around the lake, you can taste high whitefish. The meat is delicious, and of course the price is also very beautiful.

The Sailimu Lake Scenic Area is divided into 6 functional areas including the scenic area around the lake, the grassland nomadic customs area, the ecological landscape conservation area, the swan and other rare bird habitat protection area, the tourism comprehensive service area, and the original ecological environment preservation area. .

After circling the lake, go out of Sailimu Lake, pass the Guozigou Bridge, and arrive at the Lavender Garden of Princess Jieyou. Tickets are 35 yuan/person. Jieyou Princess Lavender Garden is located in Qingshuihe Town, Huocheng County, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang, an important town on the northern road of the ancient Silk Road. It is located in the Ili River Valley at the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains. It is very similar to the geographical location, climatic conditions and soil environment of Provence, France, the world-famous lavender producing area. Therefore, Princess Jieyou Lavender Garden is the first in China to bring together lavender introduction and seedling cultivation, standardized planting, and GMP production. Processing, product display, land landscape, vanilla variety garden, lavender culture dissemination, classic wedding landscape and other themed sightseeing industrial parks displaying the whole industry scene of lavender. As a food professional, the product quality of Jieyou Princess Lavender Garden is still very trustworthy. In addition to lavender, there are also a large area of other flowers planted in the garden. The key point is a lot of apple trees, and we picked several of them.

D9 (7.10) Self-driving 400km, Huocheng → Nalati Grassland → Bayinbulak, live in: Bayinbulak "Bayinbuluk Bayin Hotel", 158 yuan/night, satisfactory accommodation.

Nalati Grassland, which means "Baiyangpo" in Kazakh, is located in the east of Nalati Town, Xinyuan County, Ili Prefecture, Xinjiang. The Nalati Grassland is one of the four major grasslands in the world, a subalpine meadow plant area, and it has been a famous pasture since ancient times. The combination of beautiful grassland scenery and local Kazakh folk customs has become a famous tourist resort in Xinjiang. It is a national 5A-level tourist scenic spot, one of the top ten scenic spots in Xinjiang, a tourist scenic spot in the autonomous region, an important scenic spot and brand in Xinjiang, and a famous brand of Yili River Valley in the country. Tickets for Nalati Grassland + River Valley Grassland Bus, 130 yuan/person, horse riding 80 yuan/person.hour. When riding a horse, the two Kazakh brothers kept chatting in Kazakh, which we couldn't understand at all, and often felt like we were abroad.

After the trip to the grassland, we went along the Duku Highway to Bayinbulak. The scenery along the way was very beautiful, with many slopes on the grassland. After entering Bayinbulak, there are groups of sheep and yaks, which is not too spectacular.

The slope grassland on the way from Nalati to Bayinbulak

Bayinbulak - Yak herd

Bayinbulak - Yak herd Bayinbulak - Yak herd

D10 (7.11) Self-driving 300km, Bayinbulak → Duku Highway → Karamay Stay: Karamay "Bo'an Hotel (Karamay Daqing West Road Branch)", 168 yuan/night, the accommodation is satisfactory.

Originally planned to visit the Bayinbulak Grassland in the morning, and then return to Urumqi along the Duku Highway. It's a pity that the weather is not beautiful, it rained all morning. Nalati Grassland and Bayinbulak Grassland are recommended to choose one of the two. We regret not coming directly to Bayinbulak Grassland. In Mongolian, Bayinbulak means abundant spring—"abundant spring water". It is an alpine basin in the middle of the Tianshan Mountains, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, with an altitude of about 2,500 meters and an area of 23,835 square kilometers. The grassland is flat and the water and plants are abundant. It is also one of the most important animal husbandry bases in Xinjiang. There is not only a paradise surrounded by snow-capped mountains, the Kaidu River with "nine bends and eighteen bends", but also the elegant and charming Swan Lake.

Bayanbulak Grassland in the rain

With the regret of not visiting the Bayinbuke Grassland, we started the exciting road trip to Duku. We spent nearly 10 hours on the road of about 300km. After all, there are too many beautiful scenery along the way.

Duku Highway, that is, the section from Dushanzi to Kuqa of National Highway 217. The Duku Highway starts from Dushanzi District, Karamay City in the north, runs through the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, and connects to Kuqa City in Aksu Prefecture at the southern end, with a total length of 561 kilometers. Because more than half of its area spans the high mountains, crosses the deep river canyon, and connects many ethnic minority areas, it was selected as "the landscape avenue running through the backbone of Tianshan Mountain" by "China National Geography".

It was completed and opened to traffic in September 1983, shortening the distance from the original 1,000 kilometers between the north and the south to nearly half. It is a monument in the history of China's highway construction. In order to build this road, tens of thousands of officers and soldiers fought for 10 years. 168 soldiers of the People's Liberation Army died due to avalanches, mudslides and other reasons.

Duku Highway has a special terrain, with many sharp bends and steep slopes. There are more than 280 kilometers of road sections above 2,000 meters above sea level. Due to natural factors such as snowfall and icing in Tianshan Mountains in winter, it is only open for five months a year, from the end of September to the next year. Winter traffic control will be implemented for up to 7 months in May.

Snow Mountain on Duku Highway

Playing natural snowballs in July - a unique experience on Duku Highway

D11 (7.12) Self-driving 270km, Karamay → Xinjiang Agricultural University → Urumqi Diwopu Airport → go home

Our return flight was around 4:00 p.m., and we visited two teachers from Xinjiang Agricultural University at noon due to project cooperation. On the way, the vehicle broke down (the battery was dead and could not be started), and we experienced two ignitions. Fortunately, everything went well and we caught the flight home on time.

Make an appointment with my friends, next time we will drive in southern Xinjiang by ourselves, finish the entire Duku Highway, and go to Turpan, which we have been familiar with since childhood (because Turpan's epidemic prevention policy requires that you must stay in Xinjiang for 30 days or more before entering Turpan, which is the reason for this trip. one of the great regrets of traveling). Our Greater China has a vast land, rich resources, beautiful scenery, and rich ethnic customs. There are really too many places worth visiting. Every time I visit a place, the patriotism will increase again.

Part of the scenic spot tickets collected