I have been to Xinjiang 16 years ago, and I still cannot forget its beautiful scenery. 16 years later, I finally set foot on this beautiful territory of Xinjiang again, and made a special trip to drive to the Duku Highway, which is said to be the most beautiful highway in China. This road covers many geographical and landform landscapes, and it is a road that connects the northern and southern borders with the sacrifice of more than a hundred soldiers. Therefore, the significance of coming here is not only the scenery.

The Duku Highway is introduced on the Internet like this: "Duku Highway, also known as Tianshan Highway, has a total length of 562 kilometers. It starts from Kuqa in the south and ends in Dushanzi in the north. It is a section of the national highway G217. It is a section of the National Highway G217. It is tens of thousands of officials and people who have fought for 10 years. The road that was finally built to connect the northern and southern Xinjiang shortened the original 1,000-odd kilometers in half. One-third of the entire road is cliffs, and one-fifth of the road is covered with alpine permafrost. You have to go through deep mountains and canyons, pass through the hinterland of Tianshan Mountains, and climb over four ice-covered Dabans covered with snow all the year round. You will hold your breath for the danger of the road again and again, but you will continue to marvel at the magical scenery in your heart. Danger and temptation coexist. It is probably its charm.” Only when you walk the Duku Highway in person, you will deeply feel the difficulty of its construction

August 4-11, 2018, 8 days, itinerary:

Beijing----Urumqi-Dushanzi---Bayinbulak----Kuqa----Korla----Turpan----Urumqi-Beijing

August 4th: Beijing flew to Urumqi at 9:00 am, and arrived in Urumqi at 1:00 pm. My friend picked up Changji, picked up the car, and drove from Changji to Dushanzi.

Dushanzi is the starting point of Duku Highway, and there is also a very classic scenic spot here - Dushanzi Grand Canyon. We arrived at Dushanzi around 7:00 p.m. If we navigated through Gaode or Baidu, we would never be able to reach it, because the place they guided was closed. (It was later discovered that the destination of the navigation was the bottom of the Dushanzi Grand Canyon.) Inquiry We only came to the Dushanzi Grand Canyon Scenic Area, and we came to the canyon at about 8 o'clock. From here, overlooking the canyon, the scenery is still very spectacular. The road is well repaired and there are no tickets. Standing on the edge of the canyon, looking at the mountain on the opposite side is very shocking. The color is that dark color, the mountain is folded, and there is a river at the bottom of the valley. From a distance, it looks like a silver belt, which is a very rare color. The side where the tourists stand is actually the grassland, which is probably the place where herdsmen graze in summer. You can see traces of tents and livestock that have been set up. There are not many people here, and it is very empty, which is very pleasant. The sun sets at about 9 o'clock, and the canyon under the setting sun has a special momentum.


Stay in Dushanzi at night, there is a street with many restaurants not far from here. Dushanzi is quiet and harmonious at night, and you can clearly see the twinkling stars in the sky.



August 5th: Depart early in the morning, you must refuel first, and you must go on the road with a full mailbox. This is a must for self-driving travel. This kind of journey is very reassuring.

From Dushanzi to Duku Highway, the entire road is about 560 kilometers. Our plan is to stay in Bayinbulak for one night, and the distance is 300 kilometers, so we will have more time to enjoy the scenery along the way.




The beauty of Duku Highway lies in its rich landscape, with steep mountains and changing mountain colors; there are rivers running through deep valleys; there are alpine meadows dotted with white tents, and flocks of cattle and sheep; there are winding streams on the grasslands, like silver satin. During the belt flow, there are alpine Daban covered with ice and snow, and there are waterfalls flying down; the scenery on the way is constantly changing, making the eyes dizzy, and the road winding through the alpine cliffs is tense and exciting from time to time. A highway is like a silver snake hovering in the mountains. It is so beautiful to look at from a high place. Coupled with the change of different scenery, how can it not make people forget to return and feel refreshed!

There will be Kazakh or Uighur people selling mutton skewers on the roadside. Fresh mutton skewers are grilled directly and sprinkled with cumin and salt. They are naturally delicious and must not be missed. The tents of some stalls allow customers to sit in and eat meat skewers and drink milk tea. It feels really good.

On the road from Dushanzi to Bayinbulak, about 130 kilometers away, there is a famous place called Qiaoerma. There is a martyr's cemetery here to commemorate the 168 soldiers who gave their lives for the construction of the road.

There will be roads in two directions at Qiaoerma, one is leading to Nalati, and the other is Baili Gallery. Because we have plenty of time, we still decided to go to Baili Gallery, then turn back and go to Nalati to Bayinbulak. This decision is correct. In Baili Gallery, the picturesque scenery on both sides of the road is mainly dominated by mountains, meadows, and river valleys. The grassland is full of wild flowers, and there are scenery everywhere. Every place is a big picture!


There are too many beautiful scenery, it will delay time, we turn back to the Duku Highway, (passing Nalati without stopping, local friends said that the road from Bayinbulak to Kuqa is all grasslands, so there is no need to go to Nalati.) The road was closed, so we took a detour and headed to Bayinbulak. It was already past 10 o'clock when we arrived. We encountered a small problem when we checked in. We knew that it was difficult to book a room here, but when we arrived, we were told that there were no rooms available. , but fortunately, later the store helped to find a hotel and stayed there, which was a false alarm. The rooms in Bayinbulak must be booked in advance, otherwise it is really hard to find.


On August 6, visit Bayinbulak.

The tourism in Bayinbulak is very mature. There is a tourist center, where you can buy tickets, take the scenic bus, and enter the scenic spot. The first attraction is Swan Lake. It is a lake on the grassland, but there are only 3 or 4 swans here, and more are gulls. Then take a bus to the famous "Nine Curves and Eighteen Bends". sights. Here you can take a battery car to reach the top of the mountain, overlooking the panorama of nine bends and eighteen bends, but it will be better to walk up, the scenery along the way is good, there are patches of flowers and plants, you can enjoy the winding streams of the grassland from different angles, and you can take some "big movies" ".

On the way from Bayinbulak to Kuqa, the scenery is different. You have to pass the tallest one, Daban, and the Populus euphratica forest in Longchi, etc. The scenery is still dizzying, and it feels like you are in a large landscape. When approaching Kuqa, we began to enter the Kyzylya mountain landscape, where the red mountain and stone forest landscape is extremely spectacular. On the way, we will pass by the mysterious Grand Canyon of Tianshan Mountain. Because of time constraints, we made a special trip the next day.


On August 7th, Tianshan Mysterious Grand Canyon and Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves

The Tianshan Mysterious Grand Canyon is worth a visit. I think it is similar to Peggy and Antelope Canyon in the United States, and the scenery is not inferior to them. Walking in the winding and deep canyon is thrilling and exciting, and you feel the insignificance of human beings in front of the natural creator. Because the time to go is still the rainy season, and there is still water in the valley, I saw that there are shelters in many places. There is also a Buddhist cave "Aai Grotto" excavated in the Tang Dynasty, but it is a pity that it is not open. However, it does not matter. We leave the canyon and go to Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves.



On the way to the Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves, there is a desolate Gobi beach landscape, but when you climb over the mountain and see an oasis, you will arrive at the Thousand Buddha Caves. The Kizil Grottoes are the earliest and westernmost large-scale grottoes in China. They were excavated in the 3rd century AD and gradually ceased construction in the 8th-9th century AD. The duration is unique in all countries in the world. It is said that Jinmarojiva, a famous monk in ancient China, was born here. Therefore, there is a statue of Kumarajiva in front of the Buddha Cave. To visit here, you have to wait in line. The number of people in each batch cannot exceed 100. Although we waited for a while, it feels good to visit. We found a guide, a Uyghur girl, beautiful, and the explanation was very good. The murals here include not only flying Apsaras, pagodas, Bodhisattvas, stories of Buddha Jataka, stories of Buddha’s biography, and pictures of scriptures, but also a large number of folk custom paintings: production and life scenes in ancient times, landscapes in the Western Regions, supporters, birds and animals. etc.

From the Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves, we headed to Korla.


August 8 Korla Bosten Lake

I know that Korla is famous for its fragrant pears. Although I have not seen fragrant pears, the Bosten Lake here is still very famous. The landscape here is divided into three places, the first two are mainly reed wetlands similar to Baiyangdian Lake, the first scenic spot, we did not go in by boat, just looked at the lake, the second scenic spot went in by boat, there are large wild water lilies , and the vast reeds, and disembarked at Bird Island. I didn’t see many birds here, but there were 3 black swans wandering here. It seemed that they hadn’t eaten for a long time. When they saw people, they chased them. Unfortunately, we didn’t prepare anything. I didn't bring them either, I guess they will be very disappointed, they really followed us a long way. Going to the third scenic spot, after passing a long washboard road, this place is more like a seaside beach resort, with many marine entertainment facilities, and many people swim and sunbathe here.


The fish in Bosten Lake is said to be very famous. During the shuttle to the scenic spot, there was a grilled fish stall on the side of the road. I bought a grilled fish from a real Uighur guy. It tasted very delicious. There were watermelons and cantaloupe next to it. I ate watermelon and cantaloupe , a word "cool".

On the way to Korla, the navigation guide came to a county road, which seemed to be a farm road. There was a large tomato field on the side of the road, and there were many cars pulling tomatoes. It is said that the tomatoes here are the raw materials for making tomato sauce. We chatted with the elder sisters who were collecting tomatoes in the field. The elder sisters were very enthusiastic and let us take a bag of tomatoes. The tomatoes here are really cheap, and there is plenty of sunshine. The most beautiful face, but the long journey makes their worth too low.

After returning to Korla in the afternoon, I went to another scenic spot: Tiemenguan. This is a historical place, but the road is being built here, and the cars are parked on the side of the road. I can’t go to the reservoir. I just took a photo at the pass. However, what I didn't expect was that this is the dividing line between the northern and southern borders!



Turpan on August 9

I left Korla and went to Turpan. I came to Turpan more than ten years ago. I never forget the Grape Valley there, and I miss the feeling of sitting on the unique Uyghur-like bed and eating finger meat under the grape arbor. But now I can't find the feeling of the past. The Grape Valley here is already a scenic spot that charges tickets, so I didn't go in.

The Jiaohe Ancient City I visited last time, this time I chose the Gaochang Ancient City. On the way to Gaochang, we stopped at Huoyan Mountain. There were too many people, and it was enough to see the mountain from a distance.

Gaochang Old City is larger than Jiaohe Old City, and the scenic spot can be visited by battery car. After thousands of years of wind and frost tempering, there are only scattered ruins left here, but the feeling of wandering in these old cities is indeed not what ordinary attractions can bring. The vicissitudes of the old country and the traces of the thousand-year history make people feel deeply. .


Coming out of Gaochang, I saw many vineyards and houses drying raisins on the side of the road. I have always wondered what it looks like inside? On the side of the road, I happened to meet a family member who was hanging grapes. The enthusiastic Uighur boy introduced us how to dry the raisins. It turns out that the raisins can be dried in only 15 or 6 days. The house is advancing batch by batch, and the cycle goes back and forth. Really insightful.


August 10 Tuyugou Folk Village in Turpan

There is an ancient village in Shanshan County, Turpan, which is Tuyugou Mazha Village, which is "named a "famous historical and cultural village in China". It also preserves the oldest folk customs of the Uygur people, known as the "living fossil of folk customs". The ancient adobe buildings in the village are still shining with the light of "yellow clay culture"; it is a holy place admired by Muslims at home and abroad today. It is a rest station for scholars in the field of religion, history, culture and art, and it is a home for painting and photography artists to entrust their dreams." This is a place I came to by accident, and there are about 200 households around the mosque with towering green towers. This village, Caimen culture deserves attention. The oldest and most complete adobe building complex is preserved here.

Leaving the ancient village, there is still plenty of time. Friends in the same company like the desert, so we drove to the Kumutak desert car self-driving off-road camp. The desert here is not big. The desert is paved with bricks, and the car can drive on it. There are also some sandboarding projects. The temperature in Turpan is about 40 degrees. You can imagine the temperature of the sand. Walking on it is not a pleasure.

August 11, Nanshan, Urumqi

Because the plane returned to Beijing in the afternoon, the Grand Bazaar in Urumqi, which I planned to go to, failed. At the invitation of a friend, I went to Nanshan, where I ate Xinjiang special rice with skewers.

Fly back to Beijing from Urumqi in the afternoon, ending the trip to Xinjiang.