The author, Winnie the Pooh, has set foot in more than 50 countries, most provinces and cities in China
someone said
life is like a box of chocolates
you never know
What will it taste like when you eat the next one?
same goes for travel
often live elsewhere
But Xinjiang has special feelings for me
One encounter becomes eternity!
A popular topic recently is #旅行城重活#, for people like me who can’t get rid of Xinjiang addiction, it seems to be a reflection of my personal aspirations. Forget it, this is my ninth time in Xinjiang and the first time I have entered Kashgar, Kezhou. Southern Xinjiang has been a multi-ethnic area since ancient times. Uyghurs, Tajiks and other ethnic groups have colorful art and customs. It has always been a strong ethnic group full of mystery. place.
I remember that many friends laughed at me before and said, "If you don't go to Kashgar, you don't count as going to Xinjiang." This time, I finally fulfilled my long-awaited and long-awaited trip to Kashgar, the westernmost border city in China, and a place on the ancient Silk Road. As an important commercial port, it really lived up to my expectations. At the same time, we experienced a warm Uyghur dance welcome ceremony at the gate of Weitouzhou City, which made us feel as if we had traveled through a time tunnel and experienced the prosperous scene of the ancient Silk Road. In the world's tallest "Artush Shipton Stone Arch", you can witness the immeasurably high atmosphere standing under the blue sky, amidst the clouds and mist, majestic and precipitous, and the top of the mountains. We also visited Aktao, a secret place on the plateau. In Bulunkou Township, the westernmost end of the motherland, we had a special Kirgiz ethnic dinner "cow dung cake"...
》》》Our main itinerary:
First stop: Urumqi - Tumushuke - Bachu - Artush
1) Urumqi Grand Bazaar
2) Arrive at Tumshuk Tangwangcheng Airport
3) Bachu Red Sea Scenic Area
4) Kezhou Three Thousand Year Style Street
The second stop: Tianmen Scenic Area - Kezhou Folk Customs Garden
1) Tianmen Scenic Area
2) Kezhou Folk Custom Garden
The third stop: Aktao Glacier Park - Baisha Mountain, Baisha Lake - Aktaoblunkou Township
1) Akto Glacier Park
2) Baisha Mountain, Baisha Lake
3) Kirgiz B&B in Aktaublunkou Township, experience ethnic customs dinner
Fourth stop: Pamirs - Muztagh Peak
1) Pamir Plateau, G314 China-Pakistan Highway
2) Muztagh Peak
Fifth stop: Kashgar
1) Kashgar Ancient City
2) Ancient city impression light show
3) Kashgar Ancient City Cuisine
4) Gaotai residential buildings
》》》Itinerary The first stop: Urumqi, Urumqi - Tumushuke - Bachu - Artush, Aksu, southern Xinjiang
1) Urumqi Grand Bazaar
I gain three catties every time I travel, this is the rhythm of eating from morning to night. I have to admit that food is one of the main reasons that lure me here every time. "Eating in Xinjiang is the most appropriate sentence when visiting the Grand Bazaar. When wandering in the Urumqi International Grand Bazaar, you have to be seduced by many delicacies, squeezed, roasted, fragrant, and spicy. There are baked naan and barbecue all over the street. scent.
2 Arrive at Tumshuk Tangwangcheng Airport
It was already past 8:20 in the morning, but the sky in Xinjiang was still not bright, and the jet-lag lights were snowing peacefully and crystal clear.
The first stop, starting from Tumshuk~
3 Bachu Red Sea Scenic Area
The breeze is blowing, the smell of beef and fish is fragrant, and at the gate of Weitouzhou City, a warm Uyghur dance welcome ceremony makes us feel as if we have traveled through a time tunnel and experienced the prosperous scene of the ancient Silk Road.
Some people say that this is the artery of primitive life, because it has the most beautiful and primitive Populus euphratica forest in southern Xinjiang. Bachu Red Sea Scenic Area, a national 4A-level scenic spot, is located in Anakule Township, Bachu County, Kashgar, Xinjiang. The area is a transportation hub connecting Kashgar, Kezhou, Hotan and Angli, Tibet.
Many local intangible cultural heritages: blacksmith shops, tambourines, leather hats, Uyghur handmade carpets, etc., all kinds of handicrafts with a long history and tradition, presenting the multiculturalism of the folk culture of the Silk Road.
Only a trip that lives up to the food is a real trip. When it comes to Xinjiang cuisine, baked naan, baked buns, jujubes, rock candied apples, pomegranates, and raisins, each of which is a unique specialty. But when you come to the Red Sea Scenic Area of Bachu County in Kashgar, you must not miss the grilled fish and red willows.
4 Kezhou Three Thousand Year Style Street
Take a night tour of the 3,000-year-old style street in Artush City, which is the only Kirgiz style street in Xinjiang. It gathers food court night market, folk performing arts stage, gourd culture corridor, children's playground, Kezhou homestay, etc. In layman's terms, it is a place where you can eat, drink, and play. Now it has become a check-in spot for Internet celebrities. Tonight, I ran into the innocent local children~
》》》Itinerary The second stop: Tianmen Scenic Area-Kezhou Folk Custom Garden
1) Tianmen Scenic Area
In the westernmost part of the beautiful Xinjiang, there is the tallest arch in the world. It stands under the blue sky, amidst the clouds and mist, majestic and precipitous, and the tops of the mountains are so high that they cannot be measured. It has been specially filmed by CCTV's science and education channel "Geography·China", and has also been identified as one of the 20 most adventure-worthy scenic spots in the world by the American Adventure Magazine. There is a local saying that if you step into the gate of heaven, you will enter the fairyland. Some people say that this is the trace left by aliens when they came to the earth. The full name here is "Artush Shipton Stone Arch"~
2 Kezhou Folk Custom Garden
If you want to understand a city, you have to start from the cultural exhibition hall. The Kirgiz Folk Culture Exhibition Hall in Kezhou, also known as the Folk Custom Garden, displays the rich history and cultural heritage of the ancient Kirgiz people, gorgeous ethnic customs, and unique cultural and natural landscapes. The Kirgiz people are the most typical and representative not only in Kashgar, which has a long history, but also in the entire Xinjiang region.
The third stop: Aktao Glacier Park - Baisha Mountain, Baisha Lake - Aktaoblunkou Township
1) Akto Glacier Park
I encountered a heavy snowfall in Kezhou Park. In the quiet mountain, the peaks and branches were outlined by the snow. I walked in the snow mountain wearing a long coat, and the snowflakes covered my body. I heard the faint crunching sound from the bottom of my feet. In an instant, I understood that there is great beauty in the world.
Kezhou Glacier National Forest Park is the lowest glacier in my country and one of the most spectacular glaciers in the world. It is located in the mountains in the west of Oytag Town, Akto County, Pamir Plateau, with an altitude of 2300 meters to 5300 meters. rice. Standing on the top of the snow-capped mountains and glaciers, looking at the cracks like knives and axes, like charming crystal palaces~
2 Baisha Mountain, Baisha Lake
I have seen many deserts, but this is the first time I saw pure white sand. The Baisha Mountain on the Pamir Plateau is one of the peculiar landscapes in Xinjiang. Because the color of the sand is white, the sand is like pure white snow in bright sunshine. When there is a strong wind, the Baisha Mountain will make a sound, so it is also called It is called "Sound Sand Mountain".
Baisha Mountain is nestled next to the blue lake. The beauty, clarity and unique purity of Baisha Lake are even more amazing. Although the weather is not the best, standing by the Baisha Lake seems to enter another holy fairyland~
3 Kirgiz B&B in Aktaublunkou Township, experience ethnic style dinner
Cow dung cake is a cake baked with cow dung. Has anyone tried it? Every day during the trip is a surprise. In Bulunkou Township, Akto County, the westernmost end of the motherland, I had a special Kirgiz ethnic dinner, experienced several rows of local farmhouses sleeping together, and the enthusiastic ethnicity of the locals. dance. It was nearly 10 o'clock in the morning, and it was just getting brighter, and I woke up smelling the breakfast that the master was cooking.
The fourth stop: Pamir Plateau-G314 China-Pakistan Highway-Mustagh Peak
1) Muztagh Peak
remake of muztaq
Known as the "Father of the Iceberg", Muztagh Peak is covered with white snow like a glacier with white hair hanging upside down, which is as beautiful as a picture scroll!
Muztag Peak belongs to the Kunlun Mountains and is the third highest peak in the West Kunlun Mountains. It is located at the junction of Akto County and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China, with an altitude of 7509 meters. Muztagh Peak, Gongger Peak, and Gongger Jiubie Peak, the three mountains stand tall like jade pillars, standing on the beautiful Pamirs and becoming the symbol and representative of the Pamirs.
2) Pamir Plateau, G314 China-Pakistan Highway
In the Pamirs, all your wonderful imaginations about the world are here.
Line G314, also known as the Karakoram Highway, is a highway connecting western China and Pakistan, referred to as KKH in English, meandering around the Pamir Plateau, known as the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway that shuttles between the mountains. It starts from Kashgar in Xinjiang in the north, passes through the Khunjerab Pass, a border port between China and Pakistan, and ends in Takot, a city in northern Pakistan in the south, with a total length of 1,032 kilometers, including 416 kilometers in China and 616 kilometers in Pakistan. This is also the most difficult road in the world to build. It is said that for the construction of this road, China has sent 22,000 engineering and technical personnel and road construction workers, and Pakistan has sent more than 6,000 people. A total of about 810 people from China and Pakistan gave their lives. It is equivalent to the exchange of one life for every kilometer of road.
》》》Itinerary The fifth stop: Kashgar
1 Kashgar Ancient City
The ancient city of Kashgar, a national AAAAA-level tourist attraction, is located on Gaobu at the junction of the Kyzyl River and the Tuman River. For hundreds of years, it has been the largest city in southern Xinjiang. It is the general intersection of the western ends of the northern, central and southern lines of the ancient Silk Road. It has always been a transportation hub between China and the West and a commodity distribution center.
It was a special coincidence that when we arrived at the city gate, we happened to meet the Kaesong welcome ceremony.
I am waiting for you in the ancient city of Kashgar
Where are you?
Walking in the alleys of the ancient city of Kashgar is different from the city avenues. The wind blows through the gap above the head, which is secluded and deep. Here, you can't hear the horn of the car urging, and the children who occasionally run out with innocent smiles as if they are tired, walk into a coffee shop at will, listen to music, lean on the leather chair, taste the coffee, and listen to the coffee. Others gossip. It seems that time has slowed down so silently, and only you are left to carve time at will.
The imaginary ancient city of Kashgar is the only one with ethnic customs. In the incomplete streets, you will encounter bustling crowds. After walking into the ancient city of Kashgar, you can understand the reputation of "you can't go to Xinjiang if you don't travel to Kashgar, and you don't go to Kashgar if you don't travel to the ancient city". There are only local characteristics and cultural customs here, as well as beautiful small freshness, which are all beautiful places to take pictures.
2 Ancient city impression light show
When night falls, "Impression of the Ancient City" is very lively, and the charming light show exudes romance and fashion.
The night in Kashgar is even brighter and more charming~
3 Kashgar Ancient City Cuisine
As night falls, walk on the streets of the ancient city of Kashgar and enjoy hidden delicacies from all over the place, such as barbecue, rice sausage, roast goose eggs, and grilled fish. You like it, isn't it comfortable to think about such a scene? More than 90% of Xinjiang Uighurs in Kashgar, looking at the lost, enthusiastic, busy, and leisurely figures on the streets, vividly show the most authentic side of ordinary life. Suddenly inexplicable feeling, live in the moment, live every day well...
4 Gaotai Dwellings
Gaotai dwellings are called "Kuoziqiyabeshi Lane" in Uyghur. The terrain of the dwellings is rugged, the population is dense, and there are many alleys, criss-crossing and extending in all directions. There are still many old houses from a hundred years ago in the alley, some of which are simple buildings with 2 or 3 floors, most of the stairs have no guardrails, and there are even some dilapidated buildings. The Uighur residents in the alley are warm and hospitable to the visitors, and they are very polite. When they meet, they warmly say "Yakexima" (meaning hello in Uyghur). Do not chat with Uyghur friends on topics such as pork, or when you are a guest at someone’s home for dinner, it is most taboo to blow your nose or spit in front of people, otherwise it will be considered disrespectful to people.
Gaotai dwellings existed in history more than 2,000 thousand years ago, which means clay pottery on a high cliff. It is located on the highest cliff hundreds of meters long in the old city of Kashgar. There are currently more than 600 households with Uyghur residents. More than 90% of the local elderly cannot speak Mandarin, while 100% of the local children can listen and speak Mandarin fluently. These enthusiastic and lovely children have completely become local translators~
Tips for traveling in Xinjiang:
1 Xinjiang time difference:
It is about 2.5 and a half hours later than Beijing (for example, Beijing time is 12 noon, Xinjiang time is 14:30).
2 Clothes to wear:
The temperature difference between morning and evening in Xinjiang is very large. During the day, there is sunshine or the temperature of major hotels or inns is still moderate. However, at any time in winter, you need thick warm down jackets, warm gloves, warm non-slip shoes, thermos cups, sunglasses, and warm baby stickers. In a world of ice and snow, the battery power consumption of cameras and mobile phones will be relatively large, so it is best to bring enough power banks.
3 gourmet specialties:
The Xinjiang delicacies that everyone is familiar with include naan, large plate chicken, pilaf, roasted whole lamb, kebabs, roasted whole lamb, yogurt lumps, etc. The packaging of Xinjiang’s special products is also very beautiful, such as red dates, raisins, beef jerky, etc. .
Special thanks at the end: Part of the pictures are from fellow friends "Sudan Qing, A Chou Vision-Zhang Zehuan, Yue Qi teacher shooting!