On October 23, 2020, after we had breakfast at the Qianhai International Hotel in Taxian County, we drove across the Tasha Ancient Trail. Not far from Ta County, at an intersection in Bandier Township, the tour guide stopped the car. He told us that from here, we will embark on the Tasha Trail.
The ancient road runs along the river and close to the mountain. After walking not far, a large reservoir appeared. The reservoir in the mountainous area stretches for more than ten kilometers. The tour guide said it was Xiasakadi Reservoir. I checked on the Internet: Xiabandi Water Conservancy Project is a national key water conservancy construction project and belongs to the Tarim River Basin Management Project. The reservoir has a storage capacity of 860 million cubic meters. It not only undertakes irrigation and flood control, but also undertakes power generation. , are of great importance and far-reaching significance. The project dam site is 45 kilometers away from Taxkorgan County.
The Tasha Ancient Road shortens the distance by nearly 300 kilometers from Ta County to Shache County via Kashgar. Xuanzang took this road when he returned to Chang'an after obtaining the scriptures from ancient India. Therefore, this trail from Ta County to Shache County across the Kunlun Mountains is called the Tasha Ancient Road. The photo was taken on Tasha Ancient Road.
The Tasha Ancient Trail is 500 kilometers long. Only one car can pass on this road. When passing cars, they must stop and give way when they are far away. And almost all of them are winding mountain roads. Although the road is extremely steep, the scenery along the way is continuous. It can be said that the eyes are in heaven and the body is in hell. The photo was taken on Tasha Ancient Road.
The Tasha Ancient Road actually runs along the Yarkand River to Shache.
During the break on the way, the tour guide and the driver were on the Yarkand River bed, looking for stones and jade.
I photographed some goats foraging in the riverbed
Entering the canyon, it basically goes east along the Yarkant River and flows down the river.
The Tasha Ancient Road can be called a landscape avenue: there are two tall mountains on the left and right, and the Taxkurgan River, a tributary of the Yarkant River, is in the middle. The Tajik people live along the river.
The ancient road runs along the river and next to the mountain, and within a short distance, there will be a small hydropower station. Ta County used to experience frequent power outages. Since the Xiabandi Reservoir generated electricity, the voltage in the homes here has been stable, and the small solar generators used by residents are almost useless.
The Yarkant River is the upper reaches of the Tarim River. It is because of the nourishment of the Tarim River that there are oases in southern Xinjiang and the homes for people to live in. The Tarim River is a great mother river. The photo was taken on the Yarkand River.
According to the tour guide, the residents beside the ancient road migrated here in the early years to escape the war. The famous Xinghua Village is almost isolated from the outside world. For generations, the ancestors have been surrounded by water and mountains, and they have multiplied here for generations. The photo was taken on the banks of the Yarkand River.
The Tasha Ancient Road can be called a landscape avenue, with snow-capped mountains in the distance and the Yarkant River and Populus euphratica in the vicinity.
On the way, I met some Tajiks who came to play on the Yarkand River
These are some old Tajiks
This beautiful Tajik young woman seems to be a newly married bride.
There are no restaurants along the Tasha Trail. At noon that day, we stopped by an iron bridge on the banks of the Yarkand River and ate our own lunch.
The poplar trees on the banks of the Yarkant River are yellow, and the scenery beside the iron bridge is very beautiful.
The poplar trees on the banks of the Yarkant River are yellow, and the scenery beside the iron bridge is very beautiful.
There are not only beautiful natural scenery, but also good cultural photos. This is a Tajik woman herding sheep.
This path leading to the outside of the mountain is actually dug out of the cliff. The left side of the car is the stone wall, and the right side is the surging Yarkant River. The two wheels of the car must be pressed to the right position. A little bit to the left, the sharp rocks near the stone wall will cut the tires, and a little bit to the right, the car is likely to You will lose your center of gravity and fall into the Yarkand River.
We are about to leave the mountain, and now we are in a real "no shop in front of the village, no shop in the back", in the hinterland of Kunlun Mountain, there is no mobile phone signal. According to the tour guide, the Tasha Ancient Road cannot be found on the mobile phone at present, so there is no navigation. The Panshan Road here is also very beautiful.
The Altash Water Conservancy Project in the Yarkand River Basin in Xinjiang is located in the village of Altash deep in the Kunlun Mountains. About 120 kilometers away from Shache County, it is called "Xinjiang's Three Gorges Project" by industry experts. The project started construction on October 10, 2011, and the dam was capped on August 31, 2019. The total storage capacity of the reservoir is 2.249 billion cubic meters, the total installed capacity of the power station is 755 megawatts, and the designed annual power generation capacity is 2.26 billion kwh. The total investment of the project (originally expected) is 8.6 billion yuan (later increased to 10.986 billion yuan). At present, the Altash Water Conservancy Project is storing water, which will take several years.
Not far from Shache County, there is a piece of Danxia Mountain, which seems to be a scenic spot.
In order to hurry, we didn't stop and went straight to Shache County.
Shache County is located in the southwest of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China, at the northern foot of the Kunlun Mountains, and belongs to the Kashgar area. In the evening, stay at Zheshang Hotel in Shache County.
According to the tour guide, this hotel is the best in Shache County, at most a four-star hotel. Pictured is a hotel room.
The bathroom facilities in Zheshang Hotel are relatively new.
In the evening, friends from Anhui Province in Shache County greeted us at this hotel. The hotel is big and well decorated.
Beautiful hostess pouring tea for us
The host invited us to drink the Tomur Peak Baijiu produced by the Bingtuan in 1996.
The beauty of Xinjiang is not only beautiful scenery, but also food and beauties. The hospitable host ordered too many southern Xinjiang delicacies.
Shache is the traffic hub of the ancient "Silk Road", an important place for military garrison, and the hometown of human oral and intangible cultural heritage and Uyghur music classic "Twelve Muqam". The hostess is also the incoming of "Twelve Muqam".