When the word Xinjiang is mentioned, one thinks of the vast beauty of the northwest.
The sunset on the sandbar, the westerly wind on the ancient road. The vast desert can't be seen at a glance; in the cloudless sky, a group of swan geese lined up; the melodious sound of camel bells jingle in the desert, and the caravan full of silk is slowly marching westward... .. The vast beauty depicted in the poem stands on the vast land in the northwest, telling ancient myths.
This is a mysterious and magnificent land. Although it frequently appears in geography and history textbooks, few people actually explore it. After all, thousands of years ago, only the camel known as the "ship of the desert" could conquer this land. Lines with harsh road conditions such as desert, gravel, Gobi, etc.
However, with the development of science and technology today, we have adopted a more modern and practical means of transportation, the Junpai D80, to embark on this "Silk Road" again.
The first time I saw Junpai D80, I was attracted by its stylish and tough appearance. The brand-new front face design is equipped with a large-mouth air intake grille, and a thick chrome-plated decorative strip runs through it, connecting with the LED headlights on both sides, stretching the lateral width of the front of the car, and the atmosphere is not monotonous. Not only is it responsible for the appearance, but as an A-class SUV, the Junpai D80's endurance and toughness are vividly reflected.
"Silk Road Journey" itinerary overview:
Hami (Devil City, Strange Rock Mountain, Old City of Lavjok) - Turpan (Flame Mountain, Grape Valley, Old City of Jiaohe) - Karamay (Mud Volcano, Dushanzi Grand Canyon, Duku Highway, Bayingou Ranch)
Self-driving vehicle: Junpai D80
DAY1: Hami - Hami Devil City
Located between Dunhuang, Gansu and Turpan, Xinjiang, the Hami region carries the mission of colliding and blending the cultures of the Central Plains and Western Regions. Hami has been the mouthpiece of the Silk Road since ancient times. It is known as "the throat of the Western Regions, guarded by China" and "the gateway of Xinjiang".
Hami is also the only region in Xinjiang that straddles the Tianshan Mountains. On the vast northwestern land, a Tianshan mountain range passes through this place, leaving a very different difference between the north and the south. In addition, ancient cities, ancient tombs, ancient towers, ancient monuments, ancient rock paintings and other monuments exude the charm of thousands of years here.
However, it is not an easy task to directly conquer here. Cen Shen, a frontier poet, once wrote a poem "The moon in the Han Dynasty sheds tears in the countryside, and Hu Shafei's horse's hooves", you can feel the sadness of looking forward to the dangerous road in the sky between the lines.
Driving Junpai D80 along the road to the southwest, there is a landscape in the vast Gobi Desert that resembles castles, palaces, pagodas, monuments, figures, and animals in various shapes. Steep cliffs, petrified wood and fossils can be seen everywhere. The scenery in front of you seems to have traveled through the ancient times, and the nature has been carefully crafted for many years and exposed to the eyes of modern people one by one. When night falls, you can sometimes hear the heinous howling of ghosts and wolves, which is creepy. Just like its name - Hami Devil City.
Hami Devil City is the world's largest, most mature geological form, the most ornamental value, and the only Yardang landform community found to be inhabited. It is formed by the erosion of horizontal rock formations by wind and flowing water. In 2010, the Hami Devil City Landform Park was rated as a national 4A-level scenic spot by the National Tourism Administration. The movie "No Man's Land" directed by Ning Hao once chose this place as one of the filming locations.
It is said that driving in Xinjiang is not only a challenge, but also a kind of enjoyment, and the same is true in Hami Devil City. The road surface is full of sand and gravel, and most of the roads are desert Gobi. Such a harsh driving environment and road conditions will inevitably pose a very high challenge to driving a vehicle.
However, in the eyes of Junpai D80, it seems that it is not difficult.
Junpai D80 is equipped with a 1.2T TD220 turbocharged engine, which adopts the rare in-cylinder direct injection technology of the same level, and has the characteristics of fast response, low fuel consumption, strong power and excellent technology. The power is full at the start, the throttle response is fast but not abrupt, and it has no obvious frustration in low gears, and it behaves very smoothly. The Junpai D80 is also equipped with a 7-speed wet dual-clutch gearbox. In the Sport mode, the shifting is smooth and smooth, bringing a hearty driving experience.
Just when we were shocked by the passion brought by speed, the ADAS intelligent driving assistance system of Junpai D80 automatically wakes up, reminding us to pay attention to speeding. It turns out that when driving at 0km/h-180km/h, Junpai D80 can recognize the speed limit sign and display a reminder on the instrument panel to ensure that the driving speed is within the legal range. This function is practical and convenient, and the driver can provide full driving safety protection.
DAY2: Hami - Strange Rock Mountain - Turpan
Drive 220 kilometers northeast from Hami Devil City, pass the provincial highways S249 and S303, and at the easternmost end of Xiaojia Mountain, 7 kilometers northwest of Balikun Lake, you will see a hill with strange rocks - here is called "Strange Rock Mountain".
When King Luo Bin came to Barkol that year, he left a verse in "Xici Puleijin": "The two courts are looking away, and the guests of thousands of miles are worried. The mountain road is still in the south, and the river flows from the north. Bian qiu. The stove burns through the wall of the army, and the smoke of the beacon rises to the garrison tower. If you fight hard in the dragon court, Yan Yan will seal you as a marquis. Don't be at the foot of Lanshan Mountain, and the Khanate will be ashamed."
The four-hour drive, although the road conditions are not as cruel as Devil City, is full of gravel and sand, which puts forward very strict requirements on the safety performance of vehicle tires. Junpai D80 is equipped with Bosch version 9.3 ESP system, with direct tire pressure monitoring function, which can automatically monitor tire temperature and tire pressure, which can reduce the chance of tire blowout and improve driving safety.
The strangeness of the strange stone mountain lies in the grottoes all over the mountain. These grottoes are of different sizes and shapes. There are several mountains that are "ridden with holes" decorated with grottoes from the top to the foot of the mountain. Some are like honeycombs (called "Honeycomb Cliffs"), some are like Buddhist niches (called "Thousand-Buddha Caves"), and some are like sheep belly. These grottoes are as round as artificial carvings, but they are miracles left by nature. The sarcophagus prince's tomb on the top of the mountain shows the long history, prosperous Silk Road business activities and extremely important military status of the strange stone mountain.
If you want to climb up to see the whole picture of the strange rock mountain, you need to walk through a stone step built by the ancients. The stone steps are steep and narrow, and are erected by two huge stones, leaving only a one-foot-wide gap in the middle for tourists to pass through. However, standing on a high place and overlooking the strange rocks of various shapes under your feet, it seems that you can see the annual rings of the years and the carving knife of time, which are really in front of you.
The traces of wind and frost, plus thousands of years of sighs and sighs, this is the three-dimensional life of the strange stone mountain.
After leaving the strange stone mountain, the trip to Hami is over, and the convoy is about to start a 5-hour drive to an area - Turpan Flame Mountain. In fact, in Xinjiang, which has a vast territory, it is not the scenic spots that are the real destination, but the scenery along the way is the meaning of self-driving.
However, the speed limit in the Turpan road section is strict, and the speed limit in the city is 40km/h. The driver will inevitably feel tired after driving for nearly 10 hours and 600km. Junpai D80 thought of this intimately. When driving to 60km/h-180km/h, Junpai D80 analyzes whether the driver is tired or not, and reminds the driver to pay attention to rest through sound, icon and text, so as to avoid fatigue driving and ensure driving safety.
At the same time, the proper wrapping and ergonomics of the front seats of the Junpai D80 can greatly reduce the fatigue of driving on non-paved roads for a long time. travel.
DAY3: Turpan - Flame Mountain
When mentioning Huoyanshan, the first thing people think of is the fairy tale in "Journey to the West". It is recorded in the article that "Huoyan Mountain has eight hundred miles of flames, and there is no grass growing around it. If you pass through the mountain, even your copper head and iron body will be turned into juice!" The connection between the bull and the demon king makes the Flaming Mountain full of magic and becomes a strange mountain in the world.
The Turpan Flaming Mountain Scenic Spot is located next to the Lianhuo Expressway on the east side of Turpan City, about 30 kilometers from the urban area by car. It is a landform scenic spot dominated by fiery red reddish brown sandstone landforms. Huoyan Mountain is the hottest place in China. The highest temperature in summer is as high as 47.8 degrees Celsius, and the highest surface temperature is as high as 89 degrees Celsius.
Seeing the Huoyan Mountain really, my heart felt like magma flowing. Looking around, the Huoyan Mountain under the scorching sun is a vast expanse of maroon sandstone, and there is no green scene anywhere. Like a burning mass, it was scorching and dazzling, and the current in the air was full of burning smell.
There is no doubt that the Junpai D80 has withstood the "baking" test in the scorching heat of the Turpan area. Although the surface temperature is close to 70 degrees Celsius, the Junpai D80's engine temperature, engine start and stop, and braking are stable. In the hot zone for a long time, low idle speed and heavy load driving, the engine and parts of the Junpai D80 still show Good thermal zone adaptability.
In addition, the cooling effect of the air conditioner in the car is even more commendable. It only needs to turn on the air conditioner within 5 minutes to effectively reduce the temperature in the car; in about 20 minutes, the environment in the car will be very comfortable and pleasant.
Perhaps, our life is as hot as a flaming mountain. From the initial spark to the radiance now, the hope of life stands in my heart like a flaming mountain, which is a heat wave radiating from the inside out. After going through a period of life, we will find that the passion of life can burn like this. Just like us now, we can proudly say to our future selves that there was once a passionate burning time in our life, on the Flame Mountain.
DAY4: Turpan - Grape Valley - Jiaohe Ancient City - Karamay
The convoy headed west and drove for about half an hour on the Yanjing New Expressway. About 10 kilometers northeast of Turpan City, you can see a canyon under the Flame Mountain, which is also an oasis in the Flame Mountain—named Grape Valley.
One cannot mention Turpan without mentioning grapes. In the hot and scorching Huoyanshan area, Grape Valley is like a cool oasis, cool and humid. Lush grapes are planted on both sides of the tree-shaded village road. Compared with the heat in the Flame Mountain, strolling on the shady path of Grape Valley is more pleasant.
About half an hour's drive away from Grape Valley, there stands an ancient city - Jiaohe Ancient City. The Old City of Jiaohe is the largest, oldest and best-preserved city of adobe architecture in the world. It is also the most complete urban relic in my country for more than two thousand years.
On this road, the adhesion of the gravel road is reduced, which is a test of the grip of the tires of the driving vehicle. But Junpai D80 tires have good grip and no fluttering driving feeling.
DAY5: Karamay - Dushanzi Grand Canyon
Karamay City is located in a traffic hub. The North Road of the ancient Silk Road once passed nearby. It is an important node of the Belt and Road New Silk Road going west. As a city rising in the Gobi desert, Karamay not only has urban roads and provincial highways, but also has a large area of Gobi desert and wind-eroded landforms. The yellow, sandy, winding and rugged road environment is an excellent venue for testing vehicle performance and all-terrain capabilities.
In Dushanzi District, 28km south of Karamay City, this is the Quaternary and Tertiary sedimentary strata formed hundreds of millions of years after the Kuitun River rushed out of the Tianshan Mountains. The deep river valley, the magical canyon scenery formed on the plain - Dushanzi Grand Canyon. The ground on both sides of the canyon is desert grassland, the valley wall is steep and cliffy, and the soil of the canyon where the rainwater flows down forms a variety of alluvial gullies, which makes people all lament the magical power of nature.
The canyon road section is not only mostly gravel roads, but also has many sharp S-curves. If you don't pay attention, it will cause the self-driving car to roll over. Fortunately, Junpai D80 is equipped with Bosch version 9.3 ESP system, which has solid driving control and precise pointing. Moreover, when the vehicle rolls seriously at any time, the anti-roll stabilization system of the ESP system will quickly adjust the braking force distribution of the wheels on both sides, and at the same time reduce the torque output of the engine, so as to restore the balance of the vehicle in the shortest time and lower the vehicle body. The danger of shaking and rolling ensures the safety of vehicle drivers and passengers.
DAY6: Karamay-Duku Highway, Bayingou Ranch
Starting from the urban area of Karamay, go to the next destination, across the mountains and through the deep valleys. The road under your feet is the Duku Highway, which can be called the "China Highway Disease Museum". Duku Highway is not an ordinary road. It is a miraculous road over mountains and ridges. More than half of the section passes through mountains, deep rivers and canyons. Landslides, avalanches, floods and other disasters have endangered the road for many years. The section of the road is surrounded by cliffs, and one-fifth of the section is in the alpine permafrost.
The scenery along the way is particularly beautiful and spectacular because of its danger. The snow-capped mountains, grasslands and lakes in the distance are inlaid in the mountains like emeralds. To see its magnificence in this life will definitely give you a sense of happiness and satisfaction.
As a product of the brand-new platform specially built by FAW Group for SUV models, the Junpai D80 has put a lot of effort into the chassis when it was built. The chassis adopts a front MacPherson independent suspension and a rear torsion beam semi-independent suspension. Facing bumpy roads, it can also move freely and fearlessly.
Along the Duku Highway, a vast green grassland is wrapped in the coolness brought by the snow-capped mountains, exuding a fragrance that hits the face. This is the most remote grassland in my country - Bayingou Ranch. Looking around, there are many mountains, clouds and mists are lingering between the snow-capped mountains, and the rainbow in the sky has set up a colorful arch bridge between the valleys. Everything is so harmonious.
In this pure grassland, fame and fortune, love and hatred seem to be no longer important in the heart, let the troubles be dissipated in this ethereal and pure grassland and mountains!
This Junpai trip carefully tastes the economic, humanistic and natural scenery of the Xinjiang section of the Silk Road, carefully measures a series of insurmountable impasses, a series of incomparable magnificence, and a series of unrepeatable greatness...
Perhaps, the road of life is a process of continuous conquest.
Conquer a mountain, and you will know how high the mountain is;
Conquer a land, and you know the land is vast;
Conquer the desert in front of you, and you will know the value of the oasis.
However, the era of single-handedly has passed, and we can find the meaning of life and value by choosing the most appropriate helper to make mountains and rivers become ordinary scenery in actual steps.
Junpai D80, experience with strength and witness thousands of scenery with excellence.
Next stop, conquer again.
Author profile + contact information
Qianfan Yuanchen, a global traveler, a hotel experience engineer, a contract photographer with Xinhua News Agency, and an independent travel writer for self-media. She never wants to compare the amount of travel time with those travel experts and professional players, she just lives while traveling. Long-distance travel once a month has become her habit and an indispensable part of her life. In recent years, she has traveled to 525 cities in 101 countries, and landed on the Antarctic continent as far as possible. Reading thousands of books and traveling thousands of miles, you can get help from yourself and others. I hope that I can share the journey with you in my lifetime, peace and joy.
Work email 352373964@qq.com
Sina Weibo: @千风远澋
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