Xinjiang Revisited—Sayram Lake

Half a year later, I’m finally wrapping up my return trip to Xinjiang. Honestly, I’ve dragged this out a bit too long.

    After a day of rest, we set off for Sayram Lake early the next morning. With the distant mountains as a backdrop, the border crossing had a charm all its own in the early morning.

    After a simple breakfast, we headed for Sayram Lake. I was really excited about this visit: last time I’d come in summer, but this time we were coming specifically to see Sayram Lake in winter. The peaks along the way wore silver armor, giving them a more imposing air than in summer.

     Two or three hours later, we finally arrived at Sayram Lake. Not long after passing through the main gate, we spotted two workers busy piling up snow. With nothing else to do, we went over and asked what they were making. They said they were piling up snow for people to ski on, and enthusiastically urged us to give it a try. That’s how the scenes below came about. Getting there from the road meant trudging through a stretch of snow, which wasn’t easy, so the two of us had it to ourselves the whole time. Other people just watched from a distance. It was free, too! We played for over half an hour, hahaha. Ridiculously fun.

    Once we’d had our fill of skiing, we headed toward Sayram Lake. By February, the lake had long since become one enormous chunk of ice. Walking on it, we kept seeing cracks of varying depths, and sometimes heard a muffled “bong” from beneath the ice—probably the sound of ice cracking. Bubbles of all sizes were scattered through the ice, like little decorations.

    After walking on the ice for a while, we drove around the lake, quietly waiting for Sayram Lake’s “Blue‑Pink Hour.” At nearly eight, the lake’s most spectacular moment finally arrived: Blue‑Pink Hour. The sky’s colors gradually shifted from pink to blue. The whole spectacle lasted only twenty minutes, but that moment alone was absolutely worth at least half the cost of this trip. Just unbeatable. So dreamlike.

    Of course, you’re probably wondering what color the sky was on the opposite side from the pink. As luck would have it, I photographed that too. It was mostly cool tones, and personally, I thought it was every bit as beautiful as the pink side.

    After Sayram Lake’s Blue‑Pink Hour ended, we set off for Wenquan County, where we’d be spending the night. While crossing the mountains, we saw the brightest, most star-filled sky I’ve ever seen with my own eyes to date. We even stopped the car and quietly watched for a while.

    After a night’s rest in Wenquan County, we drove the next morning and discovered a layer of frost flowers covering the car windows. I’d never seen that before. Pretty beautiful, hahaha.

    After leaving the hotel, we picked a baked-bun shop at random. A few buns each, along with a bowl of milk tea with milk skin, brought this trip to a close. Wenquan reminded me of Nalati in its style, but it isn’t a tourist town, so it was a little less noisy. With distant mountains standing at the far end of town, it felt peaceful and comfortable. I really liked it.

    Here’s the travel guide for this trip:https://t0ghemccg3t.feishu.cn/docx/F85zdMoBmofdPfxUE0bcc97inxc?from=from_copylink

        Finally, how could you visit Sayram Lake without going to Guozigou? Experience Guozigou Bridge up close in 30 seconds.