Back to Xinjiang: Tacheng

Ever since experiencing summer in Xinjiang last year, I’d had one thought stuck in my head: I absolutely had to come back and experience winter here too. With the New Year holiday upon us, it was time to make it happen.

        Here are the places we passed through on this trip. Having finished the whole journey, I personally think it was well worth it. One stretch of road followed the border the entire way—an incredible, unforgettable experience.

        We arrived in Urumqi, rested for a night, then set off for our first stop: Karamay, the only city in China named after oil. My first impression of the city was how clean and tidy it was. Even though the snow had only recently stopped, the streets were still spotless, which made our car look a little out of place.

        We took a break in Karamay and had a simple meal of big-plate chicken. While wandering aimlessly around town, we noticed quite a few vendors selling horse meat straight from their vehicles—a first for me. Along the way, we came across some freshly baked naan, grabbed two, and continued toward our final stop for the day: Tacheng.

        On the expressway from Karamay to Tacheng, snow-covered mountains stretched endlessly along both sides. After sunset, the scenery was especially captivating.

        Along the way, we drove through a stretch of blowing snow. I’d thought we’d only see that at Sayram Lake, but here we were, encountering it on day one. The wind swept grains of snow across the ground, swirling like silver dragons. Wind turbines and power pylons in the distance faded in and out of view, giving the whole scene an apocalyptic feel.

        After our initiation by blowing snow, night quietly fell. That was when I noticed the moon looking as though it were trapped between two thick layers of cloud, spilling a faint glow through a torn opening—mysterious, profound, and a little dreamlike.

        With night around us, we finally arrived in Tacheng. Sure enough, the city had a distinctly Russian feel. The red buildings lining the streets looked even more striking after dark, giving the place a strong sense of being somewhere foreign.

        The New Year holiday is definitely a fantastic time to visit Xinjiang. Flights and rental cars are cheap, and expressway tolls are waived too. Most importantly, it’s a relatively quiet season in Xinjiang: fewer people, fewer cars, cheap accommodation, and scenery that’s still magnificent and captivating. Absolutely worth a trip.