Let's Go to Xinjiang 2

First: wishing everyone good luck in 2025, the Year of the Snake.        

Second: this Xinjiang update is long overdue, so you can revisit the first post.

Finally: let’s begin part two of Let’s Go to Xinjiang.

        Picking up where we left off, after taking in Sayram Lake, we started getting ready to head to a road-trip paradise—the Duku Highway. It runs across the Tianshan Mountains from north to south, and if you’re lucky, you can experience all four seasons in a single day. It’s also a road built by heroes: tens of thousands of soldiers and officers worked tirelessly for ten years to build it, and quite a few never made it home. Once it opened, the original 1000-kilometer journey between northern and southern Xinjiang was cut by almost half. This is undoubtedly the road most worth driving yourself.

        Wanting to experience the entire Duku Highway, we planned to go to Nalati first, then reach Kuqa at the highway’s southern end, and finally drive it in reverse from Kuqa back to its starting point in Dushanzi. That would amount to driving the Duku Highway one and a half times. It would take a little extra time, but personally, rather than visit tourist attractions that all look alike, we’d much rather while away our time on a road where the scenery changes every few miles.

        We finally got everything settled in Nalati before sunset. My travel buddy had a headache, so I went out alone for some fresh air. The town wasn’t big; when I reached an intersection, I could already see grassy hills ahead. I kept walking toward the grassland until a little stream blocked my way, almost like a boundary between the town and the grassland.

        There’s something wonderful about stepping outside and finding scenery just a short walk away. Even though it was drizzling, I stayed around for quite a while before leaving.

     After a night’s rest, we headed south along the Duku Highway the next day. As soon as we left Nalati, the scenery around us was already unbeatable.

        Every now and then, we could even see eagles circling overhead.

        We passed a hillside that looked relatively gentle, and I suddenly felt like climbing it. I thought it would take half an hour, but wow, mountains really are farther away than they look! It ended up taking nearly two hours to get up there. The view from the top was absolutely incredible. Looking at the mani stone pile on the hilltop and the snow-covered mountains across from us, I felt at one with nature. All my exhaustion and worries seemed to disappear in that moment.

        There were all sorts of rocks halfway up the hillside. This one in particular was beautifully unassuming, almost like the hillside’s designated rest stop.

        On the way down, we passed whole flocks of lamb skewers on legs. They were making me hungry, hahaha.

        After coming down, we took a few bites of naan and set off on the next leg of our trip. As we drove through the Bayinbuluk Grassland, the grassland on both sides was incredibly flat, and we could even see snow-covered mountains in the distance. That gave us another idea: why not see if we could get to the foot of those mountains? After discussing it for two or three minutes, we found an entrance and drove straight onto the grassland.

        After driving a dozen or so kilometers into the grassland, we reached the farthest point accessible by car. Along the way, we passed by a few small streams and spotted some chubby marmots poking their heads out. Getting into the grassland went relatively smoothly, and the driving itself was especially awesome. With vast grasslands stretching out on both sides, the experience was as good as it gets. I absolutely love that feeling.

        After experiencing some real grassland driving, we returned to the main road and continued toward our next destination. Just after we left the Bayinbuluk Grassland, a whole series of snow-covered mountains came into view, with a little stream nearby. Being somewhere that brings together snowy mountains, grassland, and flowing water really feels so good.

        Oh, and here’s a stretch of immersive driving through the snow-covered mountains for you to experience.

        Not long after that drive through the snowy mountains, we reached a tunnel. Going through it felt different from the previous ones, which had all been relatively short. This one was especially long. When we finally drove out, the scenery made a 180-degree turn: the endless grasslands instantly became what you see below. Simply marveling at it hardly feels enough—the scenery really does change every few miles!

        As we approached Kuqa, the scenery changed again. The previously plain mountain peaks took on an iron-red hue, making them especially striking, with clearly defined layers.

        Oh, and there’s also this photo of the moon climbing over the hillside. It was already past nine in the evening local time.

        We finally reached the end of the Duku Highway, Kuqa, at around ten that night.

        After a night’s rest, we noticed something amusing along the way: the shops on both sides of the street all had playful, cute names, hahaha.

        Passing through the old town, we arrived at the Kuqa Royal Palace and Kuqa Mosque. The last royal consort lives at the palace, and you can pay 30 yuan to have a photo taken with her.

        Kuqa Mosque has quite a story: it was built using the whites of 4,800,000 eggs as a binding agent. That’s pretty astonishing.

        Inside the mosque were several woven tapestry pictures, full of the distinctive character of southern Xinjiang.

        After we finished looking around the mosque, people suddenly started dancing in the street. Honestly, they were really good. When it comes to dancing, Xinjiang really knows what’s what!

        If you come to Xinjiang, you absolutely can’t miss the yogurt shaved ice here. The owner chips the ice directly with a shovel, then adds rich yogurt. It’s refreshing, perfect for cooling off, and tastes fantastic.

        After our brief stay in Kuqa, we got ready to drive the Duku Highway in reverse, eventually reaching Urumqi. On the return drive, we passed the Greater and Lesser Dragon Pools. I strongly recommend getting out of the car to take in the scenery here—the lakes reflect the distant mountain peaks, and it’s really beautiful.

        Since we’d set off quite early, fog gradually started appearing after an uphill stretch. It even affected visibility while driving, so we couldn’t help slowing down.

        As we kept climbing and gaining elevation, we looked back and saw the scenery below gradually changing. The distant grasslands appeared and disappeared in the morning mist, making us want to stop and lose ourselves in the view.

        As time passed, the scenery before us changed subtly. The mist over the distant grasslands and mountains grew thicker, gradually gathering into a mass of cloud and fog. As if driven by an invisible force, it surged skyward, then swirled and spread through the air. We couldn’t help marveling at nature’s incredible handiwork.

        Finally, as noon approached, the fog gradually cleared. Just then, we spotted a herder family nearby selling grilled lamb skewers, so we stopped to ask about them. As it turned out, they were slaughtering a sheep right then—which meant the skewers we were about to eat would be as fresh as they could possibly get. What a treat we were in for!

        After enjoying those freshest-of-the-fresh lamb skewers, we drove straight on to Dushanzi, reaching the starting point of the Duku Highway. And with that, our reverse drive along the Duku Highway came to a happy end. Of course, the scenery before reaching Dushanzi shouldn’t be overlooked either—the views along the way were breathtaking.

        After a two-hour drive, we finally arrived in Urumqi, bringing this stunning journey to an end.

Finally, I’m looking forward to a second trip to Xinjiang—or even a third.

A Few Other Fun Things

        Let me tell you about my travel buddy for this trip—I’ll call him “Liang” here. We went to Xinjiang in July, which was actually a bit awkward timing, mainly because there wasn’t much time off. Later, I talked to Liang, told him about my route, and sent him a few videos of Xinjiang. After watching them, he said, “Fuck going to work. I want my damn freedom!” Then, just like that, he took a week off. You have to understand how hard it is for a programmer to take an entire week off! All I can say is: legend. Of course, I’m also incredibly grateful to Liang. Without him, this Xinjiang trip might have fallen through. Still, I think those seven days of scenery were absolutely worth it.

        Finally, here’s the itinerary document for this Xinjiang trip. Feel free to use it as a reference if you need it!

https://t0ghemccg3t.feishu.cn/docx/FKdCdSwd7oBYuExXHT9cI2JEnOe

You’ve made it this far—how about a follow and a tap on “Wow”?