Unforgettable trip to southern Xinjiang

From a very young age, I learned from books that Xinjiang is a good place. Far away, there are alpine canyons, snowy plateaus, Tianshan Mountains, Kunlun Mountains, Tarim Basin and Taklimakan Desert, where the scenery is picturesque, melons and fruits are fragrant, and ethnic customs, songs and dances are all fascinating.

On October 1th, I set off from Shanghai and flew directly to Urumqi. During the flight time of nearly 6 hours, the temperature in Urumqi was 8 degrees lower than that in Shanghai, and my body felt a little cold. There is a long mound next to the airport runway, which is very special. I guess it is used for wind protection.

There is a subway from the airport to the downtown area, which is also the only subway in Urumqi. The population of the city is only over 3 million, and few people take the subway. My friends are big and multidimensional, and there are two young women sitting opposite me. They are beautiful, white-skinned, with high noses, big eyes and angular faces. They speak Uighur language, and they speak very fast. The hotel I booked is near the International Grand Bazaar, and the subway is direct.

The International Grand Bazaar has a strong Islamic architectural style, which embodies the rich ethnic characteristics and regional culture of the western regions.

There are super-large buildings, Grand Bazaar Ballroom, Grand Bazaar Food Plaza, Grand Bazaar Happy Plaza, the 8-meter first sightseeing tower in Xinjiang, a sightseeing Islamic mosque and many tourist craft boutiques.

There are not many tourists now, which may be due to the cold weather. There is a century-old barbecue shop, which also bought a few, and prepared a lunch for the next few days. One in 5 yuan is original, not very hard. Around the hotel, there are many restaurants in Xinjiang, all of which are luxuriously decorated. But not many guests, later people know that our transfer time is more than 5 o'clock, Xinjiang people eat mostly around 9 o'clock, and children are after 7 o'clock. There is a steamed stuffed bun shop next to the Civil Affairs Bureau in Urumqi. I bought four buns for three yuan each. The stuffing inside is made of mutton and beef, not freshly baked, and the taste is average. I went to a snack bar with more people in Xinjiang. It was very clean, the curtains were fine white rust flowers, and the whole store looked elegant. I found that Xinjiang people pay great attention to their own clothes, neat and solemn, and their hair is meticulous. Even in Ta County, which is thousands of kilometers away from Urumqi. But the food, I still feel a little uncomfortable.

the first day (October 11th, 22), Urumqi-Luobu village-Korla.

the guide driver came to pick us up early in the morning, and it was dark outside after 7 o'clock. There are four friends in the same company, and Buick's business car is very comfortable. The driver said that we have a total distance of 2,5 kilometers. This is only a small part of southern Xinjiang. No wonder some people say that China is not as big as Xinjiang. Fortunately, the driver is a tour guide, and he is still a veteran. He is over 4 years old, funny, knowledgeable and mainly talkative. Laughing and laughing all the way.

an expressway, which soon leaves Urumqi, goes all the way east, Turpan direction, Tuwu Expressway, with eight lanes in both directions. It takes more than an hour to drive, and then all the way south, all of which is desert. In the distance, Shan Lan is the Tianshan Mountains. It's almost time for Dabancheng, and the genius is bright. Dabancheng is covered with trees in the distance, but the girls in Dabancheng didn't see it, and big braid disappeared. There is also a scenery along the road, that is, the wind farm. After two hours of high-speed walking, all of them are big fans, and only one cost more than 1 million yuan. Some are rotating, some are not, and they are artificially controlled, generating electricity as needed. The wind in Xinjiang is strong, and even the train blows over when it is strong.

After arriving at Xiaocaohu Interchange, you don't take Lianhuo Expressway. You go directly south, take Tuhe Expressway, cross Tianshan Mountain, pass Toksun County, go all the way west along the southern land of Tianshan Mountain, and pass Bosten Lake Scenic Area. In fact, it is more than 2 kilometers away from the highway, and there is no shadow of the lake. Seeing patches of red pepper threshing ground along the road is spectacular.

The driver said that the quality of peppers in Xinjiang is the best in China. The roadside is full of sun-dried peppers.

At noon, I ate the famous fragrant pear in Korla. It was very sweet and watery. It was so delicious that I could eat it even with the skin. Order a box of 12kg directly, and post it in 85 yuan. After lunch, I will go to Luopu Village in Yuli County, an ancient village that makes a living by fishing. Next to the Tarim River, which is more than 2,km long and the fifth largest inland river in the world. Luopu Village is on the edge of Taklimakan. Taklimakan Desert is located in the center of Tarim Basin, with a length of about 1, kilometers from east to west and a width of about 4 kilometers from north to south. It is the second largest desert in the world after the Sahara Desert in Africa. "Taklimakan" means "you can't get in" in Uighur, also known as "the sea of death". Standing on the sand mountain, there are many reeds near the desert in Tarim River, and the photos are beautiful. There are yellow Populus euphratica dotted in the lake, which is so beautiful.

There are three old people in the village, one is very tall, all are working, all are centenarians, and they look in good spirits. In the evening, I returned to the city of Korla. Korla is the seat of the regional government of Bayinguoleng Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture. It is a city built in the desert. The air is not good. I set off at 8 o'clock the next day, and I didn't see the city appearance of Korla city.

The next day (October 12th, 22), Korla-Huyanglin Park-Kuqa

set off from Korla early in the morning. Destination, see Yanglin, along the road is a desert road, which is said to be a desert road, but there are still sporadic shrubs and red branches on both sides of the road. The road to be taken can be said to be the longest in the world-the longest road built in a flowing desert. It runs through the Taklimakan Desert, the largest desert in China, from north to south, with a length of 446 kilometers crossing the flowing desert, which was only completed in 1995, making it one of the most difficult roads to build in China. In fact, it is difficult for people to see too much desert scenery when sitting in the car. In order to ensure that the road will not be eroded by the flowing desert, the sand-fixing green belts planted on both sides of the road are half a person high. Looking out from the car, it is hard to imagine that this is the largest desert in China. But several oil and gas areas have been discovered.

In China, 9% of Hu Yangshu grows in southern Xinjiang, and Populus euphratica in southern Xinjiang is concentrated around Tarim River. Hu Yangshu and Populus euphratica, who are known for their magical life cycle of "three thousand years", live for a thousand years without dying, but die for a thousand years without falling down, but not rotting for a thousand years. Luntai county Tarim Populus euphratica National Forest Park, covering an area of about 1 square kilometers, is located in the middle reaches of Tarim River on the northeast edge of Taklimakan Desert.

Take a shuttle bus through the Populus euphratica forest, and then take photos on foot. Populus euphratica is struggling with the arid climate with its tenacious vitality. Whether it is lush green leaves, cracked trunks or dry branches, they all symbolize the power of life. Take photos all the way, and feel its unyielding life and tenacious strength.

after the visit, today's destination Kuqa is desert along the road. Kuqa is located at the eastern end of Aksu area. We arrived at the hotel earlier, so we can have a good visit to the night market today. Roads are built everywhere in Kuqa city, so we can only walk. There is a kind of fruit called fig, which is delicious and can be eaten with skin. The fruit in Xinjiang is very strange, and the pear is eaten with skin, so it doesn't feel bad at all.

Kuqa Night Market has been a great success. I suggest you go there.

There are many kinds of food, as well as folk song and dance performances, with big bones and large portions. As long as 68 yuan has one portion, it tastes super good. Under the recommendation of the store, eating noodles is very appetizing.

On the third day (October 13th, 22), Kuqa-Mysterious Grand Canyon of Tianshan Mountain-Kizil Thousand Buddha Cave-Aksu.

Shenmi Grand Canyon in Tianshan Mountain is located 64 kilometers north of Kuqa County (known as Qiuci in ancient times) in Xinjiang, surrounded by mountains at the southern foot of Tianshan Mountain, which is a combination of the wonders of the human canyon and the wonders of Tianshan Mountain. The mountains are composed of ochre argillaceous sandstone.

After going to the mysterious Grand Canyon in Tianshan Mountain, we took a short section of the single-reservoir highway, actually a short section of the highway crossing Tianshan Mountain, and the features of Danxia landform appeared. The canyon is deep and bare, and the rocks are of different colors, forming faults, or straight lines, or bends, which took hundreds of millions of years of geological movement to form. This is the power of nature. When passing through a tunnel, the driver let us off and took a beautiful picture. A mountain looks like Potala Palace, which is magnificent under the sunrise. I also climbed a hill and took some master works. Very satisfied.

The Grand Canyon is a dry sandstone mountain on the southern slope of Tianshan Mountain. Especially, the mountain here is ochre red. Under the sunlight, the rock wall is as red as a flame, which is spectacular. The mouth of the canyon is wide, the bottom of the valley is flat, the winding path in the valley is secluded, and there is a hole in the sky. The cliffs on both sides go straight into the sky, which is in line with the movement of sunlight.

After coming out of Shenmi Grand Canyon in Tianshan Mountain, we returned to the southern foot of Tianshan Mountain along Duku Highway, took the provincial road to the west and headed for Kizil Grottoes. The driver told us that we had been marching on the mountainside of Tianshan Mountain, but we just couldn't feel it. When we arrived at Kizil Grottoes, we realized that we had to go down to the valley. At noon, I ate an authentic small restaurant opened by Xinjiang people, and there was no signboard. The local villagers patronized it a lot, and the hand-grabbed rice was so delicious.

Kizil Grottoes, also known as Kizil Thousand-Buddha Cave and China Buddhist Grottoes, are the cultural relics of ancient Qiuci. 2 years before the Mogao Grottoes. Due to the limited reception capacity, the queue only lasted for more than 2 hours. As an important grotto in the history of the spreading of Buddhism along the Silk Road to the East, there used to be Sanskrit, but after a thousand years, only the remaining grottoes and mottled murals remained, which made people sigh. The sculpture of Kumarajiva, a monk at the entrance, stared at the footsteps of modern visitors with his eyes closed. Climbing the steps leading to the cliff, dozens of grotto sites are distributed on the cliff, which makes people feel the power of faith.

On the fourth day (October 14th, 22), Aksu-Kashgar Ancient City-Kashgar,

There were no scenic spots on this day's trip, but the scenery along the road was beautiful. At 8: 3, before dawn, we set off and walked west along the G312 Tuhe Expressway. The whole journey is high-speed, and the beautiful Tianshan Mountain is presented in front of us in another beautiful style. Here, the mountains are tall and the Yadan landform stretches for hundreds of kilometers. All of them are of this landform, which is extremely magnificent. The various veins of the mountain show different colors, and there are green ore bodies. The driver said that it is a gold mine, which can't be seen in other places. Compared with Danxia in Zhangye, Gansu, it is really dwarfed.

Suddenly, in the distance, there are 3322 wild camels strolling leisurely in the desert, all of which are very strong. The driver said that if there are rings on their ears, they are owned. Crows, eagles, etc. were also seen from time to time along the road.

this expressway lasts for nearly 6 hours, and the road conditions are good, but there are too few service areas. Passing through a service area, I happened to see it. The fig tree has gained knowledge. When we are approaching Kashgar, Tianshan Mountain and Kunshan are slowly connected. Think about all the way from Urumqi, and we have been marching along Tianshan Mountain for thousands of kilometers. I can't help feeling that Xinjiang is really big, and the mountains and rivers of the motherland are so vast and magnificent!

The full name of Kashgar is "Kashgar", which means "the place where jade is concentrated". It has a recorded history of more than 2, years, surrounded by mountains on three sides and open on one side, with a population of 4 million. In ancient times, Shule and Kashgar were regarded as the traffic hubs of the ancient Silk Road, and they were international commercial ports where Chinese and foreign businessmen gathered. It is also the only national historical and cultural city in Xinjiang, which embodies the characteristics and essence of Uygur folk customs, culture and art, architectural style and traditional economy. After settling down in the hotel, our party can't wait to visit the ancient city. The streets and lanes in the city are criss-crossed. Most of the houses are civil, brick and wood structures, with yellow-gray architectural tones. The brick carvings and wooden doors on the exterior walls are very ethnic. Many traditional houses have a history of one hundred years.

The ancient city of Kashgar has a large area. There are three commercial streets. We came to a snack street. There are all kinds of Xinjiang foods, such as roasted eggs, pigeons, steamed stuffed buns, mutton, yogurt seeds, hand-grabbed rice, nuts and fruits. The most impressive ones are roasted pumpkins, pumpkins of different sizes, which are all kinds of nuts, which are particularly delicious. There are many children playing in the alley of the ancient city, and the children are quite cooperative.

In the morning, you can walk through the ancient city of Kashgar from the hotel to the Etigar Mosque. The main entrance of Aitigar Mosque is bright goose yellow, which is very conspicuous in the whole ancient city of Kashgar. The Aitigar Mosque was first built in the mid-15th century, and has been rebuilt and expanded many times. It is the largest mosque in Xinjiang and one of the largest mosques in China.

When entering the main entrance of the mosque, the most attractive thing is this hung carpet, which was presented to the Etigar Mosque by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It is exquisite and unusual. Here is a picture of pomegranate flowers. The meaning of this picture is "All ethnic groups should hold together tightly like pomegranate seeds." This slogan can be seen everywhere in Xinjiang. This multi-ethnic place is of great significance.

Gaotai residential building is a very distinctive Uighur community in Kashgar. It is built on a loess plateau and is said to have a history of more than 6 years. Most of the houses here are adobe houses and brick houses, which are stacked on top of each other, winding, up and down, which is the witness of generations of Uighur compatriots living here. Looking in from the outside, it feels like entering a maze with a heavy history. Due to the age, many houses appeared cracks and looked shaky. When we came here, it was being upgraded, so we were not allowed to visit, so we turned around and left.

On the fifth day (October 15th, 22), Kashgar-Baisha Lake-Karakuli Lake-Taxian

The film "The Visitor on the Iceberg" made the world know about the Pamir Plateau, which means "the roof of the world" in Tajik. Starting from Kashgar, the flat China-Pakistan Friendship Highway connects the plateau, passing through Bulunkou, Baisha Lake and Baisha Mountain in Bulunkou. Today,

A Tajik woman baked naan with cow dung by the roadside, and our party asked for two, which were very delicious.

further on, you will arrive at muztag ata, the most beautiful snow-capped mountain in southern Xinjiang, with an altitude of 7,59 meters. The name Mustag is a transliteration of Uyghur language, which originally means "the father of icebergs". More than a dozen glaciers have developed in Mustag, and the thickness of ice on the top of the mountain is about 2 meters. Although muztag ata is over 7m above sea level, its slope is relatively gentle, and it is relatively easy to climb in the 7m-level snow-capped mountains. In the past, climbing was allowed and skiing was allowed. But in the past two years, in order to protect the glacier from further melting, it has been closed, and perhaps overlooking it is the best way for us to appreciate the glacier now.

The Taheman Wetland at the foot of Muztag and Gonggeer Jiubie Peak is golden in this season, which is in harmony with the snow-capped mountains. Standing by the lake overlooking the towering snow-capped mountains and taking a close look at the calm lake, I sighed that we are so small in front of nature, why can't we slow down our pace, let go of our feelings, listen to the voice of nature, fear the power of nature and awaken our true inner feelings.

after this, it's not far from litashkurgan county. National Highway 314 continues to extend forward on the vast Pamirs. The Stone Town here is an important pass on the Silk Road in ancient times, from which business travelers going west travel.