3-Day Trip from Chengdu to Sayram Lake (November 22)

It turns out there is an airport just 1.5 hours by car from Sayram Lake, and my husband wanted to go, so we decisively went. We originally planned a 2-day special forces style trip, but in reality, 3 days is more suitable and leisurely. Unfortunately, even with 3 days, we were still rushing around a bit. Day 1: Chengdu ✈️ Yining, 8:30 AM, 4-hour journey. When we arrived in Yining, we found the weather at Sayram Lake was bad, so we went to Kuerdening instead. We set off around 2 PM and arrived at the scenic area after 5 PM. The weather was still bad and it was getting dark. Honestly, there wasn’t much to do. The last spot had snow, at least 15 cm thick. We played in the snow for a while. It was getting dark and it started snowing again. For people from Sichuan, this was still quite an experience. We stayed near Kuerdening. At 6:30 AM, after discovering snow, the sky was full of stars and we even saw a shooting star—a gift from Kuerdening. Day 2: Kuerdening 🚗 Sayram Lake, at least 5 hours by car. In Xinjiang, it only gets light at 9:30 AM, and we didn’t leave until 11 AM. We arrived at Sayram Lake after 4 PM. It’s amazing how such a huge place exists in the world, and how you can’t take it all in at once! The lake is surrounded by endless snow-capped mountains. We saw the sunset of the century—it was incredible! Look, some say to stay in Wenquan County, where the hotels are nice and you can soak in hot springs. It’s about 1 hour by car from Sayram Lake. We stayed there too. That night at 11 PM, we soaked in the outdoor hot springs at minus 4 degrees Celsius. With our group of three, all from Sichuan, I can only say Sichuan people really know how to have fun! But driving there at night was foggy, and the next morning was foggy too, which was quite scary. Day 3: Wenquan County 🚗 Sayram Lake We caught the 9:30 AM morning glow, which could also be called the morning glow of the century! The downside was that after watching the glow, we went to eat and waited quite a while. Actually, it was fine, but since we had a flight to catch after 2 PM, we were a bit anxious. This day’s itinerary was a bit rushed. We hurriedly finished viewing Sayram Lake. On the way back, my husband sped crazily and overtook on curves. I was ready to miss the flight, but we made it just in time. Important tips: 1. Best to spend 3 days 2. Only visit Sayram Lake as the attraction 3. You can go to Wenquan County to soak in hot springs, but there is heavy fog in the morning and evening, and the windshield can freeze over completely in the morning 🐶 4. Definitely do not go to Kuerdening 5. Watch the morning and evening glow; the evening glow is very cold, super cold, even heat packs seem ineffective 🐶 6. You must know how to drive; you need to drive inside Sayram Lake area too 7. It’s best to stay outside Sayram Lake where there are many hotels, so you don’t have to travel long distances by car