Enjoy the beauty of the middle section of Duku Highway and the elegance of the northern section

After leaving the Tangbula Grassland, we returned from the S315 Provincial Highway and continued north, passing through the most beautiful northern section of the Duku Highway. The Duku Highway, also known as the Dushanzi-Kuqa Highway, is the southern section of National Highway 217, which connects northern and southern Xinjiang. It is the best route for traveling from northern to southern Xinjiang in summer. It is also known as the Tianshan Highway because it crosses the Tianshan Mountains. It is a secondary highway that starts in Dushanzi District, Karamay City, the oil city of northern Xinjiang, and ends in Kuqa City, Aksu Prefecture, southern Xinjiang, on the southern slope of the Tianshan Mountains and the northern edge of the Tarim Basin. It is known as the "most beautiful highway in China." Construction began in 1974, the entire road was opened in 1979, and the entire road was completed in 1983. The Duku Highway is 561 km long, with 280 km of the road at an altitude of over 2,000 meters, and the highest point, the Tielimaiti Daban, is over 3,400 meters above sea level. Due to the natural factors of snow and ice in the Tianshan Mountains in winter, the Duku Highway is generally closed from early November to May or June of the following year, with a closure period of up to 8 months. The best time to visit is in July and August. Although I didn't see the colorful wildflowers in late August, the scenery along the Duku Highway was absolutely stunning, with winding mountain roads, and it was a great experience! Traveling to Xinjiang, whether self-driving or with a tour group, is more challenging than going to other places. Once, while having breakfast at a hotel, I heard a tourist counting the days left on their trip after only two days; our driver also said that he had encountered tourists who left the group before the trip was over. Indeed, during our ten-day trip, the longest journey was 680 km, with more than 5 hours of driving time. With breaks, sightseeing, and meals, arriving at the hotel at 8 or 9 pm was considered early, and several days were after 10 pm. We still had to go out for dinner and stroll around, and we went to bed in the middle of the night and left at 8:30 am. However, the beauty of Xinjiang is worth the bumps along the way. You won't know the beauty of China until you visit Xinjiang! Today's photos were taken from the car window on the northern section of the Duku Highway after returning from the S315 Provincial Highway, before reaching the Hashilagon Highway Tunnel, the highest in China.