Yili Loop Summer Self-Drive Tour
“Nothing can stop you from yearning for freedom.” Every time I hear this song, I think of the wonderful moments of my self-drive tour in Yili.
🕐️DAY 1: Urumqi—Anjihai Grand Canyon—Jinghe
13:00 Arrive in Urumqi, Xinjiang. Pick up the car at the airport, an orange Tank 300.
Have a meal at Loulan BBQ (Yingbin Road Branch), then head to Anjihai Grand Canyon.
This is a great first stop for a self-drive tour. The scenery on the way to Anjihai is already stunning. The sky is high and the clouds are light, the view is vast and desolate, and there are snow-capped mountains in the distance.
In the evening, arrive in Jinghe County and check in to the hotel to prepare for tomorrow's trip to Sayram Lake, Bole.
🕐️DAY 2: Sayram Lake—Guozigou Bridge—Yining City
Morning: Head to Sayram Lake, Bole. When we first arrived, the weather was not good, it was overcast and gloomy.
Keep going, and after passing the south gate, the weather cleared up. The sun shone down, and the color of the lake and the surrounding grassland scenery became as beautiful and stunning as the legends say.
As we drove forward, the scenery was overwhelming. On the left, there was a multi-layered green grassland and cedar forest, and on the right, the blue of Sayram Lake was clearly visible in the sunlight. The road ahead stretched straight to the snow-capped mountains in the distance. The vast, magnificent, and multi-layered scenery made us excited and thrilled.
Evening: Leave Sayram Lake Scenic Area at 7:30 pm and head to Guozigou Bridge.
The stunning scenery began after driving down from the Guozigou Bridge viewing platform. After descending to the bottom of the valley and moving forward, we experienced the first shock and excitement of this trip.
We drove through the mountains, with towering and steep mountains on both sides, changing vegetation, and occasional white yurts and cattle and sheep. It felt unreal, as if we were driving through a painting.
Arrive at the hotel at 11 pm and have a big plate of chicken.
🕐️DAY 3: Yining—Yizhao Highway—Xiata
Morning: First, we went to Liuxing Street in Yining City for breakfast. Then, the highlight of the day was the Yizhao Highway, known as the "Little Duku Highway."
We drove for 8.5 hours, stopping and going, and arrived at the homestay near Xiata Ancient Road National Forest Park at around 8 or 9 pm.
Today's trip on the Yizhao Highway left a deep impression on us.
We started driving along the mountain, and every turn revealed different scenery, both dangerous and vast. There were winding roads, cliffs, and towering mountains in front of us, as well as deep mountains and vast skies, grasslands, and snow-capped mountains in the distance. The near, middle, and distant views were all natural.
Every time we stopped, we stood by the cliff and seemed to automatically ignore the sound of passing cars. As we slowly looked into the distance, a feeling of emptiness, grandeur, insignificance, and silence naturally emerged, and we enjoyed it.
In addition, there were changes. The magical thing was that after a turn, the deep brown three-dimensional mountain scenery suddenly turned into a vast grassland like a green carpet. Looking up, the sky was high and the clouds were light, and eagles were soaring. Looking down, a horse stood alone on a distant mountain, eating grass like a still life painting. Looking down again, the grassland canyon had undulating terrain, stretching to the depths of the distant mountains, with flocks of white sheep and dark cattle and horses in the mountain valleys.
We continued forward, left the Yizhao Highway, turned onto County Road 758, passed several small towns, and approached Xiata. As we drove forward, there was a fairy-tale-like tranquility on the right, with a vast grassland, and on the left, a vast grassland in the foreground and silent mountains in the distance. The sky was extremely blue, the clouds were extremely white, and they were low.
In the evening, we checked in to a homestay near Xiata.
DAY 4: Xiata—Qiongkushitai
Morning: Go to Xiata, where people wear all kinds of clothes, from short sleeves to jackets and down jackets.
First, take a bus for 40 minutes, then take a sightseeing bus to the transfer bridge. Transfer Bridge—General Bridge—Kara House No. 1—Kara House No. 2. We should have reached between No. 2 and No. 3.
The highlight of Xiata's scenery is the view of Muzart Glacier from the corridor-like canyon. Along the way, the mountains surround us, the grassland extends from the foot of the mountain through the tall cedar forest, and the river formed by glacial meltwater accompanies us.
We rested in a shady mountain forest and saw the first squirrel. Later, we saw several more squirrels and a marmot, eating naan and looking cute.
We calculated the time to Qiongkushitai and started to return. At around 6 pm, we left the scenic area and headed to Qiongkushitai.
The road to Qiongkushitai was particularly challenging, with three mountains and two valleys, various hairpin turns, folding turns, and continuous 360-degree turns. It felt like we made 1,800 turns along the way... It was an unprecedented driving experience, with adrenaline pumping, excitement, and thrill.
We continued forward, entered the dense forest in the mountains, and finally reached Qiongkushitai Village.
DAY 5: Qiongkushitai—Wusun Ancient Road—Back Mountain—Xinyuan, Yili
After breakfast at the homestay, we went to Wusun Ancient Road in the morning. We walked along a rushing river into the dense forest. We were on the left bank of the river, walking through the mountains and forests, occasionally encountering a few wooden house homestays and many silent horses grazing and resting.
On the right bank of the river, there were grasslands, forests, and homestays nearby, and mountains in the distance. The mountain road was difficult to walk, with tree roots, strange rocks, and muddy horse trails. More people chose to ride horses back and forth. We went back to pack our luggage, left the homestay, and went to the back mountain.
We didn't spend much time in the back mountain. If we have the chance to come again, I even feel like we should spend more time there than on Wusun Ancient Road.
Then we went down the mountain and planned to reach Nalati Tourist Scenic Area, Xinyuan, from Qiongkushitai, to prepare for tomorrow's trip on the Duku Highway. We left a bit late, and calculated that it would take until 11 or 12 pm to reach Nalati, which would affect our meals and rest.
So we got off the highway in Xinyuan, Yili, and stayed overnight. We arrived at the hotel in Xinyuan at around 11 pm.
DAY 6: Duku Highway—Dushanzi District, Karamay, Dushanzi City
Today's plan was to drive on the Duku Highway, from Xinyuan to Nalati, and then from Nalati to Dushanzi, which is equivalent to half of the Duku Highway.
After getting on the Duku Highway from Nalati, the first half was relatively flat. We turned at Qiaerma and went to Tangbula Hundred Mile Gallery for a look. After passing Qiaerma, the scenery began to change. When we set off from Nalati in the morning, there was vegetation on both sides of the mountains, and everything was green. But here, the mountains began to turn gray-brown or even gray-black, and they became steeper and more dangerous.
The change started at Hashilegen, at an altitude of 3,400 meters. In one photo, the sky was clear and the scenery was clear. In the next photo, the gray-white fog had already enveloped the background. The weather on the mountain changed suddenly, with fog and sporadic rain.
We continued forward and reached a parking lot, where it had already turned into thick fog. We played in the snow for a while. When we set off again, the visibility was very low, and we drove slowly along the winding mountain road with the hazard lights on. After descending to a lower altitude, the fog began to dissipate, and the air was clear as if it had been washed, but it started to rain.
At 10:30, we arrived in Dushanzi and left the Duku Highway. On the way into Dushanzi City, we suddenly saw the distant city lights in the darkness, and we felt a slight sense of returning to the world.
DAY 7: Return trip, Urumqi—Xinzheng Airport.