D1:Leave Elantra Hotel at 8: 30. Go south along the Mantan Expressway, pass through Tuwu Expressway (Mantan Expressway is a part of Tuwu Expressway), turn from north to east all the way along the expressway, go straight after the expressway toll station, and walk for about 120 km and you will pass the Dahuangshan service area. We spent an hour in the service area refueling for breakfast and ordered half a catty of fried beef (it should be noted that Xinjiang sells things in kilograms) and four meatball soups.
After breakfast, there is a fork in the road two kilometers east, turn left (in the direction of Beitun and Wucaiwan) and enter National Highway 2 16. You can go directly to Beitun, and Dahuangshan is 475 kilometers from Beitun. 2 16 should be a national road built along the eastern edge of Zhungeer basin, passing through alluvial plain agricultural reclamation area, ridge fixed or semi-fixed sand dunes, semi-high earth mountains, Gobi and saline-alkali beaches.
Scenery along the way 1
Overlooking Yamakaji
Not long after going north from Dahuangshan, we will pass two scenic spots, namely Cai Wu Bay and Yamakaji. Cai Wu Bay, also known as Cai Wu, is located in Gurbantunggut Desert (which is located in the abdomen of Zhungeer Basin, accounting for 36.9% of the total basin area), and Yamakaji is located in Jiangjun Gobi. It is said that the tickets for the two scenic spots are very cheap, so you can go in and have a look. We have to stop because we have to hurry. Continue to the north and enter the ungulate reserve in Kalamaili Mountain. Here, you can often see wild horses, wild donkeys, wild camels and other protected animals grazing or resting in the wilderness. Occasionally, animals cross the road. Please drive carefully. Although it's called mountain, it's a bit of a misnomer. There are no virgin forests, lush vegetation and rivers flowing all the year round. It is just an ancient ocean and lake that has disappeared. Now strictly speaking, it should be regarded as hilly landform, with ups and downs, forming large and small mountain packages, which are tens of meters high and one or two meters short. In many places, the vision is extremely broad. There are snow leopard, Mongolian wild donkey, Saiga antelope, capra ibex and other national first-class protected animals, as well as tens of thousands of goose throat antelope, rock sheep, red deer, argali, kestrel, golden eagle, bustard, sand chicken and so on. Friends who like animals can drive off-road vehicles with tents for ten and a half months, but they should bring enough dry food.
Wild camel
wild horse
After entering the reserve, there is a traffic police checkpoint in a place called Camster. All passing cars will stop to register their arrival time. It's about120km from here to the next stop, Courtou. Within an hour and a half, you will be punished for speeding-this is the most "effective" means to control speeding I have ever seen. In fact, you can run freely along the road and you will see wild horses, wild donkeys, camels and wetlands along the way. At this time, stop to take pictures and have a rest. It takes an hour and a half. It is about 80 kilometers from Chaktu to Kizihaba, and the shortest time is one hour. This time, it was a bit fierce. When I got to the checkpoint, I had to stop and wait for time.
Scenery along the way 2
A few kilometers north of Habak, there is a sign leading to Cocoto Sea, about 28 kilometers away from the country of 2 16. Cocoto Sea is also a famous scenic spot, which is the birthplace of the Irtysh River. People used to know CocotoSea but not Kanas. It is conceivable that its scenery should be quite beautiful. There are mysterious pits closely related to * * * and the fate of the country-Coco to Sea No.3 mine pit, as well as places worth visiting such as Zhongshan and Grand Canyon. In particular, the Third Mine paid off 47% of the debts of the former Soviet Union for the country during the hostile years between China and the Soviet Union in the last century. Aquamarine weighs 16 kg, topaz weighs 17 kg, sapphire weighs 60 kg, crystal block weighs 500 kg, garnet weighs 12 ton, beryl crystal weighs 30 tons, etc. They are all collected here, and there are 140 tons known on the earth. It takes at least a whole day to go to Cocoto Sea. There is no arrangement this time. I'm sorry I missed it. I will make it up next time.
Scenery along the way 3
Drive north for about180km and arrive at Beitun. It's already past 17:00 in the afternoon. After a simple lunch, I went on to Brzin. It should be noted that there is an intersection in Beitun, one direction goes to Altay, the other direction goes to Brzin, and the direction of Brzin is chosen. Beitun is about 85 kilometers away from Brzin. After about 70 kilometers, it will meet with National Highway 2 17. The sign of Brzin is not particularly obvious. Drive carefully. Turn left on National Highway 2 17 and enter Brzin. As our destination is Haba River, we will continue to the west and see Rainbow Beach at night.
We arrived at Rainbow Beach about 13 km west of Brzin, and we arrived at the entrance of the scenic spot about 19: 15. Sadly, the sunshine that was still there just now hid behind the dark clouds and waited for an hour, but we didn't see the sunshine either. They all say that a rainbow beach without a sunset is not a rainbow beach. Seeing that the old man next to him further confirmed this statement with a photo captured by the sun five minutes ago, he immediately made up his mind. Below the Rainbow Beach is the Irtysh River, the only river in China that flows from southeast to northwest, through Kazakstan and Russian, and flows into the Arctic Ocean.
Rainbow Beach on the Irtysh River.
When I came out of Rainbow Beach, it was completely dark. It was a cold wind with a slight coolness. I drove more than 40 kilometers to the west and arrived at the Friendship Peak Hotel in Habahe, which is one of the only two four-star hotels in this small county, located in the southwest of the county. The room is spacious and the bed is big and comfortable. As friends in Urumqi arranged in advance and stayed free that night, Mr. Liang, the hotel owner, also arranged a sumptuous dinner. We ate up a plate of mutton, as well as the wild dog fish in the Irtysh River and the crucian carp weighing three pounds (this is the second time to eat such a big wild crucian carp, and the first time was in Linjiang, a small village on the Hulunbeier border).
D2: According to Liang, general manager of Friendship Peak Hotel, we will go to Moon Bay and Baisha Lake this morning, and then to Baihaba in the afternoon. After breakfast, go to the destination. The specific route is as follows: there is a big turn in the west of Habahe County, and it reaches Habahe Bridge 2 kilometers west. There are large birch forests on both sides of Haba River. The scenery here is very beautiful, especially when the early morning sun shines obliquely on the ground through the golden leaves and prints white trunks and dead leaves, and the clear river flows quietly with the blue sky. If you have enough time, you can find a meadow to lie down and bathe in this picturesque scenery. From Habahe Bridge to the west, about 165438+ go straight along the main road to 185 regimental headquarters. There is a section of more than 20 kilometers of road built on the vast Yuan Ye. This road is straight. If cruising at a fixed speed, the driver can lie down and sleep. On both sides of the road are endless fertile fields. From a distance, there are white things and small bags behind the farmland. Look carefully, it turns out to be a desert. Behind the desert is a mountain connected with the blue sky. This farmland was originally opened between two mountains and two deserts. The peasants of XPCC have devoted their youth, lives and children to the motherland's peace, and paid tribute to the frontier guards and their children of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.
Drive about 52 kilometers to Moon Bay. Moon Bay is actually a bay formed by the Irtysh River bypassing a desert. Opposite the bend of the river is a continuous sand dune, and only some green vegetation is near the river bank. Moon Bay is the most beautiful in the morning and evening, and only these two periods are suitable for taking pictures. In the morning, the light is convenient to take a panoramic view of the river bend, and at night, the sunset glow echoes the water surface and is colorful.
Moon bay 1
Moon Bay 2
Walk more than 30 kilometers from Moon Bay to 185 regimental headquarters. Turn right and walk along the road. On the right is the edge of the desert, and on the left are farmland, Woods and the Sino-Kazakhstan border. After about 26 kilometers, you will see the sign of "185 Tuansanlian" and Baisha Lake. There is a path up the mountain and a small red house between the signs. This is the way to Baisha Lake. Baisha Lake is a small lake on the edge of the desert, but from a distance, the lake is only 0.5 square kilometers. It is an original ecological desert lake independent of the vast desert, with no water inlet and outlet. Generally speaking, the evaporation in the desert is relatively large, but the water level here has not changed for many years, let alone increased or decreased due to seasonal changes. At the end of the plank road along the lake, there is a viewing platform with unique scenery. In the distance, there are blue sky and white clouds, continuous mountains and white sand dunes nearby, but in front of us is a quiet lake surrounded by aquatic plants such as reeds and calamus several meters high, and patches of wild lotus leaves are lying alone on the water. On the shore, there is a kind of "desert flame" with yellow or red leaves-silver ash poplar. Maybe we're early.
185 corner of the desert near the regimental headquarters
Baisha Lake entrance (at the iron fence in front of the car)
Baishahu
Come out of Baisha Lake and return to the main road. A few kilometers ahead is the end of the road, the first company in the northwest border-185 regiment. We didn't pay attention to the brand of Baisha Lake at first, and went directly to the company's company. Later, we discovered the entrance of Baisha Lake. This company is located on the border between China and Kazakhstan, with neat houses. There are two stone tablets in front of the company, which read, "My family lives at the end of the road, and the boundary pillar is behind the house;" Crops are planted by the boundary river, and cattle and sheep are driven by the border line. ""The situation is difficult to fight for soldiers who are constantly cutting land; This is an unbreakable frontier defense line and a true portrayal of the soul of an impenetrable army reclamation. Next to the company, I saw a little girl set up a stall to sell local products, including local apples, peppers, melon seeds and wild mushrooms. We took a photo with her and bought some things to show our gratitude and respect.
Yilian company
It is about120km from Habahe County to Yilian Company. After seeing these scenic spots, we went back to Habahe and arrived at Habahe for dinner at noon. There are not many restaurants in Habahe, or maybe we are not familiar with them. After searching for a long time, I finally found a "Loulan Lao Hui Guan" in the northeast corner of Renmin Middle Road and Wenhua North Road. I ordered noodles, grabbed mutton, fried small white fish and bitter gourd, which was very delicious.
After dinner, I went to Baihaba, the legendary first village in the northwest, from the turntable at the western end of Haba River to the north, along the road (in the direction of Ashele Copper Mine). The main road is two-way and two-lane, with a yellow lane in the middle. Other branches are generally one-lane and no lanes. Go straight to a T-junction, turn right on the main road, go straight to Ashele Copper Mine (about one kilometer straight is a bridge across the Bahia River, so it has already passed when you want to cross the bridge), choose the direction of right turn, and there is only one intersection along the way, which clearly indicates that going straight is the direction of Baihaba. Along the way, farmland began, followed by large grasslands. It's a pity that September is full of yellow eyes, but close your eyes and imagine the scene in June and July: the endless grassland looks like a carpet, dotted with colorful flowers, and the cattle, sheep and horses are smart, forming a natural oil painting. Further on, you can see the bare and barren Altai Mountains, and the car goes all the way up the ridge. Turning the ridge, we can find another scene: there are large pastures in the mountains (mountain meadow belt and subalpine meadow belt, which are good summer pastures), and above the snow line are coniferous forests, with trees such as Siberian pine, Siberian fir and spruce growing, which are golden yellow under the autumn light. Later, it was found that in Altay Mountain area, the sunny side of many slopes was bare, while the shady side of the slopes was densely covered with dense forests.
Grassland and distant mountains
Autumn colors of Altai Mountain
When I arrived at a village called Tiereketi, there was an intersection guarded by armed police and I needed to register my ID card. Before, many raiders said that we had to apply for a border card at the Habahe border police station, but it was not necessary. Just register at this armed police checkpoint. Not long after the checkpoint, I arrived at Tiereketi Ticket Station in Kanas Scenic Area, where I bought tickets for Baihaba and Duan. Private cars and coaches are generally not allowed to enter. We contacted Mr. Liang and asked someone to say hello before releasing him. You also need to buy an interval ticket to drive in. It should be only twenty or thirty kilometers from the ticket station to Baihaba, but the road conditions are very poor. The road that has not been repaired for two years has become a pothole (another tofu dregs project). Many sections are winding mountain roads, so you must slow down and drive carefully. Some places on the road have good scenery. If you get off the bus to take pictures, you must choose a place with far front and back vision and wide road surface, otherwise you would rather miss it than covet beauty. Fortunately, there is an observation deck halfway from the mountain to the valley plate, where you can stop and have a good look at the great rivers and mountains of the motherland and the scenery of Kazakhstan across the border.
Finally arrived in Baihaba, a primitive small village located in the valley, originally dominated by Tuwa people. Tuwa people are actually a branch of Mongols. It is said that at the beginning of Genghis Khan's expedition, some soldiers who didn't want to fight in the west for many years fled to this isolated place and settled down, forming this village. Because there are many natural pastures in the nearby mountains, some Kazakhs have moved here one after another, and now Tuwa and Kazakhs in Baihaba account for 50% respectively. We didn't have many tourists because we came late. The village is quietly located in the valley, but it is also quiet and serene. The top of the mountain behind the village is covered with a thin layer of snow. The altitude here changes greatly, and it is normal for it to snow on cloudy days below the mountain. After taking some photos at the entrance of the village, we went to the border area to have a look, and then went back to the village to find a Tuwa family to stay. The houses here are all made of wood. From the inside, it is a bungalow, and from the outside, it is a wooden house with a spire. It turned out that a triangular ventilated attic was formed between the roof and the spire of the bungalow. On the one hand, things can be put and cooled, on the other hand, the upper roof is convenient for thick snow to slide down automatically in winter without crushing the roof. Because of the cold weather, we chose to live in the host's room, and it would be much warmer with a firewood stove. Every household in the village has a house for rent. Because many group tourists in Kanas Lake don't live here, they can usually find a place to live.
Baihaba, the first village in northwest China
There are snowflakes in the sky at night, and when I sleep, the ground is covered with a layer of snow. Everyone joked that if the snow closed the mountain, we would stay here. I pray in my heart that the weather will be fine tomorrow morning, so that we can shoot the white haba surrounded by morning fog and smoking.
D3: At 7: 30, it's foggy. The companion got up and went out to have a look and said it was sunny today. Looks like last night's prayers worked. I got up quickly, got dressed and equipped, left the village at eight o'clock, found a good place on the side ridge, and waited for the sunrise. At this time, the mountain at the entrance of the village has been filled with photographers with long guns and short guns. At 8: 30, the first ray of sunshine shines on the white mountain in Kazakhstan. A mist rose in the mountains, which was beautiful. Because the sun rises from the hill behind Baihaba, and the place where the photo is taken is in front of the village, some of it is backlit, so it is difficult to take a good photo of the small mountain village with sunrise reflection. The sun slowly climbed out of the top of the mountain, different families in the village began to cook breakfast, smoke rose, and cows and horses strolled leisurely out to eat grass. Back in the village, I took some small scenery. Because it is smooth light or photometry, leisurely cattle and horses, quiet huts, golden leaves, white distant mountains, blue sky and white clouds form a natural picture.
After breakfast, clear the ice and snow from the car at 10:30 and leave Baihaba for Kanas Lake. Just out of the village, we felt beautiful. There is still a little snow and yellow leaves on the tree. We saw pieces of rime halfway up the mountain, waiting for the ridge behind the plate. We were stunned by the beautiful scenery in front of us. The whole mountain is varied from top to bottom and has distinct layers. The top of the mountain is covered with snow, and below the mountainside is a continuous forest, with green in white, yellow in green, and occasionally a bunch of red in yellow. Sighing that last night's snow was really the best gift from heaven, this opportunity to clear up after snow is really a golden opportunity for tourists. Although we kept pressing the shutter to record this beauty, it is a pity that the photos we took were far less shocking and amazing than what we saw.
From Baihaba to Kanas Lake, 28 kilometers, this road is higher than Baihaba and has thicker snow. There are alpine pastures and mountains along the way, which are beautiful. About ten kilometers away, there is a cement road that turns left up the hill. It should be the way to Na Ren Ranch and Shuanghu Lake. Because it was autumn, we didn't go. If it is summer, we can enjoy the beautiful grassland scenery. It's not far straight. It's the East-West Lek Ticket Station in Kanas Scenic Area. Here, you need to buy Kanas Lake tickets and festival tickets. If the direction is right, you need to buy a ticket to Baihaba. A few kilometers past the ticket gate, you will see a sign on the fish observation platform, from which you can go to the fish observation pavilion to see the panoramic view of Kanas Lake.
There are three ways to get to the fish house from here: by bus (tickets need to be bought separately, and the bus bought at the ticket office does not include this line), by horse and on foot. As we were not allowed to go by car, we agreed to take this opportunity to climb mountains and have proper exercise during the rest time for several days in a row. Park your car in the roadside parking lot, choose to walk directly along the ridge to the fish-watching pavilion, start climbing at 1 1:50, and climb to the top at around 13:00. If you take the interval lane, it is estimated that it will take more than half an hour, because the interval lane is at the 18-bend site. The process of climbing a mountain in the snow is also the process of enjoying the beautiful scenery. No wonder some people describe Kanas as "Oriental Switzerland". If the photos taken along the road are marked with Swiss scenery, they will. You must wait for the fish-watching pavilion to go to Kanas Lake, because the lake is C-shaped sandwiched between two mountains, and only here can you see the whole picture of the lake. There are many descriptions about the scenery of Kanas Lake on the Internet, so I won't repeat them here.
Close to the fish-watching pavilion 15:00. We went to the lakeside plank road for a while, and then headed for Jiadengyu. It is also 28 kilometers from Kanas Lake to Jaden Valley. There are famous "three bays" and some unknown bays along the way. Because we have seen the "great scenery" in front of us, looking at Sanwan and the yellow leaves along the way is a little numb. In addition, the amount of water is not large now, and it is backlit. After a cursory look, we rushed out of the scenic spot.
17: 15 Go to Jia Dengyu and stay at Liang Jiangjun Xianfeng Hotel. Gadengyu is a tourist distribution center, and the hotel conditions here are far worse than those in Habahe and Brzin. Put down your luggage, because you are going to ride to Harmony the next day and rent tomorrow's horses at the racecourse. According to the unified pricing, it is 260 yuan/Horse, and four people plus a tour guide need five horses. The final result is 1.200 yuan.
D4: Nine years old. Today, I went to Harmony by bike. I originally planned to leave at 8:30. As a result, I broke my word, because the Hui herder we talked about the day before could not find a horse, so I temporarily found another herder. /kloc-leave around 0/0: 30 under the leadership of Grandpa Tu. It didn't take long to walk from Garden Valley to the northeast. After crossing a mountain ridge, about 5 kilometers away is the famous Bulanmu Bridge, which spans the Kanas River. It was probably built in the 1950s and 1960s and is still intact. This is a rest stop, where many people who ride horses to Harmony get off their horses to rest and buy tickets to Harmony. After crossing the river, you have been swimming down the left side of the river bank, and you will find that there are two kinds of heaven and earth on both sides of the river: the left bank is sunny and covered with weeds and thorns, and the right bank is shady and covered with virgin forests.
Uncle Tu's horse may be very tired and walk very slowly. It took him four hours to reach the midpoint. Fortunately, I met Ma Min Hastier from Harmony. He also took four tourists to Garden Valley. After two horse owners discussed, two tourists changed horses. This is much faster. Haas's horse is tall and strong, trotting all the way. The remaining half of the journey took us only three hours to walk, and we had time to dismount and take pictures twice. Not far from the midpoint is the delta where Kanas River and Harmony River meet. Delta is a very open mountain platform with relatively open terrain. You can clearly see the winding mountains and roads on the opposite side, with the clear Harmony River on the left and the blue Kanas River on the right. It is about 15km from Lalianmu Bridge to Delta, and about 15km from Delta to Harmony. This 15km road is difficult to walk, and there are two streams to wade through.
The cycling journey from Jiadengyu to Harmony is a painful and happy journey. I was quite excited at first, but after riding for a while, I began to ache all over. After a long time, I could hardly get off my horse and walk. However, riding a horse with a whip and galloping on horseback really makes people feel mighty and magnificent. There are some beautiful scenery along this mountain road. Lalehan wooden bridge gives people a beauty of vicissitudes of life, Kanas Valley gives people a beauty of agility, the forest on the right bank gives people a beauty of beauty, and the desolation and horse herding on the left bank gives people a beauty of desolation. After crossing the delta, you can see a large area of flat land. At the end of the flat land is a birch forest, which is set off by snow-capped mountains in the distance, giving people the beauty of the atmosphere. When you ride through the forest and wade across the stream, it's like entering an oil painting and entering a fairyland. It's a pity that riding all the way, the number of photos taken is limited, and the effect of shaking is greatly reduced. It's really a pity.
D5: Shooting a harmonious morning light is the best project for a harmonious trip. At 7: 30 in the morning, it was foggy. We got up and walked to the observation deck opposite the village. At the entrance of the village, I found a big darkness on the mountain and twinkling little stars. I walked for about twenty minutes until I reached the foot of the mountain, only to find that it was a dense crowd, with guns in their hands and bows their necks waiting for the sunrise. It's admirable that someone came three hours in advance and waited to seize the favorable position, which made me wonder, haha. We waited a long time to see the sunrise.
Harmony is also the settlement of Tuwa people, and it has the reputation of "the first village in China". Log-built wooden houses are arranged in a large open space, surrounded by bad mountains like rhythmic notes. The Harmony River flows quietly in front of the village, and the Harmony Bridge across the river is also built of logs. The Yuanmen on the bridge and the burly horses coming out of the door exude simplicity and pride. The virgin forest behind the village and the snow-capped mountains in the distance form a natural background. On the top of this observation deck, you can overlook the panoramic view of Harmony Village and Harmony River. When the first ray of sunshine dyed the hill opposite the village red, the village began to rise wisps of kitchen smoke, mixed with the morning fog rising from the river, and formed a faint leucorrhea over the forest, just like the early Tuwa girl put on a white scarf for herself.
The observation deck photographed the harmonious morning light from different angles, but because the observation deck is in the right front of the village, some angles are backlit. After breakfast at nine o'clock, we went down the mountain. Because I'm going to take a look at Cocoto Sea this afternoon, I didn't play around the village, so I left by the scenic shuttle bus at 10:30. In fact, if you have enough time, you can go to the surrounding ravines to play again. It is also a pleasure to find a lawn to lie down and sleep. Although it is only more than 30 kilometers away from the gate of Harmony Scenic Area, the bus has been walking for a whole hour. I think this section is the most dangerous section in Kanas Scenic Area. Many sections are built on cliffs, and drivers turn sharply without slowing down, which makes people feel that they are in danger of falling down the ravine at any time. It is also more than 30 kilometers from the entrance of the scenic spot to Jiadengyu, but there is no bus, so we have to spend 300 wallet cars to stop and take pictures at any time on the road. If you play in harmony until around 14:00 pm, there is a direct bus to Jiadengyu, which is a more economical choice.
D6: Brzin-Karamay
D7: Karamay-Urumqi
Postscript: ideal itinerary planning
D 1: Urumqi-Tianchi-Colorful Bay-Yamakaji-CocotoSea, staying in CocotoSea, this day is very busy, and it is estimated that I will arrive at my accommodation very late;
D2: Go to the seaside with cocoa and stay in the sea with cocoa;
D3: Coco Tuohai-Fuhai Lake to eat fish-Brzin-Rainbow Beach-Haba River and Suha River. In order to stay in Cocoto Sea for a while, you can leave for Fuhai at noon 12 and arrive at Rainbow Beach at night.
D4: Habahe-Moon Bay/Baisha Lake-Baihaba, staying in Baihaba;
D5: Baihaba-Na Ren Ranch-Shuanghu-Kanas Lake-Garden Valley, and stay in Garden Valley;
D6: Jiadeng Valley-Harmony, harmonious accommodation, and riding;
D7: Harmony-Brzin, living in Brzin, playing around Harmony in the morning, coming out in the afternoon and playing all the way to Brzin;
D8: Brzin-Ghost Town-Kuitun-Urumqi.