Xinjiang adventures. Deserts, grasslands and glaciers.

[woodyren]

More photos from the village and surrounding area.





I think this photo says a lot about the contrasts in modern China.















There were many Golden Eagles flying but my phone camera zoom wasn't good enough to get a clear photo.

 

[woodyren]

Later on our second day in Hemu we headed off to visit a mountain resort with a cable car ride to the summit. That was all I knew as we jumped on the bus. Again zero expectations of what or where we were going. This really was a magical mystery tour. Again this place exceeded my expectations. We were now almost up to the Russian border and the mountains were breathtaking.






As with all the areas we visited the grazing lands were still heavily in use and sparsely populated.











This was the first cable car stop on the way to the summit.

 

[woodyren]

Photos from the top. Mid summer. You can see Russia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan from here.

Breathtaking.










You can stay overnight in these.

 

[woodyren]

After leaving Hemu village we travelled by bus over mountain ranges headed to a station (unknown as by this time the stations had no English name and the names were only in Mandarin and an Islamic style language) to reboard the train. We had a stopover at a small village where we enjoyed lunch with a local Uygur family.

The terrain along the way changed from lush green meadows and forest of the Hemu Village area to semi arid as we climbed up and down some spectacular switchback roads..

 

[woodyren]

Lunch with the local villagers. Local tradition is to throw sweets at guests as they arrive.

 

[woodyren]

Overnight and breakfast on the train and then back on the bus headed to Sayram lake somewhere near the Kazakhstan border.


Again no idea where the station was where we reboarded the train.


















I think we arrived in a city called Yinning.

 

[woodyren]

From Yinning station we travelled for an hour or so to Sayram lake. The lake is the largest (458 km2 or 177 sq mi) and also the highest (at 2,070 m or 6,790 ft) alpine lake in Xinjiang.




More wonderful meadows filled with wildflowers.


Quite a few camping sites in Xinjiang which is quite uncommon in most of the places I have visited in China.

 

[woodyren]

Found some more random photos from the first part of this trip that I will add. They are mainly of myself and my wife plus her friends who inspired and organised us to make this journey.

 

[woodyren]

After lunch on the lake it was back on the bus for the 5 hour drive to the Nalati Grasslands park.

While the amount of travel due to the distance between many of the areas was quite tiring I hardly ever slept on the bus or in daylight on the train because I was always worried that I would miss another once only opportunity to see something wonderful.

This turned out to be another spectacular bus ride.
























Always some amazing engineering to see along the way.

 

[woodyren]

More photos of the trip from Sayram Lake to the grasslands plus our hotel for the night.