20260924: D10 Kuitun & Tian Ci?

This is Kuitun city. Over 200k population.  Both directions are 4 lanes!! FOUR! And both sides have e-scoot plus grand dad cars lanes! Very well planned city. Clean. Neat. Lined with trees!!!! Think not congested    Cannot imagine 4 lanes each direction! Gosh

 

 24/9/26

After visiting Sayram lake ? Think can actually skip this Heavenly Lake which is about 2 hours from Urumqi. Smaller lake on top of the Tian Shan range. 😂 cos travelling up to the mountain top needs the bus and the cable car again. That itself took about An hour. So this place can skip !

Whatever, Xinjiang is just too big! Entering into Urumuqi yesterday was an eye opener! Despite its 6 lane for each directions? There was still a jam of half hour or more entering into the city centre due to peak hours!

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20260923 D10 DUKu ! 4 seasons!

 23/8/26 : The Duku Road

Only opened for 3 mths from June to mid Oct 

Long 500km plus. But we only did the 200km cutting across Nalati grassland thru their Tian Shan to Kuitun passing by their Duksanzi canyon. 

The Duku scenery changes 4 seasons from base in green to Snow White at peak. Quite a view! Took us 5 hours to cross over with times for stop views. A bit like NZ this time. The cows and horses definitely have their great time here grazing. Huge huge huge place. 

Arriving at the Duksanzi canyon , we were reminded of our age! lol. Earlier at Kanas? We could not ride the horses!   PAst 60! Here at the canyon? We were banned from taking the slide! What a reminder of being a SENOIR!!! 😢 😂 

Well well. Got to accept this great 60 over! 

The Nalati grassland was huge. We decided to cable up again to hv another aerial view before we leave. Unlikely to come back again yah

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Beautiful DUKu!

20260922 D9 Beautiful Nalati!

Nalati again! From mountain to the valley!

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20260921 D9 -Yining & Ili via Guozigou bridge

 22/9/26 : Nalati! The Switzerland of the East!

We drove pass the most expensive bridge Guozigo yesterday into ILi.  Ex- due to materials for quake proof. Already in operation for over 15 years. From the top ,

We drove into a 3km tunnel thru the mountain and ended at the bottom the bridge. This had help to cut the driving time from here to Urumuqi from 2 days to 1/2 day now!

Ili is a small town of 300k in the Yining County. Home to the Uighurs and Kazakhs and the unique Narati Grassland!

Because ours is a free and easy tour with the driver whose home is near ILi? We requested him to take us to the old sector of the town.  We were at the new town side where the spider web township centre was built during the old times. Now tourist shops.   But the old town with the horse ride was more interesting. Sky blue is the architect love of the Uighurs and Kazakhs. 

Really quite amazing. The drive from ILi to this grassland is worth it.  No one can imagine such a view at the 2000m alpine meadow! So many herds of horses, sheep, goats and cows around!

We took the mountain bus only to the mid level of this beautiful alpine this afternoon. 

So Tomo we intend to take the cable car to the top and return to have another down again. Cos this is really pretty! Think can skip Switzerland now. 😂