From Ili to Kashgar (4)—Kalajun Grassland

6.19

Today’s itinerary has only one destination—Kalajun Grassland.

Take the expressway east from Yining, and there are civil flights flying over at low altitude. Yining Airport is in the city, closer to the city center than Yining Railway Station.

S12 Yidun Expressway towards Nalati.

Driving on the highway, you can clearly see the topographic outline of the Ili River Valley with "three mountains sandwiched between two valleys". The north and south Tianshan Mountains on the left and right sides bring moist westerly airflow into the Ili Valley, producing a large amount of precipitation in the piedmont area. Coupled with the snowmelt of the Tianshan Mountains, a "wet island" is formed in the Ili Valley, which is 360 kilometers long from east to west and 275 kilometers wide at its widest point from north to south. ”, with fertile land, abundant water resources, vast grasslands and rich products, it enjoys the reputation of “Jiangnan beyond the Great Wall” and “Hometown of Fruits”.

If it weren't for the Xinjiang poplar trees on the roadside and the constant herds of cattle, sheep and horses, everything in front of us would be like Jiangnan!

Turn south to G577 National Highway and go to Turks.

There is still morning mist on the mountainside, so it doesn't look like Jiangnan.

Entering the Haketawushan District of the South Tianshan Mountains

The Tekes Grassland Stone Man Formation has been a watch for thousands of years.

Tekes County is the only Bagua City with complete and formal architecture in China. It was first built in 1937. In 1996, the traffic lights on the road were cancelled.

(The traffic lights have been cancelled, but traffic police are standing at every intersection)

Kalajun Visitor Service Center

The full-area ticket is 275 yuan per person, including East and West Kalajun Grassland, Kuokesu Grand Canyon, scenic transportation tickets, cableway tickets, and cruise tickets.

The picture shows the tickets of fellow students.

First, take the scenic minibus for nearly 30 minutes to Brack Station (East Gate), and then transfer to the bus to enter the grassland.

Passing through Baihuapo, Wusunxiadu, World Heritage Museum and other stops along the way, although the window glass was very dirty, the grassland outside the window was dotted with wild flowers and green grass, which already caused many exclamations in the carriage.

First stop: Flower stand

Yellow, purple, pink... small flowers of various colors bloom in the green grass

I have been to the Hulunbuir Prairie, and it is an endless expanse of "blue sky, vast fields, wind-swept grass and low cattle and sheep", while the Kalajun Prairie is a three-dimensional 3D version of the mountain grassland.

With the snow-capped mountains as the background, the grassland is undulating and presents beautiful curves.

A Kazakh child holds a lamb for tourists to take photos for ten yuan a time.

Heading to the next stop, the road changes from asphalt to gravel.

Second stop: Falcon Terrace

The Falcon Terrace is a traditional falconry training place for the Kazakh people.

There is a simple plank road of about 2 kilometers on the grassland leading to the Falcon Terrace, and you can also go there on horseback.

A rainbow greets guests from afar.

There are flowers all the way, snow-capped mountains, meadows, spruce trees...

How can there be no horses in the grassland?

The snowy tops of the Zhongtian Mountains in the distance are shrouded in thick clouds, and the Kurdai Grand Canyon has a huge drop and is majestic. The spruce trees in the Qiongkushtai forest are lush and green, and the meadows are as green as a carpet.

Walking to the end of the Falcon Terrace, you can look around at the spectacular scenery at 270°, and the three-dimensional grassland is extremely shocking.

Seeing a dark cloud approaching, I quickly returned. I didn’t dare to walk too fast on the grassland at an altitude of 2,500 meters. When I reached the boarding point, ice-cold raindrops and hail fell from the sky. Fortunately, I was wearing a jacket and it didn’t cause any serious problems.

The vehicle scheduling at Falcon Terrace is a bit chaotic. Most tourists return to the visitor center. A certain number of people are required to go to Kuokesu.

Driving in the rain to Kalajun Cableway Station (upper station)

The cableway crosses the canyon up and down to the Kurtai cableway station (lower station).

In just half an hour's drive, we went from a grassland full of flowers to a desert full of loess.

Or take the scenic bus, which has three stops, divided into points AB, get off at point A and get on at point B.

We first stopped at Crocodile Bay, where gusts of cold wind came roaring with raindrops and sand. People were shivering from the cold. After stopping for a while, we quickly got on the bus and headed to the next stop.

At the second stop, Kuokesu Grand Canyon, the wind had calmed down a lot.

The dark clouds gradually dispersed.

The final stop is Jiuqu Shibawan (Human Body Grassland).

Human body grassland on advertising board

actual human savanna

The curve remains the same, the grass is withered and yellow. Still very spectacular.

We arrived at Kurtai Pier by car and took two boats in Xinjiang.

The boat sails to Kushtayi Pier, where you will be transferred directly to the tourist service center by a scenic bus, ending the entire trip to the scenic spot.

The sunset accompanied us all the way back to Yining city.