Xinjiang chartered tour: 0991-8585456 1813962-2229 (WeChat same as above)
1 Urumqi – Beitun
Our pleasant journey begins today with a unified gathering at the new high-speed rail station, taking the train to Beitun, an important town in northern Xinjiang. The highlights of winter tourism in Kanas are still Hemu and Kanas; the attractions along the Urumqi – Burqin route can be omitted. In that case, taking the train back and forth is the most cost-effective, economical, comfortable, and time-saving option.
Reference travel time:
Arrive at the railway station one and a half hours before the train departs for the group meeting. No meals included for the whole day.
Day 2: Beitun – Burqin – Kanas (about 255KM, 6 hours by car)
2 After arriving at Beitun Railway Station, transfer to a bus to Burqin County. Here, we have arranged a local specialty – Russian-style breakfast for everyone: sliced bread, rye bread, spread with the most natural local jam, served with fragrant milk tea and special black tea. Of course, there are also various side dishes, ham, and sausage, letting us eat to our hearts’ content. After breakfast, the grassland road heading north becomes a vast snowfield. Then, we proceed to the Kanas scenic area.
A dedicated car enters the Kanas scenic area. After sitting in the car for a while, you might feel a bit tired. The three beautiful bays of Kanas, with their stunning scenery, have thick ice layers due to the lowering temperatures, transforming the landscape from a colorful Western oil painting to a traditional ink and wash landscape painting. The car will stop at breathtaking spots for photos, allowing you to feel the silence, as if only your own and nature’s breathing exist in the world. In heavy snow years, a snow trough two meters deep is cleared on the scenic road, making it seem like the vehicle is driving along a snow wall.
Then, take a snow cat or snowmobile to the Fish Watching Platform, the highest point in the Kanas scenic area. From here, you can see the overall snowy landscape of Kanas. Besides viewing the scenery, you can also:
Snow Jumping: If the snow is thick enough, you can experience the feeling of ‘snow jumping’. Jumping from a two-meter-high ‘snow cat’ vehicle, just like a diver entering the water, disappearing into the snow. Snow jumping started as an impromptu snow play experience by a tourist and has since become popular on the internet, topping the winter fun list and becoming the headline of quirky winter snow activities in 2017.
Playing Snowball Fights: When Koreans play snowball fights, all you hear are girls screaming: ‘Oppa~ Kachimah, Aniyo.’ But in Kanas, it’s usually: ‘Catch him/her and bury him/her under the snow.’
Building Snowmen: In the south, building snowmen might result in mini snow figures. But in Kanas, you can build an aggressive snowman.
After spending most of the day outdoors in the cold, we arrive at the Linhaishanzhuang Hotel. While it’s icy and snowy outside, it’s warm and cozy inside, making us feel quite at ease.
Day 3: Kanas – Hemu (about 90KM, 2 hours by car)
Day 3: After rising early, head to Kanas Lake to admire the stunning morning fog at the mouth of Kanas Lake. After heavy snowfall, a miraculous sight of snow mushrooms appears, incredibly fantastical, making one have to marvel at the wonders of nature. On the white snowfield, the snow mushrooms look so dreamy and magical. The water vapor along the riverbank freezes into icicles, like a fairy tale ice and snow world! Like children, leave behind your cute footprints, or simply lie down in the snow to make an impression of your body…
Next, we head to Kanas’s backyard garden and God’s private reserve – [Hemo]. In winter, there are very few tourists in Hemo, and without the noise of summer and autumn crowds, it feels like returning to a primitive state. Along the roadside, pine trees and birch branches display rime landscapes. Upon entering Hemo village, in the distance are sacred snow-capped mountains, and nearby are wooden houses stacked with logs. The scenery is simple and elegant, and the entire village is as quiet as a fairyland. Anyone who comes here will turn into a romantic painter. The earth resembles white rice paper, and the brush of thought can depict any pattern on it. You have plenty of time to wander around Hemo village. You can sit in the courtyard doing nothing, just soaking in the winter sunshine and enjoying the incredibly fresh air.
Take a horse-drawn sleigh. The strong horses’ hooves crunch on the snow as we head to visit the Century-Old House Museum and the Auspicious Monastery to experience the rich customs of the Tuvans. Enjoy a performance by the authentic Tuvan band, Hoof Band, and listen to the echoing sound of the morin khuur and throat singing that transcend time and space.
For dinner, we prepared a Hemo-style specialty hot pot at the resort. After eating, return to your warm room to enjoy the silent winter night.
Hemo – Burqin – Beitun – Urumqi (approx. 285KM, driving time approx. 7 hours)
Day 4: Today, we ascend to the Hemo viewing platform. Legend has it that Genghis Khan once rallied his troops here. Winter Hemo resembles a sleeping baby wrapped in the white swaddling clothes of Mother Earth. We take a snowmobile to race across Haden Platform and head towards the majestic Meili Peak. The shape of Meili Peak resembles a pyramid, and the snow-covered peak is like the most beautiful bride of Hemo, wearing a white veil. Let us make a wish here to grow old together with our loved one. Morning outdoor activities consumed a lot of energy.
Kanas and Hemo are the only gathering places of the Tuvans in China, known as the living museum of nomadic culture before human agricultural civilization. Until today, they still retain traditional production and lifestyles, and are praised as the ‘Tribe Among the Clouds’ and ‘People of the Forest’. For lunch, we arranged for a steaming hot Tuvan-style banquet in a local Tuvan wooden house. The honest locals will treat guests from afar with energy-rich milk tea, butter, air-dried meat, and more. The delicious food will sweep away all fatigue.
After lunch, leave Hemo village and head down the mountain via the same route to Beitun City. Take the night train back to Urumqi.
Arrive in Urumqi on Day 5
After arriving in Urumqi in the morning of Day 5, our winter journey to Kanas with its icy scenery in Northern Xinjiang comes to an end.
Xinjiang chartered tour: 0991-8585456 1813962-2229 (WeChat same as above)