Xinjiang Travel Guide: 7-Day Autumn Tour of Kanas in Northern Xinjiang
Xiao Guo: (same) 0991-8585456
Kanas Route in Northern Xinjiang
The Kanas route in Northern Xinjiang showcases the best scenery of the region. The autumn views are extremely captivating, making it a must-visit destination for tourism in Xinjiang. Arranging an itinerary for Northern Xinjiang, especially the Kanas route, is a headache for all friends who want to travel independently in Northern Xinjiang. Why is that?
North of Burqin lies Kanas Scenic Area, and there are two routes to get there: National Highway 217 and National Highway 216. Ideally, such a route is easy to arrange, with one road for entering and another for exiting, and you can just rent a car for the whole journey. The problem is that Kanas Scenic Area does not allow outside vehicles to enter, so even if you rent a car, you still have to park it outside the scenic area and wait. Generally, visiting Kanas Scenic Area requires at least three days, which means you’ll have to pay for three days of empty car fees. And if you rent a car back to Burqin, you’ll also have to pay for an extra day of return car fee. All these options are quite awkward. As a compromise, many people choose to forgo the attractions along the two national highways and directly rent a car to Burqin.
Colorful City
Colorful City is located within Jimsar County, in the Gurbantünggüt Desert. It’s about an hour’s drive away from National Highway 216.
A secondary desert highway leads directly to Cainan Oilfield, just over ten kilometers away. However, with the increasing number of tourists, the damage to the local area will also increase. Colorful City got its name from its colorful landform features. Not only is Colorful City’s terrain unique, but each hill is also adorned with multicolored hues. The film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was filmed in Colorful City. The entire Colorful City area is not large, and it takes about an hour or two to walk around. Navigating through it feels like a magical walk on the surface of Mars.
Five-Colored City exhibits different charms at different times of the day. At noon, Five-Colored City is blazing hot, as if all the sunshine in the world is concentrated here. The colors of the hills are diluted under the intense sunlight, and even the air becomes hot and stifling. At dusk, the entire Five-Colored City is ignited by the setting sun, and those already diluted colors suddenly intensify, making Five-Colored City colorful and vibrant. The colors are red like fire, yellow like gold, green and cute, and blue and enticing. The sky painted by the sunset looks like a warm colorful cover, merging with Five-Colored City. When you are amidst it, you truly feel like you are in a beautiful dream.
Koktokay
Koktokay is located in Fuyun County, not far from National Highway 216. It is also typical of Northern Xinjiang scenery, with the beautiful and clear blue Irtysh River running through the scenic area. In autumn, the scenery is colorful everywhere.
Koktokay is a very new scenic area that is not yet fully open. The developed part can be explored in about a day, but if you want to explore in depth, one day is not enough. There are multiple hiking routes inside.
Compared to other scenic areas in Northern Xinjiang, the colors of the trees here are more abundant (mainly with more red tones), but there are very few good-looking photos online, and they are mostly close-ups.
Colorful Beach
– Colorful Beach is located on the north bank of the Irtysh River, 24 kilometers northwest of Burqin County, Xinjiang, and is a riverbeach famous for its yardan landform.
– The hills here have unique geology, displaying various colors. Every evening when the setting sun shines, the colors are dazzling and magical, creating a very spectacular scene.
– Across the river is a dense forest of Populus euphratica, reflecting beautifully in the water
Baihaba Village
Kanas Scenic Area mainly consists of one lake and three villages. Baihaba is the village on the west side, accessible from Habahe County or Kanas Village.
The houses in the village are very old and ordinary, but they are made of wood, giving a log cabin feel from a distance. If you say the scenery of the village is good, that’s because the location of the village is extremely impressive. In front of the village is an S-shaped road, behind it is a forest, and behind the forest are snow-capped mountains. On clear days, you can see clouds hanging between the mountains, with snow on the mountain tops and a clear blue sky, creating a perfect scene from bottom to top.
Kanas
Kanas Scenic Area is the core part of the entire scenic area and a must-visit. It mainly includes scenic spots such as Kanas Village, Three Bays, and Kanas Lake.
Hemu Village
Hemu Village is known as the God’s Back Garden. If you haven’t been to Hemu, you can’t say you’ve been to Kanas. There are mainly two hiking routes around Hemu. One is from Jiadengyu to Hemu, a one-day trip; the other is from Hemu to Kanas Village, passing by Black Lake, a two-day trip. We took the route from Jiadengyu to Hemu.
Ghost City
Ghost City is a well-known scenic spot. Compared to Five-Colored City, it is easier to reach, as it is located close to the national highway and very convenient to get to from Wuerhe. Therefore, there are relatively many visitors. Since the earth mounds themselves do not have the colors of Five-Colored City, Ghost City is relatively plain during the daytime. Therefore, to photograph Ghost City, you must make use of sunrise and sunset times.
For details, please contact: Xinjiang Tourism Xiao Guo: (same) 0991-8585456