2012 China Self-Drive Tour Route Selection ― Vast Beauty Knows No Bounds: Drive into the Exotic North Xinjiang

       Five-Colored Beach: A beautiful blend of fire (sunrise and sunset), earth (Danxia landform), gold (giant wind turbines), water (turquoise rivers), and wood (autumn forests in the valley).

       Kanas: One of the rare “pure lands” on Earth. Its breathtaking beauty is beyond the reach of even the most skilled photography, yet even casual snapshots leave viewers in awe.

       Wolong Bay: Resembling a dragon lying across the embracing green mountains; in the morning mist, it feels like a dream. Moon Bay: Shaped like a crescent moon, quietly reflecting the blue sky.

       Fairy Bay: A paradise on Earth formed by mountains, water, and birch trees. Hemu: The most stunning autumn scenery in the Kanas region can be found in Hemu, where forests are dyed in vibrant colors, presenting a typical scene of pristine natural ecology.

       Devil’s City: A spectacular and mysterious landscape of uniquely shaped wind-eroded rock formations resembling palaces, towers, pavilions, fortresses, humans, birds, beasts, and livestock. It is one of the great wonders of the world.

       Karamay: A city of tourism suitable for all seasons, with its towering buildings, wide roads, flowing streams, and lush greenery.

       Turpan: Turpan is like a treasure bowl, filled with sweet grapes and beautiful scenery.

       Jiaohe Ancient City: This wall-less city is the world’s largest, oldest, and best-preserved earthen architectural city. Flaming Mountains: With temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, the Flaming Mountains glow red under the sun, with rising heat waves that resemble a wall of fire.

       Grape Valley: Entirely covered with grapevines, beneath the leaves lie quaint Xinjiang villages, peaceful and leisurely. Karez Wells: An underground water irrigation system manually dug and carved, ranked alongside the Great Wall and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal as one of China’s three great ancient engineering projects.

       Bayinbuluke Grassland: In Mongolian, it means “rich spring.” The breathtaking “Nine Turns and Eighteen Bends,” along with the pristine grass and blue sky, make you want to open your arms and breathe it all in.

       Bayinbuluke Swan Lake: The reflections of snow-capped mountains in the crystal-clear lake, along with flocks of swans and gulls, create a stunning scene of birds, peaks, and water.

       Baicheng: Enjoy the scenery of the Silk Road, appreciate the music and dance of the ancient Kucha Kingdom, explore historic sites, and take in the pleasant landscapes.

       Xiangfei Tomb: A masterpiece of Uyghur architectural art, it is the resting place of Xiangfei, a Uyghur imperial concubine of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty.

       Id Kah Mosque: The largest mosque in Xinjiang and the center of Islamic activities in the region.

       High Platform Folk Houses: Located on a 40-meter-high, 800-meter-long loess cliff in the northeast corner of Kashgar’s old city, these Uyghur residential areas have a 600-year history and serve as a key exhibition of ancient Uyghur residential architecture and folk customs.

       Karakul Lake: The lake reflects the majestic and mysterious Muztagh Ata Peak. With snow-white mountains and matching water, the scenery is beautiful and enchanting. Naan: Naan has become a beloved food among various ethnic groups. It is a type of baked flatbread, similar to a Chinese baked pancake, which can be either crispy or soft, with a delicious aroma. Made mostly from wheat flour, it can also use cornmeal, along with sesame, onion, egg, vegetable oil, butter, milk, salt, and sugar. Varieties include meat naan, sesame naan, and oil naan.

       Plov: Once a high-end dish served to guests, in Uyghur it is called “polo” and is often eaten with clean hands. The main ingredients include rice, lamb, carrots, onions, and vegetable oil. When mixed and stewed, the dish shines with oil, emits a fragrant aroma, and tastes delicious. Sweet or vegetarian plov can also be made using raisins, dried apricots, dried peaches, and other dried fruits.

       Big Plate Chicken: Legend says that in the early years after liberation, a chef surnamed Zhang from inland China fled war and settled in Shawan County. He opened a small restaurant near National Highway 312, selling fried noodles and mixed noodles, with business fluctuating. One day, a long-distance bus driver came in and casually said, “Your fried noodles and mixed noodles are too dry. Why not stir-fry some spicy chicken with plenty of broth, and mix it with some pulled noodles?” That gave Chef Zhang the idea—and Big Plate Chicken was born.

       Roast Lamb: Roasted on a special skewer grill. The skewers used for lamb are 30 cm long, with a wooden handle on one end. The process involves slicing premium lamb into 3 cm² pieces, threading them onto the skewers, and placing them on the grill. While roasting over coal fire, seasonings such as salt, chili powder, and cumin are sprinkled. After 3–5 minutes, the other side is flipped, and it’s ready to eat in a few more minutes. Muselles: Though it contains trace alcohol, it is not wine. It has a light coffee color, a sweet-sour taste, a fragrant aroma, and is rich in nutrition. It is a popular drink among the Uyghur people.

       Tandoori Grilled Meat: A unique Xinjiang delicacy, made by roasting fresh lamb using the radiant heat of the tandoor oven and the high temperature of the oven walls. The grilled meat has a golden-brown color and is tender and flavorful when eaten with special seasonings or salt. Chicken and other foods can also be roasted in the tandoor.

       Uyghur Cap: Known in Uyghur as “doppa,” it is a hat loved by Uyghur people of all ages and genders. These small, four-cornered, round-topped caps are both practical and decorative. Typically embroidered with black-and-white or colorful threads in traditional ethnic patterns, they are both a daily necessity and a treasured gift for family, friends, and honored guests. Today, these small caps are not only well-known handicrafts but are also popular in domestic and international markets as important travel souvenirs.

       Atlas Silk: A type of silk highly favored by Uyghur women, known for its vibrant and bright colors. It features strong color contrasts and bold patterns. Common hues include emerald green, sapphire blue, yellow, cyan, peach pink, magenta, orange, gold, bright green, black, and white. The designs are intricate, compact, and precise, with intense, transparent, and lifelike colors that reflect the beauty of natural light and hues. Atlas silk is soft, elastic, lightweight, and beautifully luxurious, embodying distinct Uyghur ethnic characteristics. It is cherished by minority groups and is now regarded not only as fabric but also purchased as handicrafts for home décor.

       Xinjiang carpets: Not only renowned domestically, but also enjoying an excellent reputation internationally. Their surfaces are smooth and lustrous, the bases firm yet soft, with elegant and generous aesthetics, vibrant color tones, and distinctive carpet patterns that highlight strong ethnic characteristics and rich local flavors—setting them apart uniquely in the global carpet industry. As an important traditional and valuable export commodity of Xinjiang, these carpets have earned high praise from users around the world and are hailed as uniquely “Oriental-style” carpets.

       Hami melons: Turpan boasts abundant light and heat resources, high accumulated temperatures, and significant day-night temperature variations, all of which are conducive to the production and accumulation of sugar in fruits, making the melons and fruits here exceptionally sweet and delicious. Among the most famous are grapes and Hami melons. The grapes of Turpan are crystal clear, sweet, tender, and juicy, with over 600 premium varieties including seedless white, red grapes, black grapes, muscat, and white brussels, earning it the title of the “world’s grape botanical garden.” The commonly referred “Turpan grapes” usually mean seedless white grapes, which are highly vigorous, prolific in yield, and ideal for drying into raisins due to their seedlessness. Once dried, the raisins maintain a jade-green hue and offer a pleasantly sweet and tangy flavor.