Day 370: Skywalker

Urumqi – Tianshan – Urumqi, China

With the private car and driver, I visited Tianshan Tianchi for the day. Located high in the mountain (“Tianshan” being “Sky Mountain”), the area has an entire different feel compared to the Turpan basin. I suppose that’s what Xinjiang province is: a place where the two extremes meet. The summer can get as hot as 40+ degrees Celcius and the winter -40+. It has the desert in the south and the alps on the north.

“Tianchi”, meaning “Sky Lake”, is the main attraction in Tianshan. With its turquoise color water, mountain ranges in the far distance, and lush green field viewing point, Tianshan Tianchi is great vacation spot. I believe it’s also possible to do a few day trek to the distant mountain peak. But independent outdoor trekking is not commonplace in China. People mostly travel in tour groups being explained to and rushed around.

Come to think of it, in most tourist sites that I had been except for Beijing (ie. Huangshan, Wuzhen, Turpan and now here), I hardly ever saw foreigners. Maybe less than 5 in each site. Tourists are abundant, but almost entirely of locals.