Yili Tourism

The sounds of the grasslands arrive first. In a TikTok video, a herd of horses rolls in from afar, their black, brown, and white forms blending together, the sound of hooves like a low rumble of thunder, cutting across the grassy slopes and through the shallow rivers. This is the most memorable scene of the Zhaosu Tianma Festival in Xinjiang: thousands of horses galloping.

In early May, the parking lot at the Narat service area had only three vehicles parked. One was a service station van, another was a supply truck unloading cargo, and the third was a tourist who had rented a car. The ticket seller said, "In another month, this place will be full; you'll drive around and not find a spot." She had someone choose a window seat on a shuttle bus in the middle section, and then went to make herself a cup of tea. It was mid-May; the grass in the Ili River Valley had just grown to ankle height, the snow line in the Tianshan Mountains was still low, and the air carried the unique chill of melting snow.