Xinjiang self-driving tour

The Ahe Highway is suitable for those who want to drive through Northern Xinjiang but don't want to rush from one tourist attraction to another every day. In summer, the route offers views of meadows, wildflowers, forests, canyons, wetlands, and snow-capped mountains, making it especially suitable for connecting trips from Altay towards Hemu and Kanas. It's better suited as a leisurely scenic road than as a stopover to shorten the journey.

Stepping into the Kuqa Tianshan Mysterious Grand Canyon, it takes a few seconds for your eyes to adjust. The intense sunlight that had enveloped you after turning off National Highway 217 suddenly receded—the reddish-brown rock walls on either side sliced the light into a narrow slit, slanting down from the cliff tops dozens of meters high, illuminating the rocks in shades of deep orange and dark brown. The passage ahead grew narrower and narrower, until finally you had to squeeze through sideways. That 0.4-meter-wide crevice was the canyon's most candid self-introduction.