Lest those of you living outside of Xinjiang forget, this province is not just one big, barren desert. The locals here all know it, which is why you'll find more outdoor stores in Urumqi than KFC's, China's biggest fast food chain. Tis the season for hiking and camping and I can't wait to be a part of it. This picture was taken by a friend on their camping trip into the mountains 3 weeks ago.
The Tian Shan mountains (天山), which split Xinjiang into a northern and southern half, provide ample area for solitary backpacking with gorgeous scenery for entertainment. "Tian Shan" is translated into English as "Heavenly Mountains", a name which I believe was first coined by the Uyghurs, although I can't verify that.
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If you are interested in contributing a photo to FarWestChina's Picture of the Week series, please contact me and send in your Xinjiang-related photo. All photos must be originals and will be credited to you and/or your personal website.
7 Comments:
What a great looking place to hike. I'm envious.
Ditto what Stevo said. What an amazing place - I love mountains.
Quite literally the first time I've missed China a little bit since we arrived in Oz.
Glad you guys enjoyed the picture. Just bought all the camping equipment yesterday and can't wait to spend this weekend's holiday exploring with my wife (and hopefully the dog).
This post reminded me of dormant plans to do a backpacking trip out to Xinjiang this summer. The Tianshan look nice, but was also thinking of heading up into the Altai. Do you know of any good resources for finding out about where to go in these places?
Hey Ben, resources in English are impossible to find I'm realizing. Even a good, detailed map of Xinjiang is difficult to find. If can read Chinese, however, I've been told there are a lot of good forums for backpackers who hike this province. I'm still looking but I'll let you know.
Altai is a great place to go backpacking, especially the reserve around the Kanas Lake. This weekend we're actually heading over to Tacheng, a little to the south west, which is also supposed to be gorgeous for hiking. Again, I'll let you know how it goes :)
I am an avid hiker and love camping. The photo is fantastic and looks like a great place to goi camping and hiking.
I am an avid hiker and love camping. The photo is fantastic and looks like a great place to goi camping and hiking.
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