The first stop on the self-driving Duku Highway, Yitel Hotel in Aksu, Xinjiang

After missing the Duku Highway several times, this year it finally happened. What's even better is that it coincided with the new trend of Xinjiang's international chain hotels. From Aksu to Kuqa, over the Tianshan Mountains back to Urumqi and then to Hami, during this little week-long journey, except for Nalati hidden deep in the Tianshan Mountains which has yet to see international chain involvement, other places all have chain hotels newly opened in the past two years, no longer needing to worry about finding guesthouses. My dream trip on the Duku Highway also became a journey of trying out this string of new hotels. The first stop was Aksu at the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, staying at the Hyatt Yitel Hotel. A 20-minute drive from the airport, the hotel opened last year and is located on top of a high-rise in the city center, which should be the bustling area of the locality. The reception hall, not very large and slightly less luxurious in decoration, features two square island counters, astronaut-shaped dolls, and a dining table equipped with complimentary drinks, local fruits, and snacks, all highlighting the Yitel genes. After recognizing the membership, breakfast is included, and the room type is slightly upgraded. The guest room has a simple decoration style and is quite spacious. Facilities such as electric curtains, capsule coffee machines, and electric toilets are ahead of similar hotels by several notches, and even surpass many five-star hotels without feeling inferior. In terms of intelligence, it's also at the forefront, with a voice service system by the bed, and all kinds of needs can be met just by speaking. At night, the bathroom has a sensor light that turns on and off automatically. The welcome fruit was creative, super sweet local specialty small white apricots. The Mini bar door had a sticker for free drinks and snacks, but opening it revealed only three small packages of Xinjiang-flavored Qiegao similar to those sold at Bestore, which was really modest. The next day's breakfast was arranged in the restaurant on the seventh floor, of ordinary standard without much novelty, except for the naan, there was no sign of any local features, but there were seven or eight dishes of various stir-fried greens, has the concept of health penetrated so deeply into people's hearts? Only the fresh lychees were surprising, leading to a reflection on the level of logistics in China, unparalleled in the world. It's understandable that smoking is prohibited in the guest rooms, but the smell of smoke in the shared elevator was very strong, which needs to be improved as soon as possible. Guest room related information: Room number: 1417 Official website name: Executive King Room Area: 29 square meters Mattress: Elsen Bedding, fabric, and bathrobe: Canasin TV: Hisense Intelligent system: Yitel Shower and metal parts: Huida Basin: Huida Toilet: Electric Huida Hairdryer: Kinhao Amenities: Large bottle Seven Plus lemon verbena series Electric kettle: Tonney Capsule coffee machine: Nespresso Capsule coffee: 2 capsules of Nespresso Tea bags: Tianfu Tea Bottled water: Nongfu Spring Mini bar: Free