Xinjiang Travel Part 8: Drive the Most Beautiful Highway in Xinjiang—Tuhe Expressway.

Turpan, Xinjiang Korla, Bayingolin Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang Kuqa, Aksu Prefecture Kashgar City, Kashgar Prefecture We drove from Urumqi to Turpan on the Lianhuo Expressway. The next day, we set off from Turpan, passing through Korla, Kuqa, and Aksu, and arrived in Kashgar on the afternoon of the fifth day. The journey from Turpan to Kashgar is nearly 1,400 km, and we drove on the Tuhe Expressway, known as the most beautiful highway in Xinjiang. The Tuhe Expressway is the only expressway connecting northern and southern Xinjiang. It is 1,931 km long and connects Turpan and Hotan. It is numbered G3012 in the Chinese expressway network. It runs south from Turpan, crosses the Tianshan Mountains, and runs along the southern slope of the Tianshan Mountains, passing through Korla, Kuqa, and Aksu to Kashgar. Along the way, we saw mysterious canyons, vast deserts, desolate Gobi, oasis treasures, simple ethnic customs, and ancient historical sites. We set off from Turpan and began to climb in altitude. Soon, we reached the first scenic spot on the Tuhe Expressway, which is also the most dangerous section. This section is called Gangu, a gorge across the Tianshan Mountains and the throat of the Tuhe Expressway. It is 102 km from Toksun County to Korla, of which 70 km is the Gangu section. As the name suggests, Gangu has no water, grass, or vegetation, and its bare landscape is intimidating. But we also saw amazing and shocking sights. The desolate and magnificent primitive landforms, the vertical mountains formed by fault extrusion covered by moving sand dunes, and the unique terrain make this section of the expressway difficult to build and dangerous. The speed limit is 60 km/h, so be sure to drive safely. After crossing the Tianshan Mountains, we entered southern Xinjiang, and the scenery of the Yanqi Basin was in full view. The Tianshan Mountains have abundant water resources, and the oases are dotted at the foot of the mountains. After passing through Korla, the view to the west opened up. To the north, we saw the endless Tianshan Mountains, Danxia landforms, deserts, and occasional snow-capped mountains. This scenery accompanied us for hundreds of kilometers until we reached Kashgar.