2018 Tibet Xinjiang 39-Day Self-Drive Tour - Day 28: Mysterious Karst Lake, Scenic Area Tire Change Dilemma

Day 28 (October 5, 2018): Burjin County – Karst Lake Scenic Area 150km

To avoid traffic congestion on the road during the National Day holiday Golden Week, we set off early, preparing to head to Karst Lake as soon as possible in the early morning. Brother Liang fixed the flat rear wheel of Brother Zhou, which was constantly leaking, using a portable air pump, and it also broke down. Knowing that something was wrong, but still determined to leave the county town. When we left the county town, it was already bright, and the temperature was zero degrees.

After leaving the county town, following the navigation prompts, we headed onto Provincial Highway 232. The entire sky had spread with a dreamy orange-red, indicating that the rising sun was about to erupt. As the sun slowly rose from the sky, the trees and grasslands on the roadside were immediately dyed, even the gravel became warm in color. The fluffy dry grass bushes were pierced through by the sunlight, revealing a charming golden hue, and the morning cattle herds in the sunrise looked particularly majestic.

As the sun was fully risen, everything became brighter and more spacious. The undulating sand dunes and grasslands on the roadside were bathed in sunlight, exhibiting the unique beauty of the morning light and curves.

A scenic area called Bai Sha Mountain was right next to Provincial Highway 232, apparently a scenic area mainly featuring white sand dunes, but at this time, our eyes were only on Karst Lake, without stopping. After climbing a ridge, we descended to the foot of the mountain and arrived at Chu Huhul Xian Bu Ran Village. This was a flat and beautiful grassland, and the morning grassland showed its beauty to us. A thin morning mist swirled around the low mountain ridges, projecting a touch of mystery in the morning light; the vast grassland was interspersed with green trees, with occasional rows of golden colors; the thick grassland was covered with morning frost, which reflected silver in the sunlight; the shepherd's houses were neatly arranged in groups, with smoke curling up, permeating the atmosphere of life; horses and cattle and sheep formed groups on the grassland, showing the vitality of lush grasslands and abundant water.

The yellow poplar trees along the road, the harvested fields, and the straw piles stacked in the shepherd's homes, gave us a strong sense of the autumn countryside in northern villages.

After arriving at Chu Huhul Xian, we began to climb the mountain. This side of the mountain was basically bare, with very few trees.

After climbing the mountain peak, this side had a different scene, with patches of trees and snow-capped mountains, as well as vast wetlands.

We arrived at Jiadengyu at around 11 am. It was the gateway to Karst Lake and the main transportation hub to the Karst Lake scenic area. Now it has become Karst Lake's tourist reception and management base. Self-driving vehicles could only stop here, about 30 kilometers from Karst Lake.

So we parked, bought tickets, and took a sightseeing bus into the scenic area. It is said that the autumn in Karst Lake is the most beautiful, and after entering the scenic area, there are dense coniferous trees and deciduous trees. The deciduous trees that had fallen leaves were left with only the white trunks and branches, and the minority of evergreen trees were still displaying beautiful golden colors. The combination of golden, white, and green colors made the trees along the way look very colorful. However, when I saw that the trees with fallen leaves were numerous, I felt that we had come a little late. If it were to happen in these trees that hadn't fallen leaves, it would be a sea of golden colors!

The river at the foot of the mountain showed a different blue-green color.

The sightseeing road was built on a narrow and dangerous ridge. The sightseeing platform is located on a small hill, and it is a two-story observation building with a fish-tail-shaped design on the top, which is quite exquisite. The observation platform was crowded with tourists, and it was impossible to take photos with Karst Lake alone. The Karst Lake in front of us was elongated and curved, and the lake was still and mirror-like. Occasionally a speedboat passed by, leaving a white trace on the water surface, and soon returned to calm.

Map of Karst Lake is like a lying swan or a bamboo shoot

Standing on the sightseeing platform, overlooking the surroundings without obstruction, with an open view, really a great viewing spot. Snow Mountain White Mountain Head, autumn grass golden skirt, clear sky and light wind, mountains and waters are beautiful, making people feel refreshing and a sense of 'wanting to reach the blue sky and capture the bright moon'.

From the sightseeing platform, after coming down, we sat on a pile of stones to eat dry food and replenish energy, and then started to descend. We sat on the hot sun and took a sightseeing bus back to Karst Lake scenic area.

Upon returning to the Karst Lake scenic area, we wanted to feel the Karst Lake water closely, so we took a sightseeing bus along another route to Karst Lake. Following the blue-green lake water flowing out of Karst Lake, we followed the river upstream and reached the lake shore.

The Karst Lake in front of our eyes was still blue-green, but not as dense as it was on the mountain.”The autumn leaves on the lake shore shone brightly in the sunlight, as if adding a beautiful golden edge to this vast blue-green lake. Under our feet, the lake water was clear and bottomless, with reeds swaying gently. The lake water flowed out of the lake mouth and turned into a rapid stream, creating the beautiful three bays and Duck Lake along the way.

At around 6 pm, we took a sightseeing bus out of Karst Lake scenic area and returned to Jiadengyu. The scenery along the way made us take multiple vehicles to leave beautiful scenes.

Upon returning to the Jiadengyu parking lot, we realized something was wrong. Because we broke the air pump in the morning, the tire was not inflated enough, and the second wheel was flat. There was no way but to change the spare tire. So we quickly unloaded the things in the rear box, took out the spare tire, Brother Liang unloaded the tire, and I used a jack to change the tire, it took half an hour, and finally got this tire, which was too small and not coordinated at all, but there was no better way.

After changing the tire, we had to find a place to refuel. The entire Jiadengyu only had one gas station, and a long queue of vehicles waited to refuel. There was no way but to wait patiently.

It took three or four hours before we finally refueled.

Because we were going to the nearby village of Wukongmu, which is not far from Karst Lake, we stayed in Jiadengyu tonight and tasted a local specialty – dried lamb with chili pepper, which was very delicious!