Urumqi, 8 August (ZXS) -- Xinjiang Duku Highway: A "net red highway" that attracts millions of tourists to drive by car every year
Written by Gou Jipeng
Blue sky and white clouds, green mountains and green grass. Fifteen-year-old Hadlibek rode his jujube-red horse to solicit business on a hillside, where the Duku Highway winds its way deep into the Tianshan Mountains, with a steady stream of vehicles.
Duku Highway is a section from Dushanzi to Kuche of National Highway 217, connecting the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, with a total length of more than 500 kilometers, and is known as the "landscape road running through the backbone of the Tianshan Mountains". It shuttles between canyons, alpine ice peaks, grassland pine forests, and connects many natural landscapes such as Narati grassland, Bayinbrook grassland, and large and small dragon ponds along the way, and is a "net red highway" for tourists to drive. Recently, a reporter from the China News Agency visited the Duku Highway from north to south, and saw Hadley Buick who was "soliciting passengers" in a parking lot along the line.
On August 8, at a parking lot along the Duku Highway, tourists got out of the car to experience horseback riding. Photo by China News Agency reporter Gou Jipeng
Born into a herder family, close to the Duku Highway, Hadlibek led his horse to provide a riding experience for tourists every summer vacation. "Since August, the number of tourists is still very large, and I can earn more than 8 yuan a day (RMB, the same below)." Hadlibek said that he had been with horses since he was a child, but he did not know that the horses that used to be used to carry carriers were now an important source of income for the family. While speaking, a tourist with a Sichuan accent walked up to Hadley Buick, and after some conversation, turned over and got on the horse to experience.
Built in the 20s of the 80th century, the Duku Highway attracts tourists from all over China because of its "strangeness, danger and beauty". In recent years, with the development of tourism in Xinjiang, the Duku Highway has become more popular. Xinjiang's transportation department has specially implemented a quality improvement project to improve the tourists' travel experience, and the Duku Highway has become a key demonstration highway for the integration of "transportation + tourism", attracting millions of tourists to drive from June to October every year.
The reporter saw many vehicles with license plates from Shanghai, Sichuan, Hubei, Jiangsu and other places along the way. Wang Yang, a tourist traveling to Xinjiang by car from Hubei, said that the Duku Highway is a very important destination for this trip to Xinjiang. "This road is treacherous and beautiful. There are many parking areas on the road, making it easy for visitors to enjoy the scenery along the way. I also came across a barbecue stall run by herders, and it was very pleasant to eat a few skewers of barbecue on the scenic Tianshan Mountain. He said.
The influx of tourists from all over the world also brings good opportunities for employment and income for herders living along the route. Along the way, the reporter saw many homestays, farmhouses, pastoral stays and other tourist service facilities along the way, mostly operated by local herdsmen.
Located in the middle section of Duku Highway, there are many homestays in Narati Town, Xinyuan County. That night, the reporter and his party stayed overnight in a homestay in the town's Arshan Village. According to the owner, the homestay has been in operation for more than six years and can now receive 6 people at the same time, most of which are herders from the village. "Post-200s" Aziza Daninur, a waiter at the homestay, told reporters: "I came to work here through the introduction of friends in the same village, and I have a stable job at my doorstep, I can earn money to subsidize my family, and it is very convenient to commute." ”
Due to natural conditions, Duku Highway only passes for more than 5 months a year. It's still the peak tourist season, with an average of more than 1,<> cars coming in and out every day. (End)