Flowers bloom in the desert

Spring brings out the best in Xinjiang's plethora of natural beauty spots

Visitors to Northwest China are more likely to expect to see barren wilderness and deserts than a landscape of blooming flowers, but this is the region that likes to defy expectations.

In the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, picturesque blossoms contribute to a great variety of natural wonders, especially in spring.

Turpan will host the second annual Xinjiang Spring Tourism Expo from March 24 to 26, giving visitors a glimpse of the region's natural beauty.

Themed Blossoms in Four Seasons, Happiness in Xinjiang, this year's expo is focused on introducing tourism routes and brands related to flowers.

One feature will be a tour bus service linking the expo garden with scenic areas filled with apricot flowers in the Turpan Basin, which lies at an altitude below sea level. The relatively high temperatures here makes it the first place in the region where flowers blossom, starting mid-March and lasting for about a week.

A 1.5-hour ride by bullet train will also bring visitors to Urumqi, the regional capital.  

Apricot trees are scattered across Xinjiang, but Apricot Gully is perhaps the most popular spot to see them.

Located in Xinyuan county, close to National Highway 218, more than 2,000 hectares of wild apricot trees blossom in mid-April, attracting many sightseers and photographers.

Not far away are the Nalati Grassland and the Gongnaisi Forest Park along the Ili River, which offer visitors a taste of tranquility.

In Huocheng county, about 300 kilometers west of Xinyuan and not far from Khorgos Port, which connects China and Kazakhstan, is Daxi Gully.

Tourists flock here annually to see the apricot and apple flowers, and it is also regarded the Asian origin of wild cherry plums.

Cherry plum trees grow on the shaded side of the mountains at an altitude between 900 and 1,600 meters. The flowers blossom from April to May and are accompanied by sweet and sour berries.

Flowers are not the only natural beauty in Xinjiang, of course.

A two-hour drive north from Daxi Gully will bring you to Sayrem Lake, dubbed "the last teardrop of the Atlantic".

The lake is the furthest point reached by humid air from the Atlantic Ocean, which hits the Tianshan Mountain and comes down as rain or snow. Sitting just beside the mountain, the diamond-shaped lake offers the kind of views usually only possible in the Alps.

Visitors can always find astonishing desert beauty, too, even on the outskirts of the cities. In Shanshan, about 280 kilometers from Urumqi, the Kumtag desert - literally "sand mountain" in the Uygur tongue - offers curvaceous sculptures of sand carved by nature.

Contact the writers at liangshuang@chinadaily.com.cn