Leg 155, Yangjiaqiao, Gansu Province to Hami, Xinjiang, China
DAY01_24.PLN (4.9 KB)
This area is a puzzle to find the one camera angle that keeps all the seems out of view. Very interesting area though, following the route of the Silk road along the North side of the Gobi desert.
01-23 Yangjiaqiao ZYAJ 4:57 PM
01-23 Qiemo ZWCM 7:33 PM Virtual vision landing, Sun rise 8:28 PM
01-23 Hotan ZWTN 9:12 PM
01-23 Kashi ZWSH 10:36 PM
01-23 Qilan ZQIL 11:44 PM
01-24 Aksu ZWAK 12:01 AM
01-24 Kuqa ZWKC 12:42 AM
01-24 Korla ZWKL 1:53 AM
01-24 Uxxaktal Air Base ZTEE 2:18 AM
01-24 Turpan Joaohe ZWTP 3:00 AM
01-24 Shanshan ZWSS 3:21 AM
01-24 Hami ZWHM 4:12 AM
Flight time 11:15 11 stops
I already send my plane up 3 hours before sunrise while flying away from the sun, so after 2h30 flying in the dark, arriving in the dark in Qiemo
Dawn approaching over Azima
The ground finally became visible near Yueganji, it was a moonless night
Nothing around, the nearby airport list has no alternatives. Over the Gobi desert
‘Near’ Takelama Ganshamo
Gobi desert Sunrise
Approaching Hotan
Hotan Airport, in the southwestern part of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region
Hotan Kunluhu Park, local market
Flying on towards Kashgar
Over Dun Qiaka’er
Kashgar Airport
Kashgar was a stop on the Silk Road, with its history stretching over 2,000 years
Kashgar old town
Near Xike’erkulezhen
Kalpin County
Qilan Airport at Yituan Erying
Aksu city was next but completely broken in the game
Muzart river
The Mystic Grand Canyon of the Tianshan north of Kuqa
Kizilya Scenic spot nearby along the Kuqa river
Ketaike Like
Aqi Ke’eken
Tiemenguan City along the Kudong Highway
Korla also known as Kurla or from Mandarin Chinese as Ku’erle or Kuerle
Korla has existed since at least the Han Dynasty
Site of the Iron gate pass at the North side of Korla
The Iron Gate Pass connects the Yanqi Basin and the Tarim Basin, following the gorge of the Kongque River. It was a vulnerable bottle-neck on the Silk Road, a military checkpoint was established at the pass during the Tang Dynasty.
Bosten lake, enormous freshwater lake on the edge of the desert
The ancient city of Jiaohe near Turpan in the Yarnaz valley
Jiaohe was the capital of the Jushi Kingdom from 108 BC to 450 AD
In 2014, the Jiaohe Ruins became part of the Silk Road UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Turpan museum with ancient mummies on display, I assume found in Jiaohe
Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves near Shanshan
Complex featuring 77 caves decorated with Buddha murals, dating from the 5th to 14th centuries
Shanshan county, also transliterated from Uyghur as Piqan County
Kumtaq desert
And the final stop in Hami, the origin of sweet Hami melons
No temperature bug here, some icing along the way
I’ll be continuing on towards Mongolia next and on to Irkutsk in Siberia.