Friday, June 7, 2013

Heavenly Lake (Tian Chi)

Once out of Urumqi our destination was a mere 45km east. Tian Chi (heavenly cloud in mountain) National Park is a major local tourist attraction. The lake is at 7,000 ft and requires a series of transfer busses and then an electric trolley to access. 

We parked Sura, readied nm overnight pack of what we would need for our stay and boarded the transfer busses. Up a steep and winding access road for about 30 minutes brought us to the transfer station where we got on electric trolleys for the last leg. As we arrived at the lake it started to rain and continued until we left the following morning. 

We were met by our yurt hosts and taken by truck to the camp where we settled in for some free time relaxing. In between showers we walked to the lake and toured the temple and monastery. A bus load of brides arrived, along with their grooms in tow, for picture taking. At one point we counted over 100 of them, flouncing around in beautiful gowns and umbrellas. Each followed by a photographer and a stager. Very amusing!

We all shared on yurt, enjoyed dinner of rice and veggies, and slept through the night amidst snoring and raindrops. 

Morning was no different. Yet even with the rain and low hanging clouds it was still quite beautiful and peaceful. We packed up around 9am and headed back to Sura for our six hour drive to Turpan. 

Google "heavenly lake Urumqi" for some amazing photos I wasn't able to take due to the weather. 
 
 




 

Sent from Leopard's iPhone. Read my blog at www.leopard2013.blogspot.com

No comments:

Post a Comment