Ili Tangbula Grassland - A Hundred-Mile Scroll Ice and Snow Gallery
In April, coming to Ili to photograph flowers, besides apricot blossoms, I unexpectedly encountered another kind of flower amidst the snowflakes and frost flowers.
To photograph flowers, one needs good weather. Today, the whole of Ili reports 'overcast and rainy', only 'Tangbula Grassland' has 'clear skies', so off to Tangbula!
Tangbula (meaning 'seal' in Kazakh) is named for the massive rock on the ridge to the east of its valley, which resembles a jade seal.
Tangbula Grassland is one of the famous grasslands in the Ili region of Xinjiang, known as 'A Hundred-Mile Scroll, a Natural Gallery'.
The Tangbula Grassland fulfills all one's imaginations of a grassland, with a green carpet-like pasture spreading from the high mountain spruce forest down to the valley floor, with the roaring Kashgar River in the middle, and snow-white yurts dotted along both banks, with cattle and sheep in small groups.
In China, there are many scenic spots crowned with the word 'Great', but there are very few places called 'Hundred-Mile Gallery'. The entire Tangbula Hundred-Mile Gallery is located along the S315 provincial road, an area not yet 'managed', without any official promotion, a completely open, pure natural, free scenic area. This road is casual and free; here, one does not need to deliberately search for a particular spot, nor a guide. Just stroll along the highway and the 'Kashgar' River to enjoy the original and magnificent scenery.
There are many attractions in the Tangbula Grassland, it is said that there are 113 gullies, each with its own characteristics. Hence the saying 'Each gully has its own scenery, each ravine its own heaven'.
Zhang, who once won a place in the Ili 'Half Marathon', is a master of hiking. He drove his car along a quiet mountain gully all the way to the snow peaks, until a huge block of ice sealed the road. At this moment, the snow peak in front, like a maiden, slowly lifts her cloud-like veil under the blue sky to reveal her true face, while cattle and sheep graze leisurely on the slopes.
The gully is much colder than the outside. I just put on the warm sheepskin-lined army coat prepared by the hospitable Xinjiang hosts when a Kazakh herdsman happened to pass by on horseback. Seeing his contented demeanor, this place is so far from the hustle and bustle, so open and peaceful, it's truly worth breathing deeply and savoring.
Tangbula has no fenced management, and one can freely choose a small side road to get close to the grassland.
Crouching down to take a closer look, among the pastures extending to the foot of the snow mountain by the roadside, there are some small white flowers scattered about. This is a plant that lives in the north, which can germinate even in ice and snow, and only when spring warms up do the flower stems stand up and bloom. People call it 'Ice-Top Flower', meaning it withstands frost but still blooms beautifully.
Tangbula is a fairyland of the Tianshan Mountains, and the 'Ice-Top Flower' is the grassland sprite that has fallen into this pure land. It is the brightest natural beauty of Tangbula, the most dazzling white space in the rich colors. It is unassuming yet radiantly beautiful.
Perhaps it's a case of 'a blessing in disguise', searching for flowers, in the frost flowers and snowflakes, I found the 'Ice-Top Flower'. Unexpectedly, this Ice-Top Flower is also called 'Wild Lily', and listening to Meng Tingwei's 'Wild Lilies Also Have Spring' here couldn't be more appropriate—
'Don't forget the lonely corner in the valley
Wild lilies also have their spring
As if it's all a dream
Our meeting is so brief
You're like a gentle breeze, softly and tenderly blowing into my heart...'
From Dushanzi to Tangbula, cross the Tianshan Mountains, take the most beautiful road-Duku Highway, stop and pat. The whole journey is 100 kilometers, about 4 hours. Tangbra grassland is less artificial traces than Nalati, and the landform is more abundant. The painting is the same. The cattle and sheep are eating grass by the creek. The snow-capped mountains are in the distance. It is very suitable for aerial photography!
Tangbra Baili Scenic Area has grassland, hot springs, snow peaks, rivers as the main characteristics, there are grass and grass, flowing water, snowing spruce, alpine white clouds are accompanied by, this gallery from Kashgar River and many tributary rivers running through the east and west, from the hidden mountains, forests, grasslands, The valleys are intertwined to form a beautiful picture. Better than the Tangbra Prairie of the fairy scene on earth; there is a step by step, as picturesque, containing 19 streams of Mengkete grassland; there are small and exquisite, crystal clear, known as the "small Tianchi" alpine lake; There are Lin Mao ancient mysterious dog bear ditch; there are Qijun tall, strange stone "Xiaohuashan"; there are four hot springs with high water temperature, good water quality, a variety of trace elements, and can treat a variety of diseases.
Tangbra 113 attractions are different, snowy mountains, pine forests, grasslands, flower fields, streams, strange stones, etc. This is a paradise for photography lovers, and if you arrive in Tangbra grassland in May, then you can see the bright red of the mountains, this is the flowering period of Tianshan red flowers, here, Press the shutter lightly, every wallpaper, every frame is a movie
Tangbula is the common name of the grassland landscape of the Kashgar River Canyon in Niluk County, named after a mountain ditch 105 kilometers southeast of the county, because there are several huge rocks on the east of the mountain beam of its ditch, just like the seal of jade, so the name is Tangbula, Kazakh is the big seal. Tangbra has beautiful scenery, forests, grasslands, flying streams, mountains and stones, etc. The movie "Tianshan Red Flower" has been taken here, and Tangbra has become famous since then. Generally, people call the vast mountain pastures upstream of the Kashgar River as Tangbra Grassland, which is one of the five grasslands that Ili is famous for. Tangbra grassland has 113 ditches, forming 113 attractions, Kashgar River is connected to the east and west, the north and south mountains are high, the slope flow is frequent, like feather wings, water transfer, quite secret valley. Many valleys have natural hot springs, distribution density is rare in other mountain systems, and have a good prospect of mineral bath development.
Tangbra grassland is located on the 315 provincial road from the bee town of Niluk County to Jolma. The whole journey is more than 130 kilometers of beautiful grassland composed of mountain valleys, known as "Baili Gallery". Tangbra grassland shows the natural wonders of the Ili Valley. Free all day, there is an observation deck halfway up, climbing and looking far, Kashgar River, spruce forest, blue sky and white clouds, grassland sunset, etc. outline a beautiful picture. The observation deck facilities are relatively complete