7-Day Self-Drive Around the Junggar Basin: A Geological Epic Across Half of China

Have you ever seen such a land? On the left are flame-like rolling colorful hills, as if God spilled a palette; On the right is the Red Mountain Canyon, carved like with knives and axes, wind-eroded rock layers resembling the spine of an ancient giant beast; And ahead, in a hundred-mile no-man’s land, an abandoned underground mine quietly opens its mouth, As if whispering a national secret sealed for 60 years. This is not a sci-fi movie, This is the geological journey I just completed around the Junggar Basin— A 7-day, 2800-kilometer trip, Seeing Xinjiang’s most hardcore landforms and industrial memories in a “textbook of the earth.” It doesn’t try to be cute, doesn’t use filters, nor cater to check-in trends, But it lets you truly understand: What it means to be “the lifeline of China’s resources,” and what an “epic written by the earth” really is. 📍 Route Overview Urumqi → Five Color Bay (Qitai) → Koktokay → Burqin → Urho Devil City → Dushanzi Grand Canyon → Shawan → Return to Urumqi 🗓 Recommended Duration: 7-8 days｜⛰️ Mineral relics · Colorful hills · Secret canyons｜💰 Budget: 5000–6500 RMB/person 📅 Best Season: May – October (stable weather, good road conditions, strong light ideal for photography) --- 🌄【Day 1-2】Urumqi → Five Color Bay → Koktokay｜From “Fire and Earth” to “Cold Metal” ✅ First Stop: Five Color Bay Flaming Mountains & Petrified Wood Park - The surface of Flaming Mountains shows red and orange hues due to mineral oxidation, flowing like lava at sunrise - The Petrified Wood Park is scattered with a “stone forest” billions of years old, the oldest tree over 200 million years 📷 Photo Highlights: - Wide-angle shots capturing the “petrified wood + colorful hills + wilderness” trio - Use a polarizing filter to enhance rock layer texture contrast ✅ Continue north to Fuyun County · Koktokay (about 6 hours by car) - Here lies one of New China’s most important secret places—the No. 3 Mine Pit 🎯 Must-Visit Experience: - Enter Koktokay National Geopark and overlook the world’s rare giant mine pit (140 meters deep, spiral-shaped) - Listen to the guide explain: “The lithium, beryllium, and tantalum produced here once repaid 1.3 billion yuan of Soviet foreign debt” - Visit the Ayiguz Mine, wear a helmet and go 80 meters underground to touch the mineral vein cross-section 🏡 Stay at Koktokay town guesthouse｜with floor heating｜about 400 RMB/night 📌 Fun Fact: Koktokay is not a sea; it means “green forest” in Kazakh, yet it is China’s rare metal hometown. --- 🌊【Day 3-4】Koktokay → Burqin → Urho｜From Mineral Sources to Yardang ✅ Drive along the Irtysh River to Burqin - The only river in Xinjiang flowing into the Arctic Ocean, with rapid summer currents and birch forests along the banks ✅ Arrive in the afternoon at Urho World Devil City - Cretaceous sedimentary rocks eroded by wind form “ancient castle clusters,” howling like ghosts and wolves when the wind blows - Must ride the scenic area’s small train into the core zone and hear the guide tell the “dinosaur graveyard” legend 📸 Golden Photography Moments: - Shoot Yardang silhouettes one hour before sunset, combined with drone shots of the “Sea of Death” textures - Try star trail time-lapse at night, with the Milky Way spanning above Devil City 🏨 Stay at Karamay Urho District hotel｜about 380 RMB/night --- 🏞️【Day 5-6】Urho → Dushanzi Grand Canyon → Shawan｜Cutting into the Earth’s Wound ✅ Head to Dushanzi Grand Canyon (one of Xinjiang’s most beautiful canyons) - Tianshan snowmelt carved a 200-meter-deep rift, with emerald-green river water - Cliffside trails are thrilling, with many spots for “people standing on the edge of the abyss” shots 📷 Highly Recommended: - Use telephoto compression to capture “Dushanzi refinery steam and canyon mist together,” a dialogue between industry and nature - Snap moments of herders riding horses along the valley bottom paths ✅ Last stop: Shawan City (stopover) - Restock and refresh, must eat an authentic Shawan big plate chicken—potatoes soft and glutinous, chili fragrant but not overpowering 🚘 Return to Urumqi on Day 7, completing the loop --- ✅ Budget Breakdown (per person｜for deep self-driving): Item Cost ------ ------ Round-trip transport (air/train to Urumqi) ¥800–1500 Car rental (SUV off-road with driver/guide) ¥3500 Accommodation (7 nights average ¥450) ¥3150 Tickets + insurance + supplies + photography materials ¥850 Total ¥5000–6500 > 💬 Note: If carpooling with multiple people and traveling in the off-season, costs can be controlled around ¥4800. --- 🌟 Why is this route called the “China Geological Museum”? ✅ Complete landforms: colorful hills, petrified wood, granite peak forests, wind-eroded yardang, cut canyons all in one ✅ Historical depth: from prehistoric life to modern industry, a walking “natural resources course” ✅ Stunning photo rate: every 100 kilometers changes the color tone, your phone album becomes a documentary cover ✅ Niche hardcore with no tourists: almost no tour groups throughout, perfect for those who truly love the earth --- 📌 Action Suggestions: 🎯 If you are: - A geology enthusiast or traveler with a science/engineering background → this route’s information density rivals a university elective - A photography player pursuing ultimate light and composition contrast → Junggar is your ultimate shooting location - A parent wanting to give children “outdoor geography enlightenment” → a hundred times more vivid than textbooks 🔥 Best Travel Tips: - June to September is best, large day-night temperature difference, be sure to bring windproof and warm jackets - Some sections are unpaved roads, four-wheel drive vehicles recommended - Respect mining area rules, no drones in no-fly zones --- Along this journey, You won’t see trendy filters, But you can touch the earth’s bones, Hear the heartbeat of the mountains, Even pick up a stone, And know it once upheld a nation’s dignity. This is not just a self-drive, It is a pilgrimage to the earth.