Complete Guide to Tianma Bathing River Viewing

🔥｜Zhaosu Travel Guide! 💥 "Zhaosu Intense Play Style"! ✅ Authentic｜✅ Money-saving｜✅ No pitfalls｜✅ Great for photos｜ 📍【One-sentence positioning｜Break the illusion first】 ✅ Zhaosu = the only county in China with the triple buff of "Tianshan hinterland + Ili River Valley + Military Horse Farm" all stacked! ❌ Not "Little Switzerland"! Not the "Xinjiang Alps"! ✅ It is: ▪️ The highest altitude rapeseed flower sea in the country (blooms in June! One month earlier than Wuyuan!) ▪️ The real location of Tianma Bathing River (not a performance! It’s the military horse farm’s routine summer "horse washing and herding") ▪️ The wildest, quietest place in Xinjiang, where you can boldly park your car by the roadside and chase marmots! 🚗【How to get there? Super easy!】 ✔️ Self-driving (highly recommended!) Navigate to: "Zhaosu County Tourist Service Center" → From Urumqi: G30 → Guozigou Bridge → Qingshui River → S237 Provincial Road → straight there! ⏰ About 5.5 hours driving｜But! All highway + stunning scenery, recommended to split into 2 days, stay at a lavender homestay in Huocheng in between! ⚠️ Important: Fill up gas before entering Zhaosu! Few gas stations in the county! ✅ Parking: All viewing spots are free! There is a large parking lot at Xiata entrance (can park 100+ cars) ✔️ Public bus is also OK! 🚌 Urumqi South Suburb Bus Station → Zhaosu bus (2 trips daily｜08:00/14:00｜Ticket 120 RMB) 💡 After arrival, share a 4WD into the scenic area (30 RMB per person), look for the car with the "Zhaosu Culture and Tourism Blue Label" sticker on the window! 🎫【Tickets + Reservation｜Key info!!】 💰 Xiata Scenic Area: 60 RMB (includes shuttle bus! Must take it! 12km hiking = leg exhaustion warning) 🐎 Tianma Bathing River: No ticket fee! But reservation is required! 📱 Search "Zhiyou Zhaosu" mini program on WeChat → book "Bathing River Viewing Slot" 3 days in advance (daily limit 300 people!) ❗❗❗ After successful reservation, you will receive an e-voucher + location + viewing time (divided into morning/afternoon/evening sessions, strongly choose the early session at 5:30! Fewer people, better light, wildest horses!) ⏰【One-day essential itinerary｜Follow it, no getting lost!】 ▫️ 05:00｜Wake up! Wear a thick jacket! Bring a thermos ▫️ 05:30｜Arrive at Xiata Riverside Viewing Platform (arrive 15 minutes early! Grab the C-position rock!) ▫️ 05:45｜Horses start entering the river! (Don’t blink! 23 minutes golden moment!) ▫️ 07:00｜Leave → head straight to 【Karezun Grassland】 (15 min drive) ▫️ 08:30｜Horse riding and light hiking (choose "herder’s trail", avoid commercial horse paths!) ▫️ 11:00｜Arrive at 【Xiao Hongnahai Stone Man Formation】 → touch the stone man’s forehead for good luck (local custom!) ▫️ 13:00｜Lunch: 【Military Horse Farm Old Canteen】 (Yes! The place where the horse farm staff eat!) ▫️ 15:00｜Must stop before returning: 【Zhaosu Rapeseed Flower Sea · No.1 Viewing Platform】 (June only! Golden waves rolling!) 🍜【What to eat? Locals’ secret list!】 ✅ Must-try 3 dishes, no misses: ▪️ Military Horse Farm Old Canteen hand-pulled lamb (freshly slaughtered lamb, boiled in clear water, dipped in yogurt chili sauce, 18 RMB/serving) ▪️ Kazakh grandma’s butter tea + milk skin naan ▪️ Zhaosu black bee honey milk tea (made with local black bee honey + brick tea + fresh milk, warms the stomach and intoxicating!) 📸【Photo hotspots】 ✨ Tianma Bathing River: crouch low! Capture the moment horse legs enter the water! Water reflection + flying horse mane = jackpot! ✨ Karezun Grassland: Ask the horseman to take a side shot of you "riding and cracking the whip" (the windier the better!) ✨ Rapeseed Flower Sea: Wear red/white/blue clothes! Lie flat and shoot "looking up at the flower sea", hold your phone high! ✨ Xiao Hongnahai: Stand side by side with the 3000-year-old stone man, give a peace sign! 🎒【Pre-trip essentials】 ✅ Shoes: High-top anti-slip hiking boots! (Grassland is slippery + lots of gravel) ✅ Clothes: Quick-dry shirt + fleece + windproof jacket (10℃ in morning/evening, 25℃ at noon) ✅ Sunscreen: SPF50+ hat + sunglasses (UV is strong enough to peel skin!) ✅ Water! At least 2L! (Dry + uphill, not drinking enough = dizziness) ✅ Power bank! (Cold drains battery fast, bring 20,000mAh or more) ✅ Most important: A heart that’s not afraid of cold, wind, waiting, or slow ❤️ 【A heartfelt final word】 Many people come to Zhaosu, just to take a photo of "horses stepping on flying flowers." But I want to take you to: 👉 Listen to the flowing water by Xiata River for an hour; 👉 Milk a cow with the herders once; 👉 Watch a cloud slowly drift across the entire grassland from the top of the Bortala Peak. This is the real Zhaosu, the way it should be 🌾