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I was so fortunate to visit an area that has always intrigued me. We have been busy travelling and have now found the time to share this trip.

Another bus ride through the desert to rejoin our train. On this night we were invited to the lounge car by our tour guides for warm beer and the worst wine (and I have had a few) that I have ever tasted. It was undrinkable even after a few beers. They managed to find a few cold ones for me...

The last lot of canyon pics.

More canyon photos. There were warning signs and raised platforms throughout the canyon in case of flash flooding during storms. As I was on my way out a thunderstorm was brewing and the sirens sounded to evacuate.

Our destination for the day. Kuqa Grand Canyon also know s the Mysterious Grand Canyon or the Tianshan Grand Canyon. As we arrived we were met by the rest of our group who were awaiting our arrival. It was extremely hot and while the ladies took a golf cart to the head of the Canyon I took a...

We were met at Kuqa airport by a local tour guide who was to pick us up and drive us to meet up with the rest of the group. We also were met by local police who instructed us to follow them to their airport office. After some checking of passports and according to my wife questioning of the tour...

We stayed overnight in our hotel near the Nalati grasslands and then in the morning while the rest of the group visited some other nearby areas (Apparently it rained heavily and the sights were not that good) we were transferred back to Yining by private van for a short flight across the Altai...

More photos of the grasslands.

Another early start with a short 30 minute drive from our hotel to the Nalati Grassland park. The grasslands are situated in a long narrow plane between two mountain ranges and have been home to Kazak herdsman for many centuries. The herdsman still live in their yurts and heard their sheep...

More photos of the trip from Sayram Lake to the grasslands plus our hotel for the night.

After lunch on the lake it was back on the bus for the 5 hour drive to the Nalati Grasslands park. While the amount of travel due to the distance between many of the areas was quite tiring I hardly ever slept on the bus or in daylight on the train because I was always worried that I would miss...

Found some more random photos from the first part of this trip that I will add. They are mainly of myself and my wife plus her friends who inspired and organised us to make this journey.

From Yinning station we travelled for an hour or so to Sayram lake. The lake is the largest (458 km2 or 177 sq mi) and also the highest (at 2,070 m or 6,790 ft) alpine lake in Xinjiang. More wonderful meadows filled with wildflowers. Quite a few camping sites in Xinjiang which is quite...

Overnight and breakfast on the train and then back on the bus headed to Sayram lake somewhere near the Kazakhstan border. Again no idea where the station was where we reboarded the train. I think we arrived in a city called Yinning.

Lunch with the local villagers. Local tradition is to throw sweets at guests as they arrive.

After leaving Hemu village we travelled by bus over mountain ranges headed to a station (unknown as by this time the stations had no English name and the names were only in Mandarin and an Islamic style language) to reboard the train. We had a stopover at a small village where we enjoyed lunch...

Photos from the top. Mid summer. You can see Russia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan from here. Breathtaking. You can stay overnight in these.

Later on our second day in Hemu we headed off to visit a mountain resort with a cable car ride to the summit. That was all I knew as we jumped on the bus. Again zero expectations of what or where we were going. This really was a magical mystery tour. Again this place exceeded my expectations. We...

More photos from the village and surrounding area. I think this photo says a lot about the contrasts in modern China. There were many Golden Eagles flying but my phone camera zoom wasn't good enough to get a clear photo.

While the rest of our party relaxed at the lodge I walked to the original village which was around 2-3 klms away from the newer township constructed to house the tour groups. After almost 3 hours of walking I returned exhausted to our hotel. Photos from that evening and next morning. I found...