Northwest China Leisure Tour 16.

September 19, 2024 D29: Gongliu - Chaxi - Ku'erdening - Die Lake After breakfast, head to Chaxi via Die Lake. The beautiful environment makes you want to stop and enjoy the view. The lake is clear, and the trees are lush. We met a lake patrol officer on the way and learned that the scenic area is shaped like a butterfly, a symbol of Gongliu. The area includes a waterfront leisure area, an ecological science area, a children's play area, and more. There are museums, libraries, food streets, hotels, supermarkets, and other facilities nearby. Visitors can pick and taste the fruit from the trees around the lake. At 10 pm, there is a water and light show called "Butterfly Dance in Tianshan" by the bridge. It is a great place to visit during the day and at night. Yixi Scenic Area is primitive and simple, with forests and grasslands interwoven, grasslands and shrubs interspersed, and a majestic beauty. You can see the rolling mountains and misty clouds, hear the birds singing and the streams gurgling, and feel the tranquility and beauty of nature. There is a dirt road leading to the Tarim Scenic Area in Chaxi Scenic Area. After driving for about 10 minutes, we met a tourist on horseback who told us that the road ahead was still bumpy, so we immediately turned back to Ku'erdening. Tips 1. Tickets: CNY 30/person; Opening hours: 9 am to 8 pm. 2. There is no bus to Chaxi, so you can only charter a car or drive there. We navigated to the back gate of Ku'erdening Scenic Area and were told that the area is now a one-way tour, with the front gate (scenic area visitor center) as the entrance and the back gate as the exit. There are homestays but no hotels in Ku'erdening Town (Spruce Town), so we had to give up the tour and return to the Die Lake RV Campground to rest. Ku'erdening has the largest virgin spruce forest in China and is known as the "hometown of snow spruce." We enjoyed the beautiful Moon Bay not far from the left side of the back gate, which was worth the trip. The Die Lake RV Campground offers free drinking water and showers (separate for men and women), and the restrooms are very clean. You can pitch a tent, have a picnic, barbecue, cook, and there is a police car patrolling for security. Gongliu Die Lake is a beautiful place that does not charge an entrance fee.