Tian Chi - Heavenly Lake

We'd always wanted to go into the wild but it felt as if we had just spent all our trip in these gigantic cities and their heavily populated surroundings. So a day after I had been vomiting, we set off for Tian Chi knowing that we had no time left to visit the renowned Karakul Lake by the Karakorum Highway.

Just a few hundred kilometres outside the bustling Urumqi in Xinjiang, lies one of the most beautiful sceneries in China. Hidden within snow-peaked mountain ranges, "Tian Chi" means Heavenly Lake and there's no reason not call it just that. The strange greenish blue waters of the lake, the alpine forests, and the mountains cast some kind of magic beauty to it. We loved every second spent here.

Getting here was easy as there are daily buses you can get from city centre but that also meant that the lake is heavily touristed. But we're glad that most people only stayed for the photos at the entrance and rarely left the tourist enclave - the rest of the place was devoid of them.
We only wanted to make a day trip to the lake but decided to spend the night when we stop at a local Kazak yurt for lunch. Welcoming us was an enterprising 11-year-old who managed to persuad us to stay rather than heading back to the city. We had a great time staying with his family - his mom cooked, his dad dealt with the bureaucracy (our police registration) and he and his little brother entertained us.

The bus journey was an annoying two hours on a Chinese tour bus, through vast desert, large mountains and fields of sunflowers, with the tour guide screaming proudly about every single little factory or random building along the way. But the bus could only get us so far and after that there was either a cable car ride (which almost everyone else took) or a trek through nature. Following are just a few of the fantastic photos we took over two days at Tian Chi. Unfortunately, due to being ill prepared, the good camera's battery died almost instantly but the photos still look great on the other camera.

A warning of the possible dangers ahead :p


The stream was flowing rapidly and was very cold and clear.


Off the beaten track - we left the hillside route and wandered into this serene valley

Ihsan ripped his trousers jumping across this stream. I found him on rolling around on his back wondering what just happened. Khainar's mum later repaired them for him!




The water was almost the same colour as my shirt.

A chain bridge hanging infront of a powerful waterfall

Khainar, 11, our charming guide, and his younger brother, 7.

We only went to their yurt to see if they were Muslim and we could get something to eat, but Khainar managed to convince us to stay the night. Temlik (delicious) food btw including fish caught in the lake.

We spotted the smoke rising from their settlement from a distance.

We hadn't really planned to stay at Tian Chi but by the time we had finished eating and had a little rest the whole area was deserted. Khainar's dad asked us if we wanted to go up into the mountains on horses; we had no idea that the area was even more spectacular than we could have imagined. Khainar took some amazing photos for us, he was a really cool kid.

Ihsan chatting to some of the local Kazakhs. Apparently almost all the Kazakh people in China are Muslim and they are the most kind and hospitable people you could meet. Sacha Baron Cohen is a nob for degrading these wonderful people.

Ihsan and Khainar on their horses

Grazing

Me and Ihsan roaming through the hills at a gentle pace. The horses wern't as well trained as the ones in Inner Mongolia and we were afraid of falling off some pretty steep cliffs.

Some sort of really sour cherry like fruits that Khainar picked for us.

Sitting by the lakeside at dusk.

Bedtime. It was downright chilly at night but we slept snugly in the thick blankets

Adorable. Khainar's brother wearing my giant headphones.

What a wonderful way to begin the day with breakfast in the fresh beautiful outdoors. Such a stark contrast to the choking pollution in the cities

The toilet... Unfortunately for Ihsan, he needed to go for a number 2.

The next day we wandered through the woods and climbed the hills. We sat by the side of the lake all morning listening to Sigur Ros while staring at the glistening blue water and the snowy peaks visible in the distance now that the clouds had gone. It was absolutely breathtaking and I still get a tingle in my spine when I think about it.

Picturesque is an gross understatement. Some of the Kazakhs offered to take us on a whole day trip on horse back to the snow line of those mountains visible in the distance but we had only brought enough money with us for a day's stay which we were very upset about.

While we sat lakeside an eagle circled above us for minutes and gracefully glided and dived very low down near the surface of the water.

Pure bliss and tranquility.