China Day 22 - Hami to Turpan Flaming Mountain the Hottest Place in China

The weather had definitely made a 180 turnabout since Hami. Cool air was no more and all the winter gear was packed up tight below the bag for long term storage and I was now riding in as little clothes as possible and still feeling the heat burning through all the protective gear. 

The good thing was, it was not humid like Malaysia so continuous perspiring was non-existent but heat exhaustion was real.

Riding the Country Road to Turpan 

Oil Rig "Donkeys" all along the road from Hami to Turpan

I must have split from the group too early I think and somehow made my way through another road to the first detour stop. The wrong road brought me going through an oil field where hundreds of oil rig “Donkeys” were in operation.

Tuyugou Valley Scenic Area was a nice old village turned into a pure tourist attraction. It was hard to see any locals still living there and not trying to sell a trinket to a passing tourist but as the oldest village in Xinjiang with 2600 years of history it was still a sight to see.

Local Tourism Dressing up in Traditional Ethnic Costume at Tuyugou Valley 

Old Mosque at Tuyugou Valley 

Tuyugou Valley Ancient City in Xinjiang 

We headed to Gaochang Ancient City Archaeological site next but at the entrance looking into the big empty area which required a cart to explore, all of us surrendered to the heat and gave it a hard pass. 

We still tried to have a little glimpse of the Ancient City without paying the entrance fee by riding around the ring road hence was able to see many of the crumbling walls.

A Glimpse of Gaochang Ancient City Archeological Site 

Third stop was a fun stop for me at least. Turpan Flaming Mountain. It has some origins to the famous novel “Journey to the West” and the flaming mountains looked like flames rising from the ground all the way to the sky. 

History also documented that the summer air temperature was 48 degrees and the mountain surface temperature once reached 89 degrees making it the hottest place in China.

I of course could only imagine Sun Wukong and the team crossing this path and having to fight the Demon Bull which somehow got mixed up with Sun Goku having to put out the flames of the mountain to obtain the Dragonball. I was daydreaming a lot in the third stop for sure.

Statue of Sun Wukong at Turpan Flaming Mountain 

Turpan Flaming Mountain 

Monument of Journey to The West team at Turpan City 

We reached Turpan city late evening and by now, arriving at the destination city no longer became a obligation to explore the city. 

Checked in the hotel and out to find food before heading to bed was the routine. 400 km journey today and it would only get longer tomorrow

Traveled on: May 2024