Leaving Sayram Lake behind, we faced the most hectic travel day of the entire trip, racing from the far north of Ili all the way to its far southwest. A few months earlier, while planning the itinerary, we realized Xiata was extremely far away and even hoped to optimize it out. Fortunately, my very rational suggestion was not adopted. Missing Xiata would be like coming to Xinjiang and not eating lamb kebabs or polo.

We passed through Yining at noon and filled up on baked samsa, skewers, yogurt, and ice cream, but did not stay long.

Compared with Urumqi, Yining felt a bit like Osaka to Tokyo, or Hangzhou to Shanghai: a lively city, but not so big that it makes you feel swallowed up. It seems like the kind of place that would be very comfortable to live in. Hopefully I will get the chance to explore it properly next time.

We continued on toward Xiata, only to run into road construction near Tekes. The drive was so bumpy that my whole body shook nonstop, like I had Parkinson’s. Our driver for this stretch, Sister A, was clearly questioning her life choices by the end of it. When I took over the wheel, I could still feel the heat on the steering wheel and her lingering fear.

As we neared Xiata, evening was closing in. Then, just as we got out for an inspection, a torrential downpour arrived out of nowhere. But because of that, we also witnessed a transformation in the sky that could only be described as magnificent.

Private cars are not allowed into Xiata, so we had no choice but to board the shuttle bus that had been waiting patiently for us. Very soon, we would be deeply grateful to the young driver now holding our fate in his hands. Another minibus came toward us head-on. How to make what looked like a one-car-wide cliffside road fit two vehicles at night, in the rain, suddenly became a very serious problem.

After the two drivers tried every possible option with the precision of an engineering drawing, the vehicles squeezed past each other with just 1 centimeter to spare. Our gasps of amazement were the applause we gave the young driver.

That night, countless cows and sheep came darting down from the mountains, hurrying home. Our driver turned into a running back, constantly dodging tackles from the opposing defense. We reached the hotel two hours later than expected.
This is the only hotel in Xiata. What makes it especially interesting is that you cannot book it on any platform; the only way is by calling a phone number found through the most obscure corners of the internet. The staff are incredibly laid-back. They usually reply to WeChat messages only once after a very long time, and when they do, they pick the easiest question out of the whole batch to answer. Miss one reply, and you may have to wait several more days.

The difficulty reminded me of Iran a few years ago, where every hotel booking had to be made by email. Xiata’s booking process has that same kind of exotic flavor.

By the time we had finished settling in and finally remembered that we were starving and should eat something, it was already 11 p.m. Xiata is not the kind of place with a 24-hour convenience store, so all we could do was take turns sharing bowls to eat a few packs of instant noodles we had panic-bought on the road. With this very same group of people, five years earlier, on a beach in Israel, in another torrential rainstorm, in another equally basic room, we had also eaten instant noodles out of the packaging bags. What kind of fate keeps bringing us to this point?

An exhausting day.

The next morning, it all felt worth it.

The moment we stepped outside, blue skies appeared as if on cue. Behind the hotel were snow-capped mountains and a small river. If love at first sight exists, this must be what it feels like.
We called everyone together and began hiking toward the mountains.

Xiata is overflowing with variety. You walk across one meadow, cross a little wooden bridge over a rushing stream, and suddenly arrive at another flower-filled grassland. Walk through the forest for a while, look up, and the view opens wide—the snow mountains seeming almost within reach.

Walk through the forest for a while, look up, and the view opens wide—the snow mountains seeming almost within reach.

Standing before the snow mountains and the grassy slopes, it really does feel a bit like the foothills of the Alps. Even my friend who studied in Switzerland said it honestly gets seven or eight points out of ten. On Xiaohongshu, people often describe Xiata as looking like Heidi.

The occasional drifting mist felt like nature applying its own fairyland filter. “I am only in this mountain; deep in the clouds, no one knows where.” A few days earlier, when I could not sleep, I listened to one of Jiang Xun’s lectures. He talked about Chinese quatrains, and how just twenty characters can paint an entire grand image—something my long-winded article cannot possibly compete with.

It seemed there had not been many guests at the hotel the night before. Early in the morning, besides our group, there were only two other people. Eight people had the whole landscape to themselves—how could that possibly compare with fighting through the crowds of tens of thousands at Nalati?

This is also marmot country. Many of the little holes on both sides of the path are secret passageways they have built. You hardly need to try at all to spot their round little bodies scampering around.

Oh, and my luck with photography here really was terrible. I left my camera behind at the entrance and somehow also lost my drone. So everything you see here was shot on a phone—and it is still this beautiful.

On the way back, we saw bus after bus beginning to arrive, and I felt a small burst of secret satisfaction, grateful that we had Xiata almost all to ourselves for so long. Saying goodbye was hard. It always feels a little miraculous: after setting foot on some places, through sheer chance, you may never step there again in this lifetime. In fact, that is probably true of most places. So treasure every moment of life.

Next stop: a very “poor” village.

Tips

Tickets: Compared with other attractions, Xiata is very inexpensive. Admission is 40 yuan, plus 40 yuan for the shuttle minibus. A round-trip battery cart costs 50 yuan (optional), and horseback riding is about 80 yuan per hour.

Where to stay: The best option is the hot spring hotel inside the scenic area, which lets you enjoy Xiata first thing in the morning. Reservations can only be made by phone or WeChat. In peak season, prices are around 600 yuan. Besides the hot spring hotel, there are also some rustic cabins with much more basic conditions.

Another option is to stay outside the scenic area, or in hotels in Zhaosu or Tekes. The accommodations are more reliable and easier to book, but you can only enter the scenic area after 9 a.m.

Food: Aside from the hot spring hotel, which serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, there are no restaurants at all in Xiata, so be sure to bring enough food.

About the Author

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