There’s something special about a road trip. Whether exploring a new city or winding your way through scenic countryside, a road trip is a fun and memorable experience. China has some of the most beautiful highways in the world, and one of them is Highway 218.
This route traverses some of the most picturesque parts of China. Suppose you’re curious about the history and culture of the country. In that case, a road trip along Highway 218 is the perfect way to explore it. So why not try it next time you’re looking for a fun weekend getaway?
G218 This 1,120-kilometer-long highway starts in Horgos, stretches through the Ili Valley, and then heads south across the Taklamakan Desert to Ruoqiang at the foot of the Alpine Mountain.
The scenery along the way includes purple lavender, emerald green meadows, clear streams, and snow-capped mountains. There are also alpine lakes and deserts; the realistic picture is abundant. It can be said that G218 contains the most beautiful scenery of Xinjiang in summer.
The First Stop: Ili Valley
Ili is an oasis on Asian Highway 5. The AH5 is an east-west route of the Asian Highway Network and its landscape section of the G218.
If you want to experience the lively customs of Horgos, travelers will run to Friendship Road. From there, heading east is Huo Cheng. Every June is this county’s most fragrant time of the year when endless purple lavender forms a sea of purple and emits its fragrance freely in the city.
Generally, the 65th Mission Lavender Base is one of China’s giant lavender growing bases. Still, finding suitable scenery is difficult if you are not familiar with the local area. Why not spend a dozen dollars to go to Jieyou Princess Lavender Park and take beautiful scenery photos?
In the 18th century, the city of Huiyuan was built by the Qing Dynasty in Yili. It was the political and military center of the northern frontier at that time. It later became what it is today through war and restoration.
If you want to understand the traditional Chinese castle-style city pattern, you can go inside and have a look; the ancient city is not far from G218.
Ghulja, on the banks of the Ili River, is a modern city rich in color. Among the skyscrapers, countless courtyards and stories are hidden by the greenery, and finding them is one thing travelers are happy to do.
Whether Hanren Street, the Islamic-style buildings scattered throughout the streets, or the blue-colored walls and Russian villas of Kazanqi, travelers can see them all again and again.
March and April is the best season to come here every year. The most beautiful scenery is hidden in Begonia Road, Six Star Street, and Tu’ergenxiang, which is reached along the Ili River.
There are many flowers in the Ili Valley, but the apricot blossom is the eternal protagonist of spring in Ili. The Tu’ergen Apricot Blossoms are a must-see for many travelers who want to see the ultimate scenery of apricot blossoms.
Of course, like all grasslands, the most beautiful Kalajun Prairies and Narathi Grasslands are also the summers. Before the autumn in September, after June every year, the plains above, grass-like green, pine forests like Tao. The mountains compete. The momentum is particularly majestic.
The G218 and G217 will cross the river after Narathi. This junction is regarded as “km 0”, so during the opening of the Duku Highway Monument, you can go north or south on the Dokku, or continue east on the G218.
After “0 km”, you leave the Ili Valley and approach the middle and high mountain areas in the eastern part of the Tianshan Mountains. The elevation along the route will gradually climb. At the same time, the road will also change from the original east-west direction to the north-south direction.
The Second Stop: Tian Shan
Hejing County is located in the middle part of the Tianshan Mountains. It has beautiful grasslands and mountains, a thousand kinds of mountains, and rivers that are entangled.
Bayinbruck Grassland National Nature Reserve is located in Bayinbruck District, northwest of Hejing County, Bayin Goleng Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, in the Yuldus River Basin. With a total area of 23,835 square kilometers, Bayinbruck Grassland is the second largest grassland in China after the Ordos in Inner Mongolia.
It’s a great place to explore if you want to get away from it all and experience some of China’s natural beauty. The reserve is vast, so there’s plenty of space to roam and explore. And, with its rich biodiversity, there’s plenty to see and learn about.
When G218 is out of the Tianshan Mountains, you will be surprised to find that in the vast desert in the south, there is a city like Jiangnan, the “Pear City” Korla. The famous Korla pear is produced here.
Korla, formerly known as Qulli in the Thirty-six Western Regions, is a crucial way point of the Silk Road. Its long history has left many precious cultural relics and monuments.
If you want to visit historical sites, you can walk around the Bazhou Museum, Shikshin Temple sites, and the Donggui Memorial Hall, and then cross the desert.
The Third Stop: Taklamakan Desert
Yuli County is a very pure desert landscape, but not far from oases along the way. The fields on both sides of the river are very dense, and the view will not be wrong during harvest season. If necessary, you can also go up the Wu Ruo Highway G0711, which runs alongside the G218.
Ruoqiang County is the end point of G218 and preserves a 2.2 km long section of brick road. The red brick section is 102 kilometers long and 7 meters wide. It took more than 3,000 road builders seven years to build and was designed to run at 80 kilometers per hour, making it the longest brick road in the world. The road ran until 2001 before the G218 was renovated.
As the “No.1 county in China” and the hometown of the ancient country of the Loulan Kingdom, Ruoqiang is rich in natural and human resources.
Conclusion
G218 is a scenic promenade from the river valley toward the desert. As we said at the start, it’s not just a road trip but an adventure that can be experienced by anyone who wants to take on the challenge of exploring this beautiful country.