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Swan River Scenic Area, Korla
Xinjiang, China |
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Kongque Park, Korla
Xinjiang, China |
Day 6 Monday Sept 1 2025 (Korla, Xinjiang) - after a 3 nights stay in Urumqi, our next destination is Korla in Southern Xinjiang, my 1st visit ! After our hotel check-in & a short rest, we took a public bus & visited the Swan River Scenic Area & Kongque (Peacock) Park in downtown Korla.
Korla is our first city of visit in Southern Xinjiang follows by Kuqa, Aksu & Kashgar (Kashi). However, we aborted our visit to Tashkurgan due mainly to public transport issue !
Korla also known as Kurla or Kuerle is the 2nd largest city by population in Xinjiang, it is a country-level city & the seat of Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, the largest prefecture of China, Korla has existed since the Han Dynasty !
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| Urumqi > Korla, Xinjiang (472km) |
1) Train ride (Y$108, 472km) from Urumqi Railway Station ETD 09.00 > Korla Railway Station (ETA 13.00)
2) Countryside scenery as viewed from a moving tarin from Urumqi > Korla, Xinjiang
3) Arriving in Korla Railway Station, Southern Xinjiang
4) Upon arrival, both of us visited the Korla train ticketing counter & bought over the counter (OTC) 2 train tickets covering Hami > Liuyuan (Y$81) for our forthcoming visit to Dunhuang, Gansu. Prior to our arrival in Xi'an, China, we had bought online 4 train tickets covering Urumqi > Korla, Korla > Kuqa, Kuqa > Aksu & Aksu > Kashgar (Kashi). The Hami to Liuyuan train tickets have yet to be released for purchase online. After the Southern Xinjiang will take a flight from Kashgar to Hami & begin our 2nd leg of travel covering 4 major cities in Gansu ie Dunhuang, Jiayuguan, Zhanye & Wuwei before returning to Xi'an to catch our flight back to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
5) Hotel Accommodation (2 nights): Home Inn Baoyuan Hotel, room tariff Rm78 + Breakfast, 2 single beds
6) After a short rest in the hotel, we took a public bus & visited the Swan River Scenic Area & Kongque (Peacock) Park, Korla, Xinjiang
7) Bus ride from Kongque Park to our hotel
8) Bought fresh red grapes & corn chips from roadside stalls. For dinner, we had our own cooked prepared meal in our hotel room !
