My 29 days Free & Easy Visit to Northern Xinjiang (Urumqi, Fuyun, Beitun, Altay, Burqin, Jiadengyu, Karamay, Kutuin, Yining, Nalati & Tekes Baqua City), China Aug 9 > Sept 6 2026 D-5 (Fuyun)

Keketuohai, Fuyun, Xinjiang

Irtysh Grand Canyon
Koktokay UNESCO Global Geopark

Keketouhai Scenic Area, Fuyun

Bell Peak, Irtysh Grand Canyon
Fuyun, Xinjiang

 

D-5 Thursday Aug 13 2026 (Fuyun & Koktokay, Xinjiang) - my 2nd day in Fuyun, today we just focussed on our visit from Fuyun to Koktokay UNESCO Global Geopark by public MPV van. A great outcome, finally I made it to see the beauty of Keketouhai ! A beautiful day ! 

Public Transport: 2 MPV van rides (CNY35 x 2, Koktokay) + Shuttle bus (CNY13) + MPV van pick up from  Koktokay Scenic Area > Koktokay Town (@CNY5).

Fuyun County also known as Koktokay County, a county of Atlay Prefecture in Xinjiang, it has an area of 32,237 sq km with a population of 80,000, the Koktokay National Geopark (Keketuohai Scenic Area) is in Koktokay Town; there is no sea in Koktokay although the name implies, it is canyons + birch forests + rivers, this place feels like "Northern Europe or Switzerland.

It's also the popular spot from the song " The Shepherd of Koktokay " now a massive hit, sung by a singer & composer from China, Wang Qi.

The chorus of this nostalgia & moving song captures the deep pain of the shepherd waiting alone: 

• Sweetheart, I am waiting for you in Koktokay
• They say you married and moved to Yili
• Is it because the Nalati Grassland there is more beautiful ?
• Or because the apricot blossoms there made sweeter honey for you ?
• Outside my tent I hear the camel bells ring again
• But I know deep down, it isn't you ..... 

For this 29 days free & easy northern Xinjiang trip, I & my travel buddy had the opportunity to visiting 11 county towns / cities & needless to say the song of " The Shepherd of Koktokay " & the melody is " as sweet as honey " ringing loud in my ears when both of us stepped into the beautiful lands of Koktokay, Yili (Yining) & Nalati Grassland ! What a beautiful late summer holiday in Xinjiang for KM & my travel buddy (Boon), a first timer to Xinjiang, China 

Fuyun County > Keketuohai Scenic Area
(approx 70km)

1) My morning walk in an open air market in downtown Fuyun. 

2) Fuyun Walking Street, Xinjiang - quiet at this time of the day (07.00), probably need a loudspeaker or a few bursts of firecrackers to wake the residents up ! 

3) My morning breakfast (CNY 11) in a local restaurant in Fuyun County, simple Chinese food to my delight ! 

4) Walkabout in a morning market in downtown Fuyun, Xinjiang. 

4) MPV van ride (CNY35 one way) from Fuyun Passenger Transport Centre > Kokotokay UNESCO Global Geopark - an exciting day for both of us ! 

5) Mountain landscape as viewed from the MPV van (Fuyun > Koktokay) 

6) Arriving in Koktokay UNESCO Global Geopark, Fuyun, Xinjiang - free admission for seniors above 70s+, shuttle bus ticket CNY13 for senior. 

7) The sensational song of The Shepherd of Koktokay ringing loud in my ears " Sweetheart, I Am Waiting For You In Koktokay " ! My dear, I hear you, KM is now standing besides the Keketuohai Global Geopark ! 

8) KM & his travel buddy are here humming " I Am Going On A Summer Holiday " in northern Xinjiang ! 

9) Exhibits of rare stones in Koktokay Tourist Visitor Centre, Fuyun, Xinjiang

10) The start of our shuttle bus ride to the 1st stop of Koktokay Scenic Area 

11) " The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of Music " - the true beauty of Koktokay ! 

12) " Outside My Tent I Hear The Camel Bells Ring Again " - let the melody of The Shepherd of Koktokay fills the mountain air here ! 

13) " The Shepherd of Koktokay " tending a herd of mountain goats in Keketouhai ! 

14) " Country Roads Take Me Home To The Place I Belong, Northern Altay, Mountain Mama Take Me Home, Country Roads " - a cool & pleasant walk on country roads & paths in Keketouhai !  

15) " It's A Beautiful Day " - a sunny day, clear blue sky, picturesque, natural, scenic & awesome looking in Keketouhai - sometimes the most scenic roads in LIFE are the detours you didn't mean to make ! 

16) You By My Side That's How I See Us " - a loving "couple" tree in Keketouhai ! 

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17) " To Know Keketuohai or Koktokay Is To Love Northern Xinjiang " - amazing Xinjiang ! .

18) " Are You Lonesome Tonight ? " - a handsome alpine tree standing tall in Keketouhai, I am not lonely but rock solid greeting you ! Welcome to Keketuohai ! 

19) A Keketouhai landmark in Chinese - sound like a taste of coco drink ! 

20) Bell Peak, Koktokay, Xinjiang - For Whom The Bell Tolls ? 

21) Canvas pictures of Koktokay UNESCO Global Geopark, Fuyun, Xinjiang - beauty, beauty & incredible beauty ! 

22) Deep fried small fish from Irtysh River, Xinjiang - what a "fishy" day for KM & my travel buddy ! 

23) Exiting Keketuohai Scenic Area  - saying bye bye till we meet again (frankly I do not know when) ! An unforgettable experience for a 76 year old traveller currently visiting the far far north of Xinjiang ! 

24) Pre-arranged pick up (CNY5) by our MPV van driver to Koktokay town for a connecting van ride back to Fuyun. Well done, KM & Boon, a wonderful outing today ! 

25) Wandering the Fuyun Walking Street in the evening scouting for food ! 

26) Spot on ! A claypot braised chicken + rice (CNY 25 = Rm15) dinner with my travel buddy in a restaurant I spotted in Fuyun Walking Street - yummy yummy taste like the Chickut Teh of Klang, Malaysia ! Gooooood Night !