2024 Hainan-Tibet-Xinjiang Self-Driving Tour: Day 15 Minfeng County - Tazhong Town

Woke up around 11 AM in Minfeng County. The hotel we stayed at had a Sichuan restaurant downstairs, the food was delicious, Ken said it was the best meal we've had in days; the restaurant was very clean, including the restroom, which was a stark contrast to what we experienced in the Tibetan area. At 1:40 PM, we were ready to leave Minfeng County. We took a brief look at the county, surrounded by farmland, with grapevines at the farmhouse doors, lush trees, and many roadside stalls selling fruits. Couldn't help but sigh: Xinjiang and Tibet are so different! Today we are going to cross the desert highway, destination: Kuqa. Oh, the temperature difference is so big! Yesterday we had hats, scarves, and gloves all on, today it's sunglasses, t-shirts, and sandals. What is the desert highway like? Is it a road in the desert? The section of the desert highway we are taking is about 560 kilometers, then we will switch to the Tuhe Expressway and drive another 100 kilometers to reach Kuqa. Shortly after getting on the desert highway, we encountered a gravel road. At first, Ken didn't say anything, but after a while, he couldn't help but ask: Is it going to be like this all the way? Of course not! After a while, the road condition became smooth again. I took over driving, and Ken started flying the drone. Photos 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 were taken by the drone. To be honest, the desert highway is much more monotonous compared to the uninhabited area we passed the day before. Around 7 PM, it was still very bright, we passed by Tazhong Oilfield's Tazhong Town. We learned that the desert highway was initially built for the Tazhong Oilfield. I suggested to Ken that we should stop here for the night and complete the second half of the desert highway tomorrow. About 3 kilometers from Tazhong Town, we saw the desert landscape house in photo 7. Out of curiosity, we drove into the side road to take a closer look at the house, but it seemed just average. The owner even dug a swimming pool in the desert, which was... a bit awkward. The room rate was over 800. Tazhong Town has restaurants and small supermarkets. The hotel we stayed at was newly built in 2024, with a large courtyard surrounded by buildings. There were quite a few guests, and they even provided us with free breakfast. The room conditions were excellent, clean, and tidy, which was quite a surprise. Dinner was lamb skewers and Xinjiang noodles. We chatted a bit with the girl who took our order at the restaurant. She told us that in the desert, as soon as the sun sets, mosquitoes 🦟 come out, very large mosquitoes, and their bites cause big swellings. It gave me the creeps, especially since I was wearing short sleeves today! We quickly went back to the hotel to rest. Tomorrow we continue our journey.