I’d heard stories about how spectacular the Bayinbuluke Grasslands were from my Mongolian friends in Korla.
But I also had heard similar things from people around China, each saying his or her so-called scenic spot was the most beautiful, most amazing and most spectacular. And when I went to those other places, although they were amazing and beautiful, they didn’t always live up to the praise they had received. I walked the Great Wall, saw the Terracotta warriors, climbed one of the holy Buddhist mountains and hiked through China’s version of the Grand Canyon.
These places were great, but that can sometimes be the trouble in China. If a scenic or tourist spot is popular, it becomes “Chinafied.” Natural trails turn into concrete steps with signs all over and fake tree-looking trash cans, which every Chinese person seems to miss. Vendors are everywhere selling anything from an overpriced Snickers bar to fake Chinese artifacts. Then there are the swarms of tourists pushing and shoving just to get a better spot for a selfie. The women wear high heels to hike, and the men are “G.I Joed” up for a simple day hike.
Maybe it’s a good thing then that Bayinbuluke is out of the way for even the most experienced traveler. As it’s closer to Kazakhstan than Beijing, getting there is an adventure all its own. I spent a day traveling 250 miles north from Korla to get there.
The winding road through the Tian Shan (Heavenly Mountain) range isn’t the safest, and in winter, I can only imagine that it makes Red Mountain Pass look like a Sunday drive. Every once in a while, you would see sections of the guardrail missing where unlucky vehicles went over. And even though it was summer, snow was on the tops of the peaks surrounding us.
After traveling through a switchback mountain road for hours, I finally made it through the pass and into a high valley. The trees were sparse, but as far as I could see, everything was covered in the deepest color green grass. I had arrived at the Bayinbuluke Grasslands.
I noticed right away that, although the grasslands were a tourist attraction, they also were a place where people lived and carried on like they had been doing for hundreds of years. Throughout the grasslands, I could see white or brown yurts. Mongolian horsemen were sprinkled around the valley herding their sheep. Bands of horses ran through the open fields. It was wild and untouched.
The people who lived there where nomads, and they cooked outside, lived in yurts and tended to their livestock. They were the freest people I had ever seen in China. Of course, some had modernized, and occasionally, you would see a Mongolian shepherd herding his sheep by motorcycle instead of by horse.
The Chinese had “Chinafied” a few places, but not in a horrific way. Some attractions had human-made walkways leading to them, which were more for preserving the area than an eyesore. A wooden walkway leads to the famous Swan Lake – literally a lake full of swans.
I got to Bayinbuluke around sunset and took a bus to an overlook to get a view of the valley and the winding Kaidu River. What I saw was easily, without a doubt, the most beautiful place I had ever been to. Neither words nor pictures give this place the justice it deserves, but at sunset it was simply amazing.
The sun shone in just the right way to turn the river into a flaming golden vein that ran through the deep green grass surrounded by mountains.
Most people usually have a list of places to see when they come to China, and I’d tell them they should see those places, but definitely put Bayinbuluke on the top of your list. You won’t be sorry, and you’ll remember it for the rest of your life.
David Scott, a 2008 Durango High School graduate, is teaching English in China’s far western province of Xinjiang (New Frontier) in the city of Korla. He can be reached at darysc24@gmail.com.
