The next day (after visiting Chaka Salt Lake) of our China-2024 trip was packed with tourisms. We were set to explore and admire a full three… and a half attractions. They may not be 5K-rated, but all together they were to make this section of our route a real treat…

As we ventured deeper into rocky desert, the scenery became increasingly striking:

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After what we could call our lake-tourism warm-up (Qinghai Lake) the day before, it was time for the first significant stop on our big-loop route around inner China – Chaka Salt Lake.

It’s not the largest salt lake in the world, with an area of “only” about 100km² – which is around a hundred times smaller than, for example, Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni (~10,000km²). However, it has its own unique charm: the Chinese have turned this “simple salt lake” into a major tourist attraction (fancy that?!), where you can easily spend an entire day (in the right season). The secret is simple: various installations have been set up across a significant portion of the lake that are practically begging to be photographed and shared on Instagram TikTok. These installations are a huge hit especially with girls – who bring bright (most often red) outfits specially for the occasion:

The photo installations here are plentiful and incredibly diverse:

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The first leg of our journey through China had come to an end. So far – so good amazing. As per, we were in “tourism till you drop” mode (up early, see and do and/or travel as much as possible, never taking it easy…) – just the way we like it. Yet no one was too concerned about the 3000+ kilometers of traveling by coach that lie ahead; after all – together with those thousands of kilometers would come shed-loads of walking-sightseeing-marveling-extraordinaire. And anyway – dwelling on the great distances ahead would only have been a distraction; much better to dive headfirst into a new adventure without overthinking it or wasting brainpower on unnecessary emotions. Just “get it done”, as they say. And that’s just what we did…

The long route ahead of us was somewhat unclear: most of the online information was only in Chinese, our driver didn’t speak any other languages, and my Chinese wife – visiting the region for the first time – also couldn’t understand much. And to top things off – it turned out that even many Chinese sources were way slightly off.

But before heading west, let me tell you a bit about the city of Xining – the start and end point of our big loop through deserts, mountain landscapes, and salt lakes.

Xining is the administrative center of Qinghai – not the most industrially developed or densely populated province: essentially a “provincial” province ). However, in China, you should always multiply everything by ten: the capital of China’s third-sparsest province still has a population of 2.5 million! Here are some views out of my hotel window:

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Still heading north, our route was taking us through central-northern China, and since we were traveling through regions predominantly inhabited by Tibetans, our checking out some of the inevitable Buddhist temples and monasteries was… inevitable!…

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Onward on our journey through inner China, we left Sichuan and briefly entered Gansu Province to marvel at the mountain village of Zhagana (扎尕那 – pronounced Chagana). It’s a village surrounded by breathtaking landscapes: nestled deep in the mountains at an altitude of over 3000 meters, its name translates from the Tibetan for “Stone Box”, which fits perfectly:

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Next on our China-2024 travel itinerary was the must-visit First Bend of the Yellow River. Different sources refer to this location by different names, and other spots along the river are also called something similar. While not the most picturesque, it’s still one of the great Chinese rivers, and also a sacred place for the Chinese people; therefore – we just had to take a look. And in the end it turned out to be far from boring:

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Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong were just the beginning of our journey through China. We’d big plans for the following two weeks, the batteries in our cameras and drones were fully charged, and all of us were at the top end of the motivation scale. Thus, onward!…

They say the journey’s just as good as the destination. Well I agree with “them” (whoever that may be). Accordingly, en route – as we always do – we planned to stop off at places that look interesting; for example – Songzhou Ancient City, here ->

Read on: Songzhou: everyday street-life during a stop impromptu.

Not far from Jiuzhaigou National Park (100 km by road) there’s another unique beautiful natural object – the Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area. It features a cascade of travertine (limestone) baths, pools, lakes and waterfalls of various forms and colors. The cascade is around 3km in length in a straight line, or ~5km if you take the tourist paths beside it. The spectacle is fantastic:

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Teaser, aperitif, hour d’oeuvres, and just yesterday your side of garlic bread – done. Now for your first main course of China-2024 (and there’ll be several!)…

Quick recap: we visited quite a few places and saw over 20 natural and historical sites of varying levels of significance and beauty – some of which were simply masterpieces. And that’s what I want to talk about in detail. Where should I start? From the beginning! In what order? As it happened: that’s how I’ll recount it. No need (and no desire) to invent new storytelling formats. “I sing what I see,” as the tundra reindeer herder says…

And so…

We landed in China (the exact location doesn’t matter), cleared passport and customs control, transferred to another flight (some even managed a swim in the warm sea in Sanya and celebrate a birthday along the way), landed (after plenty of turbulence en route), and arrived at Huanglong Airport – at an altitude of nearly 3500 meters above sea-level.

An interesting airport! Right by the baggage-claim area there are small shops selling warm clothing. Many Chinese, who’ve spent their entire lives in warm, even tropical climates, are completely unprepared for the fact it can get cold in the mountains during the fall. In the same area, a pharmacy sells small oxygen cans to similarly unprepared tourists. Although the altitude isn’t extreme, some people find it difficult to breathe.

But enough about the details – we’re here to explore, see, and marvel. So off we popped – straight to Jiuzhaigou (the “Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area”, or just “Jiuzhaigou National Park”), which means “Valley of Nine Villages”. Jiuzhaigou is a mountainous valley where streams and rivers of strikingly beautiful colors flow: a chain of brightly-colored lakes and stunning waterfalls – like this:

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Do svidanya, Kamchatka; Nǐ hǎo China!…

You’ve had my photographic teaser, aperitif, and hour d’oeuvres already. Now for a photographic preview-overview of the whole trip. So, as the title says – off we go!…

The most beautiful place on earth, in my humble opinion, is Krenitsyn – the “king of all volcanoes” – on the Kuril island of Onekotan. The most beautiful region in the world is Kamchatka, where you can easily count more than a dozen natural objects of the highest category of unusualness and contemplativeness – that is, my “five-K”, or “KKKKK” category. Of course there are other places that are rich in various natural (and sometimes historical) delights and quirks, like New Zealand, Indonesia, Namibia, etc. But the richest country in terms of the sheer quantity, quality and… out-of-this-world-astonishingness of touristic delights is, of course, China. I wouldn’t be surprised if you can count already more than 50 absolutely magical places here that I’d strongly recommend visiting at the first opportunity. I compiled a list of Chinese must-sees back in 2018 as part of my Top-100 series, but today that list looks wholly incomplete…

Cue photo of one such must-see natural masterpiece ->

Read on…