The train to Altay is slow, cold at the stations, and one of the most beautiful rides I’ve taken in China. Here is exactly how I do the Urumqi-to-Altay rail journey for a ski trip, with the night-train tricks I wish I’d known before my first run, and a clear-eyed look at who it suits.
Wucaitan (Colorful Beach) is a frozen, multicolored bluff line above Burqin — the last stop before Altay’s big snow. A winter photographer’s and skier’s gateway notes.
Qiaxi is a lesser-known Ili valley scenic area with snow-filled glades and easy road access to Nalati skiing. A calm winter option for newer skiers and photographers alike.
Gongnaisi is a spruce forest in the Ili valley with hot springs skiers have used for generations. A winter stay that fixed my legs and reset my head. The honest version.
Yarkand is a southern Xinjiang oasis town most skiers never see. As a warm-up cultural stop before flying north to the snow, it is quietly perfect. A winter traveler’s notes.
Ebinur is a saline lake near the Kazakhstan border, cold and windy and overlooked. It makes a quiet winter ski base with some of the best road food in northern Xinjiang. Notes from a windy stay.
Qiongkushitai is a wooden Kazakh village deep in Tekes county, reachable only by a rough winter road. The backcountry temptation is real — and so is the danger. A cautious, honest account.
Guozigou is the dramatic pass between Yining and Sayram Lake. In winter it is a frozen spectacle — and the natural gateway to the Ili valley’s snow. A photographer’s winter field notes.
Tangbula’s ‘hundred-mile gallery’ is a summer postcard. In winter it is a quiet, frozen forest road that makes a perfect self-drive run-up to Ili valley skiing. The route I drove, in detail.
Kalajun is famous as a summer grassland. In deep winter it turns into a silent white plateau — and it sits one valley away from some of Xinjiang’s most underrated skiing. First-hand winter notes.