Xinjiang Diary Day 3: A day of drinking and playing in Shihezi

By Doris: 0 Comment(s)Print E-mail CRI, July 11, 2014

A dune buggy carrying CRI reporters going up and down the sand dunes at Camel Dream Slope near Shihezi, Xinjiang, on Wednesday, July 9, 2014. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]

A heart-dropping ride down sand dunes, a breezy walk in a man-made forest and a taste of wine made in the French style. You can find all of these and more in the surrounding areas of Xinjiang's city, Shihezi.

Today, we continued our journey from Wujiaqu to Shihezi, which is about two hours away. Shihezi is situated at the northern foothills of the middle part of the Tian Shan range and is approximately 136 kilometres from the regional capital of Urumqi. The city and its surrounding area has a continental semi-arid climate, with very large temperature differences between summer and winter. Its location near the desert means that there would a lot of sand storms.

The first place we visited today is a man-made forest for the purpose of combating natural phenomenon such as sand storms. The trees were planted by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, or XPCC. In planting these trees, the XPCC has also moderated the weather in the region. Now, there are more precipitation in the region and it no longer experiences extreme temperature differences throughout the year.

Now, a visit to Xinjiang wouldn't be complete without a bit of fun. Nearby the forest is a sand dune park called Camel Dream Slope. Surrounded by steep sandy hills, the park is an ecological protection area as well as an amusement park.

So without further thought to our safety, we got on the dune buggy that awaited us on the top of the hill and plunged right to the bottom in what felt like less than five seconds. This was repeated several times and I can feel my heart jumping to my throat each time we went up and down the sandy slopes. It was a thrilling ride and I don't think I'm the only one who held their breath throughout the whole thing.

The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China isn't only famous for its location and geography, it's also known for its variety of fruits. The most famous one being grapes. Of course, when we talk about grapes, one topic often comes into mind - wine.

France and Italy aren't the only wine capitals of the world. Xinjiang is catching up in wine production. As we traveled through the countryside in Northern Xinjiang, we saw rows upon rows of grape vines. Although the grapes are still small and green, they will be ripe for picking in a couple of months.

But, we didn't have to wait for months to taste the wine. At Junyan Wineries, we tasted a variety of wine and brandy made in the French style. The wine master of this cottage is Chinese but trained under a French winemaker. In the wine cellar, there are rows of barrels, each one holding a different brand. Some of them have a coffee aroma while others have a flowery taste.

I think it was a French writer who once said that a woman is like a bottle of fine wine: strong, sweet with age and delectable to your senses. But, from time to time, a woman also need a fine glass of wine to feel strong, sweet and delectable.

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