day 382: [昌吉 (Changji)] = 0 km

We went to a place called 天池 (Tianchi – Heaven Lake) today.
It is situated in the mountains east of 乌鲁木齐 (Ürümqi):

Tianchi – Heaven Lake show on larger map

This is one of the most famous places in all of China, and I had always been wanting to see it, especially since 吴江 (Wu Jiang) had shown me pictures of his own trip to the lake once.

So we made the ascent:

Under trees, green and golden:

Through spraying waters:

Then we were there:

The beautiful 天池, or 瑶池 (Yaochi – Jade Lake) is the site where, according to the legends, 西王母 (Xiwangmu, the Queen Mother of the West) once fell in love with 周穆王 (King Mu of the Zhou), some three thousand years ago:

It is said that 周穆王 never returned, and that 西王母 has been broken-hearted ever since:

…

We returned to the city eventually, and went to a place that I had passed by two years ago:

We walked around in the bazar for a while:

And I found…

…Scrat.

Soundtrack: Exploited – “Alternative”

—total: 4927,5km