The Lake of Heaven
Previously remote and isolated it was the summer home for Kazak herders who
lived around its shores in circular tents. Every spring as the winter snows
disappeared they moved with their animals up from lower valleys to fatten them
on the fresh meadows around the lake. Today with the building of modern highways
from the regional capital, Urumqi, the lake has become easily accessible. It is
now a popular destination for domestic and foreign tourists attracted by its
natural beauty and the human activity around its shores.
A dream to be fulfilled
I first saw the lake many years ago in a guidebook to China. My reaction at
that time was one of amazement. It looked like somewhere in Switzerland or
Western Canada. I had assumed that all of Western China was simply empty desert!
Could somewhere so beautiful really exist? I vowed that someday I would make
what became for me almost a pilgrimage - the journey to the Lake of Heaven.
Getting there involved a lengthy rail journey from Beijing along the Silk
Road to Urumqi followed by a bus journey across the desert to the mountains.
From the dry dusty plains a good road starts the climb up a long attractive
valley. It was autumn, the sky was cloudless and the leaves had turned golden
orange. It was a beautiful morning. Next to the road a fast flowing river
splashed over rocks as it headed down towards the desert. Sheep and goats grazed
near circular brown felt and leather tents that are the traditional seasonal
homes for Kazak herders.
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