China-Pakistan Friendship Highway: Also known as the Karakoram Highway, it starts from Kashgar, passes through the Khunjerab Pass, and stretches for a total length of 1,032 kilometers, with 416 kilometers extending into Pakistan's Thakot Pass. During the construction of this road, approximately 700 people from both China and Pakistan sacrificed their lives, cementing the ironclad friendship between the two countries. The China-Pakistan Friendship Highway is the highest and most beautiful highway in the world. The lowest elevation of the entire highway in China is 1,154 meters, and the highest elevation is 4,733 meters at the Khunjerab Pass, making it one of the 'Top Ten Most Dangerous Highways in the World.'
Karakul Lake
Moving forward, the White Sand Lake is Karakul Lake (also known as Karakuli Lake or Karakule Lake, abbreviated as Kar Lake) and Muztagh Ata. Beside it are Kongur Tagh and Kongur Tiube. From the Pamir Plateau, you can overlook the beautiful scenery. The three peaks stand tall, like jade pillars supporting the sky, standing on the beautiful Pamir Plateau, becoming its symbol and emblem.
Muztagh Ata
Behind Karakul Lake is the source of the glaciers—the Muztagh Ata Range. A Muztagh Glacier Park is being constructed near Karakul Lake. Muztagh Glacier Park is a national glacier park. Here, you can see spectacular glaciers, beautiful ice serpents, magnificent ice towers, colorful ice caves, gentle four-layer ice lakes, as well as strange mountains and rocks, exotic flowers and plants, and precious wildlife.
Khunjerab Pass
The endpoint of the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway is the Khunjerab Gate, which used to be the border with Pakistan. Every Spring Festival Gala, the Red Lady appears on TV, and the border guards stationed here send New Year greetings to the people of the entire country from the westernmost part of the motherland.
Alar Golden Grassland Folk Park
Located in the Tashkurgan River and its tributaries, the Golden Grassland is a lush wetland, classified as a national first-class wetland, covering an area of 100,000 mu. In April 2015, it was designated as a 'National Wetland Park'. The area is filled with green plants, the grassland is vibrant, dotted with yurts, and smoke curls up from the chimneys, resembling stars scattered on green silk. The poetic scenery of 'wind blowing through the grass, revealing cattle and sheep' intertwines with the ancient Stone City and the undulating ice mountains, creating a unique highland spectacle.
Datong Township Xinghua Village
Located in the heart of the Pamir Plateau, Datong Township is a deep canyon, isolated from the world, with particularly simple folk customs. The village houses are orderly, and you can hear the sounds of chickens and dogs, resembling a paradise. Every mid-March, the apricot blossoms in Datong Township bloom for the first time, making it a paradise for photographers from all over the country.
