Discover the Colorful Charm and Millennial Vibes in the "Jiangnan Beyond the Great Wall"
by Smith Ethan2Ethan
Jul 11, 2025
Hi~ this is Guozi
Sayram Lake is a must-visit destination when traveling to Xinjiang
And spending most of the time at Songshutou
was the best decision of this Sayram Lake trip!
Climbing up Songshutou, you get all the lake and mountain scenery you could ask for
Every snap is a legendary shot
It’s like nature spilled its paint palette
The shimmering lake reflects the colors of the blue sky and white clouds
A scene that has appeared many times in my dreams!
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🕙 Time: 8:00-23:00 (entry and exit allowed even outside business hours)
🎫 Ticket: 130 RMB/person (includes 60 RMB for shuttle bus), self-driving ticket 145 RMB/person (includes 75 RMB self-driving service fee)
📍 Address: Sayram Lake National Scenic Area, Bole City, Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region
🚇 Transportation: ❶ National transport to Bole or Yining, then take a bus or carpool directly to Sayram Lake East Gate Visitor Center; ❷ For self-driving, the usual route is entering from the East Gate and exiting from the South Gate, the North Gate can also be used for entry and exit, the South Gate is exit only
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🚶🏻 About the itinerary
✔️ Before going to Sayram Lake, be sure to check the weather; the scenery on a rainy day is vastly different from a sunny day
✔️ The shuttle bus runs a fixed clockwise route; self-driving is also recommended clockwise to reach Songshutou first
✔️ Try to take the earliest shuttle bus (9:30 AM) into the park, it takes about half an hour to reach the Songshutou stop, and there are almost no people climbing up at that time
✔️ Excluding photo time, it takes about 1 to 1.5 hours to reach the top of Songshutou and half an hour to descend
✔️ After climbing Songshutou, you can choose to stop at other Sayram Lake spots according to your preference; the lakeside scenery is quite similar
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📷 About photography
✅ Climb up the Songshutou plank road for about half an hour to reach a fork halfway up; the left side leads to the popular mid-mountain grassland photo spot
✅ The plank road to the right at the fork continues upward, offering many lesser-known grassy slopes for photos where you can avoid crowds and enjoy unobstructed lake views
✅ Climbing up the left plank road at the fork for another half hour leads to the Songshutou summit, where you can overlook the Guozigou Bridge with a stunning photo perspective
✅ Along the lake route, other lakeside spots like Jinhua Zihui, Kele Yongzhu, Qinshuitan, and Boerhan Mountain are also worth stopping for sightseeing and photography
Post by Lily Foster Ruby-31 | Jul 8, 2025























