Anjihai Grand Canyon, Xinjiang｜The red beauty of the planet leaves you speechless

🚗 Driving westward from Urumqi
The city outside the window gradually fades away
Gobi desert, distant mountains, and wilderness begin to take over the view
Until—Anjihai Grand Canyon, like a sudden page of a crimson epic torn open by the earth
Strikes the eyes

🪐 Standing at the cliff edge, the wind is an ancient echo from the earth’s core
Before you is the scene of billions of years of geological movement
Layers of ochre red, earth yellow, and dark blue rock
Like they have been repeatedly folded and unfolded by the hand of time
Forming ridges that rise and fall like the spine of a giant beast

🌄 At noon, the sunlight shines directly
The canyon sheds all soft light filters
Revealing its hard and distinct bones
Millions of years ago, this place might have been a deep sea or an oasis
Now only fierce winds and stubborn colors remain
Like a long letter the earth wrote here
Every stroke is red

💭 Walking slowly along the cliff edge
Beneath your feet is an almost vertical abyss
But your eyes see a vastness that fills the earth and sky
Occasionally, an eagle or hawk crosses the sky
Becoming the only moving point in this silence
One feels like a speck of dust
Gently falling into the grand narrative of the earth

📸 One hour before sunset
The entire canyon seems to be set ablaze
A golden-red halo spreads over the layered rock walls
I sit on the rock in a daze
Thinking of nothing, just watching
Watching how this land uses its most primitive form
To tell stories of fracture, weathering, and rebirth
——
💡 𝐓𝐈𝐏𝐒 Time for some practical advice:
▫ Self-driving is recommended! The Duku Highway is scenic all the way
▫ One hour before sunset is stunning, soft light is perfect for photos
▪ The wind is strong at the cliff edge, be sure to stay safe and don’t get too close
▫ Bring your own snacks and water, there are no supply points nearby
——
This day felt like breaking into the earth’s private memory
Those ravines are not scars
They are art carved by wind and time together
Looking back when leaving
The canyon in the dusk is silent like a mystery
It says nothing
Yet it has told a lifetime