With a total length of 1,931 kilometers, from the Tianshan Mountains to the Kunlun Mountains, the most important passage in southern Xinjiang, it has stimulated the economic development of southern Xinjiang and even Xinjiang, and it is also a road connecting history, running through the ancient places of the 36 countries in the Western Regions, showing these cultures better and more conveniently to tourists.
As the name suggests, Tuhe Expressway is the expressway from Turpan to Hotan, numbered G3012 in China's high-speed network, from Turpan over the Tianshan Mountains through Korla, Kuqa, Aksu, Kashgar to Hotan.
Our travel in southern Xinjiang is inseparable from this Tuhe Expressway, today from the south to the north to Turpan, I will tell you about this expressway, and what kind of landscape we can see on this expressway.
First of all, the starting point of the north end of Tuhe Expressway is connected to the G30 Lianhuo Expressway, from Turpan to Xiaocao Lake, this 100 kilometers is parallel with Lianhuo Expressway, from Xiaocao Lake to Tuhe High-speed independence, since then the altitude has risen all the way, and it didn't take long to usher in the first scenery of Tuhe Expressway, and it is also the most dangerous section.
This section is called Gangou, Gangou is a canyon across the Tianshan Mountains, is the throat of Tuhe Expressway, 102 kilometers from Tuoxun County to Korla, of which 70 kilometers are Gangou section. As the name suggests, Gangou has no water, no grass, no vegetation, and it is bare and makes people look intimidating.
We can also see amazing and shocking sights while we are afraid. The bleak and magnificent primitive landform, the upright mountain rock formed by the fault and extrusion is covered by the mobile sand dunes, and the unique terrain also makes this section of the high-speed construction difficult, the danger factor is high, the speed limit of this section of the road is 60, everyone must pay attention to safety when walking this section of the road.
After crossing the Tianshan Mountains, we will enter the southern Xinjiang, the scenery of the Yanqi Basin wants us to show at a glance, the water resources at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains are abundant, there are many kinds of agricultural products here, and the taste is pure. After passing through Korla, the view to the west also becomes wider, and to the north is the continuous Tianshan mountain range, which will also accompany us for a distance of several hundred kilometers.
The most worth playing along this line is Kuqa, before there is no Duku Highway, tourists want to go from the north to the south of Xinjiang will basically choose Tuhe Expressway, now the Duku Highway runs through, and Kuqa has become an important tourist distribution center in summer.
Kuqa was known as Qiuzi in ancient times, with profound historical and cultural heritage, and now you can still feel the strong exotic customs when you walk into the old city of Kuqa, and the ancient courtyard and the earthy yellow walls are also telling us the long history story here.
Continue to the west through Aksu, Artush Houtuhe Expressway and turn a big bend to the south, and the direction from here to Yecheng Tuhe Expressway is from north to south. This section connects the urban agglomeration of Kashgar, and after feeling the combination of the old and the new in the main urban area of Kashgar, each city of Zepu, Yingjisha, Shache and Yecheng has its own characteristics. The connection between Tuhe and the high-speed also makes this place into the field of vision of tourists.
Starting from Yecheng, the Tuhe Expressway is sandwiched between the Kunlun Mountains and the Taklamakan Desert, and looking down from a high altitude, the entire expressway is like a giant dragon in the desert, leading to the endless distance.
On this section of the road, each city is a desert oasis and an important supply station on the southern section of the Silk Road, and after arriving at Hotan, the largest city on the southern edge of the desert is full of charm, with the mouth-watering Hetian treasure jade and the mouth-watering delicacies of southern Xinjiang. Humanity, scenery, history and culture converge here.
The construction of the Tuhe Expressway has been planned for a long time, but the fastest progress was still in the past decade. In 2015, the "Tuhe Expressway" Korla to Kuqa section, Kuqa to Aksu section, and Kashgar to Yecheng section were completed and opened to traffic. In 2018, the Moyu-Hotan section of the expressway was completed and opened to traffic. In 2019, the Yecheng-Moyu section of the expressway was completed and opened to traffic.
In other words, the full line of Tuhe Expressway will be completed after 2019. In the past two years, Xinjiang's road network has been changing with each passing day, starting from Hotan, passing through Minfeng and Moruoqiang, it has been able to reach the junction of Xinjiang and Qinghai directly, and a number of highways and highways through the desert have also been built in the Taklamakan River, which has also greatly shortened the distance between the north and south of Xinjiang, from the foot of the Tianshan Mountains to the foot of the Kunlun Mountains.
Tuhe Expressway is the most important road in southern Xinjiang, the road to stimulate the economy, and the road to promote tourism.