25-Jun-2005 -- 47N – 89E Xinjiang (新疆), China

Visit Date: June 25, 2005

This is 2nd line hunting trip in Xinjiang for the group with two first time hunters on this expedition.

Our trip started in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang on June 23 and heading to Lake Kanas located at the extreme northern end of Xinjiang near the border with Kazakhstan, Russia and Mongolia. The near one thousand km one-way drive brought us close to a number of confluence points. Due to tight schedule, we were not able to make any detour to hunt for the point.

The only exception is this particular point which we literally able to drive to the ground zero point with only a minor detour of 1.7 km, and added 20 minutes to our trip.

We spend one day at Lake Kanas, and did make an attempt to go the only confluence point on 49th parallel in Xinjiang about 26 km away. However, the road that would go near 49N 87E no longer passable by car, and it will require a 3 days track by foot or horse.

On our way back to Urumqi, we took a longer route to avoid the long construction zone which we encountered on the way up. Turn out this round about way back brought us within walking distance to 47N 87E. A dirt ramp permitted us to get off the highway and drive our car all the way to the point.

This confluence point located in a vast desert flat covered with vegetation and gave the impression of a green desert. An appropriate name for this confluence point would be the “Green Desert Point”.

The area is rather remote with no villages within 20 km. Administratively, this point is located in the Hebukexire Mongolian Autonomous County.

Now, Xinjiang still has 178 confluence points waiting to be visited.

Rating of this hunt:

Degree of Challenge: 1– near a main highway and able to drive to the point (1= very easy - drive to the point; to 5= a death march – glad it is over)

Scenery: 4– vast and open green desert with hills (Scale: 1= not interesting at all; 5= take your breath away)