Why this ride
264 km from Dushanzi to the finish, about 3 h 39 of riding. The highest point is about 3,400 m. Hashilegen Pass is open in summer only - check it is open before you set off. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Duku Highway: Dushanzi to Nalati
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 264 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 39
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Dushanzi → Hashilegen Pass
The ride follows Dushanzi → Hashilegen Pass for 246 km.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 246 km
Hashilegen Pass → Nalati
The ride follows Hashilegen Pass → Nalati for 95 km.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 95 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Dushanzi
Dushanzi is where the desert gives way to the mountains in northern Xinjiang, a city of oil refineries and chemical plants at the foot of the Tian Shan, and its main interest to riders is that it is the northern end of the Duku Highway. That road climbs south across the range, passing through snowy summits, high grasslands and canyons, before dropping into the Tarim Basin at Kuqa, a journey of roughly five hundred and fifty kilometres through some of the most dramatic scenery in China.
Read the complete Dushanzi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Dushanzi is where the day begins. Next is Hashilegen Pass.
2. Hashilegen Pass
Hashilegen Pass lies high in the central Tian Shan at roughly 3,400 metres, where the Duku Highway climbs to the divide and the world turns to rock, snow and sky. The scenery is wide and austere, with glaciers on the high peaks, meltwater streams across the alpine meadows and the occasional herder's felt tent.
Read the complete Hashilegen Pass write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hashilegen Pass comes up 171 km in. Nothing on this route is higher. Next is Nalati, mostly downhill.
3. Nalati
Nalati, known in Kazakh as Narat, is a high grassland on the northern slopes of the Tian Shan in Xinjiang, in the far west of China, and it is one of those landscapes that looks like a painter's idea of mountain summer pasture. Rolling green meadows spread beneath snowy peaks, dotted with spruce forest and herders' yurts, and the air is cool and thin at around two thousand metres. The Kazakh herders who move their sheep, horses and cattle up here every summer are the people who made the grasslands what they are.
Read the complete Nalati write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 264 km.
Leg by leg
Dushanzi to Hashilegen Pass
Dushanzi → Hashilegen Pass is 246 km. This is the part worth slowing down for - look through the bends and use the pull-offs.
Hashilegen Pass to Nalati
Hashilegen Pass → Nalati is 95 km. Brakes and eyes forward; the views are behind the corners, not in them.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Duku Highway: Dushanzi to Bayinbuluke · 385 km
- Duku Highway: Hashilegen Pass to Bayinbuluke · 214 km
- Duku Highway · 645 km
- Duku Highway: Nalati to Kuqa · 371 km