傑·文化-南疆之旅11:吐禾高速七彩丹霞走廊Kit.Culture-Trip to S Xinjiang 11: Colorful Danxia Corridor on Tuhe Expressway

在新疆旅遊，最美風景不一定只能在景點看得到。旅途上，我樂於在旅遊車上外望沿路風光。旅程第5天從阿克蘇市沿吐和(吐魯番至和田)高速前往喀什市途中接近西克爾服務站附近開始，只見右方一段約30公里路旁山巒起伏，山上土壤顏色分明，紅、橙、黃、綠、黑、白等顏色層層疊疊疊，如彩虹排列，再加上沉積岩層摺疊扭曲，再經千萬年風吹水蝕，從而形成千姿百態的七彩丹霞地貌，令人驚嘆大自然鬼斧神功的奇幻力量。

丹霞地貌的定義為「有陡崖的陸上紅層地貌」，1928年馮景蘭等在廣東省韶關市仁化縣丹霞山考察時首先命名。形成丹霞地貌的是一種沉積在內陸盆地的紅色岩層，這種岩層在千百萬年的地質變化過程中，被水切割侵蝕，形成了紅色山塊群。

丹霞地貌主要分佈在中國、美國西部、中歐和澳大利亞等地，以中國分佈最廣。到2008年1月31日為止，中國已發現丹霞地貌790處，分佈在26個省區。2010年8月，聯合國世界遺產大會決定將「中國丹霞」列入世界自然遺產，成為中國第四十個世界自然或文化遺產。

新疆的地形地貌可以概括為“三山夾兩盆”：北面是阿爾泰山，南面是昆侖山，天山橫貫中部，把新疆分為南北兩部分，習慣上稱天山以南為南疆，天山以北為北疆。南疆的塔里木盆地面積53萬平方公裡，是中國最大的內陸盆地。位於塔里木盆地中部的塔克拉瑪乾沙漠，面積約33萬平方公裡，是中國最大、世界第二大流動沙漠。貫穿塔里木盆地的塔里木河長約2100公裡，是中國最長的內陸河。北疆的準噶爾盆地面積約38萬平方公裡，是中國第二大盆地。準噶爾盆地中部的古爾班通古特沙漠面積約4.8萬平方公裡，是中國第二大沙漠。水域面積5500平方公裡，其中博斯騰湖水域面積980平方公裡，是中國最大的內陸淡水湖。在天山東部和西部，還有被稱為“火洲”的吐魯番盆地和被譽為“塞外江南”的伊犁谷地。位於吐魯番盆地的艾丁湖，低於海平面154米，是中國陸地最低點。片片綠洲分佈於盆地邊緣和河流流域，總面積約占全區面積的4.2%。

來源: 新疆政府網頁

When traveling in Xinjiang, the most beautiful scenery may not only be seen at scenic spots. During the trip, I enjoyed looking out at the scenery along the road from the tourist bus. On the 5th day of the journey, we drove from Aksu City to Kashgar City along the Tuhe (Turpan to Hotan) Expressway and approached the Sikel Service Station and onwards. We saw undulating mountains on the right side of the road for about 30 kilometers. The soil on the mountains has distinct colors, such as red, orange, Yellow, green, black, white and other colors are layered on top of each other, arranged like a rainbow, coupled with the folding and twisting of sedimentary rock layers, and then millions of years of wind and water erosion, forming a variety of colorful Danxia landforms, which is amazing to see the mighty and magical power of nature.

Danxia landform is defined as "onshore red bed landform with steep cliffs". It was first named by Feng Jinglan and others during their inspection of Danxia Mountain in Renhua County, Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province in 1928. The Danxia landform is formed by a red rock formation deposited in an inland basin. This rock formation was cut and eroded by water during millions of years of geological changes, forming a group of red mountains.

Danxia landforms are mainly distributed in China, the western United States, Central Europe and Australia, with the widest distribution in China. As of January 31, 2008, 790 Danxia landforms have been discovered in China, distributed in 26 provinces and autonomous regions. In August 2010, the United Nations World Heritage Conference decided to include "Chinese Danxia" as a World Natural Heritage, becoming China's 40th World Natural or Cultural Heritage.

The topography of Xinjiang can be summarized as "three mountains and two basins": the Altai Mountains to the north, the Kunlun Mountains to the south, and the Tianshan Mountains running through the middle, dividing Xinjiang into north and south parts. It is customary to call the south of the Tianshan Mountains Nanjiang, and the north of the Tianshan Mountains Northern Xinjiang. The Tarim Basin in southern Xinjiang covers an area of ​​530,000 square kilometers and is the largest inland basin in China. The Taklimakan Desert, located in the middle of the Tarim Basin, covers an area of ​​approximately 330,000 square kilometers. It is the largest mobile desert in China and the second largest in the world. The Tarim River, which runs through the Tarim Basin, is about 2,100 kilometers long and is the longest inland river in China. The Junggar Basin in northern Xinjiang covers an area of ​​approximately 380,000 square kilometers and is the second largest basin in China. The Gurbantunggut Desert in the central Junggar Basin covers an area of ​​approximately 48,000 square kilometers and is the second largest desert in China. The water area is 5,500 square kilometers, of which Bosten Lake has a water area of ​​980 square kilometers. It is the largest inland freshwater lake in China. To the east and west of the Tianshan Mountains, there are the Turpan Basin, known as the "Fire Continent", and the Ili Valley, known as the "Jiangnan beyond the Great Wall". Aydin Lake, located in the Turpan Basin, is 154 meters below sea level and is the lowest point on land in China. Pieces of oases are distributed on the edge of the basin and in the river basin, with a total area accounting for approximately 4.2% of the entire region.

Source: Government Webpage of Xinjiang