The Duku Highway in northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, deemed one of China' most beautiful roads, has attracted flocks of enthusiastic tourists from across the country after an eight-month seasonal closure.
The scenic highway opened to traffic on Saturday, the first day of the ongoing three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday.
On both sides of the famed highway, tourists can enjoy the view of extensive grasslands, forests and snow mountains as they drive on.
The towns along the highway also offer visitors a wide variety of entertainment activities, including horse riding, appreciating picturesque landscape from cable cars, paragliding, and even enjoying a short ride on the helicopter.
"There are snow mountains, grasslands, spruce forests, wildflowers, and streams here along the Duku Highway, which offer us an exceptional travel experience," said Han Chang, a tourist from Beijing.
Locals are also taking advantage of the tourist season, setting up booths along village roads to sell specialties such as mushrooms, honey and dairy foods to travelers.
"I've bought some wild local specialties, like mushrooms and morels. I think they are pretty good," said a tourist surnamed Yu from south China's Guangdong Province.
The 560-kilometer Duku Highway closes each winter due to weather conditions. Typically, closure begins in October and lasts until June.
Scenic highway in northwest China's Xinjiang attracts flocks of tourists after seasonal closure
