Xinjiang Wucaitan (Five-Colored Beach) on the Ertix River Travelogue

Wucaitan, located on the banks of the Ertix River in Xinjiang, is a stunningly beautiful natural attraction. It boasts well-developed infrastructure, which has significantly enhanced its tourism value. Below, I will share my travelogue about Wucaitan on the Ertix River in Xinjiang.

This river stands out for its bold and audacious character. While other rivers flow east into the sea or south into the Indian Ocean, seeking warmth and grandeur, it alone endures solitude, flowing north, bravely facing the cold and challenging the limits of life.

This summer, I finally got to meet the Ertix River, a place I’ve long admired.

Its grandeur left me awestruck. The two banks are vastly different. The south bank is lush and verdant, a sprawling forest teeming with life. The north bank is home to the world-renowned and peculiar Wucaitan.

Though autumn has arrived, some people still set up camp in the sprawling forest with their families, searching for pristine white clouds against the azure sky. Their resilience fills me with admiration. In the tapestry of time and the flow of life, we move too quickly. Only those who slow down can truly capture the beauty of the world.

We were just passing visitors, captivated by Wucaitan. It’s a cliff-like landform known as a yardang, composed of sandstone, mudstone, and gravel. Due to the varying wind erosion resistance and mineral content of the different rock layers, Wucaitan possesses its unique geological features.

There are far more than just five colors here. In some areas, red dominates, interspersed with green, purple, and white. In others, brown and light yellow occupy larger areas, with black being less prevalent. The colors are vibrant, alluring, and mesmerizing. From afar, they resemble a mystical coral forest at the bottom of the ocean, vibrant, intense, diverse, and full of life.

Under the sun’s rays, the colors are dazzling, mottled, constantly changing, and surreal. When the wind blows, it emits strange sounds of varying lengths and pitches, like a ghost king summoning his troops, eerie and mysterious.

Up close, the terrain is crisscrossed with ravines, uneven and rugged. Here, there are rock peaks, walls, and pillars of varying sizes. Some resemble monsters or ancient castles, their shapes diverse and ever-changing, like a maze laid out by a ghost mansion. Others are delicately beautiful, radiant, and captivating, like the ghost king’s female attendants or concubines. Still others are imposing and upright, like the ghost king’s generals and guards. In short, they are unique, extraordinary, and breathtakingly crafted, forming a magnificent picture.

Moreover, the surfaces of these formations are very loose, crumbling with the slightest touch, constantly changing and filled with magical colors. They radiate a life force that commands awe.

Visitors walk through, experiencing different perspectives from different viewing platforms. It was the National Day holiday, and the weather had just turned cool. The people’s attire was varied, with different colors and forms, scattered across Wucaitan, adding a boundless vitality. From afar, it’s reminiscent of “Along the River During the Qingming Festival,” a masterpiece of painting.

I envy those with professional photography equipment. They capture the wonders of this place with their passion, using various angles. I can only glance at them briefly. It’s said that beautiful jade can be found here. My son followed friends from the website “Dazhongwang” searching everywhere, gathering some stones to carry. I believe that coming here with a utilitarian purpose is a loss.

Sitting by the bank of the Ertix River, its waters shimmered calmly, as if narrating a tale. I suddenly understood. It must have been captivated by the breathtaking beauty of the north bank’s Wucaitan and moved by the lush forest on the south bank. Summoned by the azure sky and white clouds, it resolutely journeyed north, pursuing its dream, creating its own unique legend.

Personally, I believe only a ghost king could have such imaginative power to create such unique and bewildering paintings. The gods are mostly conventional, only fit to live in the pure and beautiful valley of Hemu, drinking and making merry.

Wucaitan, the ghost king’s palace, is flamboyant and alluring, forever imprinted in my memory. Wucaitan left me feeling awestruck, magical, and eerie.

The Wucaitan scenic area also has a large wind power generation site, bringing a modern touch of human presence and showcasing another dynamic rhythm of life.