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This is seriously cool: today we coincidentally stumbled upon a place in Xinjiang that happens to have the biggest meteorite collection in China - and perhaps the world. Hundreds of huge meteorites. We're in a place called the "Xinjiang ancient ecological park" (新疆古生态园). This is so China, happened to... show more

Arnaud Bertrand

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37,146 views • 1 month ago •via X (Twitter)

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This is day 12 of our Xinjiang RV roadtrip and we've just arrived in Xiata (夏塔), one of China's most beautiful natural parks. I think most people wouldn't believe such a place exists in China, yet here we are 🤷‍♂️ We'll spend the day here, hiking in the mountains. I'll add to this thread as we discover this place!

This is day 12 of our Xinjiang RV roadtrip and we've just arrived in Xiata (夏塔), one of China's most beautiful natural parks. I think most people wouldn't believe such a place exists in China, yet here we are 🤷‍♂️ We'll spend the day here, hiking in the mountains. I'll add to this thread as we discover this place!

Arnaud Bertrand

74,996 views • 2 months ago

It's day 30 of our Xinjiang RV roadtrip - one month already! - and we stumbled upon another extraordinary café completely lost in the Taklamakan desert. We're in a place locally known as a "devil city" (魔鬼城, Mo Gui Chen) because it used to be a known hiding spot for thieves and brigands during the time of the silk road: they would hide among the eerily shaped rock formations around here, ambushing caravans before vanishing back into this labyrinth. Which is why this café feels so out of place in this rough environment: they exclusively serve 50 RMB a cup matcha drinks in a modern zen design, the type of place you'd expect to find in a hip tier-1 city but definitely not here. Even the desert is gentrifying in China 😅

It's day 30 of our Xinjiang RV roadtrip - one month already! - and we stumbled upon another extraordinary café completely lost in the Taklamakan desert. We're in a place locally known as a "devil city" (魔鬼城, Mo Gui Chen) because it used to be a known hiding spot for thieves and brigands during the time of the silk road: they would hide among the eerily shaped rock formations around here, ambushing caravans before vanishing back into this labyrinth. Which is why this café feels so out of place in this rough environment: they exclusively serve 50 RMB a cup matcha drinks in a modern zen design, the type of place you'd expect to find in a hip tier-1 city but definitely not here. Even the desert is gentrifying in China 😅

Arnaud Bertrand

41,102 views • 1 month ago

This is day 17th of our Xinjiang RV roadtrip and we're still in Nalati (那拉提), where we arrived yesterday, a place known as the "grassland in the sky" because you need to climb all the way up the mountain to reach it. We climbed the mountain with a cable car, which is actually the longest in Xinjiang: 4.5km long. Interestingly, and this is something even many Chinese people don't know (tourists know this place mostly as a summer destination): this place is now a sky station during winter, it recently opened as a sky station in 2023, with 11 slopes. The ski passes prices are extremely affordable: 150RMB a day (about $20) for adults, and 75RMB for teenagers. Amazingly cheap to ski in such a beautiful place! It gives us a reason to come back to Xinjiang in the winter 😊

This is day 17th of our Xinjiang RV roadtrip and we're still in Nalati (那拉提), where we arrived yesterday, a place known as the "grassland in the sky" because you need to climb all the way up the mountain to reach it. We climbed the mountain with a cable car, which is actually the longest in Xinjiang: 4.5km long. Interestingly, and this is something even many Chinese people don't know (tourists know this place mostly as a summer destination): this place is now a sky station during winter, it recently opened as a sky station in 2023, with 11 slopes. The ski passes prices are extremely affordable: 150RMB a day (about $20) for adults, and 75RMB for teenagers. Amazingly cheap to ski in such a beautiful place! It gives us a reason to come back to Xinjiang in the winter 😊

Arnaud Bertrand

61,112 views • 2 months ago

I asked a Private Notice Question about what had changed in China since the House of Commons voted to declare a genocide was taking place against Uyghurs in Xinjiang. This is the crime against all crimes. It cannot surely be a case of business as usual.

I asked a Private Notice Question about what had changed in China since the House of Commons voted to declare a genocide was taking place against Uyghurs in Xinjiang. This is the crime against all crimes. It cannot surely be a case of business as usual.

Lord (David) Alton

22,762 views • 8 months ago

Ok, THIS is probably the most beautiful place we've seen in our Xinjiang RV roadtrip so far: it's so stunning it looks otherworldly, like we've stepped on another planet. It's now day 25 of our roadtrip and we're next to a lake called bai sha hu (白沙湖, literally "white sand lake") not far from the border with Tajikistan, in one of the rare areas in Xinjiang which access is restricted: foreigners and Chinese alike need a special permit to come here because it's a sensitive border area (the permit is easy to obtain). We're surrounded by some of the highest mountains in the world, including the famous Muztagh Ata (慕士塔格峰), 7,546m - the so-called "Father of Ice Mountains." And, as you can see in the video, while the rest of Xinjiang is mostly cows and sheeps, we're now deep in yak territory 😊

Ok, THIS is probably the most beautiful place we've seen in our Xinjiang RV roadtrip so far: it's so stunning it looks otherworldly, like we've stepped on another planet. It's now day 25 of our roadtrip and we're next to a lake called bai sha hu (白沙湖, literally "white sand lake") not far from the border with Tajikistan, in one of the rare areas in Xinjiang which access is restricted: foreigners and Chinese alike need a special permit to come here because it's a sensitive border area (the permit is easy to obtain). We're surrounded by some of the highest mountains in the world, including the famous Muztagh Ata (慕士塔格峰), 7,546m - the so-called "Father of Ice Mountains." And, as you can see in the video, while the rest of Xinjiang is mostly cows and sheeps, we're now deep in yak territory 😊

Arnaud Bertrand

94,750 views • 2 months ago

In part two of my special series on Xinjiang, I visit the capital, Urumqi, to continue debunking Western media and government conspiracy theories about this vast region. In this episode, I visit a Uygur language radio station and a Uygur language newspaper, despite Western pundits claiming the language is banned. And I celebrate Eid al-Adha, or Festival of the Sacrifice, the largest Muslim festival in all of Xinjiang, which gives the people of this region an extra five days of annual leave. More than anyone else in the rest of China. That is all despite Western pundits claiming religion is suppressed here. I spent the day celebrating with a local family, eating lamb that was freshly slaughtered in accordance with tradition. Don't be tricked by Western media and governments who are using Xinjiang as a tool against China and its development. Instead, come with me to see the place and chat with the locals.

In part two of my special series on Xinjiang, I visit the capital, Urumqi, to continue debunking Western media and government conspiracy theories about this vast region. In this episode, I visit a Uygur language radio station and a Uygur language newspaper, despite Western pundits claiming the language is banned. And I celebrate Eid al-Adha, or Festival of the Sacrifice, the largest Muslim festival in all of Xinjiang, which gives the people of this region an extra five days of annual leave. More than anyone else in the rest of China. That is all despite Western pundits claiming religion is suppressed here. I spent the day celebrating with a local family, eating lamb that was freshly slaughtered in accordance with tradition. Don't be tricked by Western media and governments who are using Xinjiang as a tool against China and its development. Instead, come with me to see the place and chat with the locals.

Andy Boreham 安柏然

14,027 views • 1 month ago

Hungary's FM Szijjártó also had a great answer when asked about his country's relation with China, calling China "a huge chance and a huge opportunity" and revealing (which I didn't know) that actually the key reason why the Chinese invest in Hungary is "because of the Germans", i.e. to supply German companies that also have production facilities in Hungary. This was also brilliant: "Here again rationality is needed. We look at China, the cooperation with China as a chance, as an opportunity, as something that helps Hungary economy grow, as something that helps Hungarian economy to move to the next dimension, to be upgraded technologically speaking And when I listen to those who say China is a threat, then I raise my question: don't those countries have secret services or something? Because we have our secret services, we have our national security structure and if this structure signals any threat or danger to us regarding some action, then we don't do that. So what happens between us and China is absolutely, absolutely advantageous from the perspective of our national interest and national economy. What would not be in our national interest because of security reasons for example, then we would not do it. So I mean this is so simple from our perspective." I really wish this type of rationality was more generalized in Europe instead of the mind-numbing "good vs evil" ideology that's so pervasive at the moment...

Hungary's FM Szijjártó also had a great answer when asked about his country's relation with China, calling China "a huge chance and a huge opportunity" and revealing (which I didn't know) that actually the key reason why the Chinese invest in Hungary is "because of the Germans", i.e. to supply German companies that also have production facilities in Hungary. This was also brilliant: "Here again rationality is needed. We look at China, the cooperation with China as a chance, as an opportunity, as something that helps Hungary economy grow, as something that helps Hungarian economy to move to the next dimension, to be upgraded technologically speaking And when I listen to those who say China is a threat, then I raise my question: don't those countries have secret services or something? Because we have our secret services, we have our national security structure and if this structure signals any threat or danger to us regarding some action, then we don't do that. So what happens between us and China is absolutely, absolutely advantageous from the perspective of our national interest and national economy. What would not be in our national interest because of security reasons for example, then we would not do it. So I mean this is so simple from our perspective." I really wish this type of rationality was more generalized in Europe instead of the mind-numbing "good vs evil" ideology that's so pervasive at the moment...

Arnaud Bertrand

111,420 views • 2 years ago

China creates the worlds largest national park system - by a mile. The national park idea was invented in Yellowstone in the US. Now China will make a national park system three times the American. Of course there is no competion - its wonderful that both China and the US inspire the world to protect Mother Earth. I am reporting from Qinghai - the park at the source of three massive rivers - a park as large as England or Uganda.

China creates the worlds largest national park system - by a mile. The national park idea was invented in Yellowstone in the US. Now China will make a national park system three times the American. Of course there is no competion - its wonderful that both China and the US inspire the world to protect Mother Earth. I am reporting from Qinghai - the park at the source of three massive rivers - a park as large as England or Uganda.

Erik Solheim

17,626 views • 4 months ago

Day 5 of our Xinjiang RV roadtrip and we have our first peak of Sayram lake (called Sàilǐmù hú - 赛里木湖- in Chinese), known to be one of the most beautiful lakes in China (it's classified as a "AAAAA National Scenic Area", the highest possible classification). And it definitely lives up to the hype, look at this place! We'll be staying around here for 2 days - today and tomorrow. I'll add pics and videos to this thread as we tour around 😊

Day 5 of our Xinjiang RV roadtrip and we have our first peak of Sayram lake (called Sàilǐmù hú - 赛里木湖- in Chinese), known to be one of the most beautiful lakes in China (it's classified as a "AAAAA National Scenic Area", the highest possible classification). And it definitely lives up to the hype, look at this place! We'll be staying around here for 2 days - today and tomorrow. I'll add pics and videos to this thread as we tour around 😊

Arnaud Bertrand

98,708 views • 2 months ago

Ok, I think this is officially the coolest café I've seen in my life: this place is straight out of a James Bond movie. We're deep - very deep - inside the Kizilia Grand Canyon in Xinjiang, close to Kuqa city (库车) and suddenly, after more than 1 hour driving in the canyon, we spot this place sitting on the very top of a cliff. As you can see, inside is not at all the rough and rugged vibe you'd expect in a place like this: it's super tasteful, serving flat whites and cappuccinos. It looks like a London Shoreditch coffee shop that's been dropped on top of a cliff in one of the remotest corners of Xinjiang 😅

Ok, I think this is officially the coolest café I've seen in my life: this place is straight out of a James Bond movie. We're deep - very deep - inside the Kizilia Grand Canyon in Xinjiang, close to Kuqa city (库车) and suddenly, after more than 1 hour driving in the canyon, we spot this place sitting on the very top of a cliff. As you can see, inside is not at all the rough and rugged vibe you'd expect in a place like this: it's super tasteful, serving flat whites and cappuccinos. It looks like a London Shoreditch coffee shop that's been dropped on top of a cliff in one of the remotest corners of Xinjiang 😅

Arnaud Bertrand

93,664 views • 2 months ago

This is another very cool place we discovered this afternoon: we literally lit water on fire! This is a place called 烈焰泉 (Lièyàn Quán) - literally "Flame Spring" - in Baicheng county (拜城) in Xinjiang. It's natural gas that seeps up through fissures and mixes with spring water, so when you bring a flame to it, the water erupts in fire!

This is another very cool place we discovered this afternoon: we literally lit water on fire! This is a place called 烈焰泉 (Lièyàn Quán) - literally "Flame Spring" - in Baicheng county (拜城) in Xinjiang. It's natural gas that seeps up through fissures and mixes with spring water, so when you bring a flame to it, the water erupts in fire!

Arnaud Bertrand

73,266 views • 1 month ago

This is a very interesting place, and I think fairly unique in China: a free trade zone that is jointly owned by China and Kazakhstan. I believe that both countries contributed a piece of land to create this place and you need to go through immigration/border control to enter here - which we did!

This is a very interesting place, and I think fairly unique in China: a free trade zone that is jointly owned by China and Kazakhstan. I believe that both countries contributed a piece of land to create this place and you need to go through immigration/border control to enter here - which we did!

Arnaud Bertrand

100,311 views • 2 months ago

This is genuinely unexpected: when driving in the middle of the Xinjiang countryside, we just stumbled upon what's one of the coolest cafés I've ever seen. Check the video and tell me this place isn't pretty cool! We're in a place called "ken si wa te" (肯瓦斯特) where there's a man-made water reservoir (created by a dam downstream). They've created a small attraction around this reservoir, including this café, a cable car, a glass bridge, etc. This is the first day of our family RV roadtrip in Xinjiang and looks like we've found the perfect spot to spend the night!

This is genuinely unexpected: when driving in the middle of the Xinjiang countryside, we just stumbled upon what's one of the coolest cafés I've ever seen. Check the video and tell me this place isn't pretty cool! We're in a place called "ken si wa te" (肯瓦斯特) where there's a man-made water reservoir (created by a dam downstream). They've created a small attraction around this reservoir, including this café, a cable car, a glass bridge, etc. This is the first day of our family RV roadtrip in Xinjiang and looks like we've found the perfect spot to spend the night!

Arnaud Bertrand

197,976 views • 2 months ago

This was definitely an "only in China" afternoon: we managed to get access to a place in Xinjiang that's completely off the beaten path, a remote rocky hill with priceless rock carvings dating back to the stone age. What's hilarious is that it was all based on a misunderstanding. We got to meet a local here in Wenquan (温泉) - on the border with Kazakhstan - and we asked him about this local attraction we'd heard about, a place where you could find fossils (always fun for kids). He told us two things. First that we couldn't go there with the RV because, to reach it, you need to go off road through the rough Xinjiang terrain. Second that he could lend us a car and escort us there. And he handed me the keys to a car and told us to follow him. I found it a bit odd that what I thought was a relatively well-known local kid attraction would be this hard to reach, but I just shrugged it off. After about a 30 minutes drive through the Xinjiang backcountry, we arrive at the small rocky hill, lost in the middle of nowhere, that you see on the video 👇 We start climbing the hill - naively looking around for seashell imprints - when suddenly our local friend points to a rock and shows us an old carving of a goat. It took us a little while but we eventually realized the misunderstanding and how lucky we were: we hadn't been taken to a fossil site at all. Somewhere in translation, "fossils" had become "ancient rock carvings," and this unassuming hill in the middle of nowhere turned out to be an extraordinary heritage site covered in petroglyphs dating back thousands of years! The carvings turned out - for some of them - to still be in extraordinary good conditions, probably due to the extremely dry climate in the area: they mostly depicted local animals such as long-horn goats, stags with extraordinary antlers, leopards or horses. This experience also says a lot about China. People think this place isn't welcoming to foreigners but tell me in which other country a local would hand a random foreign tourist the keys to his car and personally escort his family to a priceless heritage site that's still in its natural state - only known to locals. Like I said: only in China! PS: We eventually explained the misunderstanding to our local friend, and he also brought us to the actual fossil place too. So we got two sites for the price of one misunderstanding!

This was definitely an "only in China" afternoon: we managed to get access to a place in Xinjiang that's completely off the beaten path, a remote rocky hill with priceless rock carvings dating back to the stone age. What's hilarious is that it was all based on a misunderstanding. We got to meet a local here in Wenquan (温泉) - on the border with Kazakhstan - and we asked him about this local attraction we'd heard about, a place where you could find fossils (always fun for kids). He told us two things. First that we couldn't go there with the RV because, to reach it, you need to go off road through the rough Xinjiang terrain. Second that he could lend us a car and escort us there. And he handed me the keys to a car and told us to follow him. I found it a bit odd that what I thought was a relatively well-known local kid attraction would be this hard to reach, but I just shrugged it off. After about a 30 minutes drive through the Xinjiang backcountry, we arrive at the small rocky hill, lost in the middle of nowhere, that you see on the video 👇 We start climbing the hill - naively looking around for seashell imprints - when suddenly our local friend points to a rock and shows us an old carving of a goat. It took us a little while but we eventually realized the misunderstanding and how lucky we were: we hadn't been taken to a fossil site at all. Somewhere in translation, "fossils" had become "ancient rock carvings," and this unassuming hill in the middle of nowhere turned out to be an extraordinary heritage site covered in petroglyphs dating back thousands of years! The carvings turned out - for some of them - to still be in extraordinary good conditions, probably due to the extremely dry climate in the area: they mostly depicted local animals such as long-horn goats, stags with extraordinary antlers, leopards or horses. This experience also says a lot about China. People think this place isn't welcoming to foreigners but tell me in which other country a local would hand a random foreign tourist the keys to his car and personally escort his family to a priceless heritage site that's still in its natural state - only known to locals. Like I said: only in China! PS: We eventually explained the misunderstanding to our local friend, and he also brought us to the actual fossil place too. So we got two sites for the price of one misunderstanding!

Arnaud Bertrand

68,641 views • 2 months ago

Only men do not want to agree to that. "I think that the United States needs to be more like China because China is the safest country I have ever been to in my entire life, and it is because of the amount of surveillance that they have. Everybody always likes to talk about how China is so scary because of their surveillance. No, that is literally why it is so safe. That is why I can travel here as a woman by myself. I've been to over 50 countries, and I can confidently say that I feel more safe as a woman because of the security that is in place in this country.”

Only men do not want to agree to that. "I think that the United States needs to be more like China because China is the safest country I have ever been to in my entire life, and it is because of the amount of surveillance that they have. Everybody always likes to talk about how China is so scary because of their surveillance. No, that is literally why it is so safe. That is why I can travel here as a woman by myself. I've been to over 50 countries, and I can confidently say that I feel more safe as a woman because of the security that is in place in this country.”

Johannes Maria

32,868 views • 10 months ago

This is so funny. I followed Luke's recommendation in the comments yesterday 👇 and went to this Russian bakery here in Yining, Xinjiang. And I met the man himself: Alexander, a Chinese Russian! He looks 100% Russian but speaks Chinese like a local. And he is, in fact, a local: we chatted a bit and he explained his family history - they've been here in Xinjiang for 6 generations! This is something people commonly don't know about: China recognizes 55 official ethnic minorities living in the country and Russians is one of them - there are quite a few Russians exactly like Alexander who look Russians in all respects but are Chinese. We saw many of them during our previous RV roadtrip in Dongbei on the border with Russia, it's more unexpected to meet one here in the middle of Xinjiang 😅

This is so funny. I followed Luke's recommendation in the comments yesterday 👇 and went to this Russian bakery here in Yining, Xinjiang. And I met the man himself: Alexander, a Chinese Russian! He looks 100% Russian but speaks Chinese like a local. And he is, in fact, a local: we chatted a bit and he explained his family history - they've been here in Xinjiang for 6 generations! This is something people commonly don't know about: China recognizes 55 official ethnic minorities living in the country and Russians is one of them - there are quite a few Russians exactly like Alexander who look Russians in all respects but are Chinese. We saw many of them during our previous RV roadtrip in Dongbei on the border with Russia, it's more unexpected to meet one here in the middle of Xinjiang 😅

Arnaud Bertrand

125,363 views • 2 months ago

A new chapter in telling Kenya’s story to the world. Magical Kenya – Come Experience the Wonder. Our latest cinematic brand film, “The Origin of Wonder,” invites the world to see Kenya not just as a destination, but as a place of connection where nature, culture, rhythm, and humanity come together in a profound and timeless way. This film is not simply about showcasing attractions. It is a sensory journey that captures the spirit of our nation, the landscapes that inspire awe, the cultures that carry our heritage, and the rhythms that define who we are. Kenya is more than a place you visit. It is a place you feel. A place that reminds us of something ancient within ourselves. Our Origin. As Magical Kenya we welcome the world to rediscover wonder. Wonder in our wildlife, our people, our cultures, and our breathtaking beautiful landscapes. Karibu Kenya. Come experience the wonder. #MagicalKenya #OriginOfWonder #ComeExperienceTheWonder #BrandKenya

William Samoei Ruto, PhD

100,978 views • 7 months ago

I live in Taiwan, and this place is a country, not a bargaining chip to be traded between China and the US. Yet, as Trump and Xi meet, the whole world is talking about this place with seemingly zero input from its leaders. 1/3

I live in Taiwan, and this place is a country, not a bargaining chip to be traded between China and the US. Yet, as Trump and Xi meet, the whole world is talking about this place with seemingly zero input from its leaders. 1/3

Chase W. Nelson 倪誠志

69,792 views • 4 months ago