An ethnic Kazakh man, in his limited Chinese, told us that Sayram means “blessing” in his mother tongue, and wished us peace wherever we go. Being in one of the most impressive bodies of water, I felt particularly blessed to be around the lake. Framed by the majestic Tianshan Mountain in the backdrop, the turquoise water of Sayram lake seemed to be meeting the azure sky in the distance. Immersing in the locals’ hospitality and this picturesque scene in Illi was nothing more we could wish for.

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://bauhiniahk2014.wordpress.com/2021/12/01/sayram-lake-%e8%b3%bd%e9%87%8c%e6%9c%a8%e6%b9%96-turquoise-water-thriving-meadows-an-undulating-mountain-view/