The white Toyota Hilux pickup is parked in the city shade. On the rack in the truck bed sit two plush toys—a brown monkey and a black puppy—looking extra cute in the sunlight.
The tail is covered in stickers: "Must-Go-in-Your-Life," "Tea Horse Road," and a map of China dotted with red marks showing the routes already traveled. The license plate is Malaysian format, WA 8939 W.
This is Ah Wei's car. He and a few friends formed a small convoy that just entered China through Khorgos Port in Xinjiang. He likes putting plush toys on his car rack, saying it makes the journey less lonely.
"Look, these two little guys have been with me through several countries already," Ah Wei says, pointing to the toys in the truck bed, his voice full of affection.
His friend teases him: "You're not driving, you're basically traveling with two kids."
Ah Wei laughs too. Sunlight filters through the leaves onto his face, warm and pleasant. He looks at the tall buildings in the distance, thinking about the Duku Highway coming up next, and then Tibet—with these little guys along, no matter how far the road is, it never feels long.
💡 Want to drive across China with your own car like Ah Wei? We provide full Khorgos Port declaration services.
Many drivers coming from the Central Asia direction enter China through Khorgos Port. This is an important border crossing on the China-Kazakhstan border, and the largest land port in Xinjiang. From Khorgos, you can directly take the Lianhuo Highway east to Urumqi, then north to the Duku Highway, south to the Yizhao Highway, experiencing the magnificent scenery of Xinjiang.
"The roads in Xinjiang are so beautiful," Ah Wei says. "On the Duku Highway, you drive from grassland to snow mountain. The scenery changes so much, it's like experiencing several seasons in one day."
Indeed, China is so big, every place has its own unique scenery. Driving your own car, going slowly, looking slowly—that's the joy of road tripping.