Rally call of nature

They came from far and wide in the pursuit of adventure, and the competitors in the annual 5,500-kilometer Taklimakan Rally got that and a lot more besides, not the least of which was the exquisite beauty of the ever-changing landscape of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. The route for the rally, held over 13 days from June 20, stretched from the region's north to the south, taking in the Taklimakan Desert, the Tianshan Mountain, the oasis of Junggar Basin with its abundant rain, and then the Altai Mountains.