Xinjiang's major cities are easily accessible, but its more remote regions are not.
To travel from Ürümqi, the capital of Xinjiang, to Altay, it takes about one hour by plane, 9 hours by day bus, 12 hours by night bus and about 14 hours by train, according to Reuters.
On February 19, as coronavirus cases across China were spiking, authorities traveled through rough, snowy conditions to reach the prefecture's most isolated nomad families.