Xinjiang (新疆维吾尔自治区) · 8 places · 8 cities
8 places in Xinjiang, grouped by city. The last column is the gate: 1 of them are open at all hours, and the others close, often earlier than the light does.
Most common here: Wetland and lake (4), Grassland (2), City park (1). See all provinces, or the background on parks.
1 place
Altay (阿勒泰)
| Place | Kind | Opens |
|---|---|---|
| Kanas (喀纳斯)A lake of 45.7 square kilometres at 1,374 m that changes colour with the season and the light. Three river bends below it hold morning mist, and Tuvan villages stand at Hemu and Kanas. | Wetland and lake | 8:00 to 19:00 |
1 place
Altay (阿勒泰地区)
| Place | Kind | Opens |
|---|---|---|
| Keketuohai (可可托海)UNESCO GEOPARKA Global Geopark around mine No. 3, an open pit worked for rare metals that repaid a large share of China’s Soviet debt. The Irtysh, the only Chinese river flowing to the Arctic, starts here. | Geopark | 9:00 to 19:00 |
1 place
Bayingolin (巴音郭楞)
| Place | Kind | Opens |
|---|---|---|
| Bayanbulak (巴音布鲁克)Recorded as China’s second largest grassland, 1,259 square kilometres of alpine meadow and marsh. The Kaidu river meanders so tightly that at sunset the water reflects the sun in several bends at once. | Grassland | 7:00 to 19:00 |
1 place
Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture (巴音郭楞蒙古自治州)
| Place | Kind | Opens |
|---|---|---|
| Bosten Lake (博斯腾湖)Recorded as the largest inland freshwater lake in China at 1,646 km2, rimmed by reed beds and wild water lilies. Grilled fish at the shore is the local dish. | Wetland and lake | 9:00 to 19:00 |
1 place
Bortala (博尔塔拉)
| Place | Kind | Opens |
|---|---|---|
| Sayram Lake (赛里木湖)Listed as the highest and largest alpine cold-water lake in Xinjiang, 458 square kilometres at 2,073 m, ringed by snow peaks and meadow. It lies in Bortala, not Ili, which visitors often get wrong. | Wetland and lake | Open at all hours |
1 place
Changji (Urumqi metro area) (昌吉)
| Place | Kind | Opens |
|---|---|---|
| Heavenly Lake of Tianshan (天山天池)A lake at 1,910 m below Bogda peak, called the Jade Pool in old texts and tied to the Queen Mother of the West. The closest site of its rank to Urumqi. | Wetland and lake | 9:30 to 19:00 |
1 place
Ili (伊犁)
| Place | Kind | Opens |
|---|---|---|
| Nalati Grassland (那拉提)Eighteen hundred square kilometres of river-valley and high grassland at about 1,800 m, grazed by Kazakh herders. Shuttle buses or horses are the way in. | Grassland | 8:30 to 20:00 |
1 place
Urumqi (乌鲁木齐市)
| Place | Kind | Opens |
|---|---|---|
| Hongshan Park (乌鲁木齐红山公园)The red sandstone hill at the centre of Urumqi, 910 m high, with a pagoda of 1788 on the crest and the whole city plus Bogda peak in view from it. | City park | 7:30 to 22:00 |
Which Ones Need a Whole Day
A city park is an hour before dinner. A geopark can be a full day with a shuttle and a cable car, and the gate closes earlier than the park does. Tell our local team where you will be and they will say which of these fit the day you have.