Tian Chi in the Tianshan Mountains Travel Guide and Costs – One-Day Tour Booking
One-Day Tour of Tian Chi in the Tianshan Mountains — Click to Book
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The Tian Chi (Heavenly Lake) Scenic Area in the Tianshan Mountains is located halfway up the mountain at the foot of Mount Bogda in Fukang City, Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. It is a national scenic area and a national AAAAA-level tourist attraction in China. With a total area of 160 square kilometers (planned area of 548 square kilometers), the scenic area centers on Tian Chi, extending north from Shimen, south near the snow line, west to Mayashan Mountain, and east to Dadonggou, encompassing four complete vertical natural landscape zones.
In 2013, Xinjiang Tianshan Tian Chi Scenic Area was listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List. In June 2015, the mythology of the Queen Mother of the West in Tian Shan Tian Chi was included in the fourth batch of national intangible cultural heritage representative projects in China. In 2015, it was awarded the first batch of "China’s Reliable Tourism Price Scenic Areas" by the China National Tourism Administration. In 2016, it was honored on the "National Day" holiday tourism red list and was rated as the "Best Tourism Order Scenic Area" by the China National Tourism Administration. Main attractions include Little Heavenly Lake, Lamp Post Mountain, the Northern Slope of Tian Chi Touring Area, Liquan Cave, etc. The Tian Shan Tian Chi scenic area is 37 kilometers from Fukang City and about 100 kilometers (some say 110 kilometers) from Urumqi, with a lake surface elevation of around 1900 meters. Transportation is convenient, food is abundant, the scenery is beautiful, and the environment is excellent, making it one of the scenic areas preferred by many local tourists. It is cool here in summer, and on clear days, you can see the clear white snow-capped peak of Mount Bogda. Blue sky, white clouds, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, Tian Chi in the scenic area is a crescent-shaped natural mountain lake on a high mountain. The deepest part of the lake reaches 105 meters. Tian Chi was anciently known as "Jade Pool". Legend has it that 3000 years ago, Emperor Mu of Zhou held a joyful banquet and sang songs with the Queen Mother of the West by the lakeside of Tian Chi, leaving a timeless story and earning Tian Chi the nickname of "Jade Pool". In summer, it is picturesque with clear mountains and waters, and is an excellent summer resort. Here, snow-capped mountains are reflected in the water, surrounded by spruce trees, with clear water like a mirror, and scenery as beautiful as a painting.
Xinjiang Tian Chi
Climatic Characteristics
Tian Shan Tian Chi is located near Urumqi. Xinjiang has a typical continental arid climate. Southern Xinjiang is arid with long sunshine and little rainfall, with an annual precipitation of only 20-100 mm, while Northern Xinjiang has 100-500 mm; the annual average temperature in the southern Xinjiang plain is 10-13°C, and less than 10°C in the northern Xinjiang plain; the frost-free period in the southern Xinjiang plain is 200-220 days, while most of the northern Xinjiang plain is less than 150 days.
The scenic area is located in the temperature inversion layer of the Tianshan Mountains. Due to the influence of atmospheric recirculation, the temperature is relatively stable and mild; the annual average temperature in the scenic area is 2.55°C, with the highest average temperature in July being 15.9°C and the lowest in January being -12.4°C. The winter snowfall period lasts for 6-7 months, and the icing period reaches 5 months. The ice thickness of the lake water is over one meter, making it a natural skating rink.
Tian Chi in Winter
Main Attractions
Main Attractions
1. East Little Heavenly Lake – Anciently known as Black Dragon Pond, it is located 500 meters east of Tian Chi. Legend has it that it is where the Queen Mother of the West groomed herself. Below the pond is a hundred-meter-high cliff, with a waterfall plunging straight down like a rainbow descending from the sky, very spectacular, forming a scenery: Suspended Spring with Jade Rainbow.
2. West Little Heavenly Lake – According to legend, it is where the Queen Mother of the West washed her feet, located two kilometers northwest of Tian Chi. The shape of the lake resembles a full moon. The water is clear and deep, surrounded by cedar trees. The scenery is named: Dragon Pond with Azure Moon, and a waterfall cascades down the side of the pond, tens of meters high, named: Jade Belt and Silver Curtain.
3. Denggan Mountain – Denggan Mountain is located three kilometers west of Tianchi Lake, with an altitude of 2,718 meters and a mountain length of three kilometers. At the peak of the mountain stand three huge stalagmites shaped like spears piercing the sky, also known as ‘Three Stones Touching the Sky’. This is a good place to watch the sunset and admire the ancient glacial landforms at Tianchi Lake. Laojun Temple and Dongyue Temple are built on Denggan Mountain. In the past, a Taoist priest erected a pine pole on the mountaintop with a sky lantern hanging from it, which burned day and night. The people of Urumqi at that time regarded the sky lantern as a divine omen. As long as the lantern remained lit, it signified peace and prosperity, so this lantern was also called the Peace Lantern. On a clear day, looking west from Denggan Mountain, Urumqi can be seen in full view.
4. Maya Mountain – Maya Mountain is located two kilometers west of Tianchi Lake, with an altitude of 3,056 meters and a mountain length of five kilometers. There are many cliffs and huge rocks on the mountaintop, forming a row of mountain rocks shaped like huge horse teeth, hence the name Maya Mountain. From the top of Maya Mountain, looking north towards Tianchi Lake, the scenery is magnificent, and looking east towards Bogda Peak, the three snowy peaks can be seen in full view. Looking west towards Urumqi, villages and farmland are clearly visible.
5. Queen Mother of the West Temple – The Queen Mother of the West Temple was first built during the Yuan Dynasty. The current temple was rebuilt in 1999 on the original site and houses the statue of the Queen Mother of the West. The main hall, originally named Dharma Temple, houses the deity of the Western Queen Mother and is customarily called the ‘Mother Hall’. It is said that burning incense and making wishes in front of the Western Queen Mother has a special effect.
In addition, Tianshan Tianchi Scenic Area also has eight major attractions known as the Eight Scenes of Tianchi, including Stone Gate and Single Thread, Dragon Pond and Jade-like Moon, Three Stones Touching the Sky, Anchor Stone, Viewing Snow on South Mountain, Viewing Pines on West Mountain, Sea Peak Exhibition, and Hanging Spring and Waterfall. These are also places well worth visiting. Tianshan Tianchi Scenic Area is not very large, so you can easily visit all the attractions in one day. When you go down the mountain, you can buy some wild mushrooms picked by local herdsmen (although many of them may be fake). The price is not expensive, and they are delicious when used to make soup or rice.
Precautions
When visiting Tianshan Tianchi Scenic Area, it is important to check the weather forecast beforehand. Although it is summer with temperatures over 30 degrees Celsius at the foot of the mountain, it is quite cool up on the mountain. Friends who are sensitive to temperature are advised to wear long pants and bring a jacket. In addition, if you are going with a group tour, there are a few tricks you should know in advance:
1. The itinerary for group tours is usually one day. The tour guide will take you to some local specialty stores first to encourage you to spend some money, which is understandable and acceptable to everyone. If you really want to buy something, you can do so. The purpose of traveling is to have fun, so as long as you are happy, it’s fine. If you don’t want to buy anything, it doesn’t matter either, and there won’t be any forced buying or selling. However, if you are a foreign tourist and want to buy some souvenirs to take back, it is not recommended to buy them here, because these items are basically available in the city and the price is much cheaper.
2. If you are with a group, the tour fee includes group meals for lunch. If you go up the mountain, besides the entrance ticket (which is usually included in the tour package by travel agencies), there are also tickets for various attractions, which you need to pay for yourself. When buying tickets for the attractions inside, you should ask if lunch is included. If it is, you can choose not to have it (the lunch fee is about 35 yuan), because you already have group meals in your tour package, so there is no need to buy lunch again.
3. There is still a long distance from the entrance of the scenic area to the top of the mountain. If you walk up, it will be quite tiring. At this time, the guide will tell you that there are two ways to go up the mountain: by boat or by cable car. They will ask you to purchase tickets for the cable car or the boat. Personally, I suggest buying a one-way boat ticket and just going up by boat. Walking down won’t be very tiring, and you can enjoy the scenery along the way. Alternatively, you can buy a one-way boat ticket and a one-way cable car ticket, using different modes of transportation for the round trip.
4. When you arrive at the West Queen Mother Temple, the group tour guide will hand over the tourists to the temple guide (or interpreter). She will tell you about the history of the temple and so on, and then inform you that this temple is rarely open to the public. You are lucky or destined to have it open today. Then she will let you go in to draw lots and have them interpreted, and then light incense. If you can’t resist, spending a thousand or eight hundred yuan is normal for this whole set. If you believe in these things, then spending some money doesn’t matter. If you don’t believe in them that much, just listen and look. However, taking photos is indeed not allowed inside.
5. If you walk down from the mountain, you will encounter many people holding big mushrooms along the way. They say they are wild mushrooms from the mountain and the price is not expensive. I remember when I went there before, they sold them to me for 10 yuan per bag (plastic bag). Larger mushrooms are also 10 yuan each. If you are curious, you can buy them to taste. Although many of them are not wild mushrooms, the taste is still not bad. However, you don’t need to really treat these mushrooms as wild ones. If they sell them to you at a price like 30 or 50 yuan, you can bargain hard, since there are many people selling mushrooms. Moreover, the farther you go down the mountain, the cheaper it gets.
The scenery of Mount Tianshan and Tianchi Lake is still very beautiful. Actually, I personally prefer Mount Tianshan and Tianchi Lake in autumn and winter. In autumn, when you go up the mountain, the leaves on the roadside turn yellow. Both sides of the road are trees with golden leaves, and the sound of rustling leaves when the wind blows has a very artistic feel. If you are self-driving, be sure to stop at a safe place along the way to take some good photos, because this scenery is really hard to come by.
It’s just that feeling
It’s just that feeling
Besides, in winter, the water in Tianchi Lake will freeze. And no matter how hazy it is in the city at the foot of the mountain, it is sunny on the mountain. Imagine that amidst the snow covering the entire mountain, you are basking in the warm sunshine. That feeling is really very romantic. The key is that there are relatively few people on the mountain in winter, so you can enjoy that cozy afternoon to your heart’s content.
The winter sunshine is always so comfortable