Recommended winter tourist attractions in Xinjiang 2020, travel guide to Xinjiang in winter
Winter chartered tour in Xinjiang, inquiry hotline: 0991-8585456 (same number)
Where to travel in Xinjiang in winter? Where is suitable for traveling in Xinjiang in winter? Winter tourism in Xinjiang is rich and colorful, mainly featuring snow appreciation, rime watching, skiing, hot spring soaking, winter fishing, and migrant bird watching. This article has compiled ten major winter tourist attractions in Xinjiang for you. You can go to Kanas, Tianshan Tianchi, Sayram Lake, and Gongnais for snow appreciation and rime watching. You can go skiing at Tianshan Tianchi International Ski Resort, Silk Road International Resort Area, Baiyun International Ski Resort, and Altay General Ski Resort. You can soak in hot springs at Wenquan Shengquan and Wucaiwan Ancient Sea Hot Spring. You can also experience the Winter Fishing Festival at Ulungur Lake and watch swans at Yili Swan Lake. Come and take a look with us.
1. Altay Kanas (Birch Forest Rime, Snow Appreciation, Hemu Ice and Snow Amusement Park) (5A Scenic Area)
Kanas is located in the middle section of the Altay Mountains in Xinjiang and is a national AAAAA tourist attraction. In winter, the Kanas scenic area is covered in silver snow for six months. The magnificent and vast snowy plains, the crystal-clear birch forest rime, the snow-covered ice lake, the ink painting-like Hemu Village, and the smoke-filled Baihaba Village together constitute the unique scenic wonders of Kanas. Every winter, Kanas Lake displays a magnificent sight of snow mushrooms on the snowy fields. The Tuwa village, wooden cabins buried in snow, curling smoke, and tall birch trees dotted around create a scene so beautiful that tourists stop their cars to capture it with their cameras. The Hemu Mountain Lodge in the scenic area showcases idyllic scenery in winter, surrounded by glaciers, snow-capped mountains, primitive forests, and meadow flower seas. The Hemu Ice and Snow Amusement Park incorporates all elements of ice and snow entertainment in the magnificent snowy mountain ranges, offering a total of 36 winter ice and snow activities.
2. Tian Chi in Tianshan Mountains (Snow Appreciation, Icefalls, Hot Spring Soaking, Skiing) (World Heritage, 5A Scenic Area, Scenic Spot, National Geological Park, Water Conservancy Scenic Area)
Tian Chi in Tianshan Mountains centers around Tian Chi itself, with snow-capped mountains, glaciers, alpine lakes, and snowy grasslands as its scenic features, making it a national AAAAA tourist attraction. In winter, the snowfall period lasts for 6-7 months, and the lake freezes for 5 months, with ice thickness exceeding one meter, creating a natural skating rink. Starting in December, Tian Chi transforms into a shiny large mirror, exuding a sense of "the world’s lakes are drunk, but I alone am sober". Every winter, especially after snowfall, Tian Chi in Tianshan Mountains, with its icefalls, snow-covered pine trees, mirror-like lake, and footpaths, resembles a series of ink paintings, dressing up winter’s Tianshan in extraordinary beauty. In addition to snow and icefall scenery, the International Ice and Snow Park at Tian Chi in Tianshan Mountains is also a major feature of winter tourism. Occupying an area of 1 million square meters, the park includes the Xinjiang Ice and Snow World, the Ice Age-themed Tian Chi Ice and Snow Fairy Tale Park, the Tian Chi International Ski Resort, and the Wujiang Jurassic Sea Hot Spring. Open from late December to March, visitors can enjoy ice and snow sculptures, ice and snow entertainment, ice and snow sports, and hot spring soaking, making it a great winter tourism…
3. Sayram Lake (Snow Appreciation, Ice and Snow Sports, Ice and Snow Festival)
Sayram Lake is a high-altitude, large-area, and scenic alpine lake in Xinjiang, and it is a national AAAA tourist attraction and national scenic area. In winter, Sayram Lake appears especially peaceful. The turquoise lake, surrounded by snowy mountains, is as beautiful as a fairyland. During the depth of winter, Sayram Lake in Xinjiang is covered in silver snow, with the frozen lake surface and continuous snow-capped mountains forming a beautiful picture scroll. Every winter, the Sayram Lake scenic area offers exciting winter sports such as snowmobile rides, skiing and ice skating, and horse-drawn sleigh rides. From February to March each year, the annual Sayram Lake Ice and Snow Festival is held at the Moon Bay Ice and Snow Park within the scenic area, allowing visitors to circumnavigate the lake and admire ice landscapes such as blue ice, ice flowers, ice bubbles, ice eyes, snowy forests and mountains, ice sculptures, and snow sculptures.
4. Silk Road International Resort (Skiing, Hot Spring Soaking, Tianshan Snow Scenery Appreciation, Ice and Snow Festival)
Urumqi Silk Road International Resort sits in the Tianshan Mountains and is a comprehensive resort integrating alpine skiing, hot spring wellness, sightseeing tourism, leisure, and vacationing. It is a national AAAA tourist attraction. Silk Road Hot Springs within the resort is a Japanese-style hot spring pavilion in the alpine ski resort that integrates hot spring bathing, entertainment, snow saunas, and Chinese-style physiotherapy. The Silk Road International Ski Resort within the resort covers an area of 12 square kilometers and is one of the three largest ski resorts in China, with an SSSSS-level rating. It was once one of the competition venues for the 2016 National Winter Games and was awarded the title of "Best Skiing Tourism Resort". It is equipped with 8 beginner, intermediate, and advanced ski runs, 3 gondolas, skiing instruction areas for children and adults, and entertainment areas such as snow tubing. Every year from early January to March, the Silk Road Ice and Snow Festival is held, featuring exciting activities such as ice and snow sightseeing, ice and snow sports, ice and snow entertainment, and ice and snow cuisine. In addition to skiing and soaking in hot springs, you can also take a forest gondola to appreciate the intoxicating snowy scenery of the Tianshan Mountains in the primitive forest.
5. Gongnais (Snow Appreciation, Hoarfrost Viewing, Hot Spring Soaking)
Gongnais National Forest Park boasts six major characteristics: high, cool, wild, strange, unique, and beautiful. It encompasses scenic areas such as the Golden River, Galaxy, Stone Beach, and Hot Spring Spa, with major attractions including Banchan Gully, Aerxian Hot Springs, Yikaijieleng Gully, Hongjalike Falls, Fairy Lake, and Temustai Gully. It is a national AAAA tourist attraction and national forest park. In winter, Gongnais is outlined against a boundless white world, with snow-capped mountains, forests, green grasslands, and hills. The巩乃斯 River coastline boasts an amazing hoarfrost landscape. The hoarfrost in Gongnais lasts a long time and the scenery is beautiful. From Gongnais Forest Farm to the Ili River, trees of different heights and sizes along the Gongnais River are covered in silver, forming a dreamlike hoarfrost landscape. Within the scenic area, Aerxian Hot Springs has 12 hot springs. After enjoying the snow and hoarfrost, you can come to soak in the hot springs.
6. Wulungu Lake (Winter Fishing Festival from mid-January to February)
Wulungu Lake is located in Fuhai County, Altay Prefecture, Xinjiang, China, and is a national AAAA tourist attraction. In winter, Wulungu Lake is wrapped in a sea of silver snow, with a solid deep blue ice surface that exudes a unique charm and interest. The endless whiteness appears so holy and elegant, with only the sound of fishermen chipping ice, the primitive chants of the fishing leader, and the roaring of the net winding cart, filling this silent snowy wilderness with extremely enticing charm and mystery. Since the onset of winter, the fishery production of Wulungu Lake in Xinjiang has attracted numerous tourists from both inside and outside Xinjiang to visit and sightsee with its unique ice fishing methods, becoming the main brand of ice and snow tourism in Altay Prefecture. Every winter, from mid-January to February, Wulungu Lake hosts a grand "Wulungu Lake Winter Fishing Festival", where tourists can watch the sacred fire collection, lake worship, net awakening, enjoy a full fish banquet, and experience local folk customs and other activities. Every winter, an ice cover about 1 meter thick forms, resembling undulating mountains, creating a landscape of wind-deposited icebergs.
7. Yili Guozigou (Admiring Snow, Winter Folk Experience) (Forest Park)
Guozigou is a famous gorge passageway leading north to Sayram Lake and south to the Ili River Valley, approved as a national forest park. Due to its abundant forest resources, during winter, the entire mountain is covered with snow, creating a picturesque scene of snowy forests. The snowy peaks in the distance and the pine trees and snow in the nearby areas complement each other, forming a unique winter landscape of northern Xinjiang. Visitors can also witness the winter migration of herdsmen in Guozigou. The Kazak herdsmen who reside here hold a horse-riding competition and sheep-catching event every weekend after winter sets in. Winter is not only a time for physical exercise but also a time when the final winners enjoy a delicious dinner.
8. Yili Swan Lake (Admiring Rime, Watching Swans)
Yili Swan Lake is located in the Swan Habitat Reserve, Xiahaleke Village, Yingtamu Township, Yining County, Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. It is a national AAA tourist attraction. Rime and swans are the two major attractions of Yili Swan Lake during winter tourism. Swans swim gracefully in groups in the natural lake formed by underground hot springs. The snow-covered landscape by the lake, the misty atmosphere created by the hot springs, and the icy and pure rime contrast beautifully with the swans in the lake, resembling a fairyland in a fairy tale. The lake does not freeze throughout the winter, creating conditions for the swans to habitat. From early October each year to April of the next year, a large number of beautiful swans migrate here from the Bayinbrook Grasslands, especially hundreds of mute swans. When the swans arrive each winter, they attract a large number of photographers and tourists from all over the country to stop and admire.
9. Hot Spring and Sacred Spring Scenic Area (Soaking in Hot Springs)
The Hot Spring and Sacred Spring Scenic Area is located in Bogdal Town, Wenquan County. It is named after being the first of the three hot springs (Sacred Spring, Heavenly Spring, and Fairy Spring) in Wenquan and its therapeutic bathing effects. It is a national AAAA tourist attraction. Bogdal Hot Spring contains iodine, sulfur, phosphorus, and other minerals, with smooth water quality and a temperature range of 42-61°C. In addition to soaking in the hot springs, the scenic area boasts a rich variety of landscapes with distinct layers, ranging from glacial relics at an altitude of 3,000 meters to secondary forests along the winding Bortala River Valley; from the famous Sacred Spring to the moist hot spring wetlands; from the majestic Alatau Mountains and Biezhen Tau Mountains to flat and lush alluvial plains; from the sacred Arshan Obo to the ancient and mysterious species of Xinjiang Caudata (salamander). Magnificent, vast, and spectacular landscapes are everywhere.
10. General Ski Resort in Altay
General Ski Resort in Altay is located on the hillside in front of General Mountain, Altay City. The ski resort covers an area of 600,000 square meters, with an altitude of 1,300 meters and a vertical drop of 300 meters. The slopes range from 12 to 50 degrees, offering excellent mountain conditions and is rated as an SSSSS-level ski resort. The snow season here lasts for 150 days (from November to March of the next year), featuring rare powder snow quality in China, with an average annual snowfall thickness of 1.5 meters.
Winter chartered tour in Xinjiang, inquiry hotline: 0991-8585456 (same number)