Where to Go for a One-Day Tour in Urumqi – Recommendations for a One-Day Tour in Urumqi
Xinjiang tourism inquiry hotline: 0991-8585456 (same)
Encounter the Top of the Vast Sky: One-Day Tour of Tian Chi (Heavenly Lake) in the Tianshan Mountains
Tian Chi (Heavenly Lake) in the Tianshan Mountains is a World Natural Heritage site, a national AAAAA-level tourist attraction, a national geological park, a national key scenic area, a national civilized scenic tourist area, an international man and biosphere reserve, and one of China’s top ten charming leisure and tourist lakes.
Tian Chi (Heavenly Lake) in the Tianshan Mountains was anciently known as the ‘Jade Pool’, located at the mountainside of the northern slope of Bogda Peak in Fukang City, Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. It is a natural scenic area centered around a high-mountain lake, 97 kilometers away from Urumqi City. The scenic area has a planned area of 548 square kilometers, divided into 8 scenic areas, 15 scenic clusters, and 38 scenic spots. It is a typical mountainous natural landscape in the arid region of northwest China.
The surface of Tian Chi (Heavenly Lake) in the Tianshan Mountains is at an altitude of 1,910 meters, with a length of 3.5 kilometers north to south and a width of 0.8 to 1.5 kilometers east to west, and a depth of 103 meters. Surrounded by spruce trees and reflected by snowy peaks, it is a spectacular sight and a famous summer resort and tourist destination. There are two theories about the formation of Tian Chi: ancient glacial erosion-end moraine dammed lake and landslide dammed lake. Tian Chi in the Tianshan Mountains, with snowy peaks reflected in the water, surrounded by spruce trees, and clear water like a mirror, offers a picturesque scenery.
Tian Chi (Heavenly Lake) in the Tianshan Mountains is characterized by its complete vertical natural landscape belt, snowy mountains and glaciers, and alpine lakes. With the ancient myth of the Western Queen Mother of the Jade Pool, as well as religious and unique ethnic and folk customs as its cultural connotations, it is a destination for sightseeing, popular science research, adventure seeking, leisure and fitness, and experiencing ethnic customs.
One-Day Tour of Turpan, the ‘Flaming Continent’
Astana Ancient Tomb Group
The Astana Ancient Tomb Group is located about 40 kilometers away from Turpan City. It was the public cemetery for urban and rural officials and civilians of the ancient Gaochang Kingdom, stretching 5 kilometers east to west and 2 kilometers north to south. The tombs are buried in separate areas according to family surnames, with natural gravel serving as boundaries, clearly delineating the different domains.
The shape of the Astana Tombs is a slope-tomb-passage cave tomb. The plane shape of the ancient tomb resembles the Chinese character “甲”. In front of the tomb chamber is a slope-tomb passage over 10 meters long. At the end of the passage is connected to the tomb chamber, which is the place where the deceased rests in peace. The tomb chamber is generally over 2 meters high and 4 meters square in size, with a flat or domed ceiling. Tens of thousands of precious artifacts have been unearthed in the ancient tomb, including documents, epitaphs, paintings, clay figurines, pottery, wood, gold, stone, as well as ancient coins and silk, cotton, and wool fabrics. Particularly precious are the mummies unearthed here, which can be compared to those of Egypt.
Astana Ancient Tombs are mainly for the burial of Han Chinese, but also include ethnic minorities such as the Cheshi, Turks, Huns, Gaoche, and the nine clans of Zhaowu.
Turpan Museum
The Turpan Museum is located on the west side of the bustling Gaochang Road in Turpan City, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. It was built in 1989 and occupies an area of 9 acres. It consists of the main museum and the Giant Rhinoceros Exhibition Hall, with a total construction area of 2,000 square meters. The Turpan Museum has 3,287 collections, including 135 national first-grade cultural relics, 260 second-grade cultural relics, and 640 third-grade cultural relics. It is a large-scale museum among the prefectures and cities in Xinjiang.
The Exhibition Hall of Unearthed Cultural Relics in Turpan displays nearly 300 artifacts, including 28 national first-grade cultural relics. The world-famous unearthed documents in Turpan include contracts, account books, official documents, private letters, etc. These artifacts are important materials for studying the history of the Wei, Jin, Southern, and Northern Dynasties, as well as the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Ancient minority scripts such as Sogdian, Uyghur, and Sanskrit are precious materials for studying ancient minority scripts.
Shashan Park
Shashan Park is located in Pixian County’s Bizhan Township, close to the north side of Pixian County Town, with an average altitude of 300m. Shashan Park is a park established utilizing the special geographical environment of the oasis contact zone at the northern edge of the Kumtag Desert. Since its establishment in 1990, it has begun to take shape. The park is divided into two parts, north and south, separated by a gentle stream running east-west along the edge of the sand dunes. The northern part occupies 500 acres, with the eastern side being the water activity area, cultural entertainment area, children’s activity area, flower viewing area, and vineyard. The western side is a lawn area and botanical garden. The southern area is a desert, with desert activity areas, sand therapy areas, and desert plant areas.
Gaochang Ancient City
Kumtag Desert
Gaochang Ancient City is located near the location of Huoyan Mountain Township, about 46 kilometers southeast of Turpan City. Gaochang City underwent changes over more than 1,300 years, including Gaochang Prefecture, Gaochang Kingdom, Xizhou, Uighur Gaochang, and Huozhou, before being destroyed in war in the 14th century. In 1961, it was listed as a key cultural relic protection unit in China.
Jiaohe Ancient City
Jiaohe Ancient City is located in Yar Township, about 13 kilometers west of Turpan City. During the Western Han Dynasty, it was the capital of the ‘Qianshi Qianguo’. During the Tang Dynasty, it was Jiaohe County under the jurisdiction of Xizhou Prefecture. Later, it was moved to Qiuci (today’s Kuqa County). The Qushi Dynasty in the 6th century established Jiaohe Prefecture here. Many cultural relics have been unearthed from Jiaohe Ancient City, such as Tang Dynasty lotus eaves tiles and lotus scriptures.
Aiding Lake
Aiding Lake is the ‘bottom’ of the Turpan Basin, located about 40 kilometers south of Turpan City. The lake basin stretches about 40 kilometers east-west and 8 kilometers north-south, covering an area of about 152 square kilometers. The lake surface is 154.43 meters below sea level of the Yellow Sea, second only to the Dead Sea in Jordan (-392 meters), and is known as the world’s second lowest land above sea level.
Flaming Mountains
The Flaming Mountains are located 10 kilometers northeast of Turpan City, stretching east-west, 98 kilometers long and 9 kilometers wide, with a peak altitude of 831.7 meters. The story of Sun Wukong borrowing the Bashanjian three times to extinguish the flames of the Flaming Mountains in ‘Journey to the West’ has made the Flaming Mountains famous worldwide.
Due to crustal movement and river cutting, many valleys remain in the belly of the Flaming Mountains, mainly including Taoergou, Mugougou, Tulugou, LianmuqinGou, Subougou, etc.
Turpan Prefecture Mansion
Turpan Prefecture Mansion
Turpan Prefecture Mansion is located in Munar Village, Putao Township, on the eastern outskirts of Turpan City, 2 kilometers away from Turpan urban area, adjacent to the national key cultural relic protection unit – Suping Tower. According to historical research, Turpan Prefecture Mansion was first built during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, with a history of 300 years. It was the place where Emin Khoja, the Prefect of Turpan, lived, conducted government affairs, and commanded military operations. It was also the center of politics, economy, culture, and military command of the Uyghur people in Turpan during the Qing Dynasty.
Bozikelike Thousand Buddha Caves
It is located on the cliff on the west bank of Mugou Valley in the middle section of the Flaming Mountains, 45 kilometers east of Turpan City, and only 15 kilometers south of the Gaochang Ancient City. It is one of the larger and famous Buddhist grotto sites in Xinjiang.
Tulugou
Tulugou is located in Shanshan County, Turpan, Xinjiang, about 55 kilometers east of Turpan City.
Encountering Tianshan, encountering the gallery of painting and calligraphy – Tianshan Grand Canyon
Tianshan Grand Canyon is also known as Keziliya Grand Canyon. It is located in Urumqi County, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, 48 kilometers away from the urban area. The planned area of the scenic area is 1,038 square kilometers, surrounded by mountains on three sides with an average altitude of 2,020 meters and an annual average temperature of 4-6℃. It has primitive snow-capped spruces with ornamental value.
The main scenic areas of Tianshan Grand Canyon include Tianshan Dam Leisure Area, Zhaobi Mountain Resort and Amusement Area, Jiasida Ban Sightseeing Area, Swan Lake Natural Scenic Area, Niumao Lake Forest and Pine Wave Sightseeing Area, Kazakh Ethnic Customs Park, Alpine Grassland Ecological Area, Snow Mountain and Glacier Sightseeing Area. Two lakes, three waterfalls, four streams, and eighteen valleys compete in beauty, especially the ‘exotic pines, peculiar rocks, and sea of clouds’ are favored by tourists, leaving behind praises such as ‘After returning from the Five Great Mountains, one doesn’t need to see other mountains; after returning from the Grand Canyon, one often recalls the valley’ and ‘A hundred miles of golden tourism corridor, a paradise for leisure and outdoor activities’. Tianshan Grand Canyon encompasses all the natural landscapes of Xinjiang except for the desert. It is a living museum of nomadic culture before human agricultural civilization and has extremely high value for tourism appreciation, scientific research, and historical culture.
Tianshan Grand Canyon is a National AAAAA Scenic Area, a National Forest Park, a National Sports and Leisure Base, a Training Base for National Fitness and Outdoor Expansion Activities in Autonomous Region, a Hiking Base in Autonomous Region, and a Training Base for National Fitness and Mountain Climbing in Autonomous Region.
On December 19, 2013, Tianshan Grand Canyon was awarded the title of ‘National AAAAA Tourist Attraction’; on April 13, 2018, it was shortlisted for the ‘Magical Northwest 100 Scenic Spots’.
One-day tour
Xinjiang tourism inquiry hotline: 0991-8585456 (same)