Uninhabited deserts and cities with a million people, Central Asian bazaars and Buddhist temples, Chinese characters and the ancient Chagatai language - the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region united all the secrets and contradictions of Asia. What is the largest province in China today?
Unique landscape
The Dzungar rocky plain is separated by the wall of the mountains of the Tien Shan Range from the Kashgar Plain, in the central part of which is the second largest sand desert Takla-Makan after the Sahara.
Rivers originating in the mountains disappear in the vast desert or flow into the lakes. And only the Irtysh, the legendary hero, having caught up with the Ob, carries its waters to the Kara Sea of the Arctic Ocean.
The nature of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Okrug is unusually rich: Altai meadows and birch groves, sandy deserts and high-water rivers, a tectonic hollow and the highest mountain peaks. The unique miraculous landscape attracts tourists no less than historical monuments.
Natural attractions
The following natural sites are popular among ecotourists in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China:
- West Bayan Gorge. Having traveled 50 km from the provincial capital, travelers see a typically alpine landscape. The snow caps of the peaks are replaced on the slopes by the greens of mixed forests, where birch and willow, spruce and cypress are found. At the foot of the mountains, meadow grass spreads across a lush carpet. A narrow path along the bottom of the gorge leads to a waterfall with a 40 meter cascade. In the cool gorge you can meet representatives of the local fauna. The Bangfangou Gorges, Gangeskoye and Miaorsky Gorges reveal the unique charm of the Urumchinsky-Nanshan District.
- Tianchi Lake. Called in ancient times the Jade, it is associated with the legend of the romantic and beautiful goddess Sivanmu. Nearby are the stone gates of Ximen, Rock supporting sky, Flying waterfall and other attractions of the Tianchin landscape area.
- Turpan depression. Located in the center, Aydin-Kul Lake is one of the lowest places on the planet. Below relative to sea level, only the Dead in Jordan. Reviews of travelers in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Okrug when describing Turpan abound with the epithet "the most" - the hottest, driest, lowest, sweetest. The latter refers to an amazing variety of grapes grown here, with a sugar content of 22-26%.
- Stone forest and the city of the Devil. Traveling along the Dzungar plain, tourists must visit the Stone Forest. Petrified trunks that have survived from the Paleolithic are amazing: some are more than 2 m thick; on the section you can see tree rings and bark patterns. The rocks heaped by wind and time have acquired bizarre outlines of fabulous palaces and mythical animals. Devil's city is captured in many advertising photos of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Century-old history
The history of these places can be traced by the names of states that have succeeded each other over the past centuries.
In the VIII century, 9 Uyghur tribes united into the Uyghur Kaganate, whose center was located on the territory of modern Mongolia, and the northern part of Xinjiang province was the outskirts of the state. The Idikut Buddhist state that replaced the kaganate in the 10th century lasted 500 years and became the fifth ulus of the Mongol Empire. After the collapse of the Mughal empire, the Dzungar Khanate was formed. In the XVIII century, the troops of the Qing Empire conquered Dzungaria and gave the area the name Xinjiang, which means "new frontier" or "new territory".
Historical and architectural sights
The ruins of the ancient cities of Idikut, Gaochan and Jiaohe have become traditional for visiting tourists. Buddhist cave temple, temples and monasteries of Kuchar and Turpan, mounds of Astana and excavations of the kingdom of Lolan receive thousands of tourists annually.
Sightseeing tours of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Okrug necessarily include an inspection of the largest mosque in China, built in 1442, Eid-Kah in Kashgar. The 17th-century Allak Khoji Mausoleum, Mao Statue and Sunday Market are located in the same city.
Opened in 2004, the Kazakh Museum in Kulja tells the story of one of the 47 nationalities in this region.
In the provincial capital, the city of Urumqi, tourists are expected by the museums of the Silk Road and Xinjiang, the zoo and Erdaziao Bazaar.
More than 19 million people of different nationalities and cultures live here, trying to combine the unique ancient traditions and the unspoiled beauty of nature with a modern rhythm.