Altay travel guide

Altay City is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Altay Prefecture in Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It covers an area of 11,400 square km and has a population of 187,600 consisting of Han, Kazakh, Uyghur, Hui, Mongolian and 26 other ethnic groups.

Approved as an open frontier city by the State Council in 1989, Altay borders Kazakhstan to the northwest. Situated at the northern foot of the Altay Mountains, it is acclaimed as the “First Town at the Northern Foot of the Heavenly Mountains.”

Altay abounds in tourism resources such as Kanas Lake, Hemu Village, and the Altay Mountains forest region. Visitors can enjoy breathtaking alpine scenery, glaciers, pristine forests, rafting, ethnic culture, and even skiing at the Beita Mountain Ski Resort.