Korla

Bayanbulak Grassland

The Ancient City of Loulan

Korla is the political, economical, cultural and scientific research centre of the Bayin’guoleng Mongolia Autonomous prefecture as well as the excellent tourist city in China.
It is situated in the south-west frontier of China, south foot of the Mt. Tianshan, the hinterland of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the edge of Taklamakan Desert, the north-east edge of the largest basin in China, Tarim Basin. With thousands years history, Korla is a throat in the middle of the Silk Road. It was set up as a county early in 1940, a prefecture in 1954, merged into the Bayin’guoleng Mongolia Autonomous prefecture in 1960, being approved to be as a city on October 1979. Korla is famous for sweet pear, tomato, muskmelon, little apricot in white, fig and mulberry.

Tiemen Pass (also called Iron Pass or Iron Gate Pass), lies at the mouth of a 14 kilometre (9 mile) long valley. Tiemen was at the throat of the Silk Road and the traffic junction between northern Xinjiang and southern Xinjiang.

Bayanbulak is a vast highland prairie about 270 kilometres (167 miles) north-west of Korla. It is the second largest grassland in China encompassing an area of 23 thousand sq. km. Bayanbulak has the distinction of having the only nature reserve for swans in China and one of the largest swan reserves in the world.

The Ancient City of Loulan was founded in the 2nd century BC in an oasis with rich water network. It suddenly waned into the history after about 800 years flourish. At the beginning of last century, a Swedish explorer Sven Hedin accidentally discovered the city buried in desert in his exploration.

Bosten Lake is the largest freshwater lake in Xinjiang, which serves as a natural reservoir. The lake, covering over 1,000 square kilometres reflects the beauty of the southern countryside with luxuriant vegetation.