Southern Pastures

The word Urumqi means "Beautiful Pastures" in Mongolian. Fortunately in the suburb of the city of Urumqi there lies the Southern Pastures, a beautiful and pastoral Kazakh inhabit and graze in summer. Covering an area of 119 sq. km, the Southern Pastures, a famous summer resort, is located 75km away from the city, in the Southern Mountain.

It takes you about one hour by bus from Urumqi to get to West White Poplar Gully which is one of most typical sights. On the way, you can see the bright snowcapped Karawuquntag Mountain, the wandering valleys, hear the gurgle of springs, and smell the lush spruce trees. In the thicket, let your eyes delight in the traditional villas and the scattered Kazakhstan yurts as they paint the grassland and pastures.

As you stand in the pastures, you can see the forest of emerald green spruce on a chain of undulating grass hills dotted with combined flocks and herds. As you immerse yourself in this beautiful site, the singing of the Kazakh may envelop you and you may like to sing with them. You can visit one of the traditional yurts locating in the spruce forest where you will be welcomed by a generous host with fragrant milk tea, mare's milk, cheese and roasted lamb. If you are lucky enough, you will be able to observe the amazing horseracing and the traditional Kazakh dancing.

After you walk 2km north into the Gully you will come to a natural cliff that is a 2m wide waterfall. As it roars down a 40m drop, it creates mist and a floating rainbow, both of which help to refresh and relax you. If you are reluctant to leave this delightful spot, you can stay at the yurt rest house. But remember that the weather is cold at night in mountain areas so you should bring more clothes and a flashlight which is a necessity.

Additional beautiful spots in Southern Pastures from west to east are respectively Chrysanthemum Tai (a table-board of alluvial fan), East White Poplar Gully,

Zhaobi Mountain