Asia Pacific Daily News - Focus on Asia-Pacific Development, Daily News Express, Scholar Creation Center

By APD Writer Zeng Xinlan

For those who fancy an autumn break after suffering summer heat, Altay Prefecture in southwest China’s Xinjiang may prove to be an ideal destination .

Located in northern Xinjiang, Altay is known for its extraordinary natural beauty and fascinating Central Asian history and culture. It is home to a number of ethnic groups,

including the Kazakhs, Hans, Hui, Uyghur and Mongols with an ethnic Kazakh majority (about 51%).

“Switzerland of the Orient”

Altay, covering an area of 117,000 square meters with a population of 640,000 (2004), boasts its spectacular vastness. Among numerous amazing landscapes and sights, Kanas Lake is labeled as a “must-go” spot for its absolutely breathtaking beauty.

“Kanas”, meaning “the lake in the valley” in Mongolian, is a national nature and geological

reserve which has a reputation as the “Switzerland of the Orient”. The lake is situated in the high of 1,340 meters over sea and its total area amounts 5,588 square kilometers.

Surrounded by dense forests and snow-capped mountains, the waters are running cold and pure on a greenish bedrock under the blue sky like a river of emeralds, giving some aroma of serenity and sanctity, resembling that of the Swiss Alps.

Besides its mesmerizing views, Kanas region is recorded for its biodiversity, which has the only Chinese reserve for rare Paleolithic euro-Siberian flora and fauna, including Siberian larch, Korean pine, dragon fir and birch.

A Glimpse of Simple Life

Tuwa Village on the south bank of the Kanas Lake is considered by China National Geography Magazine to be one of the six “Most beautiful towns and villages in China.”

However, the breathtaking vistas are only one reason that makes people want to visit Tuwa Village.

Legend has it that Tuwa people are descended from Russians and their ancestors moved from Siberia to China approximately 500 years ago. The inhabitants of the village is Tuwa nationality, there are about 1,400 people. They keep their traditions, customs, music, dances and the way of life.

The village is not polluted by advanced technologies nor engaged in modern life style. They live in Mongolian yurts or in timber huts built from pine. They live by herding and hunting and are leading a nomadic life by raising horses, cows and sheep. In spring and summer, they herd their animals to pasture lands in the mountains. In the autumn, they return to their village where they prepare for the upcoming winter.

Until Kanas Lake opened as a tourist attraction in 1998, Tuwa Village was isolated. Even today, 95％ of the people have never been out of their village and they maintain many of

their original traditions. They have no written language and many of their customs and stories of their history are passed down orally from one generation to the next.

In short, an autumn vacation in Altay, a fast-changing region where ancient and modern grind up against each other in surprising ways, makes for an exploration of its past and its multicultural present, or simply a journey into some of the most sublime landscapes on earth.