Must-Read for Visiting Tianshan Tianchi
📍Attraction Address: Tianshan District, Urumqi City, Xinjiang
🚗Transportation to Attraction: Self-driving, chartered car, or joining a one-day tour group
👍️Must-Visit Attractions:
The Tianchi scenic area is vast, mainly including Tianchi, Fushou Temple, Xiwangmu Temple, Flying Dragon Pool, Flying Dragon Stream, etc. You can take a yacht to tour Tianchi, and also take a cable car to Mount Maya to see glaciers and snow peaks. The must-visit attractions are as follows:
1. Folk Customs Park. After entering the scenic area with face recognition by ID card, take a shuttle bus for about 20 minutes to reach the Folk Customs Park. Here you can find Xinjiang specialties such as naan, roasted buns, lamb skewers, roasted whole lamb, big plate chicken, various Xinjiang fruits for sale, as well as displays of Xinjiang folk customs and culture, and services for ethnic clothing rental and special travel photography.
Take the shuttle bus again and wind up the mountain for about 30 minutes to reach the shuttle bus terminal.
2. Fushou Temple: Commonly known as Iron Tile Temple, also called Fushou Temple, it was originally built during the Yuan Dynasty, and rebuilt during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China period, each time being destroyed by war. The current Fushou Temple was rebuilt in 2005 on the original site, with three main halls, four side halls, a bell tower, ancient tower, stele corridor, etc., following the style of the original buildings, showcasing the appearance of this 800-year-old famous Taoist temple. The main hall is called 'Sanqing Hall', enshrining the three supreme deities of Taoism: Yuanshi Tianzun, Lingbao Tianzun, and Daode Tianzun. The rear hall is called 'Sanhuang Hall', enshrining Fuxi, Xuanyuan, and Shennong.
3. Tianchi. Tianshan Tianchi is a high mountain barrier lake, with water mainly composed of precipitation and meltwater. The lake surface is crescent-shaped, with an altitude of 1910 meters, the widest point is about 1500 meters, the deepest point is 103 meters, and the area is 4.9 square kilometers.
The lake is nestled among mountain peaks and gorges, with steep mountains on both sides, and the Tianshan Bogda Peak (5445 meters above sea level) in the distance, covered with snow all year round. The central lake water is clear and beautiful, surrounded by forests, grass, and blooming flowers. If the weather is clear, under the reflection of the blue sky and white clouds, the perennial snow of Bogda Peak in the distance and the calm lake surface form a beautiful landscape painting. Especially when yachts speed across the lake, the white spray lines formed add a dynamic touch to photographs.
4. Flying Dragon Pool (East Small Tianchi). This pool is several hundred meters in circumference, with an area of about 10,000 square meters, formed by the water of the main lake flowing down from an artificial spillway at the east end of the Tianchi Dam.
Walking down the tourist trail, it takes about 20 minutes to reach the quiet and blue Flying Dragon Pool. There are waterfalls at both the entrance and exit of Flying Dragon Pool. Walking up the trail, you can see a group of waterfalls formed in the upstream canyon along the way, which is very spectacular.
Walking down the trail, you can see the north spillway of Flying Dragon Pool, where the water falls 200 meters, forming a magnificent waterfall with thunderous sounds. Walking down the trail, a suspension bridge crosses the canyon waterfall, where you can take pictures of the cascading waterfalls. At noon, under the sunlight, the splashing lake water will form a beautiful rainbow, which is very spectacular and pretty.
After crossing the suspension bridge and walking down, you will reach the opposite side of the canyon via an artificial bridge. Walking up the trail, you can take pictures of the waterfall on the opposite bank from multiple points and different angles. Following the trail all the way up the mountain, it takes about 20 minutes to return to the shuttle bus terminal, where you can take a bus back to the entrance of the scenic area.
🎟️Ticket Information: Scenic Area Ticket (95 RMB), Shuttle Bus (60 RMB round trip)
💗Other tips:
1. Upon entering the main gate of the scenic area, you must first go through security check. Tianshan Tianchi scenic area is located in a forest area, and items such as lighters and matches are not allowed to be brought in.
2. It is about 1000 meters from the shuttle bus terminal to the Tianchi scenic area, which can be reached on foot or by electric cart (an additional fee of 10 RMB/person is required).
3. The Tianchi scenic area is very large, and it takes about 5-6 hours to visit the above attractions.
4. The visit to the Flying Dragon Pool involves a lot of climbing and stepping, so those who are elderly or weak should consider carefully.