Bayingolin Travel Guide

Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture is situated in the southeast of Xinjiang, China neighboring Gansu and Qinghai provinces in the east, Tibet in the south and Hotan in the west. Tianshan Mountain separates the prefecture with Ili, Urumqi and Turpan in the north. Covering an area of 482,700 km², it is the largest autonomous prefecture of China with Korla as its capital.
 

History

The area played strategic role on the southern and middle routes of the ancient Silk Road. As early as in Western Han Dynasty (206BC-24AD), the area had eleven of thirty-six city states and kingdoms in China’s western region. The central government set up protectorates to administer this area since then. In the year 1771, Torghut branch of Mongolian returned Qing Dynasty and the area got its name at that time.
 

Attractions

Bayingolin has unique tourism resources including mountains, desert, grassland as well as historical heritages and cultural landscapes.

Bayanbulak Grassland is the largest alpine grassland in China. Swan Lake in the center of Bayanbulak Grassland is the only Swan Nature Reserve in China. Tarim River Tourist Zone has the largest inland river and desert in china. Ancient City of Loulan in west Lop Nur desert with lots of secrets uncovered is a hot destination for expedition. Lake Bosten is the largest inland freshwater lake in China rich in aquatic life with beautiful scenery.
 

Transportation

Korla Airport southwest of downtown Korla city has daily flights to Urumqi, Beijing, Zhengzhou, Jinan and Chengdu.

Korla Railway Station at the southeast corner of the city has trains to Urumqi, Turpan and Hami in Xinjiang as well as trains to other provinces like Lanzhou, Xian and Chengdu.

As the transportation hub of northern and southern Xinjiang, there are long distance buses to cities in Xinjiang. People can take a taxi to get around the Korla city which costs only CNY5. Bus No.1 goes to railway station and bus station while No.6 to airport.
 

Weather and Climate

Bayingolin has a temperate continental climate with rare rain, high evaporation and long sunshine hours. There is no summer heat year-round in mountainous regions while the plain areas have distinct four seasons.
 

Food and Restaurants

The prefecture has a large variety of ethnic cuisines. The food in this area is mainly Xinjiang flavor with a plus of Mongolian flavor. Typical local foods: Xinjiang kebabs, Nang, noodles, hand pilaf, Bosten Lake grilled fish, etc. The culture square and many streets in Korla serve all kinds of local snacks.

Xinhuan Hongmumen Restaurant
Address: south Jianguo road, Korla
Tel: 0996-2860836

Xinsheng Qingzhen Restaurant
Address: railway business street, Korla
Tel: 0996-2159385
 

Shopping

Local products: fragrant pear, fig, apocynum tea, grape, liquorice, raisins and walnuts. In Korla city, people will find a lot of shops selling souvenir like fruit, herbal medicine and jade products. There are also many shopping malls in the city center such as Friendship shopping mall.
 

Accommodation

Many hotels in Korla gathered in Renmin Road with reasonable price.

Silver Star Hotel Korla
Address: No. 36 Renmin East Road

Kang Cheng International Hotel
Address: Jiaotong East Road 618, Bayingolin

Jinxing Hotel Korla
Address: No.6 Wenhua Road, Bayingolin
 

Travel Tips

1. September and October is the best time to visit Bayingolin.
2. Turn your camera off once you taking a photo to avoid the sand in.
3. Bank of China is at Renmin Dong Lu, Korla City.
4. The post office is at Post building on Shihua Dadao in Korla City.