Location

Tianchi Lake is situated on north side of Bogda Peak in the Tianshan Mountains, about 40 km to the east of Fukang County, and 110 km away from Urumqi City.

History

Mingliang in 1783, the Qing Dynasty Commander of the Urumqi Command, named the lake "Tianchi Lake". Tianchi Lake is an alpine drift lake shaped in the Quaternary Glacial period. The northern bank of the lake is a natural dike that is a moraine ridge. Tianchi Lake is a world famous alpine drift lake, which was listed by the State in 1982 as one of the key scenic spots. The Tianchi Lake Scennic Area can be divided into four natural view areas: the Lower Mountain Belt, the Mountain Coniferous Forest Belt, the Alpine and Subalpine Belt, and Ice and Snow Belt. Riding a horse, one can, within one day, arrive at the foot of the 5445-m high Bogda Peak, the highest peak of the eastern Tianshan Mountains. Bogda is a Mongolian word, meaning "God". The 5445-m high Bogda Peak is covered by ice and snow all the year round and thus resembles wearing body armor, so ancient Mongolians thought that this was "God" and named it "Bogda". Bogda Peak is one of the mountain peaks chosen by Chinese and foreign mountain climbers for climbing. It is a crater lake. Tianchi Lake was formed roughly in the Middle Pleistocene Era, and it is one of the most famous crater lakes in China. Its elevation is 1322.3 m, ranking it among the top three in China.

Attraction

The surface of Tianchi Lake is over 1900 m above sea level, more than 3000 m long from south to north, about 1500 m from east to west, and covers an area of 4.9 sq km. It is 105 m deep at the deepest point, and the lake holds 160 mill. cubic meters of water. Tianchi Lake (or Heaven Lake) is listed as one of the key state scenic spots. Legend has it that the Queen Mother of the Western Heaven resided in the lake. Tianchi Lake contains 40 scenic spots. Due to the rich biological resources, the scenery there is fantastic. Tianchi is said to be a gene bank for alpine biological species.

To the northeast of the Tianchi Lake stands the highest peak, called the Tianwenfeng Peak. At an attitude of 2,670 m, Tianwenfeng Peak is made of pumice stones in volcanic lava. Pale grey and light yellow pumice stone forms impressive shapes. A precipice leaning toward Tianchi Lake wears it like a silvery bracelet. The Tianwenfeng Peak has always been the optimum place to view Tianchi Lake, but the slippery and fragile pumice stones make climbing a fairly arduous task. However, few tourists decline the challenge of the peak.