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Yining Travel Guide
Location: in the west of Xijiang
Population: 430,000
Area: 629 sq km
Nationalities: Uyghur, Han, Kazakstan, Hui, Mongolia, Xibo, and Russia
History: From 12-15th century, it was under the control of Chagatai Khanate known as Almaligh. Another Mongolian empire¡ªthe Zunghar Khanate¡ªestablished its capital in the area. In the 19th and early 20th century, the word Kuldja or Kulja was often used in Russia and in the West as the name for the entire Chinese part of the Ili River basin as well as for its two main cities. The usage of 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica is fairly characteristic: it defines Kulja as a "territory in north-west China" bounded by the Russian border and the mountains that surround the Ili basin, and it talks about two major cities of the region.
Climate: Yining enjoys a semi-hungriness climate. Its spring and winter is warm and humid. The summer and autumn is hot and dry. There is great temperature difference between day and night.
Transportation: Airline and highway are the main vehicles in Yining city. There is airline from Yining to Urumqi, taking about two hours.
Wu-Yi Highway connects Yining, Shihezi and Urumqi. There are buses to Kuche and Kuerle southward.
Local Specialties: saddle, headgear, deer horn, carve, painting
Local Food: baked mutton chop, Michang, Mianfeizi
Major Attractions:
The Fruit Valley ¨C About 28km long stretching along in the rough direction of the Urumqi-Yining Highway, the Fruit Valley is a natural storehouse of plant species with a wide range of fruits and herbs growing wild in the area. In the valley, wild fruits and apricot trees spread all over the valley, and the rare trees and exotic flowers are everywhere. The valley takes on different outlooks in different seasons.
Nalati Grassland ¨C Nalati Grassland is one of the four largest grassland of the world. The flourish grass covers the hill, the water and everywhere. It seems that the sky and the land are only connected with grass. The best time to visit Yining is from July to October, as the Nalati Grassland is dense with grasses at that time.
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