1-Day Hiking Around Chaiwobao & Guhya Salt Lake

In the morning, you could take the shuttle bus from Nianzigou Station to Chaiwobao Lake. The journey takes about 1 hour. Or you could hire a car and drive on your own, which will be more flexible to let you enjoy more beautiful sceneries on the way. Chaiwobao Lake is located at the foot of Bogda Peak and formed by the melting snow of the high peaks around it. The lake is just like a clear bright mirror. As a natural fresh-water lake, it becomes the aquafarm of fishes like cyprinoid, grass carp, chub, herring and river crab.

Drive towards east along the Lian-Huo highway for about 40 km and take the Chaiwobao Exit. Then you will find Chaiwobao Lake (entry tickets is CNY30 per person), once the largest freshwater lake near Urumqi. Now, it becomes a newly tourist center with fishing area, swimming pool and entertainment center. On the river bank, there is a large field of grassland, where offers the tourists with opportunity to experience horse riding and join in other games. Also, you could see lots of birds on the lake. Wandering in the enchanting reed marshes is another treat to yourself, just enjoying yourselves with relax.

Then hike about 1 hour along the wooden plank road to reach Guhya Salt Lake, which is 5 km in the southeast of Chaiwobao Lake. Nicknamed as the "Chinese Dead Sea", the Salt Lake is impregnated with salt riching in Glauber's salt. Nowadays, it is not only a place of the origin of salt, but also a popular tourist site. The Salt Lake is lower than Chaiwobao Lake, but they are connected in the bottom, so when the salt of the surrounding mountains and highlands washed down by rivers, floods, it comes to be deposited in the salt lake gradually. There are two large salt statues here, which are the combination of natural beauty and art. You will be shocked to see such great works. You could also slide on the salt, take go-kart on the desert, play water games in the salt sand and experience the floating.

Besides the two lakes, Chaiwobao has earned its fame from the delicious dish "Chicken Cooked with Chilies" for the last 15 years. You should not miss it. The most famous restaurant is the Yangle Restaurant. It is very easy to find. At the Chaiwobao Salt Lake Resort, there are a few newly-built hotels for travelers to spend their time at leisure.

Return to Urumqi, when the pleasant tour ends.