Iron Gate Pass

Tiemen Pass, Korla, Bayingolin

Tiemen Pass is located 8 kilometers (approximately 5 miles) from Korla City, in the northern suburbs. It is one of the 26 famous passes in China, and acquired the name 'Iron Gate' for it is solid and firm just like an iron gate.

The pass is part of an arduous section of the Silk Road which one needed to travel to reach Tarim Basin (located in Xinjiang, the largest interior basin in China). The pass lies in Tieguan Gorge which has been a strategic location since ancient times. A famous poet named Cen Sen in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) once wrote a poem depicting the steepness of the pass. In his poem the gate is a place where people worry seriously about how to pass through, and where persons are rarely seen. Looking upwards, you can only see the cliff; looking downwards, the torrential water rushes with waves churning in Kongque River.

Many tourists come to visit the gate because they are attracted by a famous love story. The story is set in ancient time and tells of love between a princess and the son of a minister. They fell in love but this is opposed by the King, the father of the princess, and the King's evil advisor. Under pressure from the King and persecution by the advisor, a final tragedy happens: The princess and the young man suffered so much that together they ultimately leaped to their death into Kongque River. In order to commemorate the two youngsters who sacrificed their life for love and freedom, a tumulus where they are buried together was built on the Gongzhu Ling opposite the gate.

Nowadays, the gate is no longer a place where persons are rarely seen. It was rebuilt in 1989 according to the ancient descriptions. As a result of the efforts of architects, sculptors, and artists, the gate has become an example of excellent architecture which attracts some 300,000 tourists every year.

Transportation: there are tourist buses in the urban districts in Korla which can take you directly to the gate.

Bosten Lake, Bohu County, Bayingolin

Bosten is Mongolian, and means 'stand-up' in Chinese. There are three hills standing in the central part of the lake, hence its name. It was once named 'West Sea' and 'Qin Sea' in the Han Dynasty (206BC-220), 'Bosten Lake' and 'Fish Sea' in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), 'Yanqi Sea' in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and was finally named 'Bosten Lake' in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Lying in the southeast of the Yanqi Basin and situated in Bohu County, Bosten Lake is the largest in Xinjiang and the biggest inland freshwater lake in China. It is made up of a big and a small lake district; the area of the big one is 988 square kilometers (381 square miles), and the small one being 240 square kilometers (93 square miles), including many small lakes. With an average depth of 10 meters (11 yards), it is flat and dish shaped.

Bosten Lake is rich in aquatic life with beautiful scenery, being famous as 'a bright pearl of the Oasis'. It is rich in fish and reeds, and is the largest fishing area of Xinjiang Province and one of the four biggest reed producing areas in China. It became a tourist site in the late 1980s, built with wharf at A Hong Kou where you can look over the beauty of Bosten Lake, the sand sculptures of Bailu Zhou (Egret State), and the volleyball facility at Jin Sha Tan (Golden Sand Beach), and many other attractive scenic spots.

Tips:
Dining: Try the fish banquet of Bosten
Entertainment: Surfing, diving, swimming, pedalo riding, sun bathing on the sand beach and many other activities.