Altay City is a small city with nice view. Travelers should plan  to stay here for 1 night and arrange a two-day tour to cover the main nearby sights. To stay overnight, the Golden Bridge Hotel (Address: Jiefang Road, Altay City, Xinjiang; Telephone: 86-906-2127588) will  be one of your choices. 

Biahaba village, Altay

The first day tour is a complex of the Birch Forest Park and the Erqie Ke Ancient Tombs. Located on the upstream of the Lanke River, the Birch Forest Park is to the north of the city. In the morning, you may either take the No. 101 Bus or take a taxi (cost about RMB10.00 net) to reach there. The park, covered with various kinds of birches everywhere, is actually seven small islands in  the Lanke River. Dense forest, multicolored clusters of leaves, green grasses, lovely wildflowers, melodic  waters and all the other things here have been composed as a feast for the eyes. Thus, it is not a  place to  be missed by photographers, shutterbugs, landscapists or Sunday painters. 

In summer, it is favored by the local people as a summer resort. In winter, it becomes  the largest snow carving amusement park in Xinjiang. Tourists come to view the snowscape, join the snow-splashing activity or even take the  chance to make some snow carvings  themselves. Return to  Altay City and have lunch. 

Birch Forest Park, Altay

In the afternoon, visit the Erqie Ke Ancient Tombs located 30 kilometers to the southwest from of the city. A blacktop road leads there and chartering a car will cost you about RMB40.00 round trip.. Surrounded by the vast Gobi, the tombs are a surviving epitome of the culture of Northern Xinjiang. The burial site involves in a wide range of ages, from the Warring States Period to the Turkic period of the Tang Dynasty, covering almost one thousand years. Judging from the artifacts excavated, the burials are thought to  be those of the chiefs of the Huns, Turks and other ethnic minorities. In addition to the tombs, there are also relics of the inscribed stone and rock paintings. They are presumed to be the relics of the Hun, Turic people and other nomads on the grassland who once existed here. Return to the city for the night. 

On the second day, you will visit  Butterfly Valley located 60 kilometers away to the east of  Altay. Chartering a car is the easiest way to access the valley entrance. Cars can only stop outside the valley and tourists need to trek in to visit it. As the name indicates, the 1400 meter-high and 6-kilometer long North-South Valley got its name from the dozens of varieties of butterflies that inhabit it. Besides the butterflies, there are more than 70 species of birds and90 species of mammals. Butterfly fans can come here, tracking the rare Troides Helena- well-known as Butterfly King for its huge, colorful wings. To see  as many butterflies as possible,  plan your  visit  between June and September. Return to Altay.