Korla

The "Pear City", plus Bosten Lake—China's largest inland freshwater outflow lake—with its golden beaches and reed marshes, the Iron Gate Pass and the desert poplars of the Lopnur Village.

Korla is the capital of Xinjiang's Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, at the southern foot of the Tianshan on the northeastern edge of the Tarim Basin. The Kongque (Peacock) River flows through the city, which is famous for its fragrant pears—hence the nickname "Pear City"—and is the starting point of the southern Xinjiang loop and the Desert Highway. The area divides into three parts: in the city, riverside walkways and night views line the Kongque and Swan rivers, and the Bayingolin Museum introduces Lop Nur archaeology such as Loulan and the Xiaohe Cemetery; about 8 km north of the city is the Iron Gate Pass, an ancient Silk Road pass; to the northeast, Bohu and Hoxud counties encircle Bosten Lake, China's largest inland freshwater outflow lake, where Dahekou on the west shore, the Ahongkou lotus lake in the southwest, Bailuzhou on the south shore ("lake on one side, sand on the other") and the Golden Beach on the northeast shore each have their own appeal, and Yanqi County has the Shikshin (Qigexing) Buddhist temple ruins; to the south, the Lopnur Village in Yuli County combines desert, poplar forests and the Tarim River. The best season is Sep–Oct, when the pears ripen and the poplars turn gold; Jun–Aug is good for water fun and water lilies on Bosten Lake, though the desert is very hot; a Pear Blossom Festival is held in early April. Korla has an airport and a high-speed rail station, about 3.5 hours by bullet train from Urumqi. Allow 3 days: one for the city and the Iron Gate Pass, one circling Bosten Lake, and one at the Lopnur Village. Xinjiang uses Beijing time, but local life runs about 2 hours later, and sites open correspondingly later.

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