This is because Nalati Scenic Area has built a tourist living area and a scenic viewing area to protect the natural environment from the destruction of tourism development.
Nalati Scenic Area is located in Nalati Town, xinyuan county, Yili Prefecture, with the upper reaches of Gongnaisi River and the mountains on the northern slope of Nalati Mountain as the main attractions, with a total area of 800 square kilometers. It not only has the unique grassland scenery in the western regions, but also retains the rich and simple ethnic customs of Kazaks. It is a national 3A-level tourist attraction.
The residents living on the Nalati grassland are mainly Kazakh herders, but "Nalati" is not Kazakh, but Mongolian, which is said to have been left by the Mongols when they conquered Central Asia, meaning "the place where the sun was first seen". Legend has it that during Genghis Khan's Western Expedition, an army marched from the depths of Tianshan Mountain to Yili. It's spring now, but the mountains are covered with snow. Hunger and cold made the army tired and didn't want to climb the mountain. In front of us is a vast grassland full of flowers and spring, as if entering another world. At this time, the clouds opened and the sun rose. The soldiers couldn't help shouting, "Nalati, that!" "
There are many red deer in the history of Nalati grassland, which are called "deer gardens", and there is a record of "there are many deer in the territory, and the famous deer circle" in the Waterway of the Western Regions. Until now, red deer, antelopes, marmots, foxes and other wild animals are often seen here.
From June to September every year, there are green grass and wild flowers everywhere. Kazakh yurts scattered on the grassland have mushroomed, making the grassland more vibrant and energetic. Many grassland festivals in Yili and xinyuan county are held here.
Nalati grassland is not only beautiful, but also a natural summer resort. Even in the hottest dog days, cover yourself with a thick quilt at night. The so-called "wear cotton-padded jacket in the morning, scarf in the afternoon and eat watermelon around the stove" is the most obvious in Nalati grassland.
Optimistic about Nalati's unique advantages in tourism resources, in recent years, many enterprises inside and outside Xinjiang want to invest huge sums of money to build large-scale tourist living bases in scenic spots. However, the reporter saw in the tourist area that in addition to the two-story main building built before, other living facilities are environmentally friendly huts and felt houses.
Since 2000, the tourism department of xinyuan county has invited experts from Tongji University to draw tourist area plans and demarcate core protected areas. It is strictly forbidden to carry out various projects unrelated to resource protection in ecological protection areas. At the same time, some built tourist and living facilities will gradually withdraw from the scenic spot to ensure that the scenic environment is not polluted.
At present, the only resort in the scenic area is located by the Gongnaisi River, hidden in a Populus euphratica forest. Entering the gate of the resort, there is a sculpture of a Kazakh girl offering tea. The main body of the resort is a modern building, with a yurt-style hall, Kazakh yurts and European wooden houses. If you spend the night in a wooden house, you can listen to the sound of the Gongnaisi River flowing and fall asleep leisurely.
Visitors can enjoy drifting, camping and hunting, mountain climbing, river fishing, grassland gliding, horse riding, large-scale folk entertainment and other activities within 3 kilometers of the resort, and appreciate the various customs of Nalati grassland.
The Horse Sports Center, which was completed in June this year, and the Nalati Archery Range, which was put into operation, are both original tourism projects in the scenic spot. Some horse racing sports with Xinjiang ethnic customs, such as picking sheep, chasing girls and horse racing, are presented to tourists in the form of performances, and interested tourists can also experience the fun of being a shooter.
Starting from the resort, head south along the rugged mountain road, and cross the Cuoke Mountain. This is the summer pasture of Chapu River, which is called "air grassland" because of its average elevation of 2,200m. Along the way, the mountains are undulating, the pines are bursting, and the car passes through the mountain pass, and the vision is suddenly broadened. I saw the snow-capped peaks of Nalati Mountain towering opposite, and the thousand-mile light was like a rock. Kazakh yurts are scattered all over the grassland, and sheep move slowly like white clouds.
Generally speaking, the straighter the road, the better. However, there are more than a dozen bends in the main road with a total length of 18 km in Nalati Central Scenic Area. Although there are so many bends, it does not meet the construction standard of "expressway", but it protects the flowers and trees along the way to the maximum extent.
In order to prevent tourists from trampling on the grassland, there are several wooden plank roads with a length of 100 meters on both sides of the scenic highway. The wooden plank road is about half a meter high from the ground. Visitors can take photos in the depths of the grass along the plank road, but the flowers and plants under the plank road are not damaged at all.
One of the boardwalks is quite attractive. At the end of the wooden plank road about 10 meter, there is a conical mound tomb with a base diameter of 46 meters and a height of 6.5 meters-Wusun Tomb. The mound tomb is one of the three wonders of cultural relics in Yili grassland. There are more than 900 such tombs from Warring States to Yuan Dynasty in Nalati grassland alone.
The Nalati Tourism and Living Base, with an investment of 30 million yuan, started construction in September last year. The base is located in the north of Nalati tourist scenic spot, covering an area of 209 mu. Construction projects include three-star tourist hotels, Kazakh folk customs gardens, high-grade European villas, national song and dance performance art centers, national sports arenas, etc. After the base is completed and put into use, Nalati tourist scenic spot will be completely separated from the living area, and the reception capacity of the scenic spot will be improved by more than three times.
From 1999 to 2003, the number of tourists visiting Nalati increased by 36% every year. From May to July this year, we received120,000 people in just three months.
The Nalati Airport with a total investment of 65.438+0.6 billion yuan has been under construction since April this year. The airport is 60 kilometers away from Nalati scenic spot, which can be used for large aircraft to take off and land. In the past, tourists went to Nalati, whether by car or by plane, usually from Urumqi to Yining, and then by car to Nalati, 200 kilometers away. The construction of Nalati Airport will enable tourists to visit the picturesque Nalati grassland in just a few minutes by plane from Urumqi.