As one of the popular travel destinations in Xinjiang, Keketuohai is located in Fuyun county, Altay Region. Cover an area about 778 square kilometres, altitude is about 1200-2400 metres. The scenic spot consists of four parts: Irtysh Grand Canyon, Coco Su LI, Irem Lake and Kalashngor Seismic-Fault Line. It is a natural landscape of gorgeous canyon river, mountain forests, mineral resources,lakes and exotic seismic-fault zone, it combines geological culture, regional characteristics and ethic customs, and it is also characterized by natural sightseeing, leisure vacation,and scientific investigation.
In Kazakh Keketuohai means ' Green Jungle’ for the Jungle Sea which means ‘ Blue River Bend’. For thousand of years in Mongolian Language ，Kokotohai has been well-known for the long history, rich mineral resources, beautiful landscape, legendary pastureland culture and simple humanities characteristics, there are lots of mineral treasures spread all over the Mountain Ranges, the Irtysh river is in constant turbulence, surging forward like torrential tide, the Kazakhs are good at singing and dancing who are enthusiasm and hospitality.
Introduction of Keketuohai:
Featuring beautiful natural scenery such as valleys, rivers, peaks, forests, mines, and seismic belts, the park was listed as a UNESCO World Geopark in 2017.
Keketuohai in the Kazak language means green woods. But in the Mongolian language, it means the blue river bends due to the fact that thegorgeous Irtysh River flows through it.
What to visit?
Inside Keketuohai, the Taiga along the banks of the sapphire blue Irtysh River brings vitality to the Irtysh Grand Canyon. The waterfall-like granite canyon is a masterpiece of nature.
Irtysh Grand Canyon
Irtysh Grand Canyon features Granite landform, Canyon source scenery, and Alpine vegetation landscape,The landscape of the canyon is represented by Shenzhong Mountain, which is mostly bell-shaped, dome-shaped and cone-shaped. It has shown the zonal distribution alone the Irtysh river it has forming hundreds of giant granite peaks, such as Shenzhong Mountain, Camel Peak, Shenxiang Peak, Feilai Peak, Eagle Peak, and so on. In addition there’s a lot of Pictographic stones such as Fugui Stone, Seal stone and Shimeng to name just a few.
The canyon is Gorgeous and charming, the Irtysh River is turbulent, the hot springs, waterfalls and streams are quiet and comfortable, the birch forests and alpine meadows are extremely stupendous, the wild grape valley, the Golden Triangle, Shuimogou and other special natural scenes.
Kekesuli
Kekesuli is located in Fuyun county, Altai region. It is also known as Wild Duck Lake, the lake was formed by seismic-fault, and there are more than 20 floating island in the lake. It has various hydrophyte, However the point is the reed was directly grow on the water without root, drifting with the wind which is quite curious.Hundreds of wild ducks, moorhens and wild geese, will gather here to nest and breed during the summer and winter, which is extremely magnificent.
Irtysh River:
The rapid Irtysh River that runs from east to west is the only river in China that flows into the Arctic Ocean. Its headstream lies in the coldest place in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. When the river flows through its cradle, it leaves the ridgy Irtysh grand canyon on both banks, creating a marvellous scene.
Tunnel of Mine No.3
Keketuohai was once a celebrated mining area, and the No.3 Mineral Vein here used to be the top national secret and the greatest treasure. It has 86 kinds of minerals while there are only 140 kinds of minerals known in the world, and it earned national fame, as minerals in the area were used in the country's aerospace and defence industries.
Best time to visit:
Every June to October is the best time to travel to Keketuohai. In winter, the river still runs through, with vapour rising into the air to create a sense of mystery. Mountains stand aloft against the white background of snow and rime, just like an exquisite ink wash painting.
Today, a ski resort has been put into use in Keketuohai, attracting ski lovers from all over the world.
