Kanas lake
18 min readKanas”is a Mongolian word meaning”beautiful，rich and mysterious”.The lake is located in the middle of the mountain forest zone at the south of Friendship Peak（At an altitude of 4，374m）within Burqin County in Altay Prefecture of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.The altitude of the lake surface is 1，374m，and the lake is 25km long，16-2，9km wide，with an area of 37，7km²”shaping like a long pod，which is about 8 times of the Tianshan Tianchi Lake.It is 188 5m deep second only to the beakdu mountain Tianch Lake（312，7m）at the border of China and North Korea.
Kanas Lake snow land. green mountains and clear water all blend into one harmonious whole, the e Kanas Lake is surrounded by mountainous and peaks, and the picturesque forest. The landscape of the lake and mountains is so beautiful that it dazzles the eyes. Looking through the dense wood around the lake, you will see those green mountains embraced byclouds, and the snow-capped peaks reflected on the lake surface. Sometimes the low anddeep sound of cervus elaphus comes from the deep wood around the lake, there are dense pine, fir, birch, and willow trees, and grass as high as a man; in the jungle, there are the brown yellow figures of roe deers and deers appearing from time to time Flocks of wild ducks play on the lake. Sometimes big fish will jump out of the water, stirring a ripple. The lake combines the characteristics of mountain lakes in both northern and southern china The source of the Kanas lake is Kanas glacier The glacier is more than ten kilometers long, and the melting water flowing past the fork-shaped Akekule Lake is the main supply source of Kanas lake.
Kanas Lake is located in the middle section of Kanas River, which is in the upstream tributary of Burqin River; in summer, the flow rate at the outlet is about 50m”/s, the annua elevation difference of the lake surface is less than 30cm the water volume is stable. the shore is gentle, and the marsh plants around the lake are lush, so the entire lake district isan ideal place for the breeding of fish and waterfowls. In July and august, little fish gather in the near shore waters of the lake, changing the color of the water. What’s more interesting is that the color changes regularly according to weather and time. Looking from the top of a mountain, it is dark blue and green in sunny days, and gray green in cloudy days. When in the hot and sunny days in summer, the water color will become milk white with a little blue and green and this is because that the upstream glaciers melt drastically and bring a lot of powdery glacial tills of milk white. Sometimes, there are various colors appearing in the lake, so the lake is a famous”Color Changing Lake “.
The water temperature of Kanas Lake varies greatly In the high noon in mid-July, the temperature of the surface of the lake can be up to above 20%C, which is suitable for swimming, and in the evening, the temperature will decline rapidly and the water will be icy. The lake will freeze up in December, and at that time, Kanas Lake is like a white crystal mirror, and the local Mongolian herders will transport supplies on the lake using sledges.
The ice may melt completely in the next May. Owing to the strong valley wind on the lake, the trees from the upstream and trees fall into the lake are blown to the north of the lake, forming a driftwood band about a hundred meters wide and two kilometers long, which has become a great spectacle of Kanas Lake. In every July and august the lake will be surrounded by mist, and the mountains will become indistinct, If one climbs onto the top of the Harakaite Mountain in the west of the lake in early morning after rain, he/she will enjoy the sea of clouds and the light of buddha.
Kanas Lake was formed by the erosion of huge complex valley glacier of the second great ice age. At that time, Kanas glacier was hundreds of kilometers long with a thickness of more than 300m. Due to the slow but steady retreat, it left a terminal moraine ridge of lkm wide and 50-70m high, and then it retreated rapidly, forming the basis of the present Kanas Lake. The development and preservation of present glaciers and ancient glacial landform are qutie well. Today, there are still the sheep back rocks of tens of meters longcovered with T-shaped glacial scratches beside the steep cliff on the east side of the lake Interestingly, there are also many ancient paintings on those rocks, adding a historical cultural landscape to Kanas. The terminal moraine ridge has become a good place for local people to hold Akon playing and singing assembly and horse racing.
The annual precipitation here is about 700-800mm The vertical natural landscape belts are very obvious owing to the big altitude difference of the mountains, so at the lakeside, one can en joy the 7 natural landscape belts of the altai Mountains: all the belts are in distinct levels with different characteristics. From bottom to top, the seven belts are chernozem meadow steppe belt, mountain gray soil needle broad-leaved forest belt mountain brown soil needle leaved forest belt, subalpine meadow belt, alpine meadow belt tundra soil belt and the permanent ice and snow belt. A variety of natural landscapes from temperate grassland to arctic tundra ice zone are formed from the foot of the mountain to the peak, which provide the survival conditions for various types of plants and animals.
This region is also the only distribution area of Southern Siberia flora and fauna in China, and there are nearly 1,000 kinds of plants, 30 kinds of mammals, 100 kinds of birds, 7 kinds of amphibians and reptiles 8 kinds of fishes and more than 300 kinds of insects Different floras are in distinct levels and of different colors. 25 woody plants such as the towering larix sibirica, the pyramid picea obovata, the strong Siberian cedar, and the pretty abies sibirica form the primeval dark needle leaved forest belt on the lakeshore which is the only “exclave”of European-Siberian taiga series in China. There are layers upon layers of rotten trees in the forest, and there are moss, wintergreen, blueberry, rosa multiflora of 2-3m high, and honeysuckle growing on the rotten wood and the litter layer, all of which fill the room under the tree canopies of 20-30m high hanging with usnea, making the forest even more dark.
It is a different scene on the glade beside the lake: radix paeoniae rubra, willow herb red flowers are all around, trollius chinensis, tulips, batrachium bungei are in golden; delphinium grandiflorum, iris tectorum, delphinium, and myosotis sylvatica form a blue carpet; and the umbellate flowers of the tall radices sileris and wild carrots are like white clouds floating in the air. They present the colorful changes with the changing of seasonsand the ecological environment, and they make an integral whole together with the blue sky white clouds, snow-capped peaks, clear water and dark green forests, constituting a magnificent picture.
Kanas is a paradise for wild animals and also a place having the most species of birdsand beasts in Xin jiang Uygur Autonomous region and there are also many rare birds and beasts under the protection of the state inhabiting in the dense primeval forest and the flower meadow. The hucho taimen (arge redfish), red salmon(small redfish), thymalidae, and burbot and other cold water fish swim around in crowds The largest red fish can be 4m long weighing tens of kilograms, and it can even swallow a duck. The natural landscape reserve founded with the center of Kanas lake has a total area of 10.030km The odd special, excellent, and beautiful natural landscape, and the rich and unique cultural landscape constitute the wonderful and amazing features of the reserve, offering it a high value for scientific investigation tourism. and cultural stud The beautiful scenes of Kanas Lake are also not the same along with the changing seasons. In the middle of June the green grass can be as high as the knee mountain flowers are in full bloom, the big wild radix paeoniae rubra and the orange trolliuschinensis expose their fragrance all over the mountains and plains making the area a flower garden, A variety of birds sing in the forest, and the butterflies dance sometimes and have a short pause sometimes: what a green and luxuriant world Autumn is the most beautiful season in Kanas. Autumn is just like a magician interweaving the golden birch trees, larch trees, the red wild muddy, bearberry, and the green spruces into a colorful palette; it also reflects the blue sky, white clouds, silver hawk mountainous, and the shade of the forest into the lake, making the scenery picturesque and ltoxicated. Many poets and literary men have written prose and poems to show their admiration. The politician and poet Yehlu ch’ uts’ ai in the Yuan Dynasty(1206-1368) has written a poem in praise: “When I see this wonderful scenery here, I begin to believe what I was told before. There are numerous ponds, only Kanas Lake is smooth with the green spring water.
Kanas is a white world in winter Mountains. rivers trees and houses. etc. are all immersed in the white ice and snow. The trees without leaves all are dressed up in silvery white, the towering pine trees are covered with fluffy and heavy snow and the frost resisting white birch trees also wear the snow hats, but they still stand toweringly, as ifthey wanted people to see that they were still full of life and wisdom in the severe winter The silent white snow field and the sledge traveling alone is the most classic scene in this low and ice world.
The main scenic spots of the Kanas lake and the surrounding region include: Wolong Bay: this is the first place that one needs to stay after entering the Kanas scenic spot. The river surface is as wide as a lake, and there is an island in a unique shape in the center; looked from a distance, the island is exactly like a stegosaurus sleeping in the center of the river with the tail tilting high hence obtaining its name Moon Bay: About lkm from the north of the Wolong Bay, there are several anti — ” S” shaped bends of Kanas River, forming a half crescent shape bay called”Moon Bay”. Thereare two islands looking like footprints in the bay, which are called”the footprints of celestial beings”by the local people, and it is said to be the foot prints left by chang’e(goddess in the moon) where she ascended to heaven after taking the Elixir of Life, and it is also said to be the footprints left by genghis Khan when he chased the enemy.
Immortal Bay: One will reach the Immortal Bay by walking for another 3km from the Moon Bay. This is a wide water area in Kanas River. The river water here is very gentle, andspruce, birch and larch trees grow on the center islet formed by several small islands. When breeze blows, the surface of the river ripples, sparkling under the sunlight, just like the scattered pearls; the bay is like a fairyland where immortals live -this is the origin of the name “Immortal bay.
Duck Marsh Lake: It is located in a piece of reed shoal next to the Immortal Bay, and the shoal is a depression left after Kanas River changed its route; there is a broad and shallow small lake in the north-south direction along the southern end of the depression. The lake is connected with the surrounding wide wetland and grasslands, and there are many wild ducks, wild goose, and swans leisurely cruising on it, so it is called the “Duck Marsh Lake Twin Lakes: It is located in the west of the Four bends bay of Kanas lake and 19km away from the Kanas village in the south; the lake is like an oval connected by 2 narrow little lakes of 1, 200m long and 300m wide. The lake(s) is supplied by the melt water of glaciers on the Qiaqiayite Mountain and the precipitation, and then the water flows into Kanas Lake after gathering. The Twin Lakes freeze in December every year, and starts melting the next May. The water is colorless and transparent, clean and without pollution, and the water is green seen from a distance There is much little red fish in the lake The lake is located in the southern slope forest zone of the altai mountains so it is surrounded by the dense spruce, Siberian cedar, larch, poplar, birch trees, and lush grass of more than 1.5m high growing at the edge of the trees; wild animals such as brown bears, red deer and wild boars often haunt around the lake.
The autumn of Mallard Beach-taken at Burqin Kanas lake Thousands of lakes: These lakes are 13km away from the Kanas village in the watershed area of Kalasuaren River and Geyanengeku, and they are at an altitude of 1, 8002,000m. 1,000 of Lakes”, is called”Liugiongkuer”in Kazakh meaning”one thousand pits”; the surrounding large and small lakes are star-studded by the thousand. The largest one is like a horse head, with an area of 1, 2km and an average depth of 5m. The other lakes are very small in round or long shapes, but the heights are basically the same. These lakes have been formed by the ancient glacial actions. There swamp meadows around the lakes, withthe grass of 10-15cm high, and a coverage rate of 90% The lakes are all the freshwater lakes supplied by the ice and snow melting water and the local precipitation. All the lakes freeze in December of the year, and starts melting in next May.
Akekule Lake: Akekule Lake is 54km away from the Kanas Village in the northeast, and there is only a trail from the village to the lake. It is located in the alpine zone on thewestern slope of the Birdirtao Mountains It is 6,600m long and 1, 900m wide with an area of8.5km at the altitude of 1, 954m. The water is milky white and translucent, and it is white and slightly muddy viewed from a distance, which is because that the rocks in the upstream glaciers are most white granite, and after the glacier movement, the white powder of rocks is mixed into the ice layer, and when the glaciers melt, the melt water brings the white powder into rivers, and then into the lake, making it white. Hence it is named as Akekule Lake(means”white lake”in Kazakh).
Color changing lake: Kanas lake is the famous “Color changing lake”The color changes in a year, in a season and even in a day. Blue, green, dark green, gray, or mixed by various colors of light and dark, the color changing is particularly evident seen in the Fish Viewing Pavilion.
Fish Viewing Pavilion: It is the place that one should go for visit in Kanas. The pavilion s built on the top of the”camel peak”, having an altitude difference of more than 600m to the surface of Kanas lake. and it is famous for its best location of observing the “Lake Monster”. From here one can see about 3/4 of the entire lake, and it is a place that one can see the largest lake area in the spot, In order to go to the pavilion one can drive to thehillside from the back slope, and also can walk the stone steps from the front of mountain Dead Wood Dam: When the trees on Kanas Mountains die, they fell into the lake, are blown to the north by the valley wind, and finally pile up at the north end of the lake, forming the Dead Wood Dam of over 2,000m long and lm high. It is said that the dead trees do not float with the stream to the downstream because they are reluctant to leave their homeland.
Tuluke Rock Paintings: There are two places of the paintings located in the eastern shore of the first bend of Kanas Lake, and are carved on the special landscape-“sheep back rock”. In the first place, most of the paintings are blurred, and only a few patterns are isible, such as the animal shapes of hedgehog, wild boar, goat, and snow cock; the paintings of the second place are relatively clear, and they are mainly the patterns of horses, sheep, wolves, dogs, deer, and snow cocks, among which, the biggest one is the pattern of a deer local Tuvans that there is a huge monster being able to spray cloud and mist in the Kana o Lake Monster: The legend of”Lake Monster”is the No. 1 stunt in Kanas. It is said by the Lake. It often swallows the cattle, horses and sheep beside the lake. Such legends have long been spreading. In recent years, numerous tourists and scientific researchers have claimed that they had seen personally a black object of tens of meters long wandering and even making waves in the lake, but there is no sufficient evidence to prove the existence of the monster, But every once in a while, the”monster”will be talked about extensively and miraculously, attracting more tourists for the somewhat overheated Kanas tourismBuddha Light in Clouds: Kanas valleys are often covered by cloud and mist in the morning after the rain reveals only the peaks of more than 2, 000m above sea level. At about9-10 o’ clock in the morning, when the Sun rises to a certain height, there will gradually be a half round colored ring in the opposite direction of the Sun with the seven colors of red orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and purple, and the colors show the changes of light and dark along with the thickness of the clouds it is known as the “Buddha light which can last about 15 minutes as the sun rises the light refraction changes will graduall disappear.
Rainbow: There are always rainbows in Kanas region in the afternoon or after the rain at dusk. Generally a rainbow and neon will appear at the same time Flowery Garden: It is located in the west coast of Kanas Lake, and it is the most typical middle-mountain forest meadow steppe about 3, 2km long and about 1.2km wide with an area of about 2. 5km, having gentle slopes of wide and open. The spot is surrounded by green mountains; in each summer, the green grass is like a carpet covering the land Streams are gurgling in the valley, and the flowers such as Red Paeonia, Savage Bud, Jinqian Flower, Radix Bupleuri, Potentilla trutocosa, Prunus, Zhenglian, Bowed onion, Wild Celery, Dictamnus Dasycarpus, Rhubarb thorn roses, and Gentiana scabra are in full bloom with beautiful colors and intoxicating fragrance, hence it is named as Flowery Garden lemu Grassland: It is located in the intersection of middlemountain forest and mountain meadow steppe zone 130km away from Burqin County, and its terrain is complex at an altitude of 1, 124-2, 300m. In the shady slopes, there are dense forests containing the tree species of spruce, larch, and birch, and red deer, marmots, snow cocks and other animals inhabit in the verdant forests; and the sunny slopes are covered with green grass and flourishing flowers. The annual precipitation of this region can reach 600mm and the hydrothermal condition is good; the vegetations are mainly the gramineae and weeds, and the main species are: Cogon grass, Ranunculaceae, Polygonum viviparum, Sedge, and dogs tail, and so on; the growing period of the grass is 5-9 months with the height of 20-50cmand a cover degree of more than 90%. The annual yield of Corn Cervi Pantotrichum is about a hundred kilograms, and there is also the incomparable white honey with a his oh medicina value. This is also an ideal place for summg and recuperate.
Hailiutan Grassland: The grassland is located in Woyimoke Town of Burqin County, surrounded by mountains. The terrain in the basin is flat with an area of 147,3km, and there are many streams and ditches; various kinds of low forage grass grow in the basin: the vegetation types include dogstail, sedge, bluegrass, big needle grass, sheep fescue, etc and weeds include vetch fluorescent flower. sickle alfalfa and multiflora rose. and so on The grass is generally 10-20cm high with a cover degree of about 70%, and the main growing period is from May to September. In each summer and autumn, the whole basin is covered with grass, the flocks of cattle and sheep graze on the grassland scattered withwhite yurts, and the blue sky and green meadow integrate into a whole, showing the broad and magnanimous scenery.
There are the dense spruce forests on the shady slopes of the mountains in the northwestern edge of the grassland. The trickling streams flow to the center of the basin from the surrounding mountains, and form patches of wet meadows. The basin is an excellent summer resort for it is cool in summer.
Tuvans in Kanas: There are many mysterious Tuvans in Kanas, who were called”Dubo in the Sui and Tang Dynasties (581-907), and Touba or Wulianghai people in the Yuan Dynasty(1206-1368). According to the current ethnic partition in China, Tuvans belong to a branch of the Mongol nationality.
At present, there are a total number of more than 2,000 Tuvans in Kanas Village and the neighboring Hemu Village and Baihaba Village, and the Tuvan language is one of the existing rare languages in China which belongs to the turkic branch of altai language family.
Tuvans have been living in the forest areas for a long time, and they live on grazing and hunting, so they are called the “people in the forest”, and some people also call their own tribe the”tribe among clouds”. In the past, they rarely contacted with the outside world, So they have preserved the ancient tribal clan concept and religious beliefs integrally; there are many historical cultural relics such as rock engravings, rock painting, sacrifice and tombs in many places.
Tuvans have three big festivals, namely the Spring Festival, Obo Festival and Zoulu Festival. Tuvans also celebrate the Spring Festival as the Han people, but in different ways Whenever the heavy snow seals the mountain passes, the lake freezes, and the Spring Festival comes. Tuvans will gather on the Kanas lake in festive costumes to hold the matches such as horse racing archery wrestling and skis and then the whole village willhold a drinking assembly and celebrate the spring festival in the chanting sound of the amas.
Obo festival is also called the Taken festival”which is the festival for Tuvans to sacrifice the Heaven, the Earth, the Sun, the Moon and Nature in each June of spring blossoms. The location for celebrating the festival is at the lush alpine foothill; each family will lead the children and bring an adept dish or delicious food to gather around the obo with a”Divine tree”in the center and then burn incense and light candles each one will tie a strip of cloth(mainly in white) to the tree, and put a stone on the Obo, and then walk around the obo under the leading of the elderly, chanting and singing, and scattering thefood on the Obo(women cannot participate). After three rounds, all participants young and old will kowtow to the Obo to pray for blessing, good weather for the crops, and livestock prosperity. After that, people will start to conduct the horse racing, wrestling and archery and other Mongolian traditional folk recreational activities, and also kill the sheep to boil sing and dance joyously. And finally, all people in the village regardless of age and sex will sit together to celebrate the festival by eating the roast meat and drinking the milk liquor Zoulu Festival is”Lighting Lantern Day”, and it is also called the Winter Entering Festival The festival is celebrated on each october 25 of the lunar calendar this is the unique festival of Tuvans living around the Kanas Lake. On this day, all herdsmen who havebeen out side throughout the summer and fall will return to the village to commemorate the passing away of the Living Buddha Mahekara, and it is said that he was exactly 125 years old on the day of his death.
Flora and Fauna: When mentioning the Kanas Scenic Spot, you can’t miss the several only”: the only nature reserve that borders on four countries(China, Russia, Mongolia, andKazakhstan); the source of the Burqin River which is the largest tributary of Irtysh River he only Arctic Ocean water system in China. The Kanas Lake is the only flora and fauna distribution area of Siberian system. The lake is surrounded by Siberian larch, Korean pine, spruce, fir and other rare species as well as numerous birch forests. There are also many mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles, fish, and insects living and multiplying here with infinite vitality. The Kanas Lake is also an extremely rare region of European ecosystem There are 798 kinds of plants in the reserve (including 30 kinds of rare plants), 39 kinds of animals (including 5 kinds of the first classnational protected animals 13 kinds of the second class national second level protected animals, and 9 kinds of other rare animals),117 kinds of birds, 7 kinds of fish, and no less than 60 new species of insects and fungus.
