Nationally Designated Garden City-Korla
2 min read“Korla” is a Uighur word, which means “overlooking”. Overlooking the city on the Long Mountain at the northeast of Korla, you can see green cypress everywhere. Rows of modern buildings stand beside the streets with fruit trees and lawn cover between, luxuriant parks,sculptures of various shapes, colorful neon lights, all of which present Korla as a modern big city In fact, Korla was a shabby border town decades ago. The call for Western Development woke up the sleeping oil and gas in the Tarim Desert, and also brought the unprecedented development opportunities for the adjacent Korla. Tarim Petroleum headquarters was set up in in Korla, which widely promoted the economic and social development of the city.
In order to build Korla to the second largest city in Xinjiang, as well as the central city in southern Xinjiang, the urban construction changed with each passing day, and formed its own unique style. The construction combined the historical, geopolitical, economic, cultural and other characteristics, mixed modern European-style and a variety of national styles together. The focus on the culture of oil and overall harmony the city finally became a bright pearl in western China.
The waterscape in Korla is quite charming A ditch thirty years ago has been turned into a fascinating and charming Peacock River. Kutagan canal has been turned into the Cuckoo River, and No. 2 greening pump station at Dongshan is now the Egret River. A number of rivers nourish this remote city of Tarim Desert by irrigating the fields, cleaning the air, improving the climate, and beautifying the appearance of the city silently.
In 2012, Korla started the project of “cut through of three rivers”of Peacock, Cuckoo,and Egret River. The project was not to simply connect the three rivers longitudinally; actually it could play the role of balancing the urban development, expanding economic benefits, improving urban quality, and improving the living environment. Soon, people can travel through the old and the new town by boat, and disembark at each “docking” to go shopping, enjoy delicious food, and the beautiful scenery everywhere. People can also wander along the river by bike, and walk under the boulevards on both sides of the river. In spring, people can fly kites on the Riverside Square, and see the beautiful scenery of “thousands of pear trees suddenly turn out in full blossom”; in summer, people can enjoy the cool by walking along the river; and in the golden fall, pears cover the branches, and the pear fragrance will pervade the whole city.
