Tacheng Region
( 2005-09-13 )

The Tacheng Region, located in the northwest of Northwest China'sXinjiangUygur Autonomous Region, is an ancient city that once served as an important commercial town on the ancientSilk Road. It borders the Republic of Kazakhstan in the west and the north, with a borderline of 150 kilometers. There are two cities and five counties under its administration, with an area of 104,547 square kilometers.

The region contains 29 ethnic groups such as Han, Kazak, Uygur, Hui, and Mongolian, with a total population of 844,000. Tacheng City -- the location of the administrative agency -- is 637 kilometers from Urumqi. With a total area of 4,356.6 square kilometers, Tacheng is one of the cities closest to china's frontier line.

Located in the mesothermal (mid-thermal) continental arid zone, the Tacheng region has a semi-arid climate. It has 107 small or big rivers, with a total runoff of 52.78 hundred million cubic meters and a total exploitable underground water volume of 12.35 hundred million cubic meters.

The famous products include Yuming Fritillaria thunbergli (herb), wild almond, Basbay sheep, safflower oil, Usu milk powder, Tori granite, and Tacheng flying goose.

The natural reserve at provincial level covers the Gan Jiahu Sacsaoul Trees Nature Reserve and the Wild Almond Nature Reserve in Yuming County. The main animals are thesnow leopard, goose-throat gazelle, red deer, brown bear, Argali, lynx,white stork,black stork, golden vulture, swan, alpine snow cock, and northern Xinjiang salamander.

The main mineral resources include iron, chromium, gold, coal, limestone, lake salt, asbestos, bentonite (a kind of impure clay), and clay.

The total forest area is 620,000 hectares, and the total pastureland area is 6,029,800 hectares. The main wild herbs are: Fritillaria thunbergli, Codonopsis pilosula, Cistanche salsa, licorice, Astragalus mongholicus, Chinese herbaceous peony, and rheum officinal.

There are such tourist attractions as the Wusu Spring, the Badanxing Nature Reserve, Antler Bay, Sarkule Lake, and Baketu Port.