Ili

Ili Overview

Chinese Name: 伊犁哈萨克自治州 English IPA: /'iliː/ Location: Situated in the Yili River Valley of northern Tianshan Mountain in west Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Population (city): 4,662,000 Language: Northern official dialect, Uygur language, Kazak language, Mandarin, etc. Zip code: 835000 Tel code: 0999, 0901, 0906 Time zone: UTC+8

Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture, Ili or Ili prefecture for short, is located at the Ili River Valley of the north Tianshan Mountain in west of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It was founded in 1954, and is the only autonomous prefecture that administers both prefecture-level administrative region and county-level administrative region in China. And it is also the only Sub-provincial autonomous prefecture in the country. With a total area of 35 square kilometers, it is equivalent to one thirtieth of the total area of China. As the saying goes, “you won’t know how large China is until you arrive in Xinjiang; you won’t realize how beautiful Xinjiang is until you get to Ili”.

Highlight of Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture

  • Sea of Flower in June: In June, you could appreciate the purple sea of lavender flowers; you could admire the yellow sea of rape flowers in Zhaosu; you could visit the red sea of poppy in Tangbula. Those all  power of life.
  • Ranch Life of Sayram Lake Bank: May and June see the most marvelous views of Sayram Lake, with flowers blossoming on grassland. And the lake seems a pure pearl inlaying in the prairie. Unrestrained flocks and herds,herdsmen’smoking curling up from their kitchen chimneys, sea of flowers, etc. You could feel the tranquility of life there.
  • Gorgeous Views of Prairie: There is a large area of grassland in Ili. The most and the most splendid natural scenery there is ranch. You could visit Gongnaisi Prairie, Tangbula Prairie, Nalati Prairie, Zhaosu Prairie, Fruit Valley, Kalajun Prairie, etc.

Other Destinations in Ili

Ili Attractions

Getting the fame of “Wetland of Central Asia”, Ili enjoys numerous amazing tourist attractions. For the natural spots, there is Gongnaisi (means the sun slope in Mongol) Prairie, Tangbula Prairie, Narat Prairie, Zhaosu Prairie, Fruit Valley, Kalajun Prairie (喀拉峻大草原), Ili River, etc. For the cultural sites, there is Wusun Ancient Tombs of Bronze Age, Ruins of Alalimali (阿拉力马力遗址), Ruins of Gongyuecheng (弓月城遗址) of Tang Dynasty, the General House of Ili,Lin Zexu Memorial Hall, etc. Besides, you could also visit [...]

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Ili Tours

Situated in the Ili River Valley of northern Tianshan Mountain in west Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Ili is blessed with all all sorts of views like prairie, lavender flowers, snow-covered mountains, ruins of ancient time, etc. The distance among these tourist attractions varies a lot and so you had better plan your Ili visiting tour in advance. Here we have some Ili tours that you could refer to, such as 13 Days Nothwest Xinjiang and Ili Grassland Photography Tour in Summer, [...]

Climate & When to Go

Ili is characterized by short summers and long winters. Spring sees fast temperature increase but with unstable feature. Autumn sees fast temperature decline. Usually, spring is 30 days shorter than autumn. Abundant sunshine, relative low humidity, and strong evaporation are the features of climate there. Besides, large temperature differences between day and night are one of the typical features of local climate. For the disastrous weather, late autumn and early spring often experience cold air intrusion, with rapid temperature decline [...]

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Transportation

Ili enjoys a large area so that the distance between places and the dishes with other cities in Xinjiang might be quiet long. In order to let you know more about Ili transportation, there are further details of Ili transportation. How to Reach & Leave there By Plane Yining Airport Location: No.144 Airport Road Tel: 0999-8222332 The airport is 5 miles away form Ili downtown, it is the airport that is the closest to city proper in China. The airport provides flights to [...]

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Festivals and Activities

Ili festivals take on with the characteristics of local minority culture and natural landscape. The following is some further information of Ili festivals and events. Ili Apricot Blossom Tourism Festival It falls in each April. The main activities of the festival include: multi-ethnic concert, "the Miss Apricot Flower" selection, long hair match, handicrafts exhibition, activities of ethnic special cuisine, rare stone exhibition, car show, poem meeting, reading club, symposiums, pen, thousand people footing, bike riding, etc. Bailati Festival (白拉提节) It is a festival that [...]

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Travel Tips

Useful Telephone Numbers City Code: 654000 Zip code: 835000 Fire: 119 Ambulance: 120 Police: 110 Yili Tourism Quality Supervision Complaints: 0999-8044229 Yining Tourism Complaints: 0999-8359405 Yining Taxi Complaints: 0999-8121478 Civil Aviation Ticket Office: 0999-6766000 Post Office Ili Post Office: North of No.25, Lane 3 Stalin Street Chabuchar County Post Office: No.96 West Street of Chalugai Road Xinyuan County Post Office: No.29 Youth Street, Xinyuan Town Jiefangxilu Road Post Office Branch: No.550 Jiefang West Road Airport Road Post Office Branch: No.194 Airport Road Medical Service Xinjiang Ili Friendship Hospital Add: No.92 Stalin [...]

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Useful Maps

Our Ili maps cover different types of useful maps including Ili location Map, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Map, Ili City Map, Ili Attractions Map, Ili Transportation Map, Scenic Spots Around Ili Map, etc. to help you better understand about Ili prefecture and plan your ideal Ili tour. [...]

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Ili Accommodation

As a prefecture that enjoys numerous tourist resources, Ili attracts thousands of people from home and aboard. Visitors could find hotels of all levels in Ili. Here are some of the hotels that you could refer to. Recommended 5-star Hotels: Tekesi Wanbang International Hotel (特克斯万邦国际酒店): It takes you ten minutes ’walking to downtown, with convenient transportation location. Add: No.5 Yihuan Road of Tukesi Kebo Street Attractions nearby: Kalajun Grassland, Eight-Diagram City Museum Longxin International Hotel (Building B)(伊宁隆鑫国际酒店(B座)): It is located in [...]

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