Region Xinjiang Time zone China Standard (UTC+8) Area 11,400 km² Local time Monday 1:03 PM | Prefecture Altay Postal code 836500 Elevation 887 m Area code 0906 | |
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Country People's Republic of China Weather -11°C, Wind E at 5 km/h, 79% Humidity University Altay Branch of Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation Points of interest Kanas Lake, Khüiten Peak, Hualin Park | ||
Altay or Aletai (Chinese: 阿勒泰; pinyin: Ālètài; Uyghur: ئالتاي شەھىرى / Алтай Шəһири / Altay Shehiri / Altay Xəⱨiri; Kazakh: التاي قالاسى / Алтай қаласы / Altay qalası / Altay ⱪalase; Dungan: Аләтэ, Aləte, اَلْتَىْ) is a county-level city in Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, in far northern Xinjiang, China. It is the administrative centre of Altay Prefecture, and has 142,000 inhabitants.
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Map of Altay, Xinjiang, China
Climate
Altay has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk), without the strong monsoonal influence on seasonal precipitation patterns that defines the climate across much of China and an annual precipitation total of only 191 millimetres (7.5 in). Winters are long, bitterly cold and dry, with a January 24-hour average of −15.5 °C (4.1 °F); however, the presence of the Altay Mountains to the north helps moderate the severity of winter cold as compared to locations further to the east. Spring and autumn are short but mild. Summers are very warm, but dry, with a July 24-hour average of 21.8 °C (71.2 °F). The annual mean is 4.53 °C (40.2 °F). With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 50% in December to 74% in August and September, sunshine is abundant and the city receives 2,993 hours of bright sunshine annually.
Transport
From Ürümqi (capital of Xinjiang Province) to Altay, it takes about one hour by plane, 9 hours by day bus, 12 hours by night bus and about 14 hours by train (train is until Beitun city).
Culture
Like other cities in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, there are a lot of minorities in Altay, especially Uyghurs and Kazakhs.
Education
In Schools, students are taught mainly in Chinese (mandarin) and there are courses for Uyghur and Kazakh languages.
Tourism
The most important tourism site is Kanas Lake where is a legend of a large creature.