Bosten Lake
Last Sunday, with some time on our hands, we headed out to Bosten Lake. Too cold for a swim we had a damn fine wander along the beach, and up into the sand dunes. Bosten Lake was originally known as the Western Sea and would have been a welcome resting place for the original travellers on the Silk Road. Today though Bosten Lake is known for its swimming, fishing, and boating in summer.
We hired a taxi for the trip (which turned out to take about 5 hours) for 180RMB or about $22US. The ride out there takes about an hour and a half in summer, but with the roads icy it took us about 2 hours each way.
Couldn’t resist posting these photos that Mr. Manning took. Speaking of Michael he has new pics up here. That one of him on the boat was taken by yours truly.
With all the sand in Xinjiang, and the very dry air in Korla, just being by such a large and beautiful body of water was a certain relief.
I found the following online on a couple of sites about Bosten Lake:
57 kilometers northeast of Korla, Bosten Lake is the largest freshwater lake in Xinjiang, which serves as a natural reservoir. The lake, covering over 1,000 square kilometers reflects the beauty of the southern countryside with luxuriant vegetation. It is also a large fishery where a variety of fish grow. The lake is known as the Oriental Hawaii of Xinjiang because of its unique and beautiful scenery in the Gobi desert. To accommodate developing tourism, recreational facilities have been gradually set up around the lake. Motor boating, water-skiing, diving and fishing are becoming popular. After a day of fishing, tourists can enjoy delicious bullhead and blunt-snout bream which are produced in the lake.
The lake is actually 980 square kilometers in size. Also I understand that the lake has suffered some degree of over-fishing. But anyway, it is a nice place to visit. In summer there is a 20RMB entrance fee.
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