Yili Hot Spring Xinjiang

Yili Hot Spring Xinjiang is a geothermal bathing facility in the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture of northwestern Xinjiang, a valley region sometimes romantically described as Switzerland of the East for its spectacular combination of snow-capped Tianshan peaks, glacial rivers, emerald highland meadows, and gentle cultural landscapes of Kazakh yurt settlements that create an almost European alpine ambiance in the heart of Central Asia at one of the historic Silk Road's most significant mountain crossings. The Ili Valley's natural highlights include the spectacular Sayram Lake at 2,073 meters elevation — one of the most beautiful high-altitude lakes in Central Asia — and the lavender fields planted by French agronomists in the 1990s that have transformed portions of the Ili Valley into China's most successful lavender-growing region, drawing visitors each June to the purple-scented fields beneath the Tianshan snows in a landscape fusion of Central Asian geography and Provençal agricultural culture. The sodium-bicarbonate geothermal spring waters here offer therapeutic bathing in a valley of extraordinary natural beauty and cultural richness where Kazakh, Uyghur, Mongolian, and Han Chinese communities have created a multicultural border society shaped by centuries of Silk Road interchange between China and the Central Asian world.