# Kanas Scenic Area (喀纳斯景区)

Altay, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region · Northwest, China · Guidebook rating: 5/5
Canonical: https://cnatrip.com/en/places/kanas-scenic-area
Language: en

## Key facts

- **Admission:** Two-day ticket: ¥160 (May–October 15), ¥80 (October 16–April); shuttle bus: ¥70 for one entry, ¥110 for two entries; all-area pass ¥195 (covers the Kanas, Hemu and Baihaba scenic area tickets)
- **Opening hours:** 8:00–20:00; exact hours vary by season, so please check with the scenic area
- **Time needed:** 1–2 days
- **Address:** North of Burqin County town
- **Getting there:** A shuttle bus runs from Kanas Airport directly to the scenic area entrance at Jiadengyu (加登峪), about 1 hour away
- **By car:** Urumqi → Burqin → Jiadengyu → Kanas Scenic Area
- **Good for:** Gardens & Flowers, Photography, Ethnic Culture, Wildlife, Nature

## About Kanas Scenic Area

“Kanas” is a Mongolian word meaning “beautiful and mysterious”. Kanas has some of the most beautiful scenery north of the Tianshan Mountains. Foreign travellers who visited long ago said this was perhaps the last place on Earth where pristine natural beauty could still be found. Sadly, this scenery is diminishing as visitor numbers grow. Every guide to Xinjiang now features this place, and I really don't want to tell more people about it, because here is paradise. The steady influx of tourists has damaged the simple local customs, and the newly built little wooden cabins with red roofs have also marred the landscape.
This is China's only scenic area with Siberian vegetation, and it has almost no summer. Birch and pine-cypress forests are so still that you hold your breath, afraid that a single deep breath might wake you from a dream.
The waters of Kanas Lake hold every shade of blue, as well as gold, pale green and silver-white. The water is so clear that it reflects like a mirror, turning into whatever it sees.
Everyone who has been to Kanas regrets that their photos never quite capture its beauty, yet even the view from an ordinary camera leaves viewers full of praise.

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Source: China Self-Guided Travel 2025 (《中国自助游》, Tianjin Science & Technology Press, Aug 2024), p. 849. Prices, hours and transport details are as printed in the August 2024 edition and may have changed. Always confirm with the venue before you travel.
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