The Kanas is a magical and appealing place for all ages. It is an enchanting Mongolian name which means "beautiful and mysterious".

The Kanas or Hanas, located in the territory of Burqin County, central part of the Altay mountains, is a state level natural reserve and the most distinctive natural landscape zone, with an area of 2000 sq kms.

Location

It borders on Mongolia, Russia, and Kazakstan at longitude 86'54" east and latitude 48'75" - 49'11" north, like a feather tail stuck up at the northwest corner of rooster-shaped China's domain.

In terms of science and humanity, the Kanas is China's only extension of the Siberian Taiga Forest, the only Palaearctic Euro-Siberian wildlife distribution region in China, the only place of origin for the biggest tributary of the Ertix River in the river system of the Arctic Ocean, an important ecological area to check the northward movement of the Gurbantunggut Desert and also the only compact community for the Tuwa tribe, of Mongolian nationality.

The Kanas has unique geographic position, favorable natural conditions and strange biological composition. The region, as a rare typical area with European ecological system in China, shapes a lot of peculiar and splendid biological and geographical phenomena, featured by undulating hills, continuous ice-capped peaks, criss-crossing ravines and gullies, dense forest and a great disparity elevation.

The Kanas, in many people's mind, simply means the Kanas Lake, where above is the blue sky, dotted with elegant white cloud: below is a pool of green water, as limpid as a mirror: around are grand glaciers, pure white snow, lush forest, luxuriant pasture and gurgling streams, adding radiance and beauty to each other as if they were dissolved into one body. So one can not help feeling excited at such a marvelous sight.

Mr Qian Wei-chang, a famous Chinese scholar once spoke highly of the Kanas by saying "Here is the only Swiss landscape in Asia".

Climate

The Kanas is situated in the cool temperature zone. The long winter season lasts seven months; spring and autumn link up without a clear summer all the year round and frost-free period reaches 80-108 days. From early June to Mid-october each year, the climate here is pleasant; the moon is clear and the sun is sunny; the mean temperature is around 16°C, with relative humidity of 63% even in the hottest month of July.