The Aketas Girl Peak Scenic Area is located in Aketas Village, Tekes Town, Tekes County, Yili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, situated on the Wusun Mountains north of Tekes County. It is a national 4A-level tourist attraction with a total planning area of 61 square kilometers. Abundant rainfall and a humid climate have created an extremely superior ecological environment here, giving birth to a world-class valley grassland known as the "Little Kalajun". The scenic area boasts the vast Aketas Grassland, where the grass is green and wildflowers are in full bloom. Primeval forests with lush trees are also distributed within the area. The infrastructure in the scenic area has been continuously improved, with completed facilities such as a tourist service center, horse-riding experience area, viewing platforms, cultural grand stages, shuttle bus routes, hiking wooden plank roads, parking lots, signboards, catering bases, flower sea camps, and wooden house viewing platforms, providing comprehensive services for tourists.
Historical Culture
"Aketas" means "White Stone Mountain" in the Kazakh language, named after the white stones, symbolizing holiness and beauty. The scenic area takes the "Wusun Legend" story as its cultural core. Legend has it that a brave Kazakh girl died for her pursuit of faithful and free love, and Girl Peak was named to commemorate this love story. Tekes County is the place with the most recorded married princesses in ancient China. The Han Dynasty princesses Xi Jun and Jie You both married into the Wusun Kingdom, and this area was also a region where ancient nomadic peoples established many "yazhang" (nomadic royal tents). The Wusun Mountain where the scenic area is located is the only mountain named after the Wusun in China. In addition, historical and cultural relics such as Wusun ancient tomb clusters and rock paintings remain here. According to expert research, a painted rock painting in a cave in the scenic area is a product of primitive society (late Paleolithic or early Neolithic period), dating back at least 5,000 years, which is the first painted rock painting of primitive humans discovered in the Yili region.
Main Attractions
Wildflower Valley
This is a natural sea of flowers with different scenery in each season. May to July is the most beautiful period in Wildflower Valley. During the flowering season, wild lilies, wild strawberries, wild mushrooms, wild tulips, and other flowers bloom competitively. In July, the valley is decorated with romantic and beautiful small yellow flowers, primroses, rapeseed flowers, perilla, and Xinjiang fritillaries. Walking among them, you are surrounded by the fragrance of flowers, as if placed in a sea of flowers.
Wusun Ancient Town
This area was once where the White Horse Knights trained and rested while rescuing the Wusun princess, and it was also the winter pasture where nomadic peoples lived and grazed, facing the sun and being relatively warm in winter. The ancient town is built as a Western Regions love town, inheriting the love story of the Wusun princess and the White Horse Knight. In the future, it plans to reference the form of Japan's Gassho Village to build functional areas including village-style commercial streets, tourist gathering and entertainment plazas, an ancient town railway station, and a cable car lower station, providing tourists with catering, entertainment performances, and mountain climbing supply services.
Elf World
Located one kilometer from Wusun Ancient Town, it gathers elements such as animals and agronomy. It has projects like the Dwarf House and Pet World, where tourists can have close interactions with animals such as goats, cows, horses, marmots, alpacas, and hares, making it especially suitable for parent-child play and prolonging tourists' stay time.
Girl Peak Folk Custom Garden
Featuring Kazakh culture, here tourists can taste authentic Kazakh cuisine such as hand-grabbed meat, horse milk wine, and roasted lamb. They can also experience characteristic rides, choosing to ride horses, sightseeing vehicles, or camels to tour the mountain top. In addition, tourists can participate in traditional Kazakh activities to deeply experience their folk culture.
Deer Stone Square
Built relying on the Deer Stone Relic, the square has facilities such as activity centers around it. Rich grassland competitive performances such as Kyz kuu (girl chasing), kokpar (goat grabbing), archery, and wrestling are carried out here, making it an important place to display grassland culture, where tourists can closely feel the boldness and enthusiasm of grassland ethnic groups.
Bagua City Viewing Platform
Located at the commanding height of the scenic area, climbing the viewing platform allows you to overlook the unique layout of the entire Bagua City. The viewing platform uses innovative concepts combined with sound, light, and electricity, and has a micro-film hall. Through 3-5 minute films, it displays the development history of Bagua City to tourists by high-tech means, allowing them to savor its long history. Along the wooden plank road, you can also climb the grassland glass plank road to experience the exciting walk on the glass plank road while enjoying the beautiful scenery of Bagua City.
Aketas Cave
The cave has an area of 48 square meters, a height of 2.5-3 meters, and an entrance width of about 5 meters. The well-preserved painted rock paintings in the cave are of great historical value. According to expert research, they are products of primitive society, which are of great significance for studying the ancient human civilization in the Yili region.
Food
Hand-Grabbed Meat
Selected from the sheep grazing on the local grassland, the meat is tender and free of mutton smell. The mutton is stewed in clear water with only a little salt and ginger slices for seasoning. When eating, grab the mutton directly and dip it in garlic paste and spicy leather sauce, with a mellow taste, showing the boldness of grassland cuisine. It can be tasted in Kazakh yurt restaurants or characteristic restaurants in the scenic area, generally priced at about 120-150 yuan per kilogram.
Horse Milk Wine
Made by fermenting fresh horse milk, it is a traditional Kazakh beverage. With a low alcohol content, usually about 3-5 degrees, it is sweet and sour and refreshing, making it a good summer drink to relieve heat and quench thirst. In the scenic area, tourists can not only taste horse milk wine but also participate in the homemade process of some herder families to experience traditional brewing techniques. The usual price is 60-80 yuan per kilogram.
Roasted Lamb
Tender lamb is cut into small pieces, skewered on iron sticks, and roasted over charcoal fire. During the roasting process, seasonings such as cumin and chili powder are sprinkled, making the lamb crispy on the outside and tender on the inside with a rich aroma. This is a common food in the scenic area, easily available at snack stalls or restaurants, generally priced at 5-10 yuan per skewer.
Kazakh Milk Tea
It is made by boiling brick tea and mixing it with fresh milk or goat milk, plus appropriate salt. The milk tea is rich in flavor, both thirst-quenching and filling. Tourists can taste the steaming milk tea in the yurts or characteristic teahouses in the scenic area while enjoying the grassland scenery. It is generally sold by the pot, with each pot serving 2-3 people, priced at about 30-50 yuan.
Nang (Uygur Bread)
One of the traditional Kazakh staples, there are various types such as thin nang and thick nang. Nang is usually made of flour through a special baking process, with a crispy taste, convenient for carrying and storing. In the scenic area, tourists can watch the local herders make nang on the spot, and the freshly baked nang is fragrant. Prices vary according to size and type, generally 5-15 yuan each.
Tickets
The ticket price is 30 yuan per person. Children under 1.2 meters are free of charge; elderly people over 65 years old are free of charge with ID cards; students can enjoy a half-price discount with student IDs. In addition, there are different package combinations: ticket + shuttle bus ticket is 60 yuan per person; ticket + self-driving ticket is 75 yuan per vehicle (vehicles must be 7 seats or less, excluding RVs and taxis, and in good condition). The scenic area sometimes launches preferential activities, such as a free admission policy for autumn and winter from October 11, 2024, to the end of March 2025.
You can search for the official WeChat public account of the scenic area, "阿克塔斯姑娘峰", to get the latest updates. Online ticket purchase is not yet available on this public account.
Opening Hours
The scenic area is open year-round from 9:00 to 22:00. The activities and landscapes in the scenic area vary by season. For example, summer (June to August) is the most beautiful time on the grassland, with wildflowers in full bloom and pleasant weather, suitable for grassland sightseeing, horseback riding and other activities; in winter (December to February of the following year), the grassland is covered in snow, and folk tourism theme activities such as "horses trampling on snow", "snowy goat grabbing" and "snowy girl chasing" will be held. Tourists can choose the appropriate time to visit according to their preferences.
Itinerary
One-Day Itinerary
9:00 Arrive at the scenic area and take a shuttle bus to enter, enjoying the grassland scenery along the way
9:30 Arrive at Wildflower Valley, walk in the sea of flowers and take photos (recommended to stay for 1.5 hours)
11:00 Go to Wusun Ancient Town to learn about Wusun culture and love legends, and taste characteristic snacks in the ancient town (stay for 1 hour)
12:00-14:00 Have lunch at Girl Peak Folk Custom Garden, taste Kazakh cuisine such as hand-grabbed meat and milk tea, and take a short rest after meals
14:00 Go to Elf World to interact with animals (play for 1 hour)
15:00 Go to Deer Stone Square to watch grassland competitive performances (performance time is subject to the scenic area's arrangement; free activities if missed)
16:00 Climb to Bagua City Viewing Platform, overlook the panoramic view of Bagua City, visit the micro-film hall, and experience the grassland glass plank road (stay for 1.5 hours)
17:30 Take the shuttle bus back to the scenic area entrance and end the day's tour
Two-Day Itinerary
Day 1
9:00 Enter the scenic area and first go to the tourist service center to learn about the overview and activities of the scenic area
9:30-12:00 Visit Wildflower Valley and Wusun Ancient Town to deeply experience the sea of flowers and Wusun culture
12:00-14:00 Have meals in Wusun Ancient Town or Girl Peak Folk Custom Garden
14:00-17:00 Go to Elf World to play, and then go to Deer Stone Square to participate in or watch grassland competitive performances
17:00-19:00 Choose to stay in a Kazakh yurt or viewing wooden house in the scenic area, enjoy the grassland sunset, experience the grassland customs at night, and participate in campfire parties and other activities (if any)
Day 2
9:00 Get up, enjoy the grassland sunrise, and breathe fresh air
9:30-12:00 Go to Girl Peak Folk Custom Garden, experience characteristic rides such as horses and camels to the mountain top, and enjoy the mountain top scenery
12:00-13:30 Dine at restaurants on the mountain or at the foot of the mountain
13:30-16:00 Go to Bagua City Viewing Platform to fully appreciate the style of Bagua City, visit the micro-film hall, and walk on the grassland glass plank road
After 16:00, pack up and prepare for departure, and can buy characteristic souvenirs at the scenic area entrance store
Transportation
- Self-Driving: Starting from Tekes County, the scenic area is only 12 kilometers away, about 11 minutes' drive. Navigate to "Aketas Girl Peak Scenic Area", and the road conditions along the way are good. It should be noted that the scenic area requires self-driving vehicles to be 7 seats or less (excluding RVs and taxis) and in good condition, with a self-driving ticket of 75 yuan per vehicle.
- Chartered Car: Regular chartered car services can be found in Tekes County, with prices negotiated according to the vehicle type and itinerary. Chartered cars are more convenient and suitable for family or small group tourists.
- Public Transportation: There is currently no direct public transportation to the scenic area. Tourists can first reach Tekes County and then transfer to other transportation within the county to the scenic area. They can take a taxi from the county to the scenic area, costing approximately 30-50 yuan.
Must-See Attractions
- Wildflower Valley: The best flower-viewing time is from May to July, with different types of wildflowers blooming in different months. It is recommended to go in the early morning or evening when the light is soft and the photo effect is better.
- Girl Peak Folk Custom Garden: Here, you can deeply experience Kazakh culture, taste delicious food, and participate in traditional activities. It is advisable to go at noon to enjoy the food and the lively atmosphere of the folk custom garden.
- Bagua City Viewing Platform: An excellent place to enjoy the panoramic view of Bagua City. It is recommended to arrive 1-2 hours before sunset to appreciate the layout of Bagua City during the day, the golden outline of the city in the sunset glow, and the beautiful sunset. Pay attention to safety when climbing the glass plank road and walk in an orderly manner as instructed.
Travel Tips
- When visiting in summer, there are many mosquitoes on the grassland. It is recommended to bring mosquito-proof items such as mosquito bracelets and toilet water. At the same time, take sun protection measures, as the sunshine in Xinjiang is strong, so prepare sunscreen, sunglasses, sun hats, etc.
- If you want to experience horse riding, it is recommended to wear comfortable and light long pants and sports shoes, and avoid wearing overly loose or cumbersome clothing. Follow the guide's instructions when riding and do not scare the horses at will.
- Some areas in the scenic area have high altitudes, and there may be mild altitude sickness. Those who feel unwell can prepare anti-altitude sickness drugs in advance. If you feel unwell during the tour, stop the activity in time and go to the tourist service center or seek help from staff.
- Tourists who want to photograph the starry sky can choose to go around the lunar new year when the night sky is darker and the starry sky is more brilliant. Check the weather in advance, choose a clear night, bring tripods, cameras, and other equipment, and take photos in the safe areas designated by the scenic area.
- When participating in folk activities in the scenic area, respect local customs and cultural traditions. For example, when entering a yurt, pay attention not to step on the threshold; be polite when communicating with locals.
Notes
- Take care of the environment in the scenic area, do not litter, and keep the grassland clean. Trash cans are set up in the scenic area for tourists to dispose of garbage.
- During hiking or playing, follow the designated routes in the scenic area and do not enter closed areas without authorization to avoid danger.
- When interacting with animals, do not feed inappropriate food to avoid being scratched or bitten by animals. For example, follow the staff's instructions when contacting animals in the pet world.
- The accommodation conditions in the scenic area are limited. If you choose to stay in the scenic area, book in advance. Kazakh yurts and viewing wooden houses have their own unique accommodation environments, but the facilities may not be as complete as urban hotels, so be prepared mentally.
- When driving to the scenic area, check the vehicle condition in advance to ensure that the vehicle can adapt to mountain roads. The roads in the scenic area have certain slopes and curves, so pay attention to controlling the speed and drive carefully.