Heavenly Lake

Chinese name: 天池（Tian chi）   
Location: Fukang city, Jichang hui Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang, about 90km from Urumuqi.
Ticket: Entrance ticket CNY155.00 during 01Apr-31Oct, CNY105.00 during 01Nov-31Mar; sightseeing bus CNY60.00, boating CNY80.00, round-trip cable car CNY220.00
Estimated tour time: 3-5hours
Recommended time to visit: May-Oct 
Nearby attractions: Xinjiang Musuem, Nanshan Pasture, Red Hill Park, International Grand Bazzar, ect.

Heavenly Lake, nestled high in the Bogda Mountains of the Tianshan Mountain Range of Xinjiang – not to be confused with the Tianchi Lake of "lake monster" fame that sits in the caldera of volcanic Mount Baekdu, situated on the border between China and North Korea in Jilin Province and Ryanggang Province, respectively – lies 115 kilometers west of the city of Urumqui, the capital of Xinjiang.

Heavenly Lake is what is called an alpine, or glacier, lake, it was formed by the erosion caused by a glacier during the early part of the so-called Quaternary Period  just as it is fed today by the spring-and-summer runoff from the surrounding snow-capped mountain peaks.

The surroundings of Heavenly Lake are imposingly beautiful. Surrounded by the towering, snow-capped peaks of Mount Bogda in the distance, and surrounded more immediately by spruce, pine and cypress trees as well as by fields of wildflowers, Lake Tianchi offers some breathtakingly beautiful landscapes, especially during the fall, when the leaves are changing color and the deep blue skies, dotted with puffy, cottony clouds, seem as clear and crisp as the weather itself. Heavenly Lake, which is only a 2-hour drive from Urumqi, is also a welcome retreat from the summer heat of low-lying Urumqi.

Heavenly Lake is roughly crescent shaped, being some 3000 meters in length and roughly half of that in width. At its deepest point, the north-south oriented lake measures 105 meters in depth. Tianchi Lake holds an average of 160 millions of cubic meters of water. Trails snake through the surrounding terrain, from rocky outcroppings to forested patches to open, hilly, pastureland that, in season, is carpeted with wildflowers.

The mountain on which Heavenly Lake is situated, Mount Bogda , is characterized by four climatic belts: a deciduous belt near the base of the mountain, a coniferous belt farther up the mountain, a sub-alpine to alpine belt above this, and finally, an ice-and-snow belt near the mountain's peaks.