Barkol Grassland 巴里坤草原

About Barkol Grassland

The grassland has more than 28 million mu of usable pasture (2800余万亩). The regional forestry and grassland bureau describes it as an important ecological barrier of the East Tianshan (东天山), and reports its pasture by category: about 1.23 million mu of summer pasture used for roughly 90 days, 7.08 million mu of spring-autumn pasture, 10.95 million mu of winter pasture and 540,000 mu of year-round pasture, with a further 180,000 mu of hayland. A grassland ecological protection subsidy and reward scheme covering the county began in 2011, with a third round from 2021.

Barkol Lake (巴里坤湖), called Pulei Sea (蒲类海) in earlier records, was once a lake of more than 800 square kilometres and at one point shrank to 37 square kilometres. The regional government listed it in 2005 as an important area of the East Tianshan ecological function zone, and in 2019 the county brought Barkol Lake wetland, Gaojiahu wetland and other scattered wetlands under one protection plan as Barkol Wetland (巴里坤湿地), expanding the protected area to 1.34 million mu.

What to look for

• The seasonal pasture itself, which the regional forestry and grassland bureau measures as 1.23 million mu of summer pasture and 10.95 million mu of winter pasture
• The Kazihu viewpoint (卡子湖观景点) on Barkol Lake, where the county report lists a lakeside road, a visitor centre, a car park, a boardwalk and viewing platforms
• Demoiselle cranes (蓑羽鹤), thousands of which the report records migrating to the grassland around Barkol Lake in April
• The wildlife crossings built for red deer (马鹿) on the G575 road across the north slope of the East Tianshan

Location & getting there

Getting to Barkol Grassland

Confirm the road and activity operator, weather and return transport. Stay on permitted routes and do not treat open land as unrestricted access.

• Search for 巴里坤草原 with 哈密市 and 巴里坤哈萨克自治县.