Baisha Lake 白沙湖

About Baisha Lake

The lake is the core of the 10th Division 185th Regiment's Baisha Lake scenic area, which lies in Habahe County and is a national 5A-grade tourist scenic area, rated in 2017 and described in a China News Service report as the Corps' first national 5A-grade scenic area. The ministry's data page gives the lake as about 2,100 metres north to south and 1,300 metres east to west, at 650 metres elevation, and says its water neither rises nor falls, neither freezes nor turns turbid, calling it a 'holy spring of the desert'.

Tall mixed forest belts and reed beds grow around it, with lotus flowering in summer. The adjacent Mingsha Hill has clean, fine sand, and on hot summer days sliding down the dune produces a booming sound.

The area also has cultural features including the 185th Regiment flood-control and territory-defence monument and the 'Northwest Border First Company', an open list. The regiment lies on the southern flank of the Altai, borders Kazakhstan along an 85.4-kilometre line and is the terminus of National Highway 331.

What to look for

• The lake itself, about 2,100 m by 1,300 m at 650 m elevation, which the ministry page calls a 'holy spring of the desert'
• The mixed forest belts and reed beds around the lake, with lotus flowering in summer
• The adjacent Mingsha Hill, whose sand the page says booms when slid upon in hot weather
• The 185th Regiment flood-control and territory-defence monument and the 'Northwest Border First Company' site

Location & getting there

Getting to Baisha Lake

Confirm the visitor entrance and which boat or walking routes operate on your date. Rainfall, water levels and weather can change access.

• Search for 白沙湖 with 阿勒泰地区 and 哈巴河县.