Huyanghe
In the Kuitun River basin, Huyanghe lies between the Tianshan to the south and the Gurbantunggut Desert to the north, an oasis between mountain and sand.
A place shaped through time
Huyanghe lies in the Kuitun River basin in the southwest of the Junggar Basin, with the Tianshan to the south and the Gurbantunggut Desert to the north. Its territory spans more than 4,500 square kilometres between Kuytun, Usu, Karamay and Shawan. Under the Qing it belonged to Kur Kara Usu, served as pastureland for the Oirat Mongols, and was a station on the post road from Urumqi to Ili. Rivers from the Tianshan water the farmland along the desert's southern edge, forming a long, narrow oasis. Mountains, oasis and desert follow one another from south to north, setting the basic pattern of the place.