Tianshan Tomur Grand Canyon, Xinjiang

Tianshan Tomur Grand Canyon scenic area (天山托木尔景区tiān shān tuō mù ěr jǐng qū)

Address: 637 Xiangdao, Wensu county, Aksu prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region
Opening hours: 9:30 am-8 pm
Ticket price: 18 yuan ($2.48)/person
Tel: (+86) 997-6796105

The Tianshan Tomur scenic area is located at the foot of Tomur Peak, the highest peak in the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Covering a total area of 7.52 million square meters, it consists of three main sections: The Grand Canyon – for natural sightseeing and exploration, the Tacun village – for rural tours, and the Kyrgyz township of Bozidun – for getting to know the Manas culture, a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage.

As part of Xinjiang Tianshan, the world heritage site designated in 2013, the Tomur Grand Canyon is a key landmark. Combining glaciers, snowy peaks, red-colored canyons, and desert landscapes, it is the largest and most aesthetically valuable red-colored canyon in the Tianshan region, earning it the title of “King of Canyons”.

With its striking landscapes, the Grand Canyon also features cliffs, pillar-like peaks, earth forests, and formations resembling castles, bird flocks, Roman columns, sailboats, and lifelike figures, making it a stunning showcase of Tianshan’s canyon beauty. Hailed as Xinjiang’s “living museum of geological evolution” and a genetic treasure trove of endangered flora and fauna, it also boasts rich biodiversity and is one of the world’s key natural habitats and distribution centers for snow leopards in Central Asia.

Tacun village is located on the edge of the Tomur Peak (7,443 meters) Nature Reserve, the highest peak of the Tianshan Mountains, at an altitude of 2,200 meters. It lies in a cold mountainous grassland zone surrounded by alpine peaks and serves as a habitat for many rare animals, with a rich variety of alpine plants thriving here. It allows visitors to experience seven stunning landscapes in one trip: sandy desert, Gobi (stony) desert, lakes, glaciers, grasslands, forests, and snow-capped mountains.

Bordering Kyrgyzstan to the northwest, Bozidun Kyrgyz ethnic township is home to the UNESCO-recognized intangible cultural heritage Manas – the epic of the Kyrgyz people.
Inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009, Manas is a traditional local epic of the Kyrgyz people. It recounts the heroic deeds of Manas and his seven generations of descendants, who led the Kyrgyz people in their struggles against foreign invaders and various evil forces.