National Parks of ChinaOverview
| Designation | National Park of China (fourth batch) |
| Province | Xinjiang |
| Location | Bohu County, southern foot of the Tianshan, Xinjiang |
| Latitude, longitude | 41.9, 86.9 Google Maps |
| Highlights | Reed wetlands, desert |
| Top sights | The small lakes |
| Wildlife | Goitered gazelle, deer, big-head schizothoracin, Tarim schizothoracin |
| Area | over 1,100 km² |
| Elevation | 1,048 m |
| Nearby cities | Ürümqi |
| Nearby sites | Heavenly Lake of Tianshan, Lop People’s Village, Kumtag Desert, Tomur Grand Canyon, Sayram Lake |
| Themes | Lakes, Animals, Deserts |
About
Bosten Lake, anciently the “Western Sea”, lies in Bohu County in the south-east of the Yanqi basin at the southern foot of the Tianshan, Xinjiang, between 86°26′ and 87°40′ E and 41°56′ and 42°14′ N, 24 km from the Yanqi county seat. It is China’s largest inland freshwater lake with both inflow and outflow. “Bosten” is Mongolian for “standing”. The lake is about 55 km east to west and 25 km north to south, 1,048 m above sea level, over 1,100 km² in area, 9 m deep on average and 17 m at most.
Its reed beds are vast and wildlife abundant, with goitered gazelles and deer, and it once held the rare big-head and Tarim schizothoracin fish. The History of the Sui already records its “wealth of fish, salt, rushes and reeds”. In the eastern part of the central lake are hot springs 10 to 30 m across that gush warm water summer and winter; the lake drains from its south-west corner as the source of the Peacock River. On the south-east shore the 691 km² Ailexun Ula desert makes a stark contrast with the great lake and its reed marshes.
Ringed by high mountains, the lake has changeable dry springs, hot dry summers, fast-cooling autumns and cold winters with high evaporation and many sunny days. The annual mean is 7.9 °C; January averages −12.7 °C (extreme −30.2 °C, water 0.6 °C) and July 22.8 °C (extreme 38 °C, water 23 °C); sunshine is 67–68% of the possible.