National Parks of ChinaOverview
| Designation | National Park of China (fifth batch) |
| Province | Xinjiang |
| Location | 93 km south-west of Bole, Xinjiang |
| Latitude, longitude | 44.6, 81.2 Google Maps |
| Nearby sites | Heavenly Lake of Tianshan, Tomur Grand Canyon, Bosten Lake, Lop People’s Village |
| Highlights | Pearl of the Silk Road |
| Wildlife | Swans, geese |
| Elevation | 2,073 m |
| Nearby cities | Xinjiang, Ürümqi |
| Themes | Lakes, Plateaus, Mysteries |
About
Sayram Lake, the “pearl of the Silk Road”, Mongolian for “lake on the ridge”, lies in a high basin of the western Tianshan 93 km south-west of Bole, Xinjiang, an alpine rift lake at 2,073 m, 20 km east to west and 30 km north to south, 458 km² and 92 m deep.
The scenic area includes the lake, the lakeside steppe and the mountain forests.
There are tales of a “lake monster”. On 1 June 2008, the last day of the second round-the-lake cycle race, at 13:48 as riders ate lunch by the shore, the legendary monster appeared: according to a deputy prefecture governor on the spot it was white, shaped like the upturned hull of a sailing boat, about 4 m long, 4 km from the shore and 2 to 3 m above the water; after ten minutes it sank and the lake was calm again. Some think it a kind of fish.