The Ili Horse is tall and robust, with adult stallions averaging 154 cm in height, 162 cm in body length, and weighing over 400 kg. Its well-proportioned build combines strength with speed, while also being resilient to coarse feed and highly resistant to disease, making it an outstanding breed among domestic horses. Since the 1970s, the Ili Horse has won awards at various national horse racing competitions…
Tekes Mountain Flower Honey. The county of Tekes is named after the Tekes River. The name “Tekes” is said to be from the Turkic language, meaning “river on the shady side,” or from the Mongolian language, meaning “plains and wilderness crisscrossed with water sources” or “abundant with wild goats.” According to the *Current Status and Conservation Utilization of Xinjiang Black Bees*, during 1925–1926, Xinjiang black bees were introduced...
Xinjiang’s Ili region has a long history of apple cultivation and is renowned as the “hometown of apples,” being one of the birthplaces of the world’s apple varieties, with a history of at least 2,000 years. Tekes County, known as the “World’s Largest Bagua City,” was awarded the “Guinness World Record” and is famed as the “Famous Bagua City,” boasting a unique environment. Tekes apples, due to their commercial appeal...
The Shamshir Knife is deeply loved by people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang. It is ranked among the Four Famous Knives of Xinjiang and is a distinctive specialty product of ethnic minorities.…
Linen…
Hami melon, also known as thick-skinned sweet melon, has been widely cultivated in Xinjiang for over 1,600 years. Today, there are approximately 180 varieties and types. Among the most popular are: Red Heart Crisp Hami Melon, which has tender red flesh that is fragrant, crispy, sweet, and refreshing; Black Eyebrow Honey Supreme Hami Melon, which features soft and juicy flesh with a sweet and mellow taste...
The Ili River Valley has a long history of apple cultivation, featuring premium varieties and abundant yields, making it a renowned apple-producing region in Xinjiang. The Ili region is one of the birthplaces of the world's apples, still home to 140,000 mu of rare primeval wild apple forests—rare across China—which provide valuable genetic resources for cultivated apples. Located within Huocheng County, “Almalik”…
Huocheng County, designated by the state as the "Hometown of China's Wild Cherry Plum," is the world’s rarest and Asia’s only native habitat of wild cherry plums. The cherry plum, commonly known as wild sour plum, is an extremely precious, rare, and endangered wild forest fruit with highly valuable resources. It is named cherry plum because it resembles a cherry in shape but has the color of a plum...
Ili Lavender Essential Oil is produced in areas including: San'gong Hui Ethnic Township and Daxigou Township of Huocheng County, Yili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Ili; Yuqunweng Hui Ethnic Township and Huyadiyuzi Township of Yining County; Tuogelake Township of Yining City; Kan Township, Hainuke Township, and Miliangquan Hui Ethnic Township of Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County, as well as Administrative Region 66 of the 4th Agricultural Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and others.
There is another legend about lavender: the daughter of the King of the Western Regions, "Iparhan," loved to eat lavender flowers since childhood. Wherever she went, butterflies would follow her, and because of her enchanting fragrance, she was chosen as a concubine by Emperor Qianlong and became the legendary Fragrant Concubine. This story puzzles many — the tale of the Fragrant Concubine in southern Xinjiang is associated with oleaster flowers, while in northern Xinjiang, it’s intertwined with lavender. Could this be a transplanted Fragrant Concubine, who moved from Kashgar to Ili? Perhaps every beautiful flower inspires a beautiful maiden to become the heroine of its legend. Every year in May and June, when vast fields of blue-violet lavender sway like ocean waves in Huocheng, the breeze carries waves of intoxicating floral fragrance, signaling harvest time. Lavender, this fragrant spirit that traveled from Provence, France, to Huocheng, has taken root and thrived here for over 40 years. In 1964, three varieties of lavender were introduced from Beijing Botanical Garden to Huocheng County. At the same time, the National Ministry of Light Industry also conducted trial plantings in Yuxian, Henan; Kunming, Yunnan; and Xi’an, Shaanxi — but all failed. Only in Huocheng did the lavender not only survive but flourish. Today, Huocheng County has become China’s largest lavender planting region, with over 25,000 mu under cultivation, accounting for more than 97% of the country’s total production. Alongside France’s Provence, Japan’s Hokkaido, and Russia’s Caucasus, Huocheng is now recognized as one of the world’s four major lavender production areas. Due to its extensive lavender cultivation, Huocheng County has been named the “Home of Lavender in China.” As the planting area has expanded, cultivation has become increasingly organized and large-scale, forming several significant lavender bases. The lavender industry in Huocheng has also grown steadily, developing into an integrated model encompassing raw material cultivation, essential oil extraction, deep product processing, new product R&D, tourism development, and leisure entertainment.
The 61st Regiment of the 4th Agricultural Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps is located in the northwest of the Ili region in Xinjiang, adjacent to the Khorgos Port. The once-prosperous ancient city of “Alimali,” known as the “Paradise of Central Asia” during the Yuan Dynasty, is situated here. The 61st Regiment fully leverages its geographical and resource advantages to vigorously develop characteristic fruit products such as tree-dried apricots, Fuji apples, nectarines...
"The Hometown of China’s Red Globe Grapes" —— The Mohuer Ranch in Huocheng County "Beautiful night, so serene, only my guitar lingers on the grassland——" The Kokdala Grassland mentioned in the song is located in today's Mohuer Ranch, Huocheng County. With a long and storied history, Mohuer Ranch is a place where the histories and cultures of various ethnic groups have collided and blended. It boasts...
The Ili Shamusak Knife is named after its maker, Shamusak Aisimu. Born in the former Suiding County (now Huocheng County), Shamusak later wandered to areas in southern Xinjiang such as Kuqa. During his travels, he developed a deep passion for knife-making. He carefully observed the designs of various knives and diligently studied the crafting techniques of different artisans. He worked as an apprentice under master craftsmen...
The Huocheng County Rose Cut Flower Solar Greenhouse Cultivation Technology Demonstration Base, which has been honored with the title of “National Advanced Collective in Science Popularization for Boosting Agriculture and Enriching Villages,” has achieved remarkable results in demonstrating the cultivation of cut roses since 2008. Currently, the base has built 19 flower greenhouses, with each greenhouse producing 40,000 rose stems annually. Each rose stem is sold for 0.8 yuan, generating an annual income of...
Huocheng County is home to the only large desert in the Ili River Valley — the Tukai Desert. The county has made full use of this resource by planting rose willows and then cultivating cistanche at their roots. This has not only effectively improved the desert environment but also helped local farmers increase their income and achieve prosperity, realizing a win-win of both economic and ecological benefits. Located...
Xinjiang is internationally renowned as a land of fruits and melons, and is one of the world's six major fruit production belts. Among all its specialty fruits, grapes are one of the most historically cultivated and representative fruits in Xinjiang. Known nationwide for their high sugar content, sweet taste, vibrant color, rich nutrition, excellent quality, and abundant variety resources, Xinjiang grapes...
Huoyuan Town in Huocheng County is a well-known sweet potato production area, with over 30 years of sweet potato cultivation history. The current planting area covers around 5,000 mu, with just Huangqu Village alone accounting for 3,000 mu. More than half of the farmers in the village have achieved prosperity through sweet potato farming, and many families have seen their annual income exceed 100,000 yuan in recent years,…
Xinjiang currently has over 100 deer farms with nearly 10,000 domesticated red deer, mainly found in areas such as Zhaosu, Tekes, and Qapqal in Xinjiang. These deer are abundant and highly productive, locally referred to as "blue-hide red deer." They are also found in Yiwu and Barkol grasslands, as well as in Mori in the Hami region, commonly known as "yellow-eyed deer." The red deer is a valuable animal, with its fetus, …
Kazakh roasted flatbread is a thick bread baked using dried cow dung as fuel, known for its particularly fragrant taste. This type of bread is also an indispensable food when Kazakhs drink milk tea. Ingredients: flour, milk or sheep's milk, sheep tail fat. Method: Soak the starter dough in water, mix it with flour, sheep tail fat, and milk or sheep's milk, knead the dough well, and place it in a sheepskin bag to ferment...
In Ili, steamed buns come in various cooking styles—baked, pan-fried, and steamed—each method yielding a unique flavor. The most common varieties are baked buns, pan-fried buns, and thin-skinned buns. The fillings are typically made with lamb or beef, onions, and salt, seasoned with an appropriate amount of cumin, pepper, and other spices. For pan-fried buns, fermented dough is used to wrap the filling, then the buns are...