Site of the Dushanzi Oilfield

　　Located on the west side of National Highway 217, about 3 kilometers south of Dushanzi urban area. In 1897, Dushanzi began extracting oil using primitive methods. According to the “Illustrated Annals of Xinjiang,” in order to increase local government revenue and counter the dumping of foreign oil, in 1909 the Xinjiang regional government purchased an oil drilling machine from Russia, transported it to Dushanzi, and drilled an oil well there. The well was seven or eight zhang deep. Inside the well, sounds roared like waves, and oil and gas surged out in vapor. “When ignited, the flames shot several feet high.” This was the first oil well in Dushanzi. The crude oil produced in Dushanzi was of excellent quality. Tests conducted in Baku, Russia, showed that “every 100 jin of crude oil could yield over 60 jin of refined oil, which was competitive with that produced in America.” Large-scale, formal drilling and oil extraction at the Dushanzi oilfield began in the 1930s. From the 1930s to the peaceful liberation of Xinjiang in 1949—over 19 years—the field produced approximately 11,497 tons of oil. Dushanzi is one of China’s earliest developed oilfields and, along with the Yumen Oilfield and the Yanchang Oilfield, was considered one of China’s three major oilfields at the time. In the late 1950s, after the Sino-Soviet split, over 200 oil wells in Dushanzi were sealed off.

　　Address: West side of National Highway 217, 3 km south of Dushanzi urban area

　　Admission: Free

　　Opening Hours: All day