Published: July 25, 2026 | Author: Dale Petersen, angling and outdoors writer
Most travelers heading for the Altai mountains drive straight past Fuhai in Xinjiang without slowing down. That is a mistake I made myself on my first northern loop. On the map, Fuhai County — Burultokay in Kazakh — is just a dot between the desert expressway and Altay City. On the ground, it holds Ulungur Lake, a body of water so large that locals simply call it the sea. There is a swimming beach with actual sand, a winter fishing festival where nets come up through a metre of ice, and some of the best freshwater fish I have eaten anywhere in China. This guide covers both of my visits, one in July and one in the middle of January, with the practical details you need for either season.
Why you can trust this Fuhai guide
I grew up ice fishing in Minnesota and have spent twenty years writing about lakes and the people who work them. I traveled to Fuhai twice at my own expense: in July 2023, when I swam at the Golden Coast and ate perch straight off a charcoal grill, and again in January 2025 for the winter fishing festival on Ulungur Lake. Prices and schedules below are what I saw and paid on those trips. Where I am unsure about current figures, I say so.
Quick reference: Fuhai and Ulungur Lake at a glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Location | Fuhai County, Altay Prefecture, northern Xinjiang |
| The lake | Ulungur Lake, roughly 1,000 km² — one of China’s largest inland lakes, made up of the main basin (Buluntuohai) and the smaller Jili Lake |
| Signature sights | Golden Coast beach, the yardang cliffs locals call the “Devil City on Water,” winter net-hauling on the ice |
| Best time | Late June–August for swimming; around mid-January for the fishing festival; May and September for birds |
| Getting there | ~6 hours from Urumqi on the desert expressway; 1–1.5 hours from Altay City or Beitun |
| Entry fees | Golden Coast area charged 45 CNY in July 2023; festival access on the ice was free in January 2025 |
| Local specialty | Cold-water fish: northern pike and the striped perch everyone calls wudaohei, “five black stripes” |
| Base towns | Fuhai county town or Beitun; Altay City works for a day trip |
A sea in the middle of dry country
My July visit started with a bet. My driver, a cheerful Kazakh man named Bakyt, told me I would smell the water before I saw it. I didn’t believe him — we had been crossing scrubland the color of a paper bag for an hour. Then the road tipped over a low rise and the horizon turned blue from edge to edge. He was right about the smell too: wet reeds and something faintly briny, because Ulungur’s water is very slightly saline in the main basin.
The lake is really two lakes holding hands. The big one, Buluntuohai, does the heavy lifting on size. Jili Lake, the smaller partner to the southeast, is where fishermen concentrate and where the eroded clay cliffs — the so-called Devil City on Water — rise straight from the shoreline. We hired a small boat near the Jili shore for 80 CNY per person and puttered along the cliffs for forty minutes. Up close they look like a shelf of melted castles, banded in rust and grey. Gulls nest in the folds. Bakyt cut the engine at one point and the only sound left was water tapping the hull.
In the afternoon I swam at the Golden Coast on the eastern side. It is a genuine beach, coarse yellow sand, shallow entry, families everywhere, inflatable flamingos included. Water in late July was cool but perfectly swimmable, somewhere around 20 degrees by my guess. For a region that is a two-day drive from any ocean, the seaside atmosphere is half the fun: kids burying their fathers in sand, sunburned men from Karamay asleep under umbrellas, a vendor selling salted fish jerky from a cooler.
January: fish through a metre of ice
The winter trip was a different planet. Air temperature on festival morning was minus 24. The lake had become a white plain with trucks parked on it, which took some getting used to even for a Minnesotan. The winter fishing festival — usually held around mid-January, check dates locally each year — is built around the old technique of running a net under the ice between two holes cut far apart. Horses used to do the hauling; now a winch does, but the crew still works with long poles and hand signals that predate any machine.
When the net finally surfaced, it came up boiling with pike and perch, steam pouring off the mass of fish in the cold. The first and largest fish of the haul was auctioned on the spot, a tradition said to bring the year good luck. In 2025 it went for a figure that made the crowd gasp and laugh at the same time. I paid nothing to stand on the ice and watch, though parking near the site cost 20 CNY. Dress far more warmly than you think necessary. My camera batteries died in forty minutes; my hand warmers were the best money I spent all trip.
Getting to Fuhai
By road, the S21 desert expressway from Urumqi is the game changer. It runs straight across the Gurbantunggut Desert and put Fuhai about six hours from the capital when I drove it; the older G216 route takes noticeably longer. If you are already planning a northern circuit, see our Xinjiang self-drive planning guide for rental and fuel logistics.
By rail, the closest station is Beitun, about an hour from the lake, with overnight trains from Urumqi. By air, Altay City’s airport is roughly 100 km away; from there a taxi or transfer takes 1.5 hours or so. In July 2023 I paid 260 CNY for a private car from Altay to the Golden Coast, agreed in advance. Shared minivans from Fuhai county town to the beach ran about 20 CNY a seat in high summer. Fuhai also pairs naturally with the birch country further west — our Habahe travel guide covers that corner.
Best time to visit
Late June through August is beach season, with long daylight and county-fair energy on weekends. September is quieter and good for birds — the lake sits on a major migration route, and I watched lines of swans working south over Jili Lake. Mid-January means the fishing festival and serious cold. Late April brings a brief, strange spectacle when the ice breaks up and wind stacks the floes along the shore in glassy heaps. For month-by-month planning across the region, our Xinjiang weather by month guide is the place to start.
Where to stay
Fuhai county town has straightforward business hotels; I paid 228 CNY for a clean double in July 2023. Near the Golden Coast there are summer-only guesthouses and a resort strip where prices roughly double on weekends. In winter I based myself in Beitun, which has more heating-reliable hotels, and drove out to the festival. Kazakh yurt stays operate near the eastern shore in summer — bedding was thick and dinner was excellent at the one I tried, but bring your own towel.
What to eat
Order fish. The pike here is firm and clean-tasting, usually grilled over charcoal with cumin and chili, and the perch — wudaohei, named for the five dark bars on its flank — makes a milky, restorative soup that locals treat as the county’s calling card. A whole grilled pike at a shoreline restaurant cost me 88 CNY; the full fish banquet, a dozen preparations of maybe five species, is worth gathering a group for. There is good Kazakh food too: fresh flatbread, butter tea, and horse sausage in winter. If food is a main motive for your trip, our north vs south Xinjiang comparison explains how the region’s cuisines split.
Practical tips
- Carry cash for boat rides, beach lockers and fish vendors; mobile payment works in town but signal on the far shore is patchy.
- The main basin’s water is mildly saline — rinse your swimwear, and don’t count on it for drinking even filtered.
- Wind builds fast in the afternoon. Boat operators stop running when whitecaps appear, so do lake outings in the morning.
- In winter, only walk or drive on ice where festival staff and local vehicles already are. Pressure ridges are real hazards.
- Birders should bring a scope in May or September; the reed beds south of Jili Lake were the most active area I found.
- Fuel up in Beitun or Fuhai town; stations get sparse toward the lake’s east side.
- If you’d rather not organize any of this yourself, hiring a local guide is straightforward and cheap by international standards.
A sample two-day plan
Day 1: Arrive from Urumqi via the desert expressway by early afternoon. Check in at Fuhai town, then head to the Golden Coast for a swim and sunset. Grilled pike dinner on the shore strip.
Day 2: Morning boat trip along the Jili Lake cliffs before the wind rises. Perch soup lunch in town. Drive on to Altay City or continue toward Kanas country in the late afternoon.
FAQ
Is Ulungur Lake worth a detour from the Kanas route?
If you have half a day spare, yes — it is directly on the way if you use the desert expressway, and it is a completely different landscape from the mountain lakes.
Can foreigners attend the winter fishing festival?
I did, with no special permit in January 2025. Hotels handle standard registration. Confirm festival dates locally; they shift with ice conditions.
Is the swimming safe?
The Golden Coast has a marked swim zone and shallow entry. Beyond the buoys, wind chop comes up quickly — treat it like any big lake.
Can I fish there myself?
Commercial netting is managed and the lake has seasonal moratoriums. Casual rod fishing arrangements change year to year, so ask at your hotel rather than assuming.
How does it compare to Sayram Lake?
Sayram is an alpine postcard; Ulungur is a working lake with beaches and boats. They photograph differently and feel nothing alike — which is a good argument for seeing both.
Disclaimer
Prices, opening arrangements and festival dates in this article reflect my visits in July 2023 and January 2025 and may have changed. Ice activities carry inherent risk; follow local instructions. Always verify current schedules and fees with official Fuhai County tourism channels before traveling.
About the author: Dale Petersen is an outdoors and angling writer from Minnesota, USA. He has reported on lake fisheries and cold-climate travel for two decades, and has made two trips to Fuhai and the Altay region, in summer 2023 and winter 2025. He pays his own way and accepts no sponsorship from operators he covers.
