Kanas nature reserve in China's northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region will be built into the largest national park in western China, China News Service reports.

Kanas Lake, located in the valley of the Altai, Xinjiang, is a famous natural resort. Colors of Kanas Lake vary in different seasons and weather. Its beauty and mysterious folk tales attract many tourists every year.

The upcoming national park will not only include the original Kanas nature reserve around Kanas Lake, but also a village of Kaba county and another famous tourist destinations, Hom village. The 10,000 sq km park will be larger than America's Yellow Stone National Park.

In the recent years, visitors to Kanas nature reserve increased by 25 percent every year. However, most visitors went to the narrow strip region around the Kanas Lake. This situation adds ecological pressure to the best-known tourist destinations in Xinjiang. Hopefully, the new large park can reduce the pressure.

Kanas nature reserve has been universally recognized as the most beautiful place in China. With various natural sceneries, such as glaciers, permafrost, mountains, rivers, lakes and grassland, Kanas has won global fame for its rare, unique, beautiful and gorgeous natural landscape.

Lake Kanas lies near the Altai mountains in the northern border region of Xingjiang. About 1,000 kilometers north of Urumqi, capital of Xingjiang, Lake Kanas occupies an area of 44.78 square kilometers and is 1,340 meters above the sea level. The lake is China's deepest freshwater lake, with its deepest area being about 184 meters. About 117 different kinds of birds make their home along this lake.

(CRI October 9, 2007)