哈纳斯自然保护区位于新疆北部的阿尔泰山脉深处，哈纳斯湖是自然保护区的重要组成部分。“哈纳斯”又名咯纳斯，蒙古语意“美丽而神秘的水”。哈纳斯湖的形状象一弯月牙，环湖四周峰峦叠嶂，原始森林密布，阳坡被茂密的草丛覆盖，而北端的入湖三角洲地带，大片沼泽湿地与河湾小心滩共存，地形平坦开阔，各种草类与林木共生，风景秀丽，水天相遇，当人们置身于此时，蕴藏于心灵中的安逸、宁静、清新的自然底蕴在这一刻随之而绽放。
Located in the northwestern reaches of China, "Kanas" is an alpine lake in the Altai Mountains. As the deepest lake in Xinjiang, its legendary "Lake Monster" attracts visitors from all over the world. In today's On the Road, our guide Ning Yan will take us on a trip to the scenic area.
In Mongolian, "Kanas" means "fair, rich and mysterious land". Covering an area of about 10,000 square kilometres, the Kanas Nature Reserve is bordered by China, Kazakhstan, Russia and Mongolia.
The area is full of natural scenery, from glaciers and snow capped mountains to grasslands and wetlands. It has also been suggested as the only gene bank of cold temperate zone fauna and flora in the world.
Zhao Yuxia is director of the local tourism bureau and the Kanas Nature Reserve management committee.
"Beautiful and mysterious, the Kanas nature reserve has lots of natural geological scenery. An environmental official from the United Nations said after inspecting the area in 1995 that Kanas was the last treasure land to be developed."
Zhao Yuxia says Kanas is popular both at home and abroad because it has several unique characteristics.
"Kanas is the only place in China where West Siberian taiga forests are found. It has the largest Palaearctic European and Siberian fauna and flora varieties and is the only flora gene bank in China. The area is also the source of the Burqin, the largest tributary of the Irtysh River."
Main scenic spots along the Kanas River include lakes, bays, villages and a pavilion. One of its four bays is called the Camel Neck. The Kanas River has several river bends and its riverbed forms an "s" shape at the Camel Neck Bay, which is how it got its name.
