The Nalati Grasslands lie about 200 kilometres east of Yining, at an elevation of 2,000–3,000 metres in the northern Tian Shan. The landscape is high alpine meadow — rolling hills covered in grass, with pine forest on the upper ridges and clear rivers running through the valleys — and in summer the combination of wildflowers, grazing horses, and snow-capped peaks above creates one of the most classically beautiful landscapes in western China.
Kazakh herdsmen bring their flocks up to these pastures each summer, camping in white yurts that appear across the hillsides from June onward. The grassland has been developed for domestic tourism — there is an entrance gate with a ticket fee, cable cars in the main scenic area, and horse rental operations — but the scale of the landscape is large enough that it absorbs the tourist infrastructure without being defined by it. Walking away from the main cable car area into the meadows produces scenery that the promotional photographs cannot convey.
The best time to visit is mid-June to mid-July, when both the wildflowers and the herding activity are at their peak. August is busier and the flowers have passed. The grassland is accessible by bus or shared taxi from Yining in about two hours; accommodation is available in the yurt camp at the entrance, which is genuine enough for a one-night stay.