The area around Yili Normal University in the northern part of Yining has a different character from the older districts of the city: broader streets, newer buildings, and the activity that a university campus brings to a neighbourhood — cafes, bookshops, student restaurants, and a generally younger and more mixed population. The university is one of the main institutions for Kazakh and Uyghur language instruction in the region, and its presence gives the neighbourhood a somewhat more cosmopolitan feel.
The streets near the campus have a range of cheap restaurants representing the full ethnic mix of the Ili Valley: Uyghur lamb dishes, Kazakh bread and fermented mare's milk, Hui Chinese food, and standard Han Chinese options. It is a good area for eating cheaply and well without venturing far from the city centre.
The campus itself, on the northern edge of the neighbourhood, has landscaped grounds that are pleasant to walk through in spring and autumn, when the trees are in bloom or turning.