Keketuohai translates to “green jungle” from Kazakh and “blue river bend” from Mongolian. Even though its name contains the character for “sea”, there is no ocean here — the name describes the lush forest and the winding blue waters of the Irtysh River.

When travellers say “going to Keketuohai”, they generally mean the Irtysh Grand Canyon, the core destination for most visitors’ itineraries.

The Irtysh Grand Canyon forms part of the 5A‑rated Keketuohai Scenic Area. According to official definitions, this 5A scenic area covers four zones: Irtysh Grand Canyon, Cocosuri, Yileimu Lake and Kalaxiange’er Seismic Fault Zone.

Tickets for these four zones are not interchangeable. Cocosuri requires a separate admission ticket, while Yileimu Lake and Kalaxiange’er Seismic Fault Zone are open to visitors free of charge. Located in remote wilderness, Kalaxiange’er is an undeveloped geological relic with average road conditions and is less conveniently situated than the other three sites.

It is important to draw a conceptual distinction: the larger Keketuohai UNESCO Global Geopark also includes the No.3 Ore Vein and Sayihenbulake zone, in addition to the four zones mentioned above.

Furthermore, Keketuohai National Mine Park is an independent attraction with separate ticketing and is not part of the 5A‑rated Keketuohai Scenic Area. Inside the park lie the famous No.3 Open Pit, Ayiguozi Mine Tunnel, a geological exhibition hall and an underground hydropower station. It focuses on revolutionary‑themed study tours and popular‑science geology education.

On 1 September, hampered by morning rain, we only had time to visit the Irtysh Grand Canyon and Keketuohai National Mine Park.

It took us about 1.5 hours to drive from Fuyun to the entrance of Irtysh Grand Canyon.

Views along the road

Luckily, since the site was not busy that day, we were permitted to self-drive through the first section of the scenic zone before boarding the sightseeing bus to explore the highlight areas.

Views along the self-driving road

Then we arrived at the self-driving end point: Bell Peak parking lot.

We walked a few minutes to the view-point platform to have a full view of the Holy Bell Peak.Holy Bell Peak is a towering 365metre granite monolith, the iconic landmark of the Irtysh Grand Canyon in Keketuohai.

Then we reached the first boarding point for the sightseeing bus.There are several stops along the way for a quick photo shot. The end stop is Camel Peak.From there we took a short walk along the river.The views were simply stunning.

Then we took the bus back, and drove out of the scenic area toward Keketuohai National Mine Park. On the way we passed the charming little town of Keketuohai.

Entering the mine park.

Keketuohai National Mine Park is an industrial‑heritage attraction best known for the No. 3 Open Pit. This giant spiral open-cast mine yielded over 80 mineral species. It provided vital rare-metal materials for China’s “Two Bombs, One Satellite” project and played a key role in repaying national foreign debt.

The park also features an underground mine tunnel and geological exhibition hall. We took the bus to reach the entrance.

Excavated starting in the 1950s, Ayiguozi Mine Tunnel was hand-dug by miners to mine rare metals for China’s national defence. It supplied key minerals for the “Two Bombs, One Satellite” project. Mining stopped in the 1990s, and the tunnel was later restored as a heritage attraction in 2015.

Exploring the tunnel was a very interesting experience.The guided tour through Ayiguozi Mine Tunnel takes visitors along an 800-metre-long historic underground passage. Its multi-level, maze-like chambers retain original miner chisel marks and visible mineral veins. With a year-round temperature close to 0°C, it feels icy inside in summer; helmets are provided for the underground visit.

After visiting the mine park, we continued our drive toward Altay City. The journey took about four hours.

Starving, we checked into our hotel and immediately walked over to the nearby food street for dinner. It was a modest little restaurant, yet it served the best lamb skewers of our entire trip.

We took a short stroll at Tuofengshan Park on our return. Though the 150-metre Tuofengshan Hill has beautifully lit hiking trails, we were too exhausted to climb. The park made a nice finish to our day!

Yours Truly

Angie Guo - Charmission Travel