Situated in between the Kunlun Mountain and Talimu Basin crossing the Ruoqiang and Qiemo Counties in the southeastern part of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the Altun Mountain Nature Reserve was set up in 1983 with an area of 4,500,000 hectares.

There are closed terrain, complex landforms, rare atmosphere and highlands of 4,000 to 4,500 meters above sea level, as well as high mountainous lava, marsh, lakes, vast desert and high—altitude frigid vegetation.

In this Reserve with such special landforms and weathers, the high—altitude frigid grasslands plants, e.g. Tianshan Mountain buttercup, primrose, etc. are growing luxuriantly, thus providing abundant foods to highland animals. According to statistics, there are rare highland wild animals such as wild yak, kiang, chiru, which are the "permanent big residents" and other wild animals such as wild camel, argali, barhal, snow leopard, ahu, snow chukar, black—necked crane, and bar —headed goose, among these animals the more than 50 species of rare ungulates are most precious tresures in the Reserve——locally known as"paradise for Highland Animals". In Uygur language the "Altun" means "Gold". Even though the Altun Mountain is not really a golden mountain, the precious and rare flora and fauna living here are much more precious than gold.

For example, the kiang is the larges and most horse—like of the three species of Asiatic wild asses. It is always spoken of as a much more confiding animal, its curiosity being so great that it will frequently approach to within a short distance of any unfamiliar object such as a sportsman. And the wild yak inhabits a desolate and barren country, in which its main food is dry, coarse grass.