Xinjiang: Swan Spring, Jan 2026

By Beatrice Wong
February 26, 2026
7:30 pm
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Xinjiang is a vast province of China that keeps drawing me back. This is my 4th trip to Xinjiang and the first time during the winter, braving -15C temperatures. The focus of this trip is the Yili 伊犁 region in north-western Xinjiang for its snowy icy scenery and the swans. Historically, Yili was an important outpost of the ancient Silk Road. It is known for its verdant grasslands and fields of fruits and flowers in the spring and summer months. It is also known for the heavenly Sayram Lake 赛里木湖, “the Atlantic’s Last Tear”. In the winter, Sayram Lake freezes over with amazing patterns and bubbles in the ice, as well as the beautiful white frost or rime that forms on trees around the lake. There are also a few excellent spots, such as Swan Spring 天鵝泉, for observing the swans that spend the winter in the area until March of each year. I flew into Yining 伊宁, the largest city of Yili, and stayed at Yining Binjiang Peninsula Hotel 伊寧濱江半島酒店.

Yining Binjiang Peninsula Hotel 伊寧濱江半島酒店 costs less than ¥200 a night during the winter low season.

About 40 mins drive from Yining is the Swan Spring Wetland Park 天鵝泉, located in the middle section of the Yili River Valley. Some people opt to stay near the wetland park at a homestay but we chose to go back and forth from the city. Swan Spring is a lake formed by subterranean hot springs and overgrown with aquatic plants. The swan habitat covers more than 38 hectares and since the lake does not freeze in these sub-zero temperatures, it has become one of the largest wintering habitats for swans in China. Late October each year until early March the following year, hundreds of swans come here to spend the winter, to roost and forage amongst the spectacular rime ice landscape. The swans come from Lake Balkhash in Kazakhstan as well as the lower reaches of the Yili River where they will return to lay eggs in the spring. The calm lake, shrouded in mist and surrounded by rime on the shore, combined with frolicking swans create a beautiful painting attracting many photographers to the area. From the entrance of the park, there are electric shuttles taking you to the core viewing area, otherwise it is about a 20-min walk. The temperatures can drop to below -20C here but wasn’t too cold when we visited. Of the swans that winter at Swan Spring, most are mute swans, the elegant birds of Russian ballets and European fairy tales. With a wingspan of over 2 meters, they are large birds with reddish-orange beaks and a black knob on their foreheads. Mute swans mate for life hence establishing them as a symbol of love in many cultures. I am mesmerized by the scenery here with the swans grooming in the faint light that I actually forgot how cold it is. Especially beautiful is the swan courtship ritual where the swans face each other, lift their wings, and bow gracefully, forming a heart shape with their heads and necks.

Swan Spring

Swan courtship at Swan Spring

Swan courtship at Swan Spring

Swan Spring

Swan Spring

Mute Swans

Mute Swans

Mute Swans

Swan Spring

Swan Spring

Swan Spring

Swan Spring

Their comical landings don’t really match their elegance…

Their comical landings don’t really match their elegance…

I visited Swan Spring on 3 separate days with the goal of capturing the swans in flight. Took a bit of practice to be able to pan at low shutter speeds (1/15 of a second). I wanted the wings to blur out, to resemble the tutus of the ballerinas. It is fascinating to witness the cycle of art imitating life imitating art here. Swan Lake, the ballet, is defined by those elegant swan-like movements meant to mimic real swans. But now, watching the swans take flight, I see them not just as birds, but as ballerinas, their necks stretched long, their wings fluttering like tutus. What a magical reversal!

Swan Spring

Swan Spring

Swan Spring

Swan Spring

Swan Spring

Swan Spring

These great cormorants were there everyday on this tree that reminds me of a peacock. I think they all have their own particular spots.

Not far from Swan Spring is Swan Bay 天鵝灣 which is a relatively secluded spot with hardly anyone there. You can get close to the edge of the lake where the swans are frolicking in the morning mist and rime. However, there are not that many swans here.

Swan Bay 天鵝灣

Swan Bay 天鵝灣

Swan Bay 天鵝灣

Swan Bay 天鵝灣

Swan Bay 天鵝灣

Swan Bay 天鵝灣

The third place we went to see the swans was Sala Village Swan River 撒拉村天鵝河 known for its large number of mute swans that come to roost in the winter. Every winter, flocks of mute swans and yellow-billed swans fly in to spend winter in this riverside wetland. A large wetland was formed around the fishponds of Sala Village with the roots and leaves of the submerged plants becoming food for the swans. In 2016, only 4 swans came to the village for the first time and their numbers have gradually increased every year since then.

The swans in the back look like they are having a meeting.

Sala Village Swan River 撒拉村天鵝河

Sala Village Swan River 撒拉村天鵝河

Sala Village Swan River 撒拉村天鵝河

Of the three locations, Swan Bay was my favorite for the background scenery but unfortunately there were very few swans there. Swan Spring is definitely the best place to capture the swans grooming, frolicking, courting, and taking flight. The sunsets here are very beautiful too!