Wild apple trees create a poetic spring landscape in Xinjiang

A large forest of wild apple trees was in full bloom at the Saha scenic area in Xinyuan county of Ili Kazak autonomous prefecture, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, on Saturday. The vast expanses of pure white apple blossoms contrasted beautifully with the verdant grasslands, creating a poetic spring landscape where visitors camped and explored — on foot or on horseback.

Located at an elevation of around 2,000 meters in the eastern Ili River Valley, the scenic area is part of Asia's largest wild apple forest, serving as a rare natural gene pool for apple varieties. Blossoms appear each year in late April. One wild apple tree has been confirmed to be over 600 years old.