City Introduction

Almaty is a center of finance, technology, education and culture in Kazakhstan and even the whole Central Asia, and is the largest city in Central Asia, and the third largest city in the CIS. In early days Almaty was abundant in apples and thus is called a City of Apple. Located in the southeast of Kazakhstan, it borders on the east of China. It’s a unique tourist city with unique landscapes, and the largest trading center in Central Asia, and takes a significant position in the world in terms of all aspects of its influence and competitiveness. Almaty is an intersection of Eurasian culture, and perfectly integrates the wisdom of Kazakh people and Western civilization into a whole. Almaty is also known as the world's greenest city, which covers an area of 105,100 square kilometers, and currently has a population of more than 1.60 million. Almaty is like a fairy tale world with the perfect combination of natural beauty and modern metropolis surrounded by Tianshan Mountains on both sides. It’s a garden-like city with a pleasant climate and beautiful environment. Almaty is the successful bid winner for the 2017 World University Games and is bidding for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Almaty is also a historic city, where the remarkable Declaration on the Collapse of the Soviet Union was made in 1991, announcing the end of the Soviet Union.

 

 

 

 

History and Culture

In 1921, Almaty is famous for the abundance in apples in its suburbs; In 1929, it became the capital of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1930, with the opening of the Turkestan-Siberian Railway, it started to enjoy rapid development. After the Soviet Union collapsed in December 1991, it became the capital of the independent Republic of Kazakhstan. As Almaty is located in the border areas, there is limited room for the urban expansion. Therefore, in 1994, Kazakhstan decided to move the capital to the north central Astana before 2000. The irrigation of the numerous streams in the Trans-Alay Range contributes to the fertile land in Almaty. In addition to the production of cereals, most places are opened for orchards. Numerous orchards are found everywhere at the mountains and plains of the southern suburbs of the city, and number of apple orchard is the most. In view of this, Almaty wins the good fame of "Apple City". And moreover, there is a nature reserve area of about 80,000 hectares near Almaty.

 

 

 

 

Natural Environment

There is a mountainous area and the piedmont plain south of Almaty State (the highest peak Tal Al Gore, with the elevation of 4,973 meters) and a large stretch of desert and the Ili River valley north of the city. As a unique scenery and tourism city, Alma-ata is located in the southeast of Kazakhstan, and hilly areas at the foot of Trans-Alay Range (called Wai Yi Li Shan in China) of Tianshan Mountains, surrounded by the mountains on three sides. It covers an area of 190 square kilometers, with an altitude of 700-900 meters.

 

 

 

 

Climate

It enjoys a typical continental climate, with the average temperature of -29℃ to -15℃ in January, and the average temperature of 25-35℃ in July.

 

 

 

 

Useful Information

Network

The Internet in Kazakhstan is operated at a common speed but at a higher price.

Post Office

The postage for mailing a post card back to China is about RMB 10, and it takes about 20-30 days to reach the destination.

Information of Embassy and Consulate

Address: 12,Baitasov Street, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Postal Code: 050010

Duty Phone: 7017292938

Fax: 2700227

E-mail: chinaconsul_alm@mfa.gov.cn

 

 

 

 

Visa Information

Ordinary visa

Applicable to passport holders departing from China (including Hong Kong and Macao) or other countries to Kazakhstan.

Visa type: valid travel visa with 1-3 entries.

Application fee: RMB 140 for one entry, RMB 20 for two entries and RMB 560 for three entries;

Duration of stay: 30 days; the applicant is not allowed to stay in Kazakhstan over 90 days in any period of a year.

Application processing duration: If the documents are complete, the application will be handled within 5 working days from the date of submission thereof, and for expedited visa within 3 working days from the date of submission thereof but the application is also required to submit "Astana Airline" ticket. Travellers are advised to set aside more time so as to avoid any unexpected situations.

 

 

 

 

Currency Exchange

Consumption level

A common bed in an ordinary hostel is about 50-80 yuan per night, and a single room in an inn is about 150-250 yuan for a night, and an ordinary meal costs about 20-30 yuan.

Currency Exchange

The currency unit of Kazakhstan is Tenge, and RMB 1 is equivalent of about 24 Kazakh tenges.

UnionPay

ATM with UnionPay logo or with a HALYK bank logo in Kazakhstan can be used to withdraw local cash.

Credit Card

Credit card can be conveniently used at some major supermarkets or higher-end hotels in larger cities.

Please confirm with your card-issuing bank the currency conversion fee to be charged specifically and credit card payment fees may be charged by vendors.

Tips

Generally, you can give porters and hotel waiters the tip of about two dollars and higher-level restaurants can charge 10% of the amount as a tip.

 

 

 

 

Religion

People believe in Islam, and therefore they eat no pork or animila blood. If you become a guest at a local family, it should be noted that in the yurt you may sit cross-legged on the ground without taking off your shoes, and you are not allowed to make the legs straight. You can’t cross a rope tied to livestock, or a table cloth used for having a meal. When entering a church, men are not allowed to wear shorts and women are not allowed to wear body-exposing but instead have on a long dress.

 

 

 

 

Tourism Service Number

When using the domestic phone card to dial Kazakhstan mobile numbers, you additionally need to dial "007", and for the domestic phone numbers you also need to additionally dial "+86." When using Kazakhstan local phone cards to dial local phone numbers, you just additionally dial "8" but need to additionally dial "0086" for the Chinese phone numbers.

 

 

 

 

Notes

Kazakhstan medical level is relatively not higher, and therefore it’s advised that travelers must do a physical examination before the visit to Kazakhstan. Most of its medicines are imported and introductions are mostly made in Russia. So it’s proposed that travelers should make relevant preparations ahead of their departure.

 

 

 

 

Festivals (Important/Historical/Folk Ones)

Kazakhstan traditional festivals mainly include Id al-fitr, Nowruz and Corban Festival.