Emin

Emin lies in the valley of the river of the same name, between the Tarbagatai Mountains and the ranges to the south. The river flows west toward the Alakol basin, watering grasslands in a country otherwise marked by a dry continental climate. In the eighteenth century Qing authorities established stations along the route between Tarbagatai and the Dzungarian plain, making the valley part of the network of communication across the frontier.