Altay region, under the jurisdiction of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, is under the jurisdiction of Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture. It is located in the north of Xinjiang, bordering Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia; The landform types are complex and diverse, dry and hot in summer and cold in winter; The border line is 1197 kilometers long and covers a total area of 118000 square kilometers. It has jurisdiction over 6 counties and 1 city; According to the data of the seventh population census, as of 0:00 on November 1, 2020, the permanent resident population of Altay was 668587.

Altay is the only region bordering Russia in northwest China, and is an important node city of the North Passage of the Silk Road Economic Belt and Xinjiang's participation in the construction of the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor; It has three national land ports; It is a relatively water-rich area in Xinjiang, known as the "water tower" in northern Xinjiang; It is one of the six major forest regions in China, and has been identified by the State Council as a water conservation type mountain grassland ecological functional area. It is known as "golden mountains and silver waters", the origin of human skiing, and the snow capital of China.

In 2019, the gross domestic product (GDP) of the whole region reached 33.916 billion yuan, an increase of 6.2% over the previous year. In 2020, Altay achieved a regional GDP of 33.453 billion yuan, an increase of 2.3% over 2019.