Altay City is located in Altay, Xinjiang. It was the pastoral area of Chinese minorities in ancient times. According to historical records, the tribes living here in the Qin Dynasty were Serbs who migrated from the Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province today. Since the Western Han Dynasty, the central governments of all dynasties have set up administrative agencies here. The total area is 11500 square kilometers. In 2020, Altay has a total population of 196200, including 9900 Han people, accounting for 51.0% of the total population, 79900 Kazakh people, accounting for 40.7%, and 16400 other nationalities, accounting for 8.3%.

"Altay" is a Turkic language, meaning "golden mountain". It is named because of the gold in the mountain. It is said that "Altay has seventy-two ditches, and the ditches contain gold". The Ertiz River in Altay is the only river in China that flows into the Arctic Ocean. The Brento Sea, located in Fuhai County, covers an area of 100000 hectares and is rich in more than 10 kinds of fish. It is known as the "fishing village of the North". Altai Mountain River is magnificent and colorful, with unique natural scenery. The main scenic spots include Kanas Lake Natural Landscape Reserve, Burgen River Beaver Nature Reserve, Butterfly Valley, etc.

In December 2018, Altay was rated as the national climate symbol of climate ecology.

In 2020, Altay's GDP reached 9.992 billion yuan, up 7% year on year.