The Baktu Port is located in the administrative jurisdiction of Tacheng City, Tacheng Prefecture. It is 17 kilometers from Tacheng and 621 kilometers from Urumqi. Facing Shyghys Qazaqstan Oblast, it is only 800 meters from the Baktu Port in Kazakhstan, about 60 kilometers from Maqanshy (Makanchi) Town and 700 kilometers from the capital of former Semey (Semipalatinsk) Oblast.
Baktu has a 200-year history as a trade port. In October 1990, the port resumed business, handling border trade only. In August 1992, the Chinese and Kazakhstan governments agreed to open it to a third country, with international through transport capacity. Approved by the State Council, it was formally opened as an international port on July 1, 1995.
The Baktu Port is open year-round, capable of handling 200,000 tons of cargo and 100,000 passengers. A 3,040-square-meter multifunctional inspection hall has been set up, together with four goods yards, each with a storage capacity of more than 1 million tons. An international passenger bus from Tacheng to Ayaguz and Ust'-Kamenogorsk of Kazakhstan runs on a regular basis.
In 2002, the port handled 80,000 tons of cargo and 17,200 passengers.
(China.org.cn December 15, 2004)
