🚾 The WC - Let's invest in the literal middle of nowhere
by Wyatt Cavalier, co-founder of Alts. | Originally published on Alts.
Guest post by Wyatt Cavalier, co-founder of Alts. | Originally published on Alts.
🐴The Eurasian Pole of Inaccessibility
Let's begin with the most controversial pole.
Among Pole Enthusiasts, the Eurasian PIA is notable for a couple of reasons:
Because Eurasia is so big, it's the most landlocked place on earth. The King of Poles of you will.
It's the only PIA that covers two continents, which some argue makes it a fugazi pole.
Where is The Eurasian Pole of Inaccessibility?
The EPIA is located in the Dzungarian Basin in Northwest China, near the border with Kazakhstan and Mongolia. It's an arid desert and is in a valley, more or less.
What's nearby?
Ürümqi, China, is the nearest city of note. Around 200km from the PIA, there are four million people living there.
It's rich in mineral resources, including coal, oil, gold, copper, nickel, and natural gas.
The Heavenly Lake of Tianshan is (sort of) close by, and it's fairly stunning.
The Heavenly Lake of Tianshan
Investment opportunities near the Eurasian PIA
It's going to be tough if you're not Chinese.
But if you are, or you know the right people, there's a lot going on.
Tacheng City is located in a Xinjiang Economic Development Zone, which offers tax incentives, land use benefits, and other support. (This is like a Chinese version of America's Opportunity Zones)
Urumqi (the capital of Xinjiang) is also the center of the Silk Road international trade logistics belt:
The land port, with a planned area of 67 sq km, is an important hub connecting the two economic belts of Asia and Europe, and is the closest logistics hub of the China Railway Express to Europe (Urumqi route) to Central and Western Asia and Europe.
And there's a lot more if you're bold:
Solar and Wind Energy: Vast open spaces ideal for large-scale solar and wind farms
Traditional Medicine: Rich heritage of Uyghur traditional medicine
Specialty Textiles: Region known for high-quality cotton production
Cultural Tourism: Diverse cultures and unique landscapes
Ethnic Minority Products: Diverse ethnic cultures with unique traditional crafts
Resource Extraction: Abundant mineral resources in the region
Food Processing: Known for unique fruits like Hami melons
Lots going on.
How do you get to The Eurasian Pole of Inaccessibility?
It's fairly straightforward, really.
You will have to find your way to the middle of the Gurbantünggüt Desert.
From Ürümqi, the China National Highway 216 crosses the desert to Altay City; your best shot at reaching the Pole, about 100 miles from Ürümqi, is to follow the highway north, to then enter the desert and cross the remaining 50 miles with a four-wheel drive.
Middle of nowhere
Nobody is running tours from Ürümqi, which seems like a missed opportunity.
