At the press conference of the Information Office of the People's Government of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region recently held, the head of the Xinjiang Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences introduced that in order to serve the strategic needs of China's astronomical development, scientific researchers have surveyed and selected a site comparable to the world-class optical observatory in the Pamir Plateau region of Xinjiang, where the third-largest caliber universal optical telescope project in China will be located. According to Wang Na, head of the Xinjiang Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the exploration of the site resources of the Pamir Plateau Observatory began in 2016. Through long-term site monitoring, the scientific research team selected the site of the Mostag Observatory located in Bulenkou Township, Aktau County, Xinjiang, and began to build the Mostag Observatory. "With an altitude of 4520 meters, the best visibility can reach 0.4 angular seconds, and the atmospheric water vapor content in winter is often less than 2 mm. The towering Gongger Snow Mountain blocks the light interference from the city. These excellent optical astronomical observation conditions are rare in China, and can be comparable with world-class optical observation stations," said Wang Na. At the end of 2020, the 1.9-meter optical telescope project jointly coordinated by Beijing Normal University, the Nanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics and Technology of the National Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Xinjiang Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Xinjiang University was officially launched at the Mostag Observatory. The project is planned to be completed and put into use in June 2024, which is also the third largest caliber universal optical telescope project in China at present. Wang Na said that in the future, the Xinjiang Observatory will give full play to its observation conditions and geographical advantages, attract more large astronomical science and technology projects to settle down, make more original contributions in the field of astronomy frontier science, and strive to build the Mustag Observatory into a world-class astronomical observation and research base, and develop it into an important popular science base in southern Xinjiang. According to the data, Xinjiang is located in the hinterland of Eurasia and in a longitude blank area of the international time-domain astronomical observation network, which has favorable conditions for building astronomical scientific devices. The Pamir Plateau is cold and dry all year round, and the climate conditions are suitable for optical astronomical observation. (Xinhua News Agency)