Located on the Chinese side of the Dzungarian Gate pass through the Dzungarian Alatau mountain range at the 2358.376 km point of Lanxin Railway, it is the last station on the Northern Xinjiang branch of the Lanxin Railway before entering Kazakhstan. For the first twenty-plus years of its history it was the only railway port of entry in Western China; during this time, the amount of international rail freight going through the Alashankou port of entry increased from 160,000 tonnes in 1991 to 15,160,000 tonnes in 2011.