Geography Geography of the Kyrgyz Republic Between China and Central Asia there is a country, lifted by its mountains above the world. Tien Shan is the name given to the mountains by Marco Polo, a great traveller and merchant, who walked across the territory of the present-day Kyrgyzstan on the Great Silk Road. Kyrgyzstan is at the same altitude with Italy and only a little smaller in area. It will take one only 4 hours to fly to Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, from Moscow, and not more than an hour from Tashkent and Alma-Ata. The climate is sharply continental.
Summer is usually dry and sunny in the valleys, whereas it often rains in the mountains.
Clear good weather lasts till December. There are thaws in winter and cold spells in spring and autumn. Kyrgyzstan ranks first in Central Asia in prospected coal reserves. Wool processing and cotton growing occupy a conspicuous place in the economy of the republic. Now the republic is actively developing tourism, aiming it to be a leading article of economy in the future.