The Nanshan Station is located in Xiaofengliang, Gangou Township of Urumqi County, 70 kilometers from Urumqi city. It has an excellent observation environment. The geographical coordinates are 43°28' North latitude and 87°10' East longitude, with an altitude of approximately 2080 meters. The Nanshan Station is a member of the Radio Astronomy Laboratory and the Laboratory of Space Target and Debris Observation of CAS. It also serves as a VLBI tracking subsystem station for China's lunar exploration project.

Construction of the Nanshan Station began in 1991. The current site covers an area of 312 acres with a construction area of more than 11,000 square meters. It has a complete support system for accommodation, power supply, and water supply, providing excellent services for astronomical observation and research.

Nanshan Station has become an important platform for radio, optical, and applied astronomical observation and research, both domestically and globally. It currently houses the Nanshan 26-meter Radio Telescope, which is mainly used for VLBI observations and astrophysical research, and the Nanshan One-meter Wide-field Telescope along with a small telescope group for optical astronomical measurements and research. The 1.2-meter quantum communication telescope has completed scientific experiments for quantum satellites and continues to undertake scientific research tasks. The station also has three sets of GPS equipment: an IGS reference station, a lunar exploration network GPS station, and a land network reference station.

The Nanshan Station is a national science popularization education base, playing a unique role in promoting science and the spirit of scientific inquiry.