The construction of NanShan 25-m Radio Telescope (NSRT) began in 1991 on the Xiao Fengliang Tableland, located at Nanshan (87°10.67'E, 43°28.27' N) with the altitude of 2080m , where is 75km away from Urumqi city. By November 1993 the NSRT construction was completed and it became the second radio telescope for the Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observation, after another 25-m radio telescope built at Sheshan in Shanghai. The NSRT sits in the hinterland of Eurasia, its unique geographical location and advanced equipments make it played a vital role both in domestic and international VLBI observations.

In addition to VLBI observations, the pulsar, molecular line and radio continuum observation systems were equipped on the NSRT and operated for open use. A series of high impact research achievements, including pulsar glitches and radiation properties, star formation and evolution, and the structures and light variations of violent active radio objects, have been made with this telescope, as well as the training of young researchers in radio astronomy for the country.

From 2014 to 2015, the NSRT undertook a comprehensive upgrade. After the upgrade, the overall performance of the telescope has been greatly improved. The surface accuracy of the main reflector is better than 0.4mm and the highest observable frequency is increased from 22 GHz to 43 GHz. The sub-reflector is now made of lightweight carbon fiber materials and a Stewart platform is adopted to the feed-switching system, which can fine-tune the position and posture of sub-reflector. the new telescope track is also made use of the continuously welding technology to decrease the tracking disturbance. At present, the NSRT is equipped with four sets of cryogenic receivers working at L-, S/X-, C-, and K-band, with additional space reserved for feed horns of Ka- and Q- band receivers. The newly upgraded NSRT is now able to better serve not only scientific observations but also China's Lunar Exploration Program.