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By Editor Han Yizhang
Long long ago, a vicious dragon lived in deep Tianshan Mountain and ate small children. One day, a Uygur hero fought gallantly against the dragon for three days and three nights. Finally, he cut the dragon into eight parts. The remains of the dragon turned to a scarlet mountain colored by its blood. The eight scars turned into the eight valleys of Flaming Mountain, including the famous Grape Valley.
Another story comes from the classical novel, The Journey to the West by the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) writer, Wu Cheng'en and its charming hero -- The Monkey King.
In the Han account of the legend, it is said the Monkey King stirred up trouble in Heaven and kicked over the furnace for making immortality pills. Charcoals fell from the sky to where Flaming Mountain now lies -- in the middle of Turpan Basin.
However, scientific explanations cite tectonic plate movement on the Earth's surface during the formation of the Himalayas 50,000,000 years ago.
The mountain is barren and extremely hot in summer. During the trek approaching the mountain, visitors will find the soles of their shoes soften in the intense heat. With the red sun overhead, thermal air currents rising, red sandstone gives out red light looks like a fiery dragon. Therefore, its name.
photo by worldisround.com
Location
Flaming Mountain is situated in the north of the Turpan Basin. Along the Turpan-Shanshan road there are red mountains about 100 km long. These mountains stretch in the east-west direction, about 10 km wide from south to north and 500 m above sea level with the highest peak of 850 m. The mountains are mainly composed by red sandstone.
It is the hottest place in China with summer temperatures reaching 47鈩? and it is said that air temperature on the mountain's peak can reach 80鈩?
Important to know!
Make sure you go prepared for this spectacular spot with ample drinking water, a good sunscreen and a hat to prevent heat stroke!
How to get there
The easiest way to see many of the sights in the countryside around Turpan is to hire a minibus for the day. This should cost between 300-500 yuan for six people and your driver should take you to many of the sights around the area. Drivers cruise the streets of Turpan looking for customers.
photo by worldisround.com
(CRIENGLISH.com)
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