Chapter 13 Chapter 5: The Extremely High Mountains in the West that Turned Out of the Sky

In the west of my country stands a series of giant mountain ranges in the Asian continent - the Tianshan Mountains, the Kunlun Mountains, the Karakoram Mountains, the Gangdis Mountains, and the Himalayas.They gather in Pamir to form a huge mountain knot with an average altitude of more than 5,000 meters, forming a great wonder on earth! "Pamir" means "the roof of the world" in Persian, and it has been called Congling in my country since the Han Dynasty.High in the center of the Eurasian continent, the Pamirs were the hub of communication between the East and the West in ancient times, and the famous Silk Road passed through here.Standing on the top of Pamir, looking around, there are many icy peaks, the sky is piercing with clouds, and the weather is myriad. The mountains are like giant dragons flying through the clouds and fog, landing on the vast western land.

"But there are more than ten thousand miles from the Great Wall, and the Tianshan Mountains are all in the east, west, north, and south." It expresses the vastness of the Tianshan Mountains.Stretching more than 2,500 kilometers from east to west, Tianshan Mountain is one of the largest mountain systems in Asia.It traverses Xinjiang in the east, with a length of more than 1,700 kilometers and a width of about 300 kilometers from north to south, dividing Xinjiang into two parts, southern Xinjiang and northern Xinjiang.The west section of Tianshan Mountain is high and majestic, with an altitude of 7435 meters, Tuomur Peak is the highest peak in Tianshan Mountain. On July 25, 1977, the Chinese mountaineering team climbed to the top of Mount Tuofeng.20 kilometers north of Tuofeng is Khan Tengri Peak, the second highest peak in Tianshan Mountains, with an altitude of 6995 meters.The mountains in the eastern section of Tianshan are getting lower and lower. The highest peak, Bogda Peak, is 5,445 meters above sea level. It stands in the blue sky northeast of Urumqi. The silver light of the ice peak shines for hundreds of miles. ".Bogda ice peaks and snow water gather in the mountainside to form a beautiful Tianchi Lake, which is said to be the fairyland where the Queen Mother of the West lives.It is like a blue gem inlaid in the green virgin forest under the snow peak, attracting thousands of tourists.

The Tianshan Mountains lie on the vast desert and grassland, and the vegetation distribution has obvious vertical landscape belts. From the bottom of the mountain to the top of the mountain, there are deserts, mountain grasslands, mountain spruce forests, alpine meadows, and alpine ice and snow belts.There are also snow lotuses growing in the ice and snow belt, and rare birds and animals such as clouded leopards, antelopes, and snow chickens live in the jungle. The majestic and beautiful Tianshan Mountains nurture Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other ethnic groups with her unique "milk", making Xinjiang in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains one of the longevity areas in the world.

The Kunlun Mountains and the Karakoram Mountains join hands and emerge from the Pamirs, gradually diverging to the east and southeast.Kunlun Mountains along the border between Xinjiang and Tibet, through Qinghai to the east to the Sichuan Basin.About 2,500 kilometers long, it is the longest mountain system in China.The Kunlun Mountains are majestic and magnificent, surpassing the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and straddling the central part of Asia. They are known as the "Spine of Asia".There are many large faults on the north slope of the western section of Kunlun Mountains, forming a huge height difference.From the Tarim Basin in southern Xinjiang, which is more than 1,000 meters above sea level, it suddenly rises to five or six kilometers.The Pamir area in the west of Kunlun Mountains is particularly tall, and there are many peaks above 7,000 meters above sea level, including Gongger Peak (7,719 meters above sea level), Gongger Jiubie Peak (7,595 meters) and Muztag Peak (the father of the iceberg). 7546 meters) and known as the three heroes of Kunlun. In 1956, the Sino-Soviet mountaineering team climbed Muztagh Peak for the first time, conquering the "Father of the Iceberg", and successfully climbed Gongger Jiubie Peak in the same year. In 1961, the Chinese women's mountaineering team successfully climbed Gonger Peak, showing the heroic appearance of our country.

The Kunlun Mountains extend eastward, and when viewed from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau at an altitude of 4,000-5,000 meters, the absolute and relative heights of Kunlun Mountains gradually decrease.When traveling along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway from Golmud in Qinghai to the northern Tibetan Plateau through the Kunlun Mountain Pass, Kunlun Mountain is like a giant dragon with its back exposed in the sea. Although it is not high, it still looks broad. Kunlun is a very mysterious and famous mountain in the ancient legends of our country.According to legend, it is the lower capital of the Emperor of Heaven. There are palaces and fairy ponds on the mountain, and it is the place where the Queen Mother of the West and all the gods live.It is the head of the earth, and all the famous mountains in the world originate here.In ancient times, transportation was inconvenient. It was only said that Kunlun was in the northwest, but the exact location was not known.In the Han Dynasty, "Historical Records Dawan Ji" recorded that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent people to the Western Regions to investigate the source of the river, and he believed that: "The source of the river comes from Tian, ​​and the mountains are rich in jade, which is collected. According to ancient books, the name of the river is Kunlun. "It can be seen that the Kunlun mentioned here is the Kunlun Mountain, the source of the Khotan River in Hotan.In ancient Chinese legends, the Kunlun Mountains in the west and the three Penglai Islands in the East China Sea are the source of myths and stories, and have had a significant impact on Chinese history and culture.

The Karakoram Mountains tower over the borders of China, India and Pakistan, with a total length of more than 500 kilometers, an average altitude of over 6,000 meters, and four peaks over 8,000 meters. It is the second tallest mountain range in the world.The main peak, Chogori, is 8,611 meters above sea level and is the second highest peak in the world.The icy peaks of the Karakoram Mountains are towering, piercing the clouds and lifting the sky, which is extremely spectacular.The Karakoram Mountains block the southeast humid monsoon in summer while the South Mountains are rainy. In winter, they are affected by low pressure from the west and receive more snowfall. Therefore, the high mountains are covered with snow, glaciers are developed, and the landscape is magnificent.

The Karakoram Pass has been an important traffic route in China and Central Asia since ancient times, and there are endless caravans with camel bells.Faxian of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and Xuanzang of the Tang Dynasty went to Tianzhu (India) to learn Buddhist scriptures, and they also crossed the Karakoram Pass.Now there are roads connected to Pakistan, and cars have begun to replace camel caravans. The southeast extension of the Karakorum Mountains is the Gangdise Mountains.It obliquely runs through the southwest of Tibet, about 1,500 kilometers long and about 6,000 meters high, roughly parallel to the Himalayas.Lengbu Gangri Peak, 7095 meters above sea level, is the highest peak in the Gangdise Mountains.In terms of climate, the Gangdese Mountains have become the second barrier to the north of the Himalayas to block the warm and humid monsoon from the south.Therefore, there is more precipitation on the southern slope. In summer, there are shrubs and grasslands, mountain flowers are blooming, and cattle and sheep are flocking.The high plateau in northern Tibet has become an alpine desert.

Between the Gangdise Mountains and the Himalayas, the Yarlung Zangbo River and the Indus River flow.Its water source is mainly supplied by melting ice and snow on the mountain.Mesopotamia is the main settlement of Tibetan people.The Tibetan people have created their own unique culture under the snow-capped mountains and on the banks of the Yarlung Zangbo River.Tibetan Lamaism believes that Mount Gangdise is the center of the universe mentioned in the Buddhist scriptures - the location of Mount Sumeru, so there are many temples and pilgrims on the mountain. The Nyainqentanglha Mountain, the northern branch of the Gangdise Mountains, turns southward into the Hengduan Mountains.The mountain range is over 5,500 meters high. The main peak, Nyainqentanglha Peak, is 7,162 meters above sea level and is located in the northwest of Lhasa.In the eastern section of Nyainqentanglha, at the confluence of the Yigong Zangbo River, the northern tributary of the Yarlung Zangbo River's great bend, the glaciers are the largest and largest. Because the annual rainfall in the valley is rich, reaching 1000-2000 mm, the glaciers extend to the forest area.The largest glacier in Tibet, the Changqin Glacier, is located here.

The Himalayas are the tallest and most majestic mountains in the world.It stands on the southern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, stretching between China and India, Bhutan, Nepal and Sikkim.From Pamir in the west to the big bend of the Yarlung Zangbo River in the east, it is more than 2,500 kilometers long.The average altitude is more than 6000 meters, which is lower than any mountain system in the world.It has 14 peaks above 8,000 meters and more than 40 peaks above 7,000 meters.Among them, Mount Everest, located on the border between my country and Nepal, is 8,848 meters above sea level and is the highest peak in the world.

The Himalayas are the tallest and one of the youngest mountains in the world.According to the research of geologists, 70 million years ago, here was still a vast ocean. By 30 million years ago, due to orogeny, the Indian Ocean plate in the south and the Eurasian plate in the north collided with each other, overlapping and squeezing each other, making the Himalayas continuous. raise.By 3 million years ago, it had risen to 3,500 meters, and since nearly 100,000 years, it has risen faster, and the average height has reached more than 6,000 meters today, and it is still rising.The sudden uplift of the Himalayas constituted a volley barrier, blocking the northward movement of warm and humid air from the Indian Ocean, resulting in an alpine and arid climate in Qinghai-Tibet, which has been affecting the Northwest.

"Qomolangma" means Goddess of Snow Mountain in Tibetan.Clad in silver, she stands slim and jade on the top of the earth, overlooking the world, protecting kind people.Sometimes it appears in the blue sky, and sometimes it hides in the snow-white auspicious clouds, showing her holy, dignified, beautiful and mysterious image even more.As the highest peak on earth, Mount Everest is an attractive climbing target for Chinese and foreign mountaineering teams. Human climbing Mount Everest began in 1921, when the British mountaineering team marched to Mount Everest for the first time, but unfortunately failed.Afterwards, constantly summing up experience, in the past 20 years, he has climbed nine times without success.For the 10th time, on May 29, 1953, it finally reached the highest point on the earth.Since then, climbers from all over the world have continuously set new records.On May 25, 1960, the Chinese mountaineering team successfully climbed to the top of the world from the north slope for the first time.The Chinese mountaineering team also successfully conquered the last peak of the Himalayas above 8,000 meters on May 2, 1964 - Mount Shishapangma (8012 meters).Bingshan Xuefeng is beautiful, but it is difficult to climb. Over the past decades, many mountaineering warriors have sacrificed to climb the world's peaks. Climb to the peaks, almost all of the 8,000-meter and 7,000-meter ice-capped snow-capped mountains in the Himalayas have left human footprints.Today, conquering the Himalayas is still the dream goal of climbers all over the world. They regard it as a place to test their physique, hone their will, and show their confidence, wisdom, strength and technology. Natural delight. In the west of my country, especially the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, there are snow-capped mountains and icy peaks. The world's first peak, Mount Everest, and the second peak, Mount Chogori, gather more than a dozen extreme peaks above 8,000 meters. There are hundreds of peaks above 7,000 meters and countless Qing's peak above 6,000 meters. With the development of modern transportation, here will be a vast world for mountaineering heroes to display their majesty, a paradise for future explorers and tourists, and the most attractive place for scientists to explore the mysteries of the roof of the world.