The Flaming Mountain |
Travel in Xinjiang | |||
As one of the hottest places on earth, Flaming Mountain has always been a famous tourist attraction, with its harsh yet unique natural conditions, as well as abundant cultural heritage. The mountain's average altitude is about 500 meters, with the highest peak, Shengjinkou (shèng jīn kǒu 胜金口), towering 831 meters above sea level. Known as Red Rock Mountain (chì shí shān 赤石山) in ancient Chinese classics, or Keziletage ("Red Mountain") in Uygur, Flaming Mountain is largely made up of bare rock.. Not a single blade of grass grows on the hills of Flaming Mountain and there are no traces of birds or animals there. When the July sun heats the bare rocks, the blazing air current rolls up like burning flames. In the summer, the region gets so hot that you can "hard boil" an egg by burying it in the sand for just a few minutes. With strong direct radiation from the sun, the highest temperatures can reach 47.8 degrees Celsius and the earth's surface temperature can top 70 degrees. From a distance, at the foot of the mountain, dozens of the red rock hills look like flaming fireballs under the blazing sun - hence its name, Flaming Mountain. However, its natural allure is not characterized by mere heat. Behind the sterile rock mountains, there are many hidden valleys shaped by diastrophism millions of years ago. The natural conditions of these valleys, which abound with various plants and trees, are quite different. The most famous ones include Grape Valley (pú táo gōu 葡萄沟), Peach Valley (táo ér gōu 桃儿沟), Wood Valley (mù tóu gōu 木头沟), and Shengjinkou Valley (shèng jīn kǒu gōu 胜金口沟). Among them, Grape Valley is best known for producing the best grapes in the country. These "green islands" add extra glamour and diversity to the deserted Flaming Mountain.
Besides its unique natural attractions, the region has always had great cultural traditions. Many historians have penned poems about this mountain. Lying beside the ancient Silk Road, the mountain has witnessed the thriving moments and the abandonment of the ancient commercial road that has linked the East and West for hundreds of years. The famous poet Cen Sen (cén cān 岑参) of the Tang Dynasty (táng cháo 唐朝) (618-907) once presented a poem when passing by: "The mountain abruptly appears at the mouth of Chiting; the cloud of the flames pileups in May. The mountain is yet to be inhabited; even birds dare not fly by." In the Ming Dynasty (míng cháo 明朝) (1368-1644), the famous traveler Chen Cheng (chén chéng 陈诚) also composed a poem on his way through the region: "It's only early spring, but the weather is no different from midsummer." These two lines vividly depict the indistinctive climate in the four seasons on Flaming Mountain.
People have created abundant legends about the emergence of this natural wonder. To commemorate Tang Xuanzang and his companions who have made great contributions to Flaming Mountain's reputation, serial statues featuring the mythological figures have been erected under the mountain in 1998. Sun Wukong is positioned in the front, carrying the magic palm-leaf fan; Tang and his other disciples are also vividly portrayed, bringing the mythological story to tourists. Legend 2
Many years of volcanic activity have formed the unique crisscrossing gullies and ravines. Scientific explanation cites tectonic plate movement on the earth's surface during the formation of the Himalayas 50,000,000 years ago.
|