Fiery or Burning Mountains ( Uig. قىزىل تاغ , Yanar-taғ , Chinese. Ex . 火焰山 , Pinyin : huǒyànshān ) is a chain of desert eroded hills, stretching from west to east along the northern edge of the Takla Makan desert . Located in the central part of the Turfan Basin east of the city of Turfan . The mountains are one of the spurs of Tien Shan , have a length of 98 km and a width of 9 km, the highest point has a height of 832 m above sea level. Located on the territory of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China .
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| uig. ل تاغ , whale. 火焰山 | |
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The mountains of fire were formed about 50 million years ago and over the long years of volcanic activity were covered by ravines formed by flowing lava . This kind of slopes in combination with the red color of sandstone and the hot air rising above the mountains at certain times of the day give them the appearance of a flame . The region of the Fire Mountains is the hottest point in China [1] .
Content
Silk Road
The Great Silk Road was built around the chain of oases around the Takla Makan desert, including the city of Gaochang , built at the foot of the Fiery Mountains. Buddhist preachers often accompanied merchants, and in times of the flourishing of the Silk Road, Buddhist monasteries and temples were built along it [2] .
The Bezeklik caves of the thousand buddhas were one such place. A complex of 77 caves was created in the Mutou valley near the town of Gaochang. [3]
Literature references
The mountains of fire are mentioned in the famous 16th century Chinese classic novel Journey to the West , based on a real pilgrimage of the monk Xuanzang to India . In the novel, there is an episode in which the monkey king Sun Wukong , accompanying Xuanzang, three times appealed to the local goddess with a request to give them a magic fan to overcome the fiery mountains burning with flames. [four]
Mythology
According to the classic tale of Journey to the West , the Monkey King knocked over furnaces from heaven, as a result of which the coals began to fall on the place where the Fire Mountains are now. A dragon lived in the Uygur legend, in the Tien Shan mountains . The Uigur hero killed a dragon for eating small children and cutting it into eight pieces. The dragon's blood turned into scarlet mountains of blood and the eight parts turned into eight valleys in the Mountains of Fire.
Notes
- ↑ Flaming Mountain, Turpan (not available link) . chinahighlights.com. The appeal date is August 5, 2008. Archived June 6, 2012.
- ↑ Ebrey, Patricia. The Cambridge Illustrated History of China. - Cambridge University Press, 2006. - P. pp. 106–7, 202. - ISBN 978-0-521-43519-2 .
- ↑ Bizaklik Thousand Buddha Caves (Inaccessible link) . showcaves.com. The appeal date is August 5, 2008. Archived June 6, 2012.
- ↑ Ebrey, Patricia. The Cambridge Illustrated History of China. - Cambridge University Press, 2006. - P. p. 202. - ISBN 978-0-521-43519-2 .
Links
- Xinjiang: brief information. The project "Abirus"
- Photo of the Bezekliksky caves of a thousand buddhas in the Mountains of Fire near Turpan - Photo (eng.)
- Chinatoday.com.cn - Turpan (English) (inaccessible link) . Archived June 14, 2002.
- Photo of the Flaming Mountains (eng.)