Travel Guide East Asia China » xinjiang attractions

China Wanders: Flaming Mountain-The Hottest Place in China

sunny — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:07:11 +0000

The Flaming Mountain is located in north Turphan Basin of Xinjiang Province. The Flame Mountain starts from Langan Quicksand River of Shanshan County and ends at the Peach Channel in the Turpan Basin. The Flaming Mountain is very popular thanks to a classical novel, The Journey to the West by the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) writer, Wu Cheng’en and its charming hero – the Monkey King.
Every summer when the sun shines, the mountain could reach 80°C in temperature. A huge thermometer at the centre of the Flaming Mountain Museum will show you how hot it is. People from Xin Jiang Province said, “You can fry eggs in the sand and bake the bread in the wilderness”. In winter, when the snow falls, the mountain will remain its appearance without any snow or ice on it.
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, Peach Valley, Wood Valley and Shengjinkou Valley. Among them, Grape Valley is best known for producing the best grapes in the country.

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The world’s smallest temple—Tuopulukedun Temple

sunny — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:10:22 +0000

Located in the southern rim of the Taklimakan Desert in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the Tuopulukedun Temple is 2.25 meters long and two meters wide, with walls about 1.3 meters high. It is the smallest
temple in the world.
The temple is wood-and-mud structured and has fine frescos of Mahayana scriptures on the four walls. A Buddha statue, about 0.65 meters tall, stands in the central part of the temple. In the middle of the northern parts stand other Buddha statues, wide-shouldered and thin-waisted.
The Tuopulukedun Temple, which has been buried under the sand for about 1,500 years, was accidentally discovered by a cowboy recently. The Tuopulukedun Temple opened a new window for archaeologists to study the ancient Buddhist Yutian Kingdom.
The temple is also material evidence of exchange between eastern and western cultures along the ancient Silk Road, a famous commercial route linking China with central and west Asian more than 2,000 years ago.

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Swan lake

sunny — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 00:24:35 +0000

Situated on Bayinbuluke Plain in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Korla Swan Lake is a famous swan lake nature reserve in China and one of the largest swan reserves in the world. Thousands of swans of different species live in the area, providing the spectacle of thousands of swans in flight across the vast open sky.
Swan Lake is a wide area of wetland that is made up of many interconnected small lakes. Swan Lake in Bayanbulak Grassland is the first area for the protection of swans anywhere in China. In late spring and early summer when snow has melted and the mother earth has just awoken from hibernation, swans, wild geese and gulls will fly in groups to Korla Swan Lake from various places such as India, Burma and Pakistan and even as far as the Black Sea, Red Sea and countries along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. In this lake, they will nidificate, molt, seek for mate and produce offspring. In late autumn, swans will take their own babies to jubilate in the bustling lake. Every now and then, they will thrash the water and soar into the air, where they can foster the skills for long-journey flying. In the sunshine there appears an enchanting picture comprised of swans, lake, peaks and shadows of clouds.

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