Kunlun Mountains

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Region containing Kunlun Mountains
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Region containing Kunlun Mountains
Karakash River in the Western Kunlun Shan, seen from the Tibet-Xinjiang highway
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Karakash River in the Western Kunlun Shan, seen from the Tibet-Xinjiang highway
Peak in Kunlun range
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Peak in Kunlun range
View of Western Kunlun Shan from the Tibet-Xinjiang highway
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View of Western Kunlun Shan from the Tibet-Xinjiang highway

The Kunlun mountain range (Simplified Chinese: 昆仑山; Traditional Chinese: 崑崙山; pinyin: Kūnlún Shān) is one of the longest mountain chains in Asia, extending more than 3,000 km.

The Kunlun runs eastwards along the northern part of the Tibetan plateau to form the border range of northern Tibet. It stretches along the southern edge what is now called the Tarim Basin, the infamous Takla Makan or "sand-buried houses" desert, and the Gobi desert. A number of important rivers flow from it including the Karakash River ('Black Jade River') and the Yurungkash River ('White Jade River'), which flow through the Khotan Oasis into the Taklamakan Desert.

The highest mountain of the Kunlun Shan is the Kunlun Goddess (7,167 m) in the Keriya area. The Arka Tagh is in the centre of the Kunlun Shan; its highest point is Ulugh Muztagh (6,973 m, definitely not 7,723 m). Some authorities claim that the Kunlun extends north westwards as far as Kongur Tagh (7,649 m) and the famous Muztagh Ata (7,546 m). But these mountains are physically much more closely linked to the Pamir group.

Bayankala Mountains, a southern branch of the Kunlun Mountains, forms the watershed between the catchment basins of China's two longest rivers, the Yangtze River and the Huang He.

The mountain range formed at the northern edges of the Cimmerian Plate during its collision, in the late Triassic, with the Siberia, which resulted in the closing of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean.

[edit] Mythology

The Kunlun mountains are well known in Chinese mythology and are believed to be Taoist paradise. The first to visit this paradise was, according to the legends, King Mu (976-922 BCE) of the Zhou Dynasty. He supposedly discovered there the Jade Palace of Huang-Di, the mythical Yellow Emperor and originator of Chinese culture, and met Hsi Wang Mu, the 'Spirit Mother of the West' usually called the 'Queen Mother of the West', who was the object of an ancient religious cult which reached its peak in the Han Dynasty, also had her mythical abode in these mountains.

See also Tibet-Xinjiang highway

The Kunlun Pass
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The Kunlun Pass

Coordinates: 36°00′N 84°00′E