Bogda peak in Xinjiang
7 min readBogda Peak is located within the territory of Fukang City of Changji Hui autonomous Prefecture, with east longitude of 883 degrees and north latitude of 438 degrees. which is a famous peak in eastern Tianshan Mountains. The straight-line distance to Urumqi is about 60km and 49km to Fukang in the northwest. and there is the asphalt road leading to the Tianchi Lake; the peak stands above the mountains in southern Fukang City with an altitude of 5, 445m. The main peak and another two peaks shoulder with each other, formed a peak frame, which is towering and spectacular. There are 7 peaks with the altitude of over 5,000m within the range of 15km around the peak region which are in nearly east-west direction, extending about 9km; and among which, there are three peaks close to each other with the distance of only 2. 5km connecting as a whole, and the main peak is at the east, namely the Bogda Peak. From the altitude of 4, 800m to the peak point, most of the rocks are exposed, which are mainly composed by the gabbro intruded in mid-Hercynian, and the horn peaks and knife-edge crests are well developed owing to the glacial erosion. Between the altitudes of 3, 800-4, 800m, the exposed area of rocks is small, and most of the rocks are covered by ice and snow, and there are more than 10 glaciers developed here with the height of the terminus about 3, 400m. In the middle mountain belt with the altitude of 1,600 to 2, 800m, forest and meadow vegetations are growing, forming the beautiful scenery; and the famous Tianchi Lake is located among the spruce forest Bogda”is a Mongolian word, means spiritual mountain or holy mountain. The glacier and snow cover on the top of the peak shining the sliver light, contrast delightfully with the clear blue Tianchi Lake, forming the graceful and attractive natural landscape of lakes on high mountains.
There are two main ascending routes: one is from the Tianchi to the entrance of small Winter Ditch, then along the Big Winter Ditch to the Three Forks Daban, and then ascending the peak; the other route is climbing from the Sigong river along the ditches to LixingDaban(an altitude of 3, 700m), and then climb to the top. The district of Bogda peak is mainly used to carry out the mountaineering. scientific expedition exploration and other activities; and many tourists also like crossing Daban, and taking the inspection activities of climbing over the tianshan mountains.
The long-lasting glacier and snow cover on the top of bogda peak shining with sliver light, contrast delightfully with the clear Tianchi Lake, forming the beautiful landscape of lakes on high mountains the rolling mountains under the bogda peak are abundant in resources that the snow leopards and snow cocks live above the snow line, roe deer in the pinewoods, and mushrooms as well as dangshen(Codonopsis pilosula), astragalus mongholicus, fritillaria and other herbs grow here and there a variety of minerals such as copper, iron and mica are reserved under the mountains Although the altitude of bogda peak is not so startling, it is really difficult to climb. In the east-west direction of the main peak seven peaks of above 5,000m are arranged. The peak is steep, and the bed rocks on the top are exposed and stand like walls; the middle part is covered by snow and ice, while the part below the peak point is glacier and steep valley. As a result, the mountain is very precipitous. There are mainly four ridges of bogda Peak: the northeast ridge, southwest ridge, north ridge, and southeast ridge. The gradients of the western slope and the southern slope are 70 to 80 degrees. only the gradient ofnortheast slope is a bit smaller, therefore, although the Britain and the Soviet Union mountaineering teams had come to climb before 1980, the record of reaching the peak was made by the Japan Kyoto team of 11 climbers on June 8, 1981.
Owing to the shorter distance among several peaks, the concentrated mountains as well as short climbing cycle, it is very suitable for the continuous climbing of small teams There is the famous scenic resort “Tianchi Lake”at the foot of the peak, which owns clear water with green ripples, reflecting the towering spruces and silver snowcapped peaks Therefore, the mountaineering can be integrated with tourism, which gains the favor of mountaineering-loving people and tourists. Since 1980, Bogda Peak has been listed as one of the ten peaks of opening to the outside world, and many Chinese and foreign climbers have appreciated its elegant demeanor. Bogda Peak has become one of the world famous mountains.
Bogda peak is next to Junggar Basin in the north, Dabancheng valley in the south facing Turpan Basin in distance, and surrounded by the desert. Due to being located in the hinterland of the Asian continent, the climatic characteristics are very obvious. The piedmont is quite hot, but the middle and high mountain areas are moist and cold. Seasons are not very clear here; January is the coldest month with the monthly average temperature of-16℃–19℃; July has the highest temperature of10℃-12℃ In average. The annual precipitation is less than 200mm which is more in the northern slope than that in the southern slope; and the precipitation mainly concentrates in July and august in summer accounting for two-thirds of annual precipitation. From the late September to the end ofMay of the next year is the snow accumulated period with the thickness up to 65cm, which is not suitable to go into the mountains. Strong winds are rare within this region with the annual average wind speed of 2. 7-2.9 m/s; and within one day, wind speed and cloud cover usually increase in post meridiem. Generally speaking, June, July and August of each year is the period for mountaineering activities, and the optical time of climbing is from midJuly to August 10.
The scenery in Bogda is really enchanting with overlapping peaks, valleys spreading vertically and horizontally. There are the primeval forests with woods sheltering the sky as well as the picturesque mountain grasslands. Snow Leopards often haunt near the snow line and snow cocks dwell there as well. The neigh of red deer is often heard from the deep forests, and there are also many roe deer, brown bears, lynx and blue sheep presenting here and there. On the grass, the flowers are blooming, blazing with color; and wild herbs are growing in clusters exuding the smell of medicine such as fritillaria Dangshen lithospermum, astragali radix, and radix bupleuri. Bogda Peak is abundant in coal, siderite and mica, and other dozens of minerals. There are contemporary glaciers on the top of those peaks, therefore, in every summer, the ice and snow melting water will run down and merge into over 30 larger rivers to irrigate oases and fertile lands on the piedmonts Bogda peak was a”Holy Moutain”in the minds of all ethnic groups in ancient Western Regions. When seeing this peak, riders would get down from their horses, walkers would kowtow to it, and even the officers would stop and worship when passing the place. In thelocal folk tales, Bogda Peak was called the”saint”by herders, and the stones in the peak were regarded as the stones that the saint had used, thus they believed that they would be ever-victorious to fight against enemies with these stones After the Yuan Dynasty, Bogda was gradually shrouded with an air of mystery of Taoism In 1219, the Taoist master Qiu Chuji traveled to the west with 18 disciples underthe imperial edict of Genghis Khan. They started their journey from Dengzhou in Shandong Province to Yanjing, passed the Juyongguan, went north to the Kherlen River and then went west and climbed Altay Mountains to Sayram Lake passing through the Junggar Basin, and went further to the west, finally they reached Samarkand in Central Asia. The entire journey had lasted for three years with the distance of more than ten thousand kilometers; Qiu Chuji and his disciples preached and built Taoist temples throughout the journey, which laid a solid foundation for the development of taoism in the west. It is said that the Iron Tile Temple beside the Tianchi Lake was built by Qiu Chuji and his disciples when they were passing Fukang, and the poem of praising Bogda Stay in Luntai and Look at the Yinshan Mountains in the Southeast was composed at that time which said”Three peaks reaching the sky, and mountain creeks winding round the peaks”. In some of the Taoistclassics, Bogda Peak had been always regarded as the residence of Queen Mother of the West, and the Tianchi Lake under the peak had become the”Western Paradise Jade Poolthus bogda naturally became the Holy Mountain and Land of Taoism. In the 24 year of Qianlong(1759), the Qing Regime sent the minister stationed in Urumqi to worship on Bogda Peak, and issued the Bogda Ela Oration. After that, the government would organize the o masses to hold large-scale worship events every year, which further increased the mysterious color of Bogda Peak.
