Tomor peak in Xinjiang
7 min readTomor Peak is located near the boundary line of China and Kyrgyzstan in the territory of Wensu County in Aksu Prefecture, which is the highest peak in the Middle Tianshan District, and also the main peak of Tianshan Mountains, with the elevation of 7, 435,3m. So far, there are only two records of people reaching the peak successfully, one is in 1956, the Soviet mountaineering team reached the peak along the northeast cliff from the northern slope; the other is in July 1977, Liu Dayi and other 27 climbers of China mountaineeringScientific Expedition reached the peak along the southeast ridge from the southern slope Tomor”means”iron”in Uygur language. In 1980 the mountains with a total of 1,000km² “of the main peak and the surrounding peaks and mountainous region was listed as the Nature Reserve of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region Level which was mainly aimed to protect the mountain glaciers, the lower forests, biological communities and the ecological environment. In 2003, it was included in the directory of China National Nature Reserve Tomor Peak has accumulated snow all the year round, surrounded by clouds and mist which is magnificent by scene; meanwhile, the unique natural landscape is amazing which looks like uncanny workmanship. There are more than 10 peaks with the elevation of over 6000m around the Tomor Peak, such as Khan Tengri, Snow Lotus Peak, Aketashi Peak(White Jade Peak), Quelebosi Peak(Tiger Peak), all of which form a spectacular picture of a world in snow and ice with the towering peaks.
The region where Tomor Peak is located belongs to temperate continental semi-humid climate affected by the airflow of arctic Ocean and the atlantic ocean. and as a result. the precipitation is more than other parts of Xinjiang, with the annual precipitation of generally 400-600mm, and up to over 800mm at most. Tomor Peak also presents the distinct characteristics of three-dimensional climate zones there are different seasonal characteristics along with different altitudes. When summer comes, the piedmont plain region is burning hot; while the mountainside at 2, 000-3, 000 m above sea level is full of flowers in blossom indicating the sign of spring; and the region of above 3, 500m is a world of cold ice, just like in severe winter, which is the so-called”Four seasons integrate in one mountain, while different season is just ten Li apart”(1Li=500 meters). The annual average temperature on the top of tomor peak with the elevation of 7. 435. 3m is only -28C and the extreme low temperature can reach -60C or even lower. The average temperature in July is-24C, and the extreme high temperature is about C; in short, the climate conditions are very severe.
Tomor Peak is the largest modern glacier area in China with the towering ice stalagmites, huge ice mushrooms, crystal ice melting caves, and waterfalls of tens of meters high scattering throughout the glacier area. The most spectacular glacier in this region is the Khan Tengri glacier, which is the longest one among the more than 800 glaciers within region; it is one of the world’s eight major valley glaciers with the length of 608km. The surface is covered with stones of various sizes, so people can walk on it. There are countless deep ice lakes and ice cracks of hundreds of meters deep as well as light blue melting ice holes, icicles, crystal walls. seracs, ice cones, ice mushrooms, ice tables and rivers under ice, and other glacier wonders. The weather here is changeable, sometimes it is very quiet with a bright sky, but suddenly thundering sound breaks the quiet, and the snow dusts rumble down stirring the snow waves of tens to hundreds of meters high The stirred snow fog rises and spreads like the mushroom cloud which is very spectacular and thrilling. However, snow slide, the wonder that happens occasionally -is the most dangerous enemy to the glacier fieldworker, and mountain climbers In addition to the spectacular glacier wonders, there are also many famous hot springs in the region of Tomor Peak. The Alxa hot spring at the east side of the valley of north Muzart River is one of those In summer, the water flows peacefully and springs jingle, surrounded by the thick Picea schrenkiana and the birch forest, and the grass looks like a green carpet with wild flowers in blossom. The environment here is quiet and beautiful which makes it the famous convalesce area in Xinjiang The springs in Alxa have a feature of seasonal variation, basically dry in winter and spring, and with the largest amount of water from June to August. The water contains trace amounts of sulfide, soda and other mineral substances, preserving a certain effect for curing many diseases. In every summer, nomads of all nationalities of hundreds of miles away, such as Kazak, Mongolian, Kirgiz, Uygur, and Russian will ride horses in troops to have a bath and recuperate here, and enjoy the gift of nature regardless of the distance and hardships.
There are abundant animal and plant resources below the snow line of an altitude of 3000m of the Tomor Peak. The wild plants are more than 600 kinds, accounting for about 175 of Xin jiang; among which, just medicinal plants alone are more than 100 species, and 26 species of fungus as well as 31 species of lichen are first discovered in China; meanwhilethe picea schrenkiana forest of 1 000 km”is also one of the valuable forest resources Thepiedmont and river valleys of Tomor Peak are full of the evergreen spruces and whirl pines The dense forest on the north and south slopes of Tomor peak is one of the ma jor timber producing areas in Xinjiang.
There are more than 100 kinds of medicinal plants in the region of Tomor Peak; and ingrassland and forest steppe zone, there is Fritillaria, Radices Lithospermi, Henbane, Polygonatum, Schizonepeta, Leonurus japonicas, Rheum officinale, and so on; and in spruce forest, the multiflora rose and Codonopsis pilosula and other plants can be found everywhere; while in the subalpine meadow belt, the trollius chinensis bloom bathing in breeze: and in the rocks near the snow line with an altitude of 3, 000m. the famous saussurea grow doggedly.
There are also many rare fowls and beasts in this region and the forests and grasslands of the ridges and peaks below the altitude of 3, 000m are the paradise for fowls and beasts to inhabit and breeding. There are flocks of Tianshan red deer, gazelle, big head sheep, roe deer, Chateng big tail sheep, Snow cock, snow pigeon, snow bird, eagle, marmot, yak, wild ass, brown bear, jackal, stone marten, and so on. The most precious are the snow leopard and black-necked crane, which are listed as the national first class protectedanimals. Marmot and otters are precious fur animals scattering throughout the Tianshan Mountains; and the furs are the key export products in Xin jiang. The wild camel, argali snow leopard, lynx, Tianshan deer, and Tianshan antelope and other animals are all the wildlife protected by the state Tianshan goshawk is famous for its large stature and ferocity; and its wings could be over two meters long if unfolded, just like a small plane hovering in ssky, and once discovering a hare, gazelle, or other small animals, it will swoop down with as if a lightning, and then enjoy its delicious game The region is also abundant in fine pasture, with 55 species of gramineous plants discovered, among which, the sheep fescue, meadow grass, elymus nutans, Aristida adscensionis, stipa glareosa, wild oats, hordeum brevisubulatum, the wild alfalfa, sweet clover of leguminosae and other plants are all fine fodder grasses. Under the blue sky and white clouds, with the snow-capped mountains standing in the distance, lush forest in the mountainside, as well as mountain meadows flourishing at the foot of mountains and the edge of the forest, the herders are herding on horseback flocks of sheep and cattle grazing leisurely on grass, which seems like a poetic and picturesque fairyland There is a amazing grand canyon in the region of about 70km northeast to the Wensu County with about 50km”of the sight seeing and adventure area, which is the paradise of wildlife such as gazelle, argali, and wolf. The mouth of the canyon is about 160m wide where the riverbed is flat with soft sand, and gradually rises along the canyon with clear springs coming out of the riverbed with various widths. The towering peaks stand on both sides of the canyon, with the mountain massif mainly brownish red interspersed with light green, beige, cream color and other colors. After entering the canyon for about 800m, it is divided into 6 large branch canyons and more than 50 lesser ones in succession which are bright-colored and different in styles with sometimes broad perspectives. sometimesnarrow, the path winding and changing between light and shade, as well as the peaks overlapping peaks in the canyon, extremely impressive. There are a few shrubs, populus diversifolia, and other drought-enduring plants in the canyon; and many stunnin extraordinary sights have been formed on both sides of the cliffs through the exposure to blows, sunburns and rain-wash, such as the magnificent modeling of mountains: The Giants Meeting”, “Thousands of Monks Pilgrimage”, “The Majesty of old Castle”,”AlienVisistors”,”Beacon Tower on the Post Road”, “The Lion Roaring to the Sky”, “The Hawk Soaring to the Sky”, “The Masculine Man through the Ages”, “The Ox-headed and Horse-faced Demons in Hades”,”The Wrestle of Hare and Dog”, and”The Starry Falls”, etc. The Grand Canyon now still belings to a primitive natural landscape.
