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Introduction of Flaming Mountain

Flaming Mountain is situated in the north of Turpan Basin. Along the Turpan-Shanshan road there are red mountains about 100 km long. These mountains stretch in a east-west direction, and are about 10 km wide from south to north and 500 m above sea level. The highest peak is 850 m in height. The mountains are mainly composed of red sandrock. Many years of volcanic activity have formed the unique crisscrossing gullies and ravines. During mid-afternoon the heat becomes intense as the sun's rays are reflected off the red rocks, as though the hillsides are engulfed by tongues of fire, hence the name. Flaming mountain is the hottest place in China and highest temperature sometimes climbs to 48 degree centigrade and temperature on the earth face occasionally reaches over 70 degree centigrade.

The mountain is barren and extremely hot in summer. The region gets so hot that you can "hard boil" an egg by burying it in the sand for just a few minutes. During the trek approaching the mountain, visitors will find the soles of their shoes soften in the intense heat. With the red sun overhead, thermal air currents rising, red sandstone gives out red light looks like a fiery dragon. Therefore, its name.

Story of Flaming Mountains
Long long ago, a vicious dragon lived in deep Tianshan Mountain and ate small children. One day, a Uygur hero fought gallantly against the dragon for three days and three nights. Finally, he cut the dragon into eight parts. The remains of the dragon turned to a scarlet mountain colored by its blood. The eight scars turned into the eight valleys of Flaming Mountain, including the famous Grape Valley.

Another story comes from the classical novel, The Journey to the West by the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) writer, Wu Cheng'en and its charming hero -- The Monkey King.
According to the famed Chinese novel Journey to the West, when the Tang monk Xuanzang and his three reached this place, fires raged for hundreds of miles. One of his followers, the Monkey King extinguished the fire with a magical palm fan whisked from the throat of the ever-protective Iron Fan Princess.