Min Mountains or Minshan () are a mountain range in central China. It runs in the general north-south direction through northern

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of t ...

(the eastern part of the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture and adjacent areas of

Mianyang Mianyang (; formerly known as Mienchow) is the second largest prefecture-level city of Sichuan province in Southwest China. Located in north-central Sichuan covering an area of consisting of Jiangyou, a county-level city, five counties, and thr ...

Prefecture-level city A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. During the Republican era, many of Chi ...

) and southernmost borderlands of

Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibe ...

. The highest elevation is Mount Xuebaoding ("Snow Treasure Peak"), 5588 m and the second highest is Mt Little Xuebaoding ("Little Snow Treasure Peak"), 5443m.

Geography

The Min mountain range is a southern prolongation of the

Kunlun Mountains The Kunlun Mountains ( zh, s=昆仑山, t=崑崙山, p=Kūnlún Shān, ; ug, كۇئېنلۇن تاغ تىزمىسى / قۇرۇم تاغ تىزمىسى ) constitute one of the longest mountain chains in Asia, extending for more than . In the bro ...

that separates the basins of two major rivers of Sichuan: the Min River (to the west) and the

Jialing River The Jialing River, formerly known by numerous other names, is a major tributary of the Yangtze River in the Sichuan Basin. It is named after the Jialing Valley in Feng County, Shaanxi through which it flows. The Jialing River's most notable ...

(to the east). Both rivers flow in the general southern direction, and are tributaries of the

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

. The Min Mountains are part of a wider mountainous region: *

Amne Machin Amne Machin, Anyi Machen, or Anyê Maqên ("Grandfather Pomra") is the highest peak of a mountain range of the same name in the southeast of Qinghai province, China. It is revered in Tibetan Buddhism as the home of the chief indigenous deity of ...

: The range located to the far west, known to the ancient Chinese as Mount Jishi (積石山, 积石山, Jīshíshān), part of the

. * Xiqing Mountains (): The northern range. * Qionglai Mountains: The central part of the range to the west of the Min River *Motian Mountains: The easternmost prolongation, merging with the

Daba Mountains The Daba Mountains, also known by their Chinese name as the Dabashan, are a mountain range in Central China between the watersheds of the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers. Part of the larger Qinling mountain range, it cuts through four provinces: Si ...

History

According to the ''

Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese his ...

'', the

Xia Dynasty The Xia dynasty () is the first dynasty in traditional Chinese historiography. According to tradition, the Xia dynasty was established by the legendary Yu the Great, after Shun, the last of the Five Emperors, gave the throne to him. In tradit ...

managed this mountain range as early as 2000 BC. The

Lazikou Pass The Lazikou Pass () is a narrow mountain pass in the Min Mountain Range, Têwo County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southern Gansu, Northwestern part of China. The pass forms a gateway between northwestern Sichuan ( Aba) and southern G ...

, a site of strategical importance during the

Long March The Long March (, lit. ''Long Expedition'') was a military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the National Army of the Chinese ...

, passes through the Min Mountains and connects northwestern Sichuan with southern Gansu.

Ecology

The characteristic ecosystem of the Min Mountains and the Qionglai Mountains (which are located further west, separated from the Min Mountains by the Min River valley) has been described by the

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the W ...

as the Qionglai-Minshan conifer forests. Important tourism and nature conservation objects in the Min Mountains include the Jiuzhaigou Valley Nature Reserve (in

Jiuzhaigou County Jiuzhaigou County (; ) is a county of Sichuan Province, China. It is under the administration of the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture. Formerly called Nanping County (), it was renamed in 1998 to reflect the fact that the Jiuzhaigou Va ...

) and the

Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area Huanglong () is a scenic and historic interest area in the northwest part of Sichuan, China. It is located in the southern part of the Minshan mountain range, north-northwest of the capital Chengdu. This area is known for its colorful travertine ...

(in

Songpan County Songpan; former Songzhou, is a county of northwestern Sichuan province, China, and is one of the 13 counties administered by the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture. It has an area of , and a population of approximately 68,000 composed ...

); both are listed on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

s list.

References

{{Mountain ranges of China Mountain ranges of Sichuan Mountain ranges of Gansu