Coordinates:

Hong Shan, Hongshan or the Red Mountain (;

Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

: Hóng Shān; ; ''Qiziltagh'') is an inner city

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

Ürümqi Ürümqi, , is the capital of the Xinjiang, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Northwestern China. With a census population of 4 million in 2020, Ürümqi is the second-largest city in China's northwestern interior after Xi'an, also the ...

, capital of

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

, China. The mountain, sometimes referred to as a hill for its smaller size than a mountain in land form, is the symbolic scenic spot of

. The local Ürümqi Television Station adopted the shape of Hong Shan in red as its logo.

Etymology

As the rocks of the mountain reflect a bright red color, people call it Hong Shan ("Red Mountain" in Chinese). The red rocks are composed of dark purple sand gravel laid down during the Permian period. Hong Shan Mountain lies at the intersection of Hongshan Road (红山路) and Riverside Road (Hetan Road) (河滩路), Ürümqi, and is best viewed from Xi Daqiao Bridge (西大桥).

History

Hong Shan Park is in the center of Ürümqi and contains a 1391-meter-high mountain. The temple lying on the hilltop is called Yu Huang Ge ("Chamber of

Heavenly King Heavenly King or Tian Wang (), also translated as Heavenly Prince, is a Chinese language, Chinese title for various religious deities and divine leaders throughout history, as well as an alternate form of the term ''Son of Heaven'', referring to ...

") and is said to have been built during the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

(618–907 AD), when many

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

s studied scripture there. There is a nine-storey pagoda named Zhen Long Ta (Genuine

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

Pagoda) at the top of the mountain. It was built in

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

(1277–1367 AD). This 25-meter pagoda has been preserved carefully ever since it was built. The pagoda's view at sunset is considered to be one of the eight most famous scenic sights in ancient

. Before the Chinese government began the cultivation-planting project in

, Hong Shan was treeless. After several years of planting, the mountain gained its current tree covered appearance.

References

External links

Pictorial History of Urumqi’s Hong Shan Park

{{Commons category, Hongshan Park (Ürümqi) Ürümqi Mountains of Xinjiang