Geography of Xinjiang - Aksai Chin, Khunjerab Pass, East Turkestan, Dzungarian Gate, Trans-Karakoram Tract, Tarim Basin, Taklamakan Desert (Paperback)

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 34. Chapters: Aksai Chin, Khunjerab Pass, East Turkestan, Dzungarian Gate, Trans-Karakoram Tract, Tarim Basin, Taklamakan Desert, Turpan Depression, Sanju Pass, Hami Desert, Hindutash, Altyn-Tagh, Flaming Mountains, Lop Desert, Wakhjir Pass, Gasherbrum II, Yumen Pass, Baltoro Muztagh, Muztagh Ata, Ulugh Muztagh, Kulma Pass, Chakragil, Torugart Pass, Kongur Tagh, Qigexing Buddhist Temple Ruins, Gurbantunggut Desert, Shipton's Arch, Skyang Kangri, Iron Gate Pass, Taghdumbash Pamir, Bedel Pass, Subashi Formation, Sauyr Zhotasy, Kumul Depression, Tarbagatai Mountains. Excerpt: The Dzungarian Gate (Chinese: pinyin: l Sh nk u) is a geographically and historically significant mountain pass between China and Central Asia. It has been described as the "one and only gateway in the mountain-wall which stretches from Manchuria to Afghanistan, over a distance of three thousand miles." Given its association with details in a story related by Herodotus, it has been linked to the location of legendary Hyperborea. The Dzungarian Gate is a straight valley which penetrates the Dzungarian Alatau mountain range along the border between Kazakhstan and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. It currently serves as a railway corridor between China and the west. Historically, it has been noted as a convenient pass suitable for riders on horseback between the western Eurasian steppe and lands further east, and for its fierce and almost constant winds. In his Histories, Herodotus relates travelers' reports of a land in the northeast where griffins guard gold and where the North Wind issues from a mountain cave. Given the parallels between Herodotus' story and modern reports, scholars such as Carl Ruck, J.D.P. Bolton and Ildiko Lehtinen have speculated on a connection between the Dzungarian Gate and the home of Boreas, the North Wind of Greek mythology. ...