Hoh Xil or Kekexili, ( Mongolian for "Blue Ridge", also Aqênganggyai for "Lord of Ten Thousand Mountains"), is an isolated region in the northeastern part of

Qinghai-Tibet Plateau The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the Tib ...

. On July 7, 2017, the Hoh Xil in Qinghai was listed among the World Heritage Sites as "the largest and highest plateau in the world".

Geography

The region covers 83,000 square kilometres at an average elevation of 4,800 metres above sea level, stretches in the east-west direction between the

Tanggula The Tanggula (Chinese: , p ''Tánggǔlāshān'', or , p ''Tánggǔlāshānmài''), Tangla, Tanglha, or Dangla Mountains ( Tibetan: , w ''Gdang La'', z ''Dang La'') are a mountain range in the central part of the ...

and Kunlun mountain chains in the border areas of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, northwest China's Qinghai Province and China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The southeastern part of the Hoh Xil, drained by the

Chumar River Chumar or Chumur () is a village and the centre of nomadic grazing region located in south-eastern Ladakh, India. It is in Rupshu block, south of the Tso Moriri lake, on the bank of the Parang River (or ''Pare Chu''), close to Ladakh's border wit ...

(), is one of the major

headwater The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition The ...

sources of the Yangtze River. The rest of the region is endorheic, with drainage to numerous isolated lakes; this area is sometimes described by hydrologists as the "Hoh Xil lake district". 45,000 square kilometres of the Hoh Xil region, at an average elevation of 4,600 metres, were designated a national nature reserve in 1995. The UNESCO World Heritage Site is encompassed of the western half of

Zhidoi County } ''Zhidoi County'' (, ) is a county in the west and southwest of Qinghai Province, China, bordering the autonomous regions of Tibet to the west and Xinjiang to the northwest. It is under the administration of Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. ...

and western part of

Qumarlêb County Qumarlêb County (; ) is a county in the northeast of the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, south-central Qinghai province, China. Geography and climate With an elevation of around , Qumarlêb County has an alpine climate (Köppen ''ETH''), ...

in Qinghai.

Bukadaban Feng Bukadaban Feng or Buka Daban Feng (), Syn Qing Feng () or Bokalik Tagh (), is a remote peak on the border between Ruoqiang County, Xinjiang and Qinghai provinces of China. The Chinese term 'Bukadaban Feng' is borrowed from the Uyghur for "bison p ...

is considered part of Hoh Xil.

Geology

Hoh Xil is volcanic. The surrounding

Northern Tibet volcanic field Northern Tibet volcanic field is a volcanic field in China. Geography and geomorphology The volcanic field lies in the Quiangtang plateau, in northern Tibet and the Kunlun mountains. The high altitude, bad terrain and weather make geologic inv ...

contains a number of late-Cenozoic volcanoes. Several Hawaiian-style volcanoes are present in this area. Bamaoqiongzong covers an area of 300 km² and contains a perfectly preserved edifice NE of the summit and a lava flow that overlies Quaternary lake deposits . The Bamaoqiongzong area contains peralkaline phonolitic and foiditic rocks. Yongbohu contains five dacitic, trachyandesitic and andesitic vents. Qiangbaqian covers a broad area along the southern border of the Kunlun mountain range. A cone in the Kekexili caldera, once thought to be observed in eruption on a satellite photo in 1973, is now considered not to have been historically active.Synonyms & Subfeatures

Wildlife

Despite the harsh climate, Hoh Xil is home to more than 230 species of wild animals, 20 of which are under Chinese state protection, including the

wild yak The wild yak (''Bos mutus'') is a large, wild bovine native to the Himalayas. It is the ancestor of the domestic yak (''Bos grunniens''). Taxonomy The ancestor of the wild and domestic yak is thought to have diverged from ''Bos primigenius'' ...

, wild donkey, white-lip deer, brown bear and the endangered Tibetan antelope or ''chiru''. The abundant

plateau pika The plateau pika (''Ochotona curzoniae''), also known as the black-lipped pika, is a species of mammal in the pika family, Ochotonidae. It is a small diurnal and non-hibernating mammal weighing about 140 g when fully grown. The animals are ...

, a small burrowing rodent, is the main food of the region's brown bears; the bears also feed on the yak and antelope. The hitherto little-known region, as well the struggling Tibetan antelope, or chiru, became household names in China upon the release of the film '' Kekexili: Mountain Patrol'' in 2004. Zhuonai Lake () in Hoh Xil is known as a gathering place for the Tibetan antelope.

Transportation

The Qingzang Railway and China National Highway 109 run along the eastern boundary of the reserve. The

Fenghuoshan Tunnel The Fenghuoshan Tunnel () is the highest railway tunnel in the world. It is 1,338 metres (4,390 feet) long, and stands 4,905 meters (16,093 feet) above sea level. It is part of the Qinghai–Tibet Railway, linking Qinghai and Tibet that was comp ...

, presently the world's highest railway tunnel (1338 m long, with entrances located at an elevation of 4905 metres above sea level), was constructed in the area.

References

External links