The Kunlun Mountains constitute one of the longest mountain chains in Asia, extending for more than. In the broadest sense, the chain forms the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau south of the Tarim Basin. The exact definition of this range varies. An old source uses Kunlun to mean the mountain belt that runs across the center of China, that is, Kunlun in the narrow sense: Altyn Tagh along with the Qilian and Qin Mountains. A recent source has the Kunlun range forming most of the south side of the Tarim Basin and then continuing east south of the Altyn Tagh. Sima Qian says that Emperor Wu of Han sent men to find the source of the Yellow River and gave the name Kunlun to the mountains at its source. The name seems to have originated as a semi-mythical location in the classical Chinese text Classic of Mountains and Seas.
Extent
From the Pamirs of Tajikistan, the Kunlun Mountains run east along the border between Xinjiang and Tibet autonomous regions to the Sino-Tibetan ranges in Qinghai province. They stretch along the southern edge of what is now called the Tarim Basin, the infamous Takla Makan desert, and the Gobi Desert. A number of important rivers flow from the range including the Karakash River and the Yurungkash River, which flow through the KhotanOasis into the Taklamakan Desert. Altyn-Tagh or Altun Range is one of the chief northern ranges of the Kunlun. Its northeastern extension Qilian Shan is another main northern range of the Kunlun. In the south main extension is the Min Shan. Bayan Har Mountains, a southern branch of the Kunlun Mountains, forms the watershed between the catchment basins of China's two longest rivers, the Yangtze River and the Yellow River. The highest mountain of the Kunlun Shan is the Kunlun Goddess in the Keriya area in western Kunlun Shan. Some authorities claim that the Kunlun extends further northwest-wards as far as Kongur Tagh and the famous Muztagh Ata. But these mountains are physically much more closely linked to the Pamir group. The Arka Tagh is in the center of the Kunlun Shan; its highest points are Ulugh Muztagh and Bukadaban Feng. In the eastern Kunlun Shan the highest peaks are Yuzhu Peak and Amne Machin ; the latter is the eastern major peak in Kunlun Shan range and is thus considered as the eastern edge of Kunlun Shan range. The mountain range formed at the northern edges of the Cimmerian Plate during its collision, in the Late Triassic, with Siberia, which resulted in the closing of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean. The range has very few roads and in its 3,000 km length is crossed by only two. In the west, Highway 219 traverses the range en route from Yecheng, Xinjiang to Lhatse, Tibet. Further east, Highway 109 crosses between Lhasa and Golmud.
Over 70 volcanic cones form the Kunlun Volcanic Group. They are not volcanic mountains, but cones. As such, they are not counted among the world volcanic mountain peaks. The group, however, musters the heights of above sea level. If they were considered volcanic mountains, they would constitute the highest volcano in Asia and China and second highest in the Eastern Hemisphere and one of Volcanic Seven Summits by elevation. The last known eruption in the volcanic group was on May 27, 1951.
Mythology
Kunlun is originally the name of a mythical mountain believed to be a Taoistparadise. The first to visit this paradise was, according to the legends, King Mu of the Zhou Dynasty. He supposedly discovered there the Jade Palace of the Yellow Emperor, the mythical originator of Chinese culture, and met Hsi Wang Mu, the 'Spirit Mother of the West' usually called the 'Queen Mother of the West', who was the object of an ancient religious cult which reached its peak in the Han Dynasty, and also had her mythical abode in these mountains.
The Kunlun mountains are described as the location of the Shangri-La monastery in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by English writerJames Hilton. The mountains are the site of the fictional city of K'un Lun in the Marvel Comics Iron Fist series and the TV show of the same name. The Kunlun mountain range serves as the setting for a mission in the 2013 video game Battlefield 4 in which a Chinese high-security prison is located within the mountains. The multiplayer map Operation Locker features the location as well.
