Along the Silk Road, Tian Shan Tian Chi -- the Heavenly Mountains & Lake

Part of the Himalayan orogenic belt, stretching 2,800 kilometers (1,700 miles), Tian Shan is a large mountain range in Central Asia. The Xinjiang portion made the World Heritage List by UNESCO for its outstanding natural beauty, superlative natural features and as an example of ongoing biological and ecological evolution process. Of course we were not going to miss this spot!

We went to the part around the half-moon shaped Tian Chi (heavenly lake). The lake is over 1,900 meters (1,180 miles)  above the sea level, and is nourished by the melted ice caps from the mountains around. I knew it was going to be a beautiful spot, but seeing it still took my breath away.

There were boats with temple-like roofs. (~every 15 to 30 minutes depending on the day.)

The lake remains quite peaceful other than the occasional chase. 

I was tempted by trying on a set of costume on the bridge. There happened to be one very enthusiastic local elder standing near me when I tried on the costume, and I was taught by him on how to pose like a native. 

When the clock stroke noon, I heard music playing, and found some youngsters dancing to it.

No reason not to jump in, right?!

Something that I really appreciate from this trip: getting the story "behind the scenes". On our way down, I learned found two other smaller lakes each on the east and west of the main trail. Legend has it that the one on the west was the foot-bath basin for a Chinese goddess Queen Mother and it was formed from her shower. Thumbs up for recycling! The other lake on the east left more room for fantascizing: it was believed to be the swimming pool for all goddesses ( no private swimming pool privilege?)

There was also an ancient tree that was supposed to be the hair pin of the Queen Mother. The story goes as she held a grand party and left a water monster uninvited. The angry monster went anyway and started making a scene. To tame the raging monster, the Queen Mother took out one of her hair pins and pined the monster down, 1910 meters above sea level. It is amazing how plants can grow at such elevation, and people believe that the tree is actually evolved from that very pin. 

There were many many more stories associated with the site, mostly associated with the ancient goddess, some with a Hindu root and others somewhat random. While listening to those captivating stories, I could feel how closely connect the people and the mountains were, and it is a beautiful thing.