Tianshan Grand Canyon (Keziliya Grand Canyon) 天山大峽谷(克孜利亞大峽谷)
Tianshan Grand Canyon (Keziliya Grand Canyon) |
The mysterious Tianshan Grand Canyon, also known as Keziliya Grand Canyon, is a canyon near Keziliya Mountain (a branch of Tianshan Mountain) formed by wind and rain over billions of years. "Keziliya" in Uighur means red cliff. The canyon is as long as 5.5 kilometers from east to west with an average depth of 1,600 meters. The reddish-brown mountains of the grand and rugged canyon are in different shapes, and gullies and trenches can be found everywhere. Some places are too narrow to pass through. The peaks in the canyon are multicolored, and strange-shaped stone formations can be found.
Because of the unique terrain, it is warm during the winter and cool in summer inside the canyon. Standing at the bottom of the canyon and looking up to the high mountains, you may feel as if the steep ridges and peaks might fall down any time. On the cliff which is 1.4 km away from the mouth of the canyon, there is a thousand-Buddha cave from the Tang Dynasty where the paintings and Chinese characters on the three sides of the walls are still clear, colorful and vivid.