Qinghai Sun & Moon Mountain, China

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Sun & Moon Mountain

The Sun & the Moon Mountain is located in the Huangyuan Prefecture of east of Qinghai Province, the northeast of the Qinghai Lake and it belongs to the offshoot of the Qilian Mountain chains.

The lakes and mountains here are very beautiful like a picture and like an unpolluted precious place out of the Great Wall.

Also called Chi Ling before, the Sun & the moon Mountain has vast and green big grassland at the foot of the mountain, full of green trees on the mountain and the cloud and mist on the top and the sun and the moon river flowing from east to west. This combination forms a very beautiful picture.

From ancient times many mythology stories were spread by the people, most legends are concerned with Wencheng Princess who married the Tibetan king in Tang Dynasty. It is said that when Wencheng Princess passed here, she broke the lovely the sun and the moon mirror, the succeeding named the mountain "the sun & the moon mountain" from "Chi Ling" in order to miss and thank Wencheng Princess.

The rivers with different dimensions of Chinese continent are all flowing from west to east or from north to south like the Yellow River, the Yangtze River and the Pearl River of Lingnan, but the sun and the moon river is very special, it flows from east to west, what's more, it is quiet and clear like a precious mirror.

Whoever has gone to the sun and the moon mountain will say that many scenic spots on the mountain are like Utopia places far from the hubbub and it is a good place which can let the city people forget the troubles of jobs completely. Welcome to link with us and go together with us!

History:

During Lishimin on the throne in Tang Dynasty, the national power is the strongest. The territory expanded to Xinjiang in west side, Tibet and Fanbang of Yunnan in its southwest side came friendly to homage voluntarily. In 641, in order to consolidate the adjacent countries and stable the territory, Lishimin ordered Wencheng Princess to marry the Tibetan king Srongtsan Gamoi.

It is said when Wencheng Princess left the Chang An town, Lishimin bestowed the sun and the moon mirror to her. The princess put the mirror in her arms and set out the journey. So missing family and country and frightened for her future, she set out with tears.

The Sun and the Moon Mountain was called "Chi Ling" in ancient times. Leaving Chang An and walking here, they could select towards west or towards north, towards west to the Silk Road to West Regions and all the countries of Middle Asia, towards north to Tibet and Yunnan.

At that time the horses of Wencheng Princess arrived here, suddenly she felt surging and cried greatly. Allegedly after her tears fell on the ground, they became a river immediately, Wencheng Princess was afraid that the river flowed to east and the father and relations would see.

So in order to avoid their worry and missing, Wencheng Princess prayed to Heaven and hoped that river flowed to west.

Her real feeling moved Heaven, the Heaven informed the river God to change the river's direction, so the river flowed to west. Wencheng Princess also swore to the Heaven to indicate her aspiration that she would regard promoting culture exchanges of Han and Tibet as her own task and regard building Tibet as the most important thing.

So on the Chi Ling Mountain she broke the sun and the moon mirror resolutely to show the decision. The horses continued to walk forward.

Due to this legend, the posterity called this Chi Ling Mountain to the Sun & the Moon Mountain. Later Tang Dynasty built post stations here and changed the Sun & the Moon Mountain into the rest place for the messengers of Tang Dynasty and West Regions changed horses or had a rest in the halfway, additionally they built a Sun Pavilion and a Moon Pavilion respectively.

That unique sun and the moon river that is flowing towards west on the Sun & the Moon Mountain is the strange and beautiful scenic spot praised by scholars from ancient times.