The fairy maiden's bathing pool -- Tianchi Lake on the Tianshan Mountains
Tianchi's coordinates are latitude 43กใ53'N, longitude 88กใ08' E, lying in Bogda Mountain of East Urumqi. It is said the lake was the bathtub of the fairy and named "Yaochi" (jade lake). Other tales said that it is the lost mirror of the fairy. The lake got its current name from the meaning of fairy mirror and tub in Qing dynasty. To distinguish it with another Tianchi in the Jilin Province, it was also named as Tianshan Tianchi or Fukang Tianchi.
With an altitude of 1910 meters, the lake covers 2.65 square kilometers and the deepest place is about 103 meters, the average depth is 60 meters. It is a barrier lake due to Quaternary glacier activities .
Lush pines and peaks over peaks, lush and green, stretch to the horizon, yacht weaving on the lake, the whole scenery is like a poem and a picture. It is cool and pleasant in summer, while gets deep-frozen in the winter and is an ideal skating place.
There are many scenes around the Tianchi.
Little Tianchi, round shape with the diameter of 20-30 meters is said to be the footbath of the Fairy. The surface is clear and smooth.
Stone Valley, the little crack of a huge rock mountain is the only pass leading to Tianchi. It is cliffy here.
Fushou Temple is located to the northwest corner of Tianchi. For its blue brick and black tile the temple is also named Tiejiang Temple. All the brick and tile were shouldered to the mountain by sheep because the road had not been constructed at that time.
Mt Guodi (boiler bottom) and Denggan are located to the southwest of Fushou Temple. Guodi is like the bottom of a boiler and also the favorite summer pasture. Denggan Mountain gets strange profile. It stands upright on the flat grassland. It is said that there was a Magic Light on the top, which could be seen far away from Urumqi.
Bogda Snow Peak with an altitude of 5,445 meters, is the second highest mountains of Tianshan Mountains. The snow and wonderful scene there will please you much.
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