Set 10 | 88 : Flaming Mountains

Flaming Mountains

China has vast areas of desert. This photograph from near Turfan in Xinjiang Province shows a suitably bleak and arid scene.

Temperatures in the area can reach a searing 55° C or 130° F.

The name 'Flaming Mountains' is, by tradition, supposed to have been coined during the journey of the Monkey King from India bringing Buddhist texts to China (in the 8th century book the 'Journey to the West')

This archive photograph was taken by a SACU member visiting China in the early 1980s