Tianshan Grand Canyon

Tianshan Grand Canyon

Tianshan Grand Canyon is a national AAAAA-level tourist attraction and a national geopark.

The allure of Tianshan Grand Canyon lies in its grandeur, ruggedness, depth, serenity, and mystery.

The Mysterious Tianshan Grand Canyon is located beside the Duku Highway, about 70 kilometers from Kuqa County, and is a canyon within the Keziliya Mountain range, a branch of the Tianshan Mountains. In the Uyghur language, "Keziliya" means "red cliffs." It is through hundreds of millions of years of wind and rain erosion that those reddish-brown rocks have formed today’s “Mysterious Grand Canyon.” Standing at the bottom of the valley and looking up at the high mountains, one can't help but feel that the steep peaks might come crashing down at any moment, which is quite dizzying.

Walking among the reddish-brown mountains inside the valley feels like entering a tranquil and cool world. The mouth of the valley is quite open, but as you go deeper, the path twists and turns—sometimes wide, sometimes narrow, with some sections so tight that you can only pass through sideways. The valley floor is relatively flat, allowing for leisurely strolls much of the time, flanked by towering stone walls and covered in fine sand underfoot. Many sections are also covered with a thin layer of water, with a light crust of ice. Looking up, under the blue sky, the oddly shaped and uniquely formed peaks are countless, including formations such as the Guardian Dog of the Valley, the Whirling Ancient Fortress, the Divine Revelation Cave, the Jade Maiden Spring, and the Recumbent Camel Peak—all strikingly lifelike.

The mysterious Ayi Grottoes in the canyon are less than 2 kilometers from the valley entrance and are perched high on a cliff. Originally, they could only be reached by climbing a suspended ladder over 30 meters high, but now stone steps and plank walkways have been added nearby. Research indicates that the grottoes were built in the early Tang Dynasty. The grottoes are small, no more than 5 meters deep, about the height of a person, with an arched ceiling. Inside, remnants of murals can be found on three walls, and unusually, these murals feature rare Chinese characters, setting them apart from the hundreds of other grottoes in the ancient Western Regions and clearly reflecting traces of Han culture.