Yaomo Mountain Park

Yaomo Mountain Park

Introduction: The outer perimeter of Yaomo Mountain is approximately 16 kilometers, and its surface area covers about 40 square kilometers. Geomorphologically and geographically, it is located on the southern edge of the Junggar Basin and falls within a desert region. The intense dry and hot climate has left a profound imprint here. The spring and autumn seasons are relatively humid, with less noticeable drought, while summers are arid and abundant in heat, and winters are long and cold.

A folk rhyme once circulated in Urumqi: “When clouds shroud Yaomo Mountain, boats float on the water.” During the Qing Dynasty, when soldiers and civilians were building dams and cultivating land, they prayed for favorable weather on Yaomo Mountain. They built the Balas Temple at Zhizhushan at the mountain’s tail, where they worshipped eight deities related to agriculture — including the Earth God, Farming God, Field God, and Insect God — to pray for good fortune and blessings. As a result, Yaomo Mountain is also known as Fushou Mountain (Prosperity Mountain) or Lingying Mountain (Responsive Mountain).

Today, those hopeful prayers have come true. Yaomo Mountain is now lush with green trees. To the east, you can see the snow-capped Bogda Peak; to the west, you can admire the fiery red sunset over Xishan; to the north, you can watch carp leaping and chasing waves; and to the south, you can see swallows playing above the shimmering blue waters. “Three verdant peaks emerge faintly from the misty veil, two pagodas tower unevenly into the sky” — the magical Yaomo Mountain has become a scenic landmark of Urumqi.

Legend: When literati familiar with mythology first saw Yaomo Mountain, they were reminded of the legend of the Queen Mother of the West, and thus this mountain became the place where she imprisoned the Green Dragon. But migrants who traveled west and settled in old Urumqi were more familiar with Journey to the West, so Yaomo Mountain came to be seen as the dwelling of the Bull Demon King, becoming one of the most vivid pages in the western version of Journey to the West. Although the Green Dragon and Red Dragon were suppressed under Yaomo Mountain and Hongshan by the Queen Mother of the West, the once untamed Urumqi River often flooded, causing disasters. The locals believed the two dragons were to blame. The Urumqi Military Governor then built a pagoda on both Yaomo Mountain and Hongshan to suppress the demons and pray for a bountiful year. 　

Xinjiang, Urumqi