The Gedengshan Stele

　　Introduction 　　The Gedengshan Stele is located on Gedeng Mountain, over 60 kilometers west of Zhaosu County. Its full name is "The Stele Commemorating the Pacification of the Dzungar Rebellion at Gedengshan." The inscription was personally composed by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty and is engraved on a massive granite stele erected on Gedeng Mountain. The stele stands 2.95 meters tall, 0.83 meters wide, and 0.27 meters thick. The top of the stele is carved with coiled dragons, the front side bears the characters "Imperial Qing," and the back features the words "Eternal." The main body of the stele depicts a relief pattern of the sun rising from the East Sea. The front side is inscribed in both Manchu and Chinese, while the back is inscribed in Mongolian and Tibetan—four languages in total. The text is arranged vertically, with the Chinese version totaling more than 210 characters. It mainly records the process and achievements of the Qing army in suppressing the rebellion led by Dawachi, leader of the Dzungar tribe. The Gedengshan Stele was erected in 1760.      For over 200 years, Gedeng Mountain has gained widespread fame because of this stele. Although the stele has been weathered by wind and rain over time, and its inscriptions have faded and become somewhat blurred, the overall structure of the stele remains intact. In 1975, the government allocated funds to reinforce and renovate it. This stele is designated as a "Key Cultural Relic Protected by the Xinjiang Autonomous Region."       

　　 Xinjiang Ili