The Qilian Mountains are a system of parallel ranges some 800 km long on the north-eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, along the border of Gansu and Qinghai. Their glaciers and snowfields feed the rivers of the Hexi Corridor, making the Silk Road oases of Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan and Dunhuang possible; since 2017 a large part of the range has been a pilot area for the Qilian Mountain National Park.
- Qilian Mountain National Park (pilot) · 2017
- National nature reserves (Gansu Qilian Shan and others)
Key facts
Overview
Seen from the Hexi Corridor, the Qilian is a long white wall on the southern horizon, with peaks rising above 5,000 metres. It is not a single ridge but a series of parallel ranges running north-west to south-east, separated by high valleys and basins, which reach from the Altun Mountains near Dunhuang to the Yellow River near Lanzhou and include the grasslands around the town of Qilian in Qinghai.
The range is a “water tower”: its glaciers, snow and alpine wetlands feed the Heihe, Shiyang and Shule rivers that flow north into the desert. Without them there would be no Hexi Corridor, and therefore no overland route from China into Central Asia.
How the landscape formed
The Qilian ranges were raised by the northward push of the Indian plate against Asia, which thrust the north-eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau over the basins to the north; the range is still rising, and large earthquakes occur along its faults. The high ranges carry more than two thousand small glaciers, most of them in retreat. Below them lie alpine meadows and permafrost, then forests of Qinghai spruce on the shaded northern slopes, and finally the dry foothills and alluvial fans on which the oases stand. Colourful danxia sediments outcrop along the northern foothills near Zhangye.
Highlights
July First Glacier
七一冰川
A valley glacier south of Jiayuguan, named after the date of its survey in 1958 and one of the most accessible glaciers in China.
Qilian grasslands
祁连草原
Summer pastures around the county town of Qilian in Qinghai, with Tibetan and Mongol herders.
Zhuo'er Shan
卓尔山
Red sandstone hill above Qilian town with views over farmland and the snow ranges.
Yanzhi Shan
焉支山
A forested outlier between Zhangye and Wuwei, remembered in the Xiongnu lament.
Plants and wildlife
The range holds forest, alpine meadow and high desert within short distances, and it is an important refuge for the large mammals of the plateau edge. Snow leopards are regularly recorded by camera traps, and the water it releases supports the wetlands and farms of the corridor. Overgrazing, mining and small hydropower stations damaged parts of the range, and a central government inspection in 2017 found widespread violations in the Gansu reserve, leading to closures and restoration work.
Plants
Qinghai spruce
青海云杉
Picea crassifolia, forming dark forests on north-facing slopes.
Qilian juniper
祁连圆柏
Juniperus przewalskii, a slow-growing juniper of dry sunny slopes.
Wildlife
Snow leopard
雪豹
Found across the high ranges, preying on blue sheep and ibex.
Blue sheep
岩羊
Bharal, the commonest large wild herbivore of the rocky slopes.
White-lipped deer
白唇鹿
A plateau deer of the alpine meadows in the southern ranges.
Culture and legend
Qilian is thought to be a Xiongnu word for “heaven”, and the mountains were Xiongnu pasture before the Han general Huo Qubing drove them out of the corridor in 121 BCE. The Han then founded the four commanderies of Hexi. The range later lay between Chinese, Tibetan, Uyghur and Mongol powers, and Tibetans, Mongols, Yugurs and Tu still herd on its slopes.
失我祁连山，使我六畜不蕃息；失我焉支山，使我妇女无颜色。“We have lost our Qilian Mountains, and our herds no longer thrive; we have lost our Yanzhi Mountain, and our women have lost their colour.”
— Xiongnu song, as recorded in Chinese sources after Huo Qubing's campaigns of 121 BCE
Mati Temple
马蹄寺
Buddhist cave temples in the foothills south of Zhangye.
Tiantishan Grottoes
天梯山石窟
Early Buddhist cave temples of the Northern Liang near Wuwei, at the foot of the range.
History
121 BCE
Huo Qubing's Hexi campaigns
The Han drive the Xiongnu from the Qilian foothills and open the corridor to the west.
1958
July First Glacier surveyed
Chinese glaciologists begin systematic study of the Qilian glaciers.
1988
Gansu Qilian Shan National Nature Reserve
The forests and glaciers of the northern ranges are placed under national protection.
2017
National park pilot and inspection
The Qilian Mountain National Park pilot is approved, and an inspection exposes mining and hydropower damage in the reserve.
Through the seasons
Spring
Late and cold on the high ground; the grass greens only in May, and passes can be snowbound.
Summer
The season of the grasslands, with flowering meadows, yellow rapeseed in the valleys and herders' tents; also the season of afternoon thunderstorms.
Autumn
Short and clear, with hillsides of golden dry grass and the first snow on the peaks.
Winter
Very cold; the high roads can close, and the glaciers are for expeditions only.
Routes and ways in
Zhangye to Qilian over the range
The road south from Minle over the high pass of Biandukou leads to the Qinghai grasslands, one of the classic crossings of the range.
July First Glacier walk
A short but high walk from the road end to the glacier snout, at altitudes above 4,000 metres.
Practical notes
- Much of the range lies above 3,000 metres; ascend gradually and watch for altitude symptoms.
- Core zones of the national park and nature reserves are closed; roads, towns and designated scenic areas remain open.
- Weather changes fast, and snow is possible in any month on the passes.
- Zhangye, Jiayuguan and Wuwei in Gansu, and Xining in Qinghai, are the usual bases.
Cities to start from
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Qilian Mountains — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Qilian Mountains — Wikipedia (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- The exploration of China's National Park System Pilot Project: Taking Qilian Mountain National Park as an example — ScienceDirect (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Gansu Provincial People's Government — Gansu Provincial People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
More mountains and nature in Gansu
- DesertMingsha Shan and Crescent Spring鸣沙山月牙泉Singing dunes and a crescent-shaped pool on the edge of Dunhuang
- MountainZhangye Danxia张掖七彩丹霞Striped red, ochre and white hills at the foot of the Qilian
- National parkGiant Panda National Park大熊猫国家公园One park for the panda's mountains across three provinces
- Mountain range · 3,771 mQinling Mountains秦岭The range that divides northern and southern China
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