| Liupan Mountains | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 240[1] km (150 mi) |
| Width | 10[1] km (6.2 mi) |
| Naming | |
| Native name | 六盘山 (Chinese) |
| Geography | |
 | |
TheLiupan Mountains (Chinese:六盘山;pinyin:Lìupán Shān) are amountain range innorthwesternChina, located mostly in southernNingxia Hui Autonomous Region. The range marks the southwestern boundary of theOrdos Basin.
Its southern section is known asMount Long (Chinese:陇山;pinyin:Lǒng Shān), which strides southeast through easternGansu and westernShaanxi province before joining into theQinling Mountains, giving rise to regional names like "Longxi" (陇西, lit. "west of Mount Long"), "Longdong" (陇东, "east of Mount Long", referring to theJing Rivervalley basin region around easternPingliang, southernQingyang and northernXianyang) and "Longnan" (陇南, "south of Mount Long"). It is the western boundary of theGuanzhong Plain, and is also the source of the Qian River (千河), a left tributary of theWei River that flows through theprefectural city ofBaoji.
A poem of same name was dedicated to this mountain byMao Zedong in 1935, when theChinese Red Army arrived into the friendlyShaanbei region at the end of theLong March.[2]
- 《清平乐·六盘山》
- 天高云淡，望断南飞雁。
- 不到长城非好汉，屈指行程二万。
- 六盘山上高峰，红旗漫卷西风。
- 今日长缨在手，何时缚住苍龙？
- Mount Liupan
- The sky is high, the clouds are pale,
- We watch thewild geese flying south until they vanish.
- If we reach not the Great Wall we are no true men,
- Already we have come twenty thousandli.
- High on the crest of Mount Liupan,
- Banners idly wave in the west wind.
- Today the long cord is in our hands,
- When shall we bind fast theAzure Dragon?
It is one of the youngest mountain ranges of China.[3] It is relatively narrow with a width between 5 and 12 km, and a length of around 240 km.[1] The highest peak, Migangshan (米缸山), is at 2,942 m (9,652 ft) above sea level.[3] Owing to its orientation perpendicular to humid winds, it is considered a 'green island' within theLoess Plateau.[4] Most of the mountain's area is covered by forests.[3]
| Climate data for Mount Liupan (elevation 2,845 m (9,334 ft), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1981–2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 7.1 (44.8) | 11.4 (52.5) | 16.7 (62.1) | 21.7 (71.1) | 23.6 (74.5) | 23.1 (73.6) | 25.3 (77.5) | 23.6 (74.5) | 22.5 (72.5) | 17.0 (62.6) | 13.0 (55.4) | 8.1 (46.6) | 25.3 (77.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −5.3 (22.5) | −2.9 (26.8) | 1.6 (34.9) | 7.9 (46.2) | 12.1 (53.8) | 15.4 (59.7) | 17.1 (62.8) | 16.0 (60.8) | 11.6 (52.9) | 6.4 (43.5) | 1.0 (33.8) | −3.8 (25.2) | 6.4 (43.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −9.9 (14.2) | −7.7 (18.1) | −3.4 (25.9) | 2.4 (36.3) | 6.8 (44.2) | 10.8 (51.4) | 12.7 (54.9) | 11.8 (53.2) | 7.6 (45.7) | 2.1 (35.8) | −3.2 (26.2) | −8.1 (17.4) | 1.8 (35.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −13.0 (8.6) | −10.9 (12.4) | −6.6 (20.1) | −1.2 (29.8) | 3.2 (37.8) | 7.5 (45.5) | 9.8 (49.6) | 9.0 (48.2) | 5.0 (41.0) | −0.6 (30.9) | −6.2 (20.8) | −11.3 (11.7) | −1.3 (29.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −25.3 (−13.5) | −22.0 (−7.6) | −23.0 (−9.4) | −16.5 (2.3) | −9.5 (14.9) | −1.8 (28.8) | 3.6 (38.5) | 0.4 (32.7) | −5.3 (22.5) | −18.6 (−1.5) | −21.3 (−6.3) | −27.7 (−17.9) | −27.7 (−17.9) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 8.7 (0.34) | 12.1 (0.48) | 20.9 (0.82) | 34.8 (1.37) | 53.2 (2.09) | 92.4 (3.64) | 131.9 (5.19) | 129.1 (5.08) | 94.1 (3.70) | 46.3 (1.82) | 13.7 (0.54) | 4.7 (0.19) | 641.9 (25.26) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.1 mm) | 7.4 | 7.6 | 8.4 | 8.9 | 10.7 | 13.4 | 15.8 | 15.1 | 14.4 | 10.7 | 6.7 | 4.6 | 123.7 |
| Average snowy days | 8.3 | 8.4 | 9.0 | 7.0 | 2.4 | 0.2 | 0 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 6.0 | 6.8 | 5.4 | 53.9 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 62 | 65 | 64 | 61 | 63 | 70 | 79 | 82 | 81 | 73 | 65 | 58 | 69 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 182.0 | 170.8 | 195.0 | 217.1 | 224.3 | 207.1 | 195.6 | 182.0 | 139.3 | 164.7 | 177.3 | 193.5 | 2,248.7 |
| Percentagepossible sunshine | 58 | 55 | 52 | 55 | 52 | 48 | 45 | 44 | 38 | 48 | 58 | 64 | 51 |
| Source:China Meteorological Administration[5][6] | |||||||||||||
