Chinese Tian Shan or T'ien Shan ("Celestial Mountains")
Mountain chain, Central Asia.
Lying mainly in Kyrgyzstan and northwestern China ( Xinjiang autonomous region), its ranges and valleys stretch for about 1,500 mi (2,500 km) in an east-west direction. Its highest point is Victory Peak (Pik Pobeda) in Kyrgyzstan, which reaches 24,406 ft (7,439 m); the peak was discovered in 1943 by a Soviet expedition. Most of the area's population lives in the Fergana Valley of Uzbekistan.