CH'I-LIEN MOUNTAINS

Wade-Giles romanization Ch'i-lien Shan, Pinyin Qilian Shan, rugged mountain range on the border of Tsinghai and Kansu provinces, west central China. It forms part of the Nan Shan, the eastern outlier of the Kunlun Mountains. Heavily glaciated in many places, the mountains rise to 18,194 ft (5,547 m), and most peaks exceed 13,000 ft. Snow covers the mountain tops; herds graze in the well-watered valleys. Impassable throughout, the range forms the southern border of the Kansu Corridor, the historic route from eastern China to Central Asia.