LIU-P'AN MOUNTAINS

WadeGiles romanization Liu-p'an Shan, Pinyin Liupan Shan, mountain range in northern China extending southward from the Ningsia Hui Autonomous Region across the eastern panhandle of Kansu Province and into western Shensi Province. The range is formed by the tilted western edge of the structural basin that underlies the Loess Plateau (a plateau covered with wind-deposited silt) of Shensi and that continues northward to form the Ho-lan Shan (mountains) west of the Huang Ho (river) in the Yin-ch'uan region of Ningsia Hui. The range is a sharply defined one, with a general elevation of more than 6,500 ft (2,000 m); individual peaks reach 9,826 ft. To the south, the mountains are separated from the far higher Tsinling Shan, which extend from west to east, by the major fault line forming the valley of the Wei Ho. The main axis of the Liu-p'an Mountains can be traced from southeast to northwest, from north of Pao-chi in Shensi, crossing Kansu and entering into Ningsia Hui, beyond which it swings into a nearly northsouth axis. The name Liu-p'an Mountains properly belongs to this higher northern section, while the southern section is called the Lung Shan (also Kuan Shan, Lung-t'ou, or Lung-pan). The range forms a sharp watershed between two tributary systems of the Wei Hothe Hu-lu Ho system to the west and the Ching Ho system to the east. It has provided an important cultural barrier, dividing the southern basin of Shensi (the Wei Valley area, which is one of the cradles of sedentary Chinese culture) from the arid pasture lands of Kansu. The only important passes through the range are the Wei Valley in the south (the Lung Kuan or Ta-chen Kuan) and the route in the north between P'ing-liang and Ching-ning (both in Kansu). The area is very dry, much eroded, and heavily dissected by its rivers. Because of their elevation, the mountains receive somewhat more rain than the surrounding plateau areas, and there remain some patches of pine forest in the higher parts. The rest of the area is covered by grassland.