Flaming Mountains

The Huoyanshan run for around a hundred kilometres along the northern edge of the Turpan basin, bare red sandstone and mudstone gullied by erosion into vertical flutes that catch the light so the slopes appear to ripple like flame in the midday sun. The basin behind them is one of the hottest places in China, sitting below sea level, and surface temperatures on the rock have been measured well above seventy degrees. The range appears in Journey to the West, where the pilgrims are blocked by mountains of fire and must borrow a magic fan, and a visitor site with a giant thermometer plays on that story.

What you actually see

• The fluted red slopes - erosion gullies that shimmer in the midday heat.
• The giant thermometer - the visitor site's ground temperature display.
• The Journey to the West theme - sculpture and exhibits on the legend.
• The basin heat - the Turpan depression below sea level behind them.

When to go

April to May and September to October; summer in Turpan regularly exceeds forty degrees in the shade and the site has almost none. Midday gives the strongest colour but the worst heat.

Honest expectations

The visitor site is a small themed stop with a car park; the mountains themselves are simply seen from the road. Heat in summer is genuinely dangerous. Entry is charged for what is a short visit.

Nearby

Bezeklik caves lie north; Grape Valley is west.