History
Hong Shan Park is in the center of Ürümqi and contains a 1391-meter-high mountain. The temple lying on the hilltop is called Yu Huang Ge ("Chamber of Heavenly King") and is said to have been built during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.), when many monks studied scripture there. Since then, this chamber has become a place of tourism for business people from Central Asia and tourists from all over the world. Yu Huang Ge was famous and prosperous until a riot in 1930 destroyed this popular chamber.
There is a nine-storey pagoda named Zhen Long Ta at the top of the mountain. It was built in Yuan Dynasty (1277-1367 A.D.). This 25-meter pagoda has been preserved carefully ever since it was built. When the nightfall or sunset begins, the pagoda is marvelous; this view was one of the eight most famous scenic spots in ancient Ürümqi.
Before the Chinese government began the cultivation-planting project in Xinjiang, the mountain was bare and emerged without any trees. In the 1950s, therefore, after several years of cultivation planting, the mountain gained a brand-new look; the hill is covered with trees, and the mountain is beautiful.
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