History
The Shiji mentions the "Qilian mountains" together with Dunhuang as the homeland of the Yuezhi. A scholar however has suggested that the name here refers to the mountains now known as Tian Shan, 1,500 km to the west, and Dunhuang may be the Dunhong mountain. Qilian (祁连) is said to be as a Xiongnu word meaning "sky" (Chinese: 天) by Yan Shigu, a Tang Dynasty commentator on the Shiji.
The mountain range was formerly known in European languages as Richthofen Range after Ferdinand von Richthofen, who was the Red Baron's explorer-geologist uncle.
The mountain range gives its name to Qinghai's Qilian County.
Read more about this topic: Qilian Mountains
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