Desert_121

Desert in Flaming Mountain, near Turpan, Xinjiang

The Flaming Mountains (Chinese: 火焰山; pinyin: huǒyànshān) or Gaochang Mountains, are barren, eroded, red sandstone hills in the Tian Shan of Xinjiang. They lie near the northern rim of the Taklamakan Desert and east of the city of Turpan. Their striking gullies and trenches caused by erosion of the red sandstone bedrock give the mountains a flaming appearance at certain times of the day.