Gansu's 'Little Switzerland', the Qilian Mountains live up to their name

The Qilian Mountain range stretches 800 kilometers from east to west and is 200 to 400 kilometers wide from north to south, with altitudes ranging from 4000 to 6000 meters. It contains 3306 glaciers, covering an area of about 2062 square kilometers. The western end connects with the Altun Mountain Range at Dangjin Mountain Pass, and the eastern end reaches the Yellow River Valley, linking with the Qinling and Liupan Mountains, spanning nearly 1000 kilometers. It is a folded block mountain range, with the widest part reaching 300 kilometers between Zhangye City and the Qaidam Basin◇from north to south◇including the Daxue Mountain, Tuolai Mountain, Tuolai South Mountain, Yema South Mountain, Shule South Mountain, Danghe South Mountain, Tuerkendaban Mountain, Qaidam Mountain, and Zongwulong Mountain. Many peaks are between 4000 and 5000 meters in altitude, with the highest peak, Shule South Mountain's Tuanjie Peak, reaching 5808 meters. Peaks over 4000 meters are perennially snow-capped, and the valleys between mountains are also between 3000 and 3500 meters in altitude. It is an important ecological barrier in western China. In 1988, the Gansu Provincial Qilian Mountain National Nature Reserve was established in the central and eastern parts of the northern Qilian Mountains, spanning the cities of Zhangye, Wuwei, and Jinchang. Gansu and Qinghai provinces have initiated a pilot program for the Qilian Mountain National Park system. The area spans the cities of Zhangye, Wuwei, and Jinchang.