Red Hill Park (Hong Shan Park)

Red Hill Park is situated at the intersection of Hongshan Road and Hetan Road in the heart of the city of Urumqi. The hill is called Red Hill because it is made up of aubergine rock with a reddish brown color. The Hill is 1.5 km (.93 mile) long and 1 km (.62 mile) wide from east to west, and stands 910.8 meters (996 yards) high. If you have the energy to make it to the peak of Red Hill, you will be rewarded with fantastic, bird's eye views of Urumqi.

Less than 1km away, Yamalike Hill stands facing Red Hill. Legend has it that in ancient times a red dragon fled from Heavenly Lake and the Heavenly Empress caught him and sliced him in two with her sword. Later on, the western part of the dragon turned into Yamalike Hill and the eastern turned into Red Hill. The sword turned into the Urumqi River. Oddly enough, topographic pictures tell us the two hills were once one and were separated into two parts due to stratum rupture.

Eventually, ancient legend affected real life. In 1785 and 1786, floods hit Urumqi causing much destruction. Rumors arose that Red Hill and Yamalike Hill were growing closer and closer together. Once they met, the Urumqi River between them would be blocked and the city would become flooded as the water rose. Therefore, in 1788 Shang An, the highest military officer, ordered the Zhen Long (in Chinese, to subdue the dragon) Pagodas built on both hills. These two pagodas were made of gray brick, 10.5- meter (34.4-foot)-high with six sides, nine stories, and an octagonal roof.

The restored Pagoda, named Dragon-Supression Pagoda, consists of nine tapered sections, forming a 26-foot, hexagonal, carrot-shaped structure typical of most pagodas and around which a garden - Red Hill Garden - has been planted. The small "dome" atop Dragon-Supression Pagoda is octagonal. Elsewhere on Red Hill are numerous smaller structures and pavilions nested among the trees that provide shade and thus relief from the fierceness of the sun in this rather hot part of Xinjiang.

Red Hill Park is a popular, refreshing and easily accessible getaway in the heart of Urumqi. Both the local residents as well as tourists from home and abroad flock to the park during the summer especially. Here, one will see people of all ages sitting about chatting, playing cards and other games, or strolling about enjoying the breeze and the shade of the tree-lined walkways. The round pedal boats on the lake are said to be bumper cars on water (it is hard to navigate them without bumping into other pedal boats) and therefore provide lots of fun for "children of all ages", as the saying goes, while a panoramic view of all of Urumqi can be had atop Red Hill.

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