Highest Mountains In China

Everest, Lhotse, and Makalu: Shared with Nepal

Standing at at height of 29,029 feet (8,848 meters), Mt. Everest is not only the tallest mountain in China, but the tallest mountain in the world. Along with Mt. Everest on the Mahalangur Himal mountain range is Lhotse and Makalu. Lhotse stands at at height of 27,940 feet (8,516 meters) and is the third tallest mountain in China and the fourth tallest mountain in the world. Makalu stands at at height of 27,825 feet (8,481 meters) Makalu is the fourth tallest mountain in China and the fourth tallest mountain in the world. China did not gain Mt.Everest, Lhotse and Makalu as territory until the Chinese government invaded and annexed Tibet in 1950. Currently, these mountains are part of the Tibet Autonomous Region that China created in 1965. Mt. Everest is probably the most well known mountain in the world and a popular tourist destination, but unfortunately for China they have the less popular north side of the mountain, as the south side in Nepal is the more popular side for tourist and climbers.

After China took control over Tibet, the border issues that would have been between Tibet and Nepal to deal with, then became an issue that China has since had to handle. This issue was resolved between the two countries in October of 1961 when the two countries signed a Boundary Treaty. Since then there have been three Joint Boundary Protocols signed between the two countries to reinforce this agreement. The Arenaria plant grows in the region just below these mountains and there are lichens and moss that grow high up on the mountains. The Euophrys osmnisuperstes (a minute jumping spider), a bar-headed goose, yellow-billed choughs, yaks, snow leopards, Himalayan tahrs, red pandas and the Himalayan black bear among other animals are found in the region around and on the mountains. Mt. Evert does have some religious importance to the Sherpa people in Nepal as a former site of the Tibetan Buddhist Miyolangsangm and that the mountain itself has a spiritual energy that causes karmic effects.

Along the Pakistani Border: K2, Gasherbrum 1-4, and Broad Peak

Standing at at height of 28,251 feet (8,610 meters), K2, also known as Chhogori or Godwin-Austen, is the second tallest mountain, both in China and in the world. Gasherbrum I at 26,509 (8.079 meters) is the fifth tallest mountain in China and the eleventh tallest mountain in the world. Broad Peak at 26,414 feet (8,050 meters) is the sixth tallest mountain in China and the twelfth tallest mountain in the world. Gasherbrum II at 26,362 feet (8,035 meters) is the seventh tallest mountain in China and the thirteenth tallest mountain in the world. Gasherbrum III at 26,089 feet (7951 meters) is the ninth tallest mountain in China and the tied for being the fifteenth tallest mountain in the world. Gasherbrum IV at 26,001 feet (7925 meters) is the tenth tallest mountain in China and the seventeenth tallest mountain in the world.

In 1949, China absorbed the Second East Turkestan Republic through mostly political means, and by 1955 the autonomous region on Xinjiang was created, which gave China control of all of these mountains within the Karakorum mountain range. China had border issues with Pakistan which where mostly resolved in the Sino-Pakistan Agreement in 1963 and with India that were only slightly partially resolved in 1996 with a mutually agreed to Line of Actual Control. In the Karakorum mountain region where all of these mountains are located there are juniper, artemisia, and several types of thickets, but plant life in the area is mostly scattered and discontinuous. There are two different species of goats and sheep as well as Brown bears, lynx, and snow leopards among others that live in the region.

Shishapangma (Gosainthan)

Standing at at height of 26,289 feet (8,012 meters), Shishapangma, which is also known as Gosainthan, is the eighth tallest mountain in China and the fourteenth tallest mountain in the world. It is the only one of the ten tallest mountains in China that is completely in the country and does not share a border with another country. Shishapangma is located in only around five kilometers (3.1 miles) from the border with Nepal in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Similar to Everest, Lhoste and Makalu, China did not gain Shishapangma as part of its territory until it invaded and annexed Tibet in 1950.

Shishapangma is part of the Juang-Langtang mountain range. The region around the mountain is a mix of spruce, pine and evergreen trees as well as a region of cold-belt grasslands. The area also has a wide variety of animals, including birds, yaks, deer, foxes and more. Residents who live in Tibet regard Shishapangma as a mountain of good fortune, and it has a highly religious status among local residents.