Celestial Mirror: Heavenly Lake of Tianshan

Known in ancient times as “Yaochi” (Jade Pool)—a name derived either from Emperor Taizong of Tang’s “Yaochi Protectorate” established here or from combining the words “heavenly mirror” and “divine pool”—this high-altitude lake straddles the boundary between myth and reality. Legend claims it was where King Mu of Zhou feasted with the Queen Mother of the West, a tale immortalized by Tang poet Li Shangyin: “At Yaochi, the Queen Mother parts her jade curtains; the song of Yellow Bamboo shakes the earth with grief. Eight steeds race thirty thousand miles a day—why does King Mu never return?” Over millennia, stories have painted it as the Queen Mother’s bathing spring, her silver dressing mirror, and a celestial realm even goddesses yearn to linger.

Yet more awe-inspiring than its inclusion on China’s National Intangible Cultural Heritage List is the lake’s winter splendor. When frost cloaks the land, the entire basin transforms into a boundless expanse of ice and snow. Riding the cable car to Maya Mountain’s summit at 3,056 meters, visitors gaze down at this moon-shaped lake cradled by peaks. Across seasons, its waters shimmer in ever-changing hues—starry skies mirrored in its surface, snow-capped ridges etching reflections. The tolling bells from the mid-slope Temple of the Queen Mother of the West mark time’s passage, as nature’s grand design unfolds with effortless grace.

They say when gods favor a mountain, they veil it in unassuming snow—hiding its true form to preserve its mystique. Perhaps this is why travelers return year after year, compelled to honor its timeless beauty. In the 1970s, poet Guo Moruo, accompanying Prince Sihanouk, captured its essence: “A pool of dark ink settles in the inkstone’s heart, while ten thousand trees stand like brushes poised to write.” Here, the divine and earthly entwine, inviting mortals to glimpse eternity.