Wushao Mountain
mountain in People's Republic of China
Wushao Mountain, Wushao Ling Mountain or Wushaoling (simplified Chinese: 乌鞘岭; traditional Chinese: 烏鞘嶺; pinyin: Wūshāolǐng) is a landform in Gansu Province, China, with significant desert elements on its northern slope.
The mountain has been a barrier to transportation since ancient times, when the Northern Silk Road found a passage across its terrain. The western slope of Wushao Ling combined with adjoining slopes of Lanshan Mountain comprises over 30 percent of the desert area of China. Given the current trend in China's land use policies, desertification of the Wushao Ling slopes and other Chinese deserts is projected to expand.
The mountain range is crossed by:
China National Highway 312, through the Wushaoling Pass (3030 m)
G30 Lianyungang–Khorgas Expressway, through a tunnel
Lanzhou–Xinjiang high-speed railway, through the Wushaoling Tunnel (21.05 km)
Climate
Mount Wushao has a subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification Dwc). The average annual temperature in Mount Wushao is 0.3 °C (32.5 °F). The average annual rainfall is 407.3 mm (16.04 in) with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around 11.8 °C (53.2 °F), and lowest in January, at around −11.3 °C (11.7 °F).
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Wushao Mountain” is mountain in People's Republic of China. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Wushao, Mountain and mountain, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “mountain in People's Republic of China” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q8039339. Authority coordinates are 37.233, 102.817. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Wushao Mountain”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Wushao Mountain primary sources, Wushao Mountain archive and Wushao research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Wushao Mountain”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Wushao Mountain” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.