Min Mountains

Min Range
岷山
Landscape in the Jiuzhaigou Valley
Highest point
Peak	Mount Xuebaoding (Snow Treasure Peak)
Elevation	5,588 m (18,333 ft)
Coordinates	32°40′N 103°50′E / 32.667°N 103.833°E / 32.667; 103.833Coordinates: 32°40′N 103°50′E / 32.667°N 103.833°E / 32.667; 103.833
Geography
Min Range Location in China
Location	Sichuan, Mianyang, Gansu
State/Province	Asia
Parent range	Hengduan Mountains

Min Mountains or Minshan (Chinese: 岷山; pinyin: Min Shan) are a mountain range in central China. It runs in the general north-south direction through northern Sichuan (the eastern part of the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture and adjacent areas of Mianyang Prefecture-level city) and southernmost borderlands of Gansu. The highest elevation is Mount Xuebaoding ("Snow Treasure Peak"), 5588 m and the second highest is Mt Little Xuebaoding ("Little Snow Treasure Peak"), 5443m.

The Min mountain range is a southern prolongation of the Kunlun Mountains that separates the basins of two major rivers of Sichuan: the Min River (to the west) and the Jialing River (to the east). Both rivers flow in the general southern direction, and are tributaries of the Yangtze.

The Min Mountains are part of a wider mountainous region:

According to the Records of the Grand Historian, the Xia Dynasty managed this mountain range as early as 2000 BC.

The Lazikou Pass, a site of strategical importance during the Long March, passes through the Min Mountains and connects northwestern Sichuan with southern Gansu.

The characteristic ecosystem of the Min Mountains and the Qionglai Mountains (which are located further west, separated from the Min Mountains by the Min River valley) has been described by the World Wildlife Fund as the Qionglai-Minshan conifer forests.