This article is about the region Kekexili (Hoh Xil). For the film by the same name, see Kekexili: Mountain Patrol.

Kekexili (Chinese: 可可西里; pinyin: Kěkěxīlǐ, from the Tibetan Hoh Xil ) is an isolated region in the northwestern part of the Tibetan plateau. It is China's least and the world's third-least populated area. Pinyin (拼音, pīnyīn) literally means join (together) sounds (a less literal translation being phoneticize, spell or transcription) in Chinese and usually refers to Hànyǔ Pīnyīn (汉语拼音, literal meaning: Han language pinyin), which is a system of romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration to roman script) for Standard Mandarin used in the... The Tibetan language is typically classified as member of the Tibeto-Burman which in turn is thought by some to be a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. ... NASA satellite image of Tibetan Plateau The Tibetan Plateau is a large, elevated region in Central Asia, covering much of Tibet. ...

The region covers 83,000 square kilometres at an average elevation of 4,800 meters, between the Tanggula and Kunlun mountain chains in the border areas of Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Northwest China's Qinghai Province and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It is one of the major headwater sources of the Yangtze River. 45,000 square kilometres, at an average elevation of 4,600 metres, were made into a national nature reserve in 1995. The Qingzang Railway runs along the eastern boundary of the reserve [1]. Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ... Region containing Kunlun Mountains The Kunlun mountain range (崑崙山) is one of the longest mountain chains in Asia, extending more than 3000 km. ... The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) (Tibetan: བོད་རང་སྐྱོང་ལྗོངས་; Wylie: Bod-rang-skyong-ljongs; Simplified Chinese: 西藏自治区; Traditional Chinese: 西藏自治區; pinyin: ), is a province-level autonomous region of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... Qinghai (Chinese: 青海; pinyin: Qīnghǎi; Wade-Giles: Ching-hai; Postal System Pinyin: Tsinghai) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, named after the enormous Qinghai Lake (Koko Nor). ... Xinjiang (Chinese: æ–°ç–†; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Hsin1-chiang1; Postal Pinyin: Sinkiang; literal meaning: New Frontier; Uyghur: ), full name Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... The headwaters of a river are small streams that create it. ... Length 6,380 km Elevation of the source  ? m Average discharge 31,900 m³/s Area watershed 1,800,000 km² Origin Qinghai Province and Tibet Mouth East China Sea Basin countries China The Yangtze River (Chinese: 扬子江; pinyin: ) is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in... A nature reserve is an area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research. ... The Qinghai-Tibet railway, or Qingzang Railway (青藏铁路), is a railway that will connect Xining, Qinghai Province to Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region in the Peoples Republic of China. ...

Despite the harsh climate, Kekexili is home to more than 230 species of wild animals, 20 of which are under State protection, including the wild yak, wild donkey, white-lip deer, brown bear and the endangered Tibetan antelope or chiru. Binomial name Bos gruniens Linnaeus, 1766 Yak - n. ... Binomial name Equus asinus Linnaeus, 1758 The donkey or ass (Equus asinus) is a domesticated animal of the horse family, Equidae. ... Genera About 15 in 4 subfamilies. ... Binomial name Ursus arctos Linnaeus, 1758 The Brown Bear (Ursus arctos) is a species of bear that can reach weights of 130–700 kg (300–1500 pounds). ... Binomial name Pantholops hodgsonii (Abel, 1826) The Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii), also commonly called the chiru, is a medium sized antelope which is about four feet in height, native to the Tibetan plateau. ...

The hitherto little-known region, as well the struggling Tibetan antelope, became household names in China upon the release of the film Kekexili: Mountain Patrol in 2004.

See also

• Geography of China
• Geography of Tibet

China stretches some 5,000 kilometers across the East Asian landmass in an erratically changing configuration of broad plains, expansive deserts, and lofty mountain ranges, including vast areas of inhospitable terrain. ... The geography of historical Tibet Tibet, located in central Asia, is a region in Asia which is currently, for the most part, part of China. ...

External links

• Website advocating the protection of the Tibetan antelope in Kekexili
• Kekexili on enorth.com