The Tian Shan, also spelled Tien Shan, is a large system of mountain ranges located in Central Asia. The highest peak in the Tian Shan is Victory Peak (Jengish Chokusu), . Local names for the ranges include: 天山 (Chinese; ), Хан Тәңірі (Kazakh; Khan Tengri; literally “Empyrean God”/”Heavenly Mountains”), Теңир-Тоо (Kyrgyz; Tengir-Too; literally “Heavenly Mountains”/”God’s Mountains”/”Mountains of Tengri”), Тэнгэр уул (Mongolian; “Tenger Uul”;”Heavenly Mountains”) and تەڭرى تاغ (Uyghur; Tengri Tagh or Tangritah). The Chinese name for Tian Shan may be derived from the Xiongnu language name Qilian (Tsilien; ), which was described by Sima Qian in the Records of the Grand Historian as the homeland of the pre-Xiongnu peoples of the region, the Yuezhi, and has been said to refer to the Tian Shan rather than to the range further east now known by this name. The Tannu-Ola Mountains in Tuva Republic of Russia (Tuvan: Таңды-Уула Tangdy-Uula) bear the same name (“heaven/celestial mountains” or “god/spirit mountains”).
