Tien Shan , Chinese Tian Shan or T’ien Shan (“Celestial Mountains”), Mountain chain, Central Asia. Lying mainly in Kyrgyzstan and northwestern China (Xinjiang autonomous region), its ranges and valleys stretch for about 1,500 mi (2,500 km) in an east-west direction. Its highest point is Victory Peak (Pik Pobeda) in Kyrgyzstan, which reaches 24,406 ft (7,439 m); the peak was discovered in 1943 by a Soviet expedition. Most of the area’s population lives in the Fergana Valley of Uzbekistan.
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