Tiān Shān (天山), or the Heavenly Mountains, are a massive mountain range that sheild Urumqi from the Taklamakan Desert to the south. The highest peak—"Iron Peak" (Tuōmù'ěr Fēng, 托木尔峰) to the Han Chinese and Uyghurs and "Victory Peak" to the Kyrgyz—lies on the China-Kyrgyzstan border.

Many scenic areas near Urumqi are located in the Bogda Range (Bógédá Shãn, 博格达山), a branch of Tian Shan located to the east of Urumqi. Travelers looking to escape from the city or desert can take a cool, less crowded break in the Bogda Range. Choose from  the rolling fields of the Nanshan Grasslands south of Mount Karawuquntag (Kālāwūchéng Shān, 喀拉乌成山) or the shores of Tian Chi (Heavenly Lake) on the northern slope of the Bogda Range's highest peak, Bogda Peak (Bógédá Fēng, 博格达峰), the name of which means "god" in Mongolian.

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