Photo taken on Feb. 25, 2011 shows a ridge of Qilian Mountains coated with a thin glacier, hardly veiling the mountain's topsoil. [Xinhua]

The glaciers in Qilian Mountain have been found shrinking at a faster pace due to warmer climate, according to Cold & Arid Regions Environment and Engineering Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

During 1992 to 2007 period, there are 27 glaciers vanished with glaciers acreage decreasing 23.6 percent. The Qilian Mountains is a northern outlier of the Kunlun Mountains, forming the border between northwest China's Qinghai and the Gansu Provinces.

The mountains rise more than 4,000 meters above sea level, and their snow drifts and glaciers are major water resources for downstream regions.

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