Meili Snow Mountain, walking into the dreamlike Shangri-la

Meili Snow Mountain is such a place where you will not taste about it if you do not experience it personally. Although the distance to Meili is long, visitors always like to enjoy its different tastes in four seasons; although heavy snow has sealed the mountain passes, the people insist to worship the holy mountain and wash the mind, and I am the one among them. Get up earlier in the morning, cloudless, I open the window and then I see the whole Meili standing before my eyes. Facing such splendid snow-capped mountain, besides the exciting, I feel more marvel, enjoyment and petrification. 

Meili Snow Mountain is a snow-capped mountain, but also a famous holy mountain, especially the Main Peak – Kawadgarbo is listed to be the first of Eight Holy Mountain of Tibeatn Buddhism. The Joseph Locke who is a geographer said it is the most magnificent and beautiful mountain he had seen. Meili Snow Mountain is such a mountain which let people want to cry, swear, shoot and love when see it. Other people say we have no chance to paradise, but we are able to Meili, and I say the paradise is far but Meili is not far!

 

Meili Snow Mountain is located at the junction of Jinshajiang River, , Lancangjiang River and Nujiang River, has 13 peaks above elevation of 6,000 meters which are called Prince Thirteen Peaks, and the main Peak – Kawadgarbo Peak is the highest peak in Yunnan Province with the elevation of 6,740 meters. Meili Snow also has the Mingyong, Sinong, Niuba and Nongsong grand glaciers, are the rare modern glaciers in low altitude, lower temperature and low elevation. And the longest and biggest one is the Mingyong Glacier which is famous for a piece of nerve of Kawadgarbo Peak and the nerve connecting sky and earth. But owing to the global warming and the too many visitors, the Mingyong Glacier is quickly melting with the speed of 50 meters in every year, and this situation let local people and the experts worried. 

 

From 1987 to 1996, there are totally 9 times to hike the Meili Mountain, but all failed, and the multi-climbing of China and Japan in 4 times, Japanese individual climbed in 1 time and American climbed in 4 times. Since 1996, China explicitly prohibits to climb the Meili Snow Mountain. In many restaurants and bars in Feilai Temple, they all play the feature programme about the romaunts of Meili Snow Mountain, including its origin, national religion, the failed climbing experiences and recall, really shock!

 

And as the global warming, the best seasons to appreciate the Meili Snow Mountain are from November to the next year May. During this time, the sky is fine and air is clean, with hiher transparency, always have chance to see the Kawadgarbo Peak, but in other time, it depends on your luck.

Ancient Town in Yunnan - Dukezong Town

Dukezong Ancient Town is the important town of caravan in the junction of three provinces, and is the best preserved old city in the Tibetan areas. Following your dream here is a kind of freedom and a kind of luck.

It is winter again, the sky is too blue to believe, the snow on the mountain top has been melted by the hot sunshine. Looking up to the top, a goldentop temple sits in coiling incense smoke, I stand at the foot of mountain to walk to the depth of ancient city along the flagging.

It is the Dukezong Ancient Town sitting in Jiantang Town, Shangri-La County, Yunnan Province, so it is also known as Jiantang Ancient Town, with the altitude of 3,300 meters. There is a small hill like tortoise on the wide dam named as Daguishan Hill, and the people of all nationalities live around the hill from generation to generation, and it gradually turns to be the Dukezong Ancient City today. Since ancient time, it is the significant town of Tea-Horse Road, is also the only way which the Yunnan-Tibet Road must be passed. 

Diqing Plateau has large temperature difference in day and night, and the winter is very cold. But the Dukezong Ancient Town is warm and serene, because in the south of ancient town there is a row of hills shaping the natural barrier to stop the cold wind entering. There are three rivers in north of town nourishing this land and the people living in this land. The famous Songzanlin Temple is located at the north plateau, which is the largest Tibetan Buddhism temple.

Dukezong is the Tibetan language, means of the blue moonlight city, similar with the shape of the Shambhala City in Tibetan Buddhism. According to the history, Dukezong Town was the castle firstly built in Tang Dynasty by Tubo people, and Mushi Tusi built the Moonlight Stockade here in Ming Dynasty and then the Shangri-La became a city in Kangxi Emperor time in Qing Dynasty and the ancient town was expanded in several to be the present Dukezong Ancient Town. 

I stay at my friend's home for this trip, his mother is the Naxi nationality and his father is the Zang nationality. In this small city, besides the Naxi and Zang nationalities still there are Lisu, Pumi, Bai, Han, etc, totally 23 minorities. Every nationality has its religious faith, culture, folk-custom and origin, so the Dukezong ancient town is a multi-nationalities living museum. Of course, if like to know more about details of their live or the more bright side of their lives, the time and chance are most important. Usually, the various activities are held when events happen, such as build the house, merry, enter college, etc. And one of the necessary one is the banquet to entertain surrounded people. 

People living in Dukezong all drink same water in a well. After thousand years, residences all keep their religious faiths and the living customs, to live together harmoniously around the Daguishan Hill. They live the life to be story and then live story to be life, and is appreciated and enjoyed by the tourists from home and abroad as well as me. The well at foot of Daguishan Hill has long history of thousand years, it is said it was left by the fairy maiden, so the locals value it very much, they regard this well as the milk of mother. 

My friend's mother making the buttered tea says her husband likes to use the water in this well to make tea. According to her, they used to getting water in the morning and evening, but the families all use the tap water, and the harmonious scene is less. She says, until now every family all go to the well to get water in the New Year's Eve, as the water in this well has luck, and only the luck men have chance to take luck back home. Nowadays, the old well has built to be a new pool for visitors to photograph and there are bowls for visitors to taste the sweet water beside the pool. 

Friend's family still keeps the Tibetan breakfast and lunch, only the dinner is grand and rich. The father always drinks some homebrewed highland barley wine. After dinner, the mother and father lead me to dance in the center square - Sifang Street which is the entertainment place for locals and was the trading place earlier. At present, Sifang Street which has some stalls offering some conveniences to visitors is surrounded by the big Tibetan houses. At night, these stalls are instead by the bonfire, and the locals and visitors dance the happy Guozhuang around the bonfire. With songful music and the laughter, the square is full of the passion.

The father most likes to talk about the stories about horse-transportation. Dukezong is the important ancient town of Tea-horse Road, the horsing people in the old trading time were all the Tibetan guys, and most of them come from the Mangkang in Tibet and the Shangri-La in Yunnan. This old town was also the gathering place of businessmen and horse-transportation. In some houses in center with hundred years, I find some figures recorded on the beams and pillars. According to the professors about the Tibetan culture, these figures were the records of goods number by the horse-transportations. 

In the storage of this family, still there are some facilities on the way of horse-transportation, many of them are very old and the further has been grinded over. The father says the horsing people give the lives to mountain when they out of the door, what only they can do is just pray to the god as the roads are so dangerous that many people never come back.

It is only a corner of the life in Dukezong Ancient Town, it is mysterious and simple, but they are the values of this old city.

 

Taste Poetic Illusion on Horizon - Beautiful Shangri-La in Yunnan Province (2)

Encounter a newlywed in Baimang Snow Mountain

The tour out of Shangri-La, I started to push forward to northwest Meili Snow Mountain in Deqin, would climb over the Baimang Snow Mountain in the altitude of 5,173 meters, and this mountain is one of the top 10 most beautiful forests in China, and the most famous thing in local place is the Alpine Azalea blooming as fire. The car galloped on the road, the panoramic view of majestic mountain and the natural landscapes all jumped into my sight. Layers of fields with tender green are reclaimed on hill slopes, seem like the beautiful rainbow at the hillside. The typical Tibetan style buildings like watchtower adorned in it, let people come from distant place have an urge to stay here in several days.

Before entering into the Baimang Snow Mountain, I stopped at the corner of Jinshajiang River to enjoy the grand view. The opposite bank in short distance is the Taiyang Valley in Sichuan Province, and a road likes a black belt twisting on hill. Photographing close to river, wind fluttering, blowing people crumbling more, which show it is more magnificent.

Higher and higher with the altitude, the accumulated snow is thicker and thicker and the temperature is lower and lower. Round a corner, people who are tormented by the altitude reaction are shocked by the view before eyes. A beautiful girl wearing bridal veil without sleeves is depending on the snow slope with sweet face. God, is a new couple of Shangri-La drives to this shoot snow real wedding pictures, such passion is really admirable!

Hot spring at the foot of snow-capped mountain

Too many articles is praising the Meili Snow Mountain which is the only one snow-capped mountain higher than 6,000 meters had never been conquered by human. I just want to say, it is characteristic!

According to legend, the main peak Kawadgarbo is the eudemon of this mountain which is located at the border of Yunnan Province and Tibet. It owns more than 20 snow peaks in altitude of 5,000 meters, among which there are 13 peaks are the grandest, also known as the Prince 13 Peaks. As one of the eight holy mountains of Tibetan Buddhism, it receives many Tibetan people from Tibet, Sichuan Province, Gansu Province, QingHai and Yunnan Province to walk around it. These people believe if they do not worship the Meili Snow Mountain, they will have a bad home when they dead.

At night, accommodating in a hot spring at foot of Sinong Glacier is an interesting and comfortable choice. The hot spring depends on the mountain, and the Lancangjiang River is close to it. Bathing in the warm spring water with the smell of sulphur, I looked up to see the stars above head, the smell of roasted mutton was full of my nose, at this time the tiring of trip had gone.
Shangri-La is a mysterious and magical place, and it seems had magic to let everyone here feel close to paradise. I thought that is why many people like to come here, even though the strong altitude reaction.

Taste Poetic Illusion on Horizon - Beautiful Shangri-La in Yunnan Province (1)

The ancient town of Dukezong

The airport of Shangri-La was built at a piece of small flat bottom valley at the foot of snow-capped mountain, small and quiet. The way to Shangri-La County is very good, willows spit green along the road and pear blooming on trees. It was the sunset when we arrival, everything seems like to be gold-plated, and all are clean and leisurely on plateau.

The old town of Dukezong in Jiantang Town has long history of 1,300 years, where was the important stopover on the Tea-Horse Road, and is also the best preserved ancient city among the Chinese Tibetan houses in Tibet areas. Both sides of the flagging in old town are the antique residence with Tibetan style, include many restaurants and bars decorated in the combination of traditional Tibetan style and modern method, very characteristic, are the ideal places for visitors to kill the night time. Here is the first destination of our tour.
Dating back to 70 years ago, General He Long led the Red Army climbed over the snow-capped mountain to enter into the Tibet for the first time, rested in Dukezong. Round fireplace with light, I whim, it was luckily the uncivilized region in 70 years ago, or how can the Chinese revolution got the victory in such gentle and comfortable place?
After dinner, people unknown to each other gather at the center of this old city, circling a big circle to dance the lively Guozhuang which is a special kind of dance in China. In tires, dancing and laughing, it is truly exciting. After then hike to a hill in old city, a known as the biggest pray wheel with three-storey in height is lighten to gold under the lights of night, solemn but luxury. People join together to clockwise promote prayer wheel in prayer team, it really is spectacular!

The first national park

The newly listed Shangri-La Pudacuo National Park is the only one national park in China. It is the first time the conception of national park is rooted in China, since America set the Yellowstone National Park in 130 years ago.
The Pudacuo National Park includes the Shudu Lake, Bita Sea and Xiaji Tibetan Cultural Ecology Tourist Village. According to the rules to the features of the national park made by World Conservation Union, the park landscapes must be with original, unique, natural, rare, and not reclaimed by the human, so walk into the Pudacuo, no matter the lake or hill, all are natural. With the strict management, the sightseeing and expedition lines are fixed, either sitting environmentally friendly vehicles along the 80-km-long green road sightseeing or hiking, to ensure that does not park adverse environmental impacts.
The heavenly pure and clean Pudacuo offers tourists variety of tourist routes, besides the necessary ecological tourist project in national park – hiking, Pudacuo will push-off the mountain-climbing route to tourists a chance to try to climb the snow-capped mountain.