▲ Gongga Mountain, located in the territory of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, is the highest peak in Sichuan. Photography / Hu Shu
-Fengwujun Language-
Sichuan is so big
I want to go to Ganzi
Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (hereinafter referred to as "Ganzi Prefecture") is the other side of Sichuan.
Ding Zhen, a Tibetan little brother who has become popular in recent days, has brought red to his hometown - Litang, Sichuan, but there are still netizens full of question marks:
"Where's Litang?"
"I thought Ding Zhen was in Tibet."
▲ Ding Zhen's hometown is in Sichuan, but it has little to do with giant pandas - the largest number of giant pandas is very rare in Kangding, Luding and other places in Ganzi Prefecture, and his family is in Litang County, further west. Photo / Weibo @ Litang Ding Zhen
In fact, Litang County, like the famous Daocheng Yading, Seda, and Kangding, is located in the ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, the westernmost, highest, and largest prefecture-level administrative region in Sichuan Province.
▲ Topographic map of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture - Please find out Ding Zhen's hometown within 3 seconds. Drafting/F50BB
Ganzi Prefecture, located in the westernmost part of Sichuan Province, is located at the intersection of Sichuan, Tibet, Yunnan and Qingdao provinces, and is one of the birthplaces of "Khampa culture". She has many extreme scenery, but her reputation was not obvious before - in addition to the Tibetan teenager Ding Zhen being "considered to be in Tibet" by netizens, the "Kangding Love Song" originated from the capital of Ganzi Prefecture and the "hometown of love songs" Kangding, and was always mistaken for a Tibetan folk song.
▲ In Kangding, Sichuan, it is difficult for ordinary people to associate "running horses on the slippery mountain..." with the Sichuan skewer hot pot giant panda. The picture shows the Xindu Bridge in Kangding. Photography / Jiang Xi
It is the highest altitude place in Sichuan, and most of the area, such as the recently popular Litang County, is located in the Hengduan Mountains, and the highest peak in Sichuan, Gongga Mountain, at an altitude of 7556 meters, is located in Ganzi. Here, all the sights are snow mountains, glaciers, alpine grasslands, Sichuan's mascot giant panda is rarely found, but there are rock sheep, snow leopards, and even Tibetan hartebeest, Tibetan wild donkeys and other "plateau spirits" haunt here.
▲ In the mountains of Gongga, rock sheep and snow leopards are infested. Photo: Gonggashan National Nature Reserve Administration
It is also the largest prefecture-level administrative region in Sichuan, with a total area of 153,000 square kilometers, equivalent to the total area of 9.3 Beijing. "City in the Sky" Litang, "Hometown of Love Songs" Kangding, "Soul of Shangri-La" Daocheng Aden, Seda with "the world's largest Buddhist college"... These well-known "punch card holy places" are all in Ganzi Prefecture.
▲ Larung Wuming Buddhist College in Seda. Photography above/Click, Photo below/Jiang Xi
Ganzi Prefecture is another face of Sichuan, which is in stark contrast to the "Sichuan Impression" represented by hot pot, mahjong and giant pandas in the eyes of most people.
Behind the misunderstanding of "thinking that Ding Zhen is in Tibet" is precisely such an overlooked fact: the Western Sichuan Plateau, where Litang County and Ganzi Prefecture are located, is an important part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Ding Zhen's hometown fully demonstrates the colorfulness of Sichuan.
▲ The life of the residents of Ganzi Prefecture. Photography / Ding Jiayi
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > the closest paradise to earth</h1>
Ganzi Prefecture, located on the eastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. If the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is a paradise in the snowy land, then Ganzi is the closest place to heaven to earth.
65 million years ago, the Indian plate and the Eurasian plate collided, and the Tibetan Plateau began to gradually rise. At the junction of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Sichuan Basin, tremendous pressure squeezed and contracted the eastern part of the plateau, and a series of high mountains with great drops rose strongly, like "folds of the earth", the most eye-catching of which is in the territory of today's Ganzi Prefecture
Gongga Mountain
▼
The top of Sichuan
The sun and the moon shine together
Please watch the "King of Shu Mountain" Gongga Mountain horizontally. Photography / Liu Yanhui
East of Gongga, is a densely populated and mansion-lined Chengdu Plain, with hot pots, skewers, mahjong, tea houses, beautiful women, handsome men... Only on a clear day can you cross the layers of buildings and see the white figure of the "King of Shu Mountain".
▲ From Chengdu, looking at Gongga Snow Mountain. Photo/Visual China
To the west of Gongga, is the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau with its glaciers and towering snowy peaks, mountains, grasslands, temples, white pagodas, horses, cattle and sheep... It shows a pure and wild "sweet wild" temperament. Ganzi Prefecture is in this "wonderland"; Ding Zhen's hometown of Litang County is only 654 kilometers away from Chengdu.
▲ Gongga, located on the dividing line of the first and second steps in China, the world's peaks of more than 7,000 meters are on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau west of Gongga, and the eastern part is a traditional mountain two or three thousand meters high. Cartography/Wu Pan
During this distance, the temperature also drops due to the sharp increase in altitude. In the abundant precipitation of the Gongga Mountains, the heavy snow is squeezed into crystal glaciers, and there are as many as 74 glaciers around the main peak of Gongga, spreading downward in the shape of feathers, like a white gauze for the "King of Shu Mountain".
▲ The snow-capped main peak of Gongga. Photo/Visual China
Because Gongga glaciers are relatively warm and humid, they are also known as "ocean-type glaciers" - they accumulate and melt rapidly, and have strong erosion and carrying capacity on the mountains, "cutting" Gongga into sharp "pyramid-shaped" mountains - straight and steep, just like the tough and angular face of Kham Hanzi.
▲ The main peak of Gongga under the setting sun, with clear diamond angles. Photo/Visual China
Under Gongga, there are four mountains above 6,000 meters above sea level and more than 200 mountains above 5,000 meters above sea level in Ganzi Prefecture, just like the gods descending to guard this pure land.
In the south of Ganzi Prefecture, there are the famous Daocheng Aden Three Sacred Mountains - Xiannari, Yangmaiyong and Shano Dorji, which are either like the famous monks and Buddhas, sitting on the lotus platform; or like a delicate maiden, ice and jade; or like a brave maiden, strong and resolute. The three snow peaks face each other in the shape of "pin" and stand majestically, turning the daocheng Aden into a paradise.
▲ Sennari, Yang Maiyong and Xano Dorjee. Photography / Master Huang of Zigong
On the northwest side, Que'er Mountain is a famous dangerous pass on the Sichuan-Tibet Line, with the highest peak at an altitude of 6168 meters, and the Yulong River, a tributary of the Yalong River, the Xi River and the Maisu River, a tributary of the Jinsha River, rush through the south and north of the mountain. Here once sat on the highest point on the Sichuan-Tibet Highway - 5050 meters above sea level, the Queer Pass, today it has opened a 12-kilometer-long tunnel, which can cross the "first danger of Sichuan and Tibet" in 10 minutes.
▲ Queer Mountain. Photography / Hu Shu
Compared with these famous snow-capped mountains, the Ge Nie Shen Shan in Li Tang, the third highest peak in Ganzi Prefecture, is low-key in the eyes of the outside world – although Tibetans regard her as the thirteenth goddess of the 24 sacred mountains and worship her as the sacred place of "Shengle Kongo" along with the Himalayas, ge Nie Shen Shan is like a noble hermit, and the world is born out of the dust.
▲ Ge Nie Shen Shan and Gai Nie Eye. Photography / Xiong Ke
"If you have been to the lonely Gongga Mountain and the beautiful Siguniang Mountain, then this big mountain hidden deep in the mountains of western Sichuan may be the last secret of the Sichuan Snow Mountain for you."
—China National Geographic, No. 9, 2009
This majestic snow mountain at an altitude of 6204 meters is the source of many rivers in the Kham region, providing a steady stream of water for the surrounding rivers such as the Wuliang River, Shuoqu and Dingqu, and she is like the Kham teenager under the mountain, quietly guarding her hometown in the years, looking down on the heavens and the earth in the snowy scenery, facing the hustle and bustle of the outside world.
▲ Ge Nie Shen Shan Xiaozha Peak. Photography / Jiang Xi
"Ganzi", which means "holy and beautiful" in Tibetan, is probably only under the holy and immaculate snowy mountains and crystal beautiful glaciers that such a pure youth can be conceived.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > in Ganzi, see colorful Sichuan</h1>
Sichuan, which is a very "three-dimensional" province , from the highest peak, Gagong Mountain, to the lowest point of Yulinhe out of the province in Linshui County, Guang'an City, the drop has reached more than 7300 meters.
▲ The vertical natural belt scenery brought by the huge drop. Photography/click
The complexity of the terrain makes Sichuan extremely colorful, she has the continuous Bashan Mountain in northern Sichuan, the mighty Yangtze River in southern Sichuan, the fertile plain in central Sichuan, and in western Sichuan, it belongs to the world of plateau snowy mountains. And this point is particularly evident in The case of Ganzi Prefecture.
▲ Tibetan-style houses in Litang County. Photo/Visual China
From the perspective of administrative divisions, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is the largest prefecture-level administrative region in Sichuan, of which the Tibetan population accounts for 82%, and it is the first special district-level ethnic minority autonomous prefecture established after the founding of New China, and this year marks the 70th anniversary of its establishment.
▲ Kang settled in The Temple. Photography / Liu Yanhui
In terms of regional culture, the Kham region, where Ganzi Prefecture is located, also includes Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture (part), Muli Tibetan Autonomous County, Qamdo In Tibet, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan, and Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai. In Tibetan proverbs, it is said that "the dharma domain defends Tibet, the ma yu amdo, and the human domain Kham ba", that is, it refers to the magnificent mountains and rivers of Kham and the spirit of the people - it can be seen that the Khampa Hanzi is handsome and well-founded.
▲ Khampa Hanzi. Figure/Figureworm Creative
Due to the special location of the eastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Kham people have received a variety of cultures - there is the Yellow River culture from Qinghai, Gansu and other places, the Bashu culture and Yangtze River culture from Sichuan, and the multi-ethnic culture from the Yi, Naxi, Bai and other ethnic groups, forming a Khampa culture with a unique personality. The rise of the Derge Printing Institute has made Ganzi Prefecture one of the three ancient cultural centers in Tibetan areas.
▲ The Derg Seal Sutra Temple. Photography / Jiang Xi
In addition to being one of the birthplaces of Kham culture, the geographical location of Tibet in the west, Yungui in the south, and Sichuan and Shaanxi in the east has also made Ganzi Prefecture an important passage from Sichuan to Tibet.
▲ Tea Horse Trail Route Map (partial). Drafting/F50BB
In ancient times, she was part of the Sichuan-Tibet Tea Horse Ancient Road - from today's Chengdu and Ya'an, all the way through Kangding, Yajiang, Litang, Batang and other places in Ganzi Prefecture, from Qamdo and finally arrived in Lhasa, merchants carried goods mainly from Shudi into Tibet, and this area became a commercial distribution center in the southwest region of the past.
▲ The "porters" carrying tea leaves used to be mainly concentrated in the area from Ya'an to Kangding. Wikipedia, Ernest H. Wilson
Today, this route partially coincides with the famous "China's most beautiful landscape avenue" - 318 National Highway, just like a beautiful and unique jade belt, traversing the entire territory of Ganzi, forming a "landscape corridor" with a high concentration of beautiful scenery.
▲ Landscape of 318 National Highway in Yajiang County. Photography / Lu Minglang
In the territory of Luding County in Ganzi Prefecture, it crosses the Dadu River, and the Luding Bridge built during the Kangxi Period of the Qing Dynasty has witnessed the turmoil of war in the revolutionary years; it passes through Gongga Mountain, a conch ditch in the mountains that is famous for its "low-altitude modern glacier", and the glacier and the forest coexist, like a green belt from "heaven" into the "world".
▲ The landscape of Hongshi beach in Hailuogou is clearly layered with glaciers and snow-capped mountains. Photography / Luo Bin
In Daofu, the earth and stone forests of Inkstone Park are layered and varied, and they will take on different colors in different seasons, as if you have entered the science fiction world and are in the magical landscape of an alien planet.
▲ Inkstone Park, like the "magic world" in fantasy movies. Photography / Lee Ping An
In Danba, the buildings of Jiaju Tibetan Village run up the Dajin River Valley, relying on the rolling hills to the foot of the Kapama Peaks, like an ink painting of snow-capped mountains, river valleys, streams, and people's homes.
▲ Jiaju Tibetan village and residents. Photo above / Qiu Shi; Photo below / Zhang Yongfeng
In Ganzi Prefecture, in addition to the landscape of the landscape, there are also temples scattered around - the White Jade Yaqing Temple, the Seda Larung Monastery (Seda Wuming Buddhist College), the Tagong Temple in Kangding, the Sesu Temple in Shiqu, the Changchun Kele Temple in Litang... Every temple and every white pagoda is like a bridge between the snowy mountains and the earthly world.
▲ Yaqing Monastery and Tibetan compatriots. Photography above / Qiu Shi; Middle and bottom photography / Shao Xiangdong
When the line of sight returns to the bottom of the Ge Nie Shen Mountain, on the Maoya Grassland, the mountains are still the same, the white horses are still the same, we are not only staring at the teenager, but also yearning for the snowy mountains and grasslands behind the teenager.
▲ Towards the snow-capped mountains. Photo/Visual China
- END -
Wen 丨 September
The picture is | Wu Xuewen
Map Editing | F50BB, Wu Pan