Luminous cup Clouds of Western Sichuan

Stand at the mouth of the Folding Mountain Pass. The sky is pure and transparent, and the white clouds change like galloping horses, like sheep, like cotton wool, like white Hada, which is intoxicating.

　　A friend embarked on the road along the Sichuan-Tibet Line, and posted photos of crossing the Folding Mountains and stopping at the Xindu Bridge in the circle of friends, which reminded me of my unforgettable experience of crossing the Folding Mountains when I traveled in western Sichuan five years ago.

　　That year, the day after I returned to Kangding after touring Daocheng Aden, I was passing through the Folded Mountains when I went to Xindu Bridge and Tagong Grassland. In the morning, the car went all the way west, at first, the terrain was relatively gentle, but after entering the Folding Mountain, it was obviously steep and there were many curves. "Folding" means bending in Tibetan, translated into Chinese as folding mountain, can be described as both form and god, sure enough, nine curves and eighteen bends, twists and turns, so many twists, people are dazzling, breathless. No wonder there are two local folk songs: "Scary Erlang Mountain, turn over the dead man's folded mountain." ”

　　The car climbed up the mountain pass and stopped on the observation deck. The highest peak of Zheduo Mountain is 4962 meters, the altitude of Yakou is 4298 meters, and the altitude difference between Itaguchi and Kangding City, the capital of Ganzi Prefecture, is 1800 meters, making it the first high mountain pass on the Sichuan-Tibet Line that needs to be crossed, so it is called "the first pass of Kham". The Folding Mountain is the watershed of the Yalong River and the Dadu River, the western part is the plateau uplift zone, accompanied by the Yalong River, and the east is the alpine canyon area, with the gushing Dadu River flowing. Folding Mountain is also the dividing line of Han and Tibetan culture, and the east of the mountain is still mixed with Han and Tibetan people, but after crossing the Folding Mountain to the west, it officially enters the cold Khampa Tibetan area. Chen Changhao, who had served as the general political commissar of the Red Fourth Front, recalled that during the Long March, the Red First Red Fourth Front Army was organized into two armies, the left and right, and the left and right armies went north separately after the Maogong Division in Sichuan. During the stay of Chen Changhao's Left Route Army in the Xikang area from November 1935 to June 1936, Liu Wenhui's troops of the Sichuan Army stationed in Kangding confronted the Red Army across the folding mountains, but there was no trouble, and there was basically no fighting. As a local warlord, Liu Wenhui inevitably had the idea of preserving his strength, and he was jealous of the Red Army's courage and good fighting, but the folded mountains were a barrier of nature, which also made Liu Wenhui more or less afraid and did not dare to be careless.

　　Standing on the observation deck, I saw colorful prayer flags fluttering with the wind, making a rattling sound. Surrounded by mountains, it towers into the sky. The sky is pure and transparent, and the white clouds float, changing into various shapes at will, such as galloping horses, such as sheep, such as cotton wool, such as white Hada, which is intoxicating. The strong ultraviolet rays of the plateau make the clouds in the direction of the backlight turn silver gray, appearing deep and mysterious. I pressed the photo button of my phone, and in the middle of the screen above the sun, there was a halo of three pink, silver and white petals, in an inverted triangle shape, which made people wonder. Here, the surrounding high mountains seem to be close to you, close to you; the clouds are dense, and the white clouds in the sky seem to be within reach, which makes me have a real understanding of Li Bai's two poems describing the wonders of Shu Dao: "The mountain rises from the face of the people, and the clouds are born on the horse's head."

　　Maybe it was the five-colored sea at an altitude of 4700 meters in Aden before, and I was somewhat adapted to the cold climate, and at the observation deck at an altitude of 4298 meters above sea level in Zheduo Mountain, I could hardly feel altitude sickness and act as usual. If you first cross the mountains and then reach Aden, the situation will be different.

　　If the clouds of the folded mountains are wild and mysterious, then the clouds of the Tagong Grassland are quiet and peaceful.

　　After crossing the folded mountains, after seeing the "photographer's paradise" - Xindu Bridge, more than 30 kilometers north, we came to the Tagong Grassland. Not far away, the Yala Sacred Mountain rises from the ground, all year round, covered in silver; the central scenic spot of the grassland, Tagong Temple, has a red wall and a golden roof, which is brilliant and dazzling, and the white Tallinn shines. Tagong Temple, along with Yaqing Temple and Larong Temple, are the three major temples in Ganzi Prefecture, and there is a statue of Shakyamuni in the same as the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, which is said to have been passed by Princess Wencheng when she entered Tibet, imitating the statue of Shakyamuni who was brought to Lhasa, and specially left in the temple. With a history of more than 1,000 years, Tagong Temple is one of the famous temples of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism, known as the "Little Jokhang Temple", and is also one of the holy places of worship for Tibetans in the Kham area.

　　On the grasslands, the iconic colorful prayer flags in Tibetan areas are circularly reflective and flutter in the wind. Nearby, a circle of Tibetan compatriots sat around, each with a bowl, disposable plastic cup or plastic box in front of everyone's eyes, which contained food such as rice dumplings and cheese, and a beautiful Tibetan woman wearing a red Tibetan hat holding a copper teapot in both hands and pouring tea for each person in turn. Above their heads is the blue sky, white clouds are clustered and clustered, showing peace and warmth, and together with the Tibetan compatriots resting and drinking tea on the grass, they form a quiet and charming picture. (Liu Wei)