Top Ten Autumn Colors in China - Fifth Place: Daocheng Yading, December 10, 2010, 21:56:17 Source: Author: [Large Medium Small] Views: 0 times
Adding Splendor to the Sacred Mountains
Please close your eyes and take a deep breath...
This is Daocheng Yading! Open your eyes, and the most beautiful autumn colors will be right before you.
The main features of Yading are three renowned sacred mountains. They are "Xianairen," the embodiment of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva; "Yangmaiyong," the embodiment of Manjushri Bodhisattva; and "Xianuoduoji," the embodiment of Vajrapani Bodhisattva. Xianairen has an altitude of 6,032 meters and is the highest peak in Daocheng.
These three sacred mountains rise abruptly from the ground, towering into the clouds with majestic momentum, each having its own unique characteristics. Xianairen has a massive mountain shape, like a Buddha sitting on a lotus throne; Yangmaiyong has a steep mountain shape with gentle lines, resembling a charming bride lifting her white silk skirt; Xianuoduoji is of another style, with hard lines and distinct edges, like a silent man. These three snow-capped peaks suddenly rise among the mountains, forming a great height difference with the surroundings.
During spring and summer, the sacred mountains are often wrapped in swirling clouds and mist, occasionally revealing their rugged peaks, as if floating in the sky like fairy mountains. In autumn, this area experiences relatively stable weather, and the air is the clearest and cleanest. Against the deep blue background, everything can be seen clearly. The snow and ice covering the sacred mountains shine brilliantly under the sunlight. Below the white snow-capped mountains are deep blue rock bodies, and below the deep blue rock bodies is a transparent yellow, which is the color of larches dyed by the autumn wind. The entire world has an extremely strong color contrast, with blue, white, and yellow, each color being saturated to the extreme, pure to the extreme.
To enjoy the beautiful scenery here, besides needing luck, one also needs to be diligent. Arrive before the morning sun shines into the valley, waiting for the sun to gradually rise, slowly casting tree shadows into the valley. The frost and dew on the trees and grass leaves slowly evaporate and rise, turning into fog. The sunlight gradually penetrates the fog, becoming beams of light swords wandering between the forests. That intense autumn color suddenly becomes blurred and speckled, almost unreal, as if entering a fantastic fairy tale world, waiting for a celestial being to come singing from the depths of the snowy mountain.
Many tourists return contentedly after walking along the river to Luorong Cattle Farm, but the autumn color painting of Yading is only half unfolded. There are still several pearls hidden among these sacred mountains that have not yet revealed their brilliance. Some tenacious tourists will follow the path at the top of the valley upward, breathing heavily, to explore Milk Sea, Pearl Lake, and then cross the Vajra Mother Pass to explore Tara Lake.
This route is actually the small circumambulation route of the Tibetans around Xianairen Mountain. It connects all these beautiful high-altitude lakes. The altitudes of these high-altitude lakes are all quite high, surrounded by grasslands and a small amount of shrubs. On these thin-air alpine grasslands, they are displaying their last brilliance of the year. Clusters of blue gentians are in full bloom, and occasionally there are red Pedicularis, like huge trumpet flowers, dazzlingly blooming among the shrubs.
The scale of Yading's high-altitude lakes is not large, but their numbers are many. If you are tough enough, you can cross Guia Pass and follow the Tibetan grand circumambulation route to walk behind Yangmaiyong Snow Mountain. With good luck, you might even meet Tibetans on their grand circumambulation and even travel together, following them on a hike through the mountains.
There are more than a dozen lakes of various sizes waiting for you, such as Rishengcuo and Baihe Chuna. Each lake is worth stopping at, each so tranquil and remote. The marble rock body of Yangmaiyong, viewed from the back, changes into another shape, tall and towering, with a long blue mountain body like a galloping fierce horse, with extraordinary momentum. At this time, close your eyes, turn your heart into that lake, let the snow mountain reflect in it, feel the bleak autumn wind brushing past your face, let the cold air penetrate through your nostrils into your lungs, and meditate spiritually with the deities among the snow peaks.
For related travel routes, please refer to Sichuan Tourism.