The window of cold moon in Meri will always remember that early morning, when the two of us gazed at Kawakarpo from the window. No snowy mountain would make us look until tears fell, except Kawakarpo.
To which does this window belong, to the past of Meri or to that crescent of cold moon? In the clear and pure air, faint sounds were heard, perhaps an avalanche, or possibly melting snow and ice. We indulged ourselves in the night until dawn.
The darkness/young and secret/like the fire of suffering/like the black fire of suffering/cannot see its own flame/this is my night song... Ultimately, we are no more than passers-by to this beauty.
On the road·Lotus Blossoms under Feet
After winding through thousands of rocks, the car finally drove into the heartland of Meili Snow Mountain. I was already half asleep. From Lijiang to Shangri-La, then to Benzilan, the scorching ultraviolet rays, and the bone-chilling cold, had worsened my cold over the two days, and I even developed a low fever on the road.
It has passed the most beautiful scenery time. On the way from Lijiang Zhongdian to Deqin, the changing mountains and forests outside the window, the unclearly colored mountains all flashed by. When passing the White Mang Snow Mountain pass, the mountain wind with the coldness of snow rushed straight towards us. The branches and leaves, the wrinkles of the mountain, were all covered with white snow. Standing so close to White Mang, there was no mysterious feeling of untouchable.
The watch showed that the altitude had reached more than 4000 meters, and the snow had accumulated up to the root of the thigh. I dragged my long coat and panted forward. Lisa, who was brave and daring, gradually moved far away. She suddenly lay down on the snow mountain to take photos, and then threw snowballs with Wing. For a moment, those who knew each other and those who didn't know each other were all involved in a melee. The tour guide Zaxi was still speaking passionately in the car, saying that it was not easy to see Meili Snow Mountain. It was like a fairy covered with a veil, unwilling to show itself easily. It was said that only kind people could have the chance to pay homage. The car continued to drive to Deqin, and Meili Snow Mountain became vaguely visible as more and more people talked about it.
Wing kept fiddling with his professional camera, as if he wanted to turn every moment in front of him into eternity. Thinking about how tedious it would be to explain to him in English, fortunately, our feelings were the same. His camera and my words. My chest tightness and cough finally subsided. After turning a branch of white coral tree, we finally arrived. A line of snow peaks stretched clearly before our eyes. Is this the Meili Snow Mountain that we have been longing for day and night? We really arrived, and our hearts suddenly became calm like water.
It was said that Meili Snow Mountain was the first of the eight sacred mountains in Tibetan Buddhism. In the hearts of Tibetans, it was the most respected sacred mountain. Kawakarbo was their guardian deity. There was even such a legend in Lhasa: if you are lucky enough in this life, you can see the figure of Kawakarbo in the colorful clouds in the southeast direction when you climb to the Potala Palace, showing how high and far-reaching its peak is. It was said that every year at the end of autumn and beginning of winter, hundreds of Tibetans led sheep and held sticks, chanting Buddhist scriptures, circumambulating the mountain and burning incense to worship.
However, in January 1991, 17 members of the Sino-Japanese joint mountaineering team encountered an avalanche while conquering Kawakarbo Peak, and lost their lives in Meili. Therefore, Kawakarbo Peak remains an unclimbed "virgin peak" to this day. Zaxi got off the car, looked at the sacred mountain in the distance, and made a prostration gesture. We also put aside the hurried mood of traveling, walked and stopped in the snow, as if lotus blossomed under our feet, and suddenly felt like crying. I knew that sometimes there was no so-called faith, but just in such a magical place, at a certain moment, there would be a little respect, a little longing, and a little uncontrollable emotion.
Feilai Temple·Seasonal Birds
Due to a landslide, we were stranded at Feilai Temple and found the Seasonal Birds bar, which was famous due to its geographical location or warm air. The Seasonal Birds bar located on the second floor across the street had the temperament of Meili. It did not like the noise on the street, being low-key and simple. Only when you went upstairs could you encounter a faint surprise.
The Seasonal Birds bar was full of messages left by passers-by. Someone even wrote lyrics on it: those girls/they sway like flowers in different corners of the world/warming me/burning me/comforting me/sometimes accompanying me to sing on the streets of Lhasa/sometimes going with me to sing high on Mount Everest/sometimes accompanying me to cry softly in Daocheng Yading/sometimes cuddling by the fireplace in Lijiang listening to you singing softly for her all night...
They and I encountered Mount Everest, Namjagbarwa, Nyenchen Tanglha, Kawakarbo...
They accompanied me on the Yunnan-Tibet Road, Sichuan-Tibet Road, Qinghai-Tibet Road, walking on the lifeline in each other's palm prints...
Those past lives, present lives, reading once was a different story. Wong Kar-wai should come here to shoot scenes, loneliness, journey, love, betrayal... these fragments appeared in his movies, also here.
If you like looking up at the mountains and reading books while basking quietly in the sunshine, everything is here. Someone described that a bar also has a soul. Isn't it?
I looked up, my eyes swept over the people laughing and drinking, outside the window, Kawakarbo emitted brilliant light in the sunset, the sky blue enough to make one sad, thirteen staggered snow peaks. How simple and pure a painting it was, for thousands of years, they alone remained peacefully in the sun, never leaving, bathing, and not knowing betrayal.
There were fewer tourists coming here in winter, and the landslide made it seem like we were in a Peach Spring land, forgetting the way we came, and not knowing the way to go. Someone ordered a cup of coffee, sat by the railing drinking it, using the last bit of sunlight as a companion, and others idled around, blending with the dark window frames, Wing leaned against the sofa, and could even fall asleep.
That afternoon, I just sat quietly there, thinking about everything, and nothing at all. It had been a long time since I had been so quiet, with such a quiet sky, such quiet snow mountains, such quiet river valleys, and such quiet sunshine.
And doing nothing, waiting for the night to come, watching them slowly dye the background beside the window, until it mixed like hemp, the sky turned porcelain blue, the cold snow mountains above, even the moon was cold-toned, that cool glow spread out, soft and holy, clear to transparency. The cold mountain wind knocked on the windows of the Seasonal Birds, I looked at the moonlit Meri through the glass, everything was within reach yet intangible, a line of poetry by Ya Xian inexplicably popped into my mind: Autumn, autumn left nothing behind/left only a warmth/left only a warmth/everything was left behind.
We, a group of strangers from all directions, gathered around the fire. The few dogs in the Seasonal Birds bar played happily under our feet, the last bit of charcoal warmed us, everyone played the murder game, this noisy sound broke the cold moonlit night, and made us closely connected in this moment.
When crossing the cold air back to the room, I took another look at Meri, was it the window that turned into the scenery, or the cold moon decorated the window?
Cold Moon Window·Golden Summit at Sunrise
I was woken up by Xiao Luo at 6 o'clock, lying down, I forgot to close the window at night, and the moonlight and air flowed in one after another.
Every person going to Meili Snow Mountain expects to see Meili, to see the golden summit at sunrise. Some people stayed for twenty days without seeing it, some people came many times and still couldn't see it. We specially chose the Meili Inn at Feilai Temple. This is an ordinary inn, with nine Buddha towers standing in front of the door, and two Wosang altars and countless fluttering prayer flags, not far away are the thirteen peaks of Meili Snow Mountain. It is said that this is the best place to watch the golden summit at sunrise.
Unexpectedly, I could see it on my first day here, as if responding to the principle of "not seeking and getting". Of course, I can also interpret it as having a connection with the snow mountain.
I originally wanted to stay in bed, but found that many tourists got up early, and some even lit a fire, gathering in groups waiting. The bonfire in front of the Wosang altar was already burning, it was said that lighting pine branches could pray for blessings for oneself, so I bought a pile for five yuan, the smoke rose gracefully to the sky, at half past six, there was a slight brightness on the horizon.
After circling the pagodas three times clockwise, at half past seven, the tip of the main peak Kawakarbo revealed a little pale red. The expected golden summit at sunrise started from the 6000-meter-high Kawakarbo. The faint mist at the edge of the mountain presented different colors in the morning light, either pale purple or rouge red, clearly layered yet interwoven. The sunlight slowly climbed up, from Mexico, the gold gradually poured down from the top of the mountain, slowly, carefully, drop by drop, the tip changed from pale red to increasingly red, with the passage of time, red turned to gold, shining on the snow-capped top, emitting dazzling golden light. And the golden light under the sun gradually extended from Kawakarbo to the Goddess Peak, General Peak, Five Crown Peaks, until all thirteen peaks of Meili Snow Mountain were crowned with golden crowns.
When the sun rises and sets on the Gongga Snow Mountain, it turns the top of the snow mountain into a golden yellow scene, known as the "Golden Summit at Sunrise." Due to the frequent cloud cover on the snow mountain, the probability of tourists witnessing the "Golden Summit at Sunrise" is not high. A local named Zaxi had already told us that if we could witness the "Golden Summit at Sunrise," we would receive the protection of the Gongga Mountain god.
The earth finally revealed itself completely, the smoke from the pine branches was still rising and swirling. Someone knelt facing the sacred mountain, and even shed tears involuntarily under its majesty. I didn't feel particularly shocked, unconsciously, Wing walked to my side, "Sharing this moment of sunshine with you," he said deliberately.
The bone-chilling cold slowly subsided, the sun brought warmth back to the air. I knew you were watching from the sky, watching me, and him, this moment between two strangers.
Looking back, on the way here, occasionally we would see road repair vehicles and rollers parked by the roadside. Perhaps this road will become like the roads in big cities, with drainage systems laid down, asphalt poured, and even this vast and desolate area will eventually become a bustling and noisy standard city... I sighed endlessly. When I look back again, at that time, at that moment, who will still remember the cold moon window of Meri?
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