Travel
Yading’s natural beauty lures a growing number of hikers, runners and festival goers, but it’s still remote enough to offer solitude
Skyrunning: It’s a pilgrimage and an experience mixed with fun and a challenge to jog in the pristine wilderness at an elevation above 4,000 meters in Yading, Sichuan province.
It’s a pilgrimage and an experience mixing with fun and challenge to jog in the pristine wilderness at an elevation above 4,000 in Yading.
I heave along the 10-km tortuous track that traverses terrain from mountain and grasslands to lake shore. Walking at such a high altitude is already very demanding to me, but seeing some other runners beside me at the Yading Skyrunning Festival spurs me on.
Some sections are covered with small gravel, and some only allow for one to pass at a time, with a precipice immediately on the other side. But the view is spectacular. Three mountain peaks blanketed by dazzling white snow resemble a beacon and guide the way for us all the way.
“These three peaks are clad in white all year long, and locals regard them as having been given by Buddha,” a local guide tells me at the festival in early May.
The blue waters of rivers and lakes meeting lush alpine meadows all make for a majestic tapestry.
Multicolored prayer flags and local Tibetans leading mules hauling goods along the difficult mountain path add an exotic touch to it.
Yading sits in southern Daocheng county, Garze Tibetan autonomous prefecture, in Sichuan province.
The place is considered by many to be one of the few remaining pristine lands on earth. It was first brought to the attention of the Western world by Joseph Rock, an American explorer, who presented the stunning beauty of Yading in National Geographic magazine in 1931.
Due to its remoteness, the Yading Nature Reserve remained a relatively unbeaten path for visitors from home and abroad over the years.
But building the local airport in September 2013 changed things.
It takes roughly one hour to get there from Chengdu now. Many comers will take photos at the Yading airport, which is 4,411 meters above sea level and claims to be the highest civil airport on Earth.
Direct flights to many major cities, including Chongqing, Zhejiang province’s Hangzhou and Shaanxi province’s Xi’an are now available.
The best season for visits is from May to mid October. Climate gets rough in winter.
The Yading scenic spot received 153,000 visits for the first six months of 2015, surging more than 60 percent over the previous year, according to the local tourism authority.
Tourism income stood at 61.1 million yuan ($8.9 million).
At the National Day holiday (October 1-7) in 2016, the number of visitors had to be limited to 8,150 a day, and tickets were sold out in the first three days.
Yading is filled with stunning beauty and is ideal for those with an adventurous spirit.
The Chonggu Monastery is nearly 800 years old and sits at the base of Chenresig Mountain (Xiannairi in Chinese), which is 6,032 meters above sea level and the highest in the reserve. The view of the goldenroofed monastery against the backdrop of the snow peak and blue sky is just superb.
The temple offers free access and one could see monks going round their daily business.
The Luorong Pasture is another site one shouldn’t miss. It’s about 6 kilometers from Chonggu and one could ride an electric cart to get there in about 20 minutes.
The ride is quite thrilling since local drivers seem to know too well about each twist and turn that make the path, which runs through a forested area. However, everything suddenly comes wide open and leaps to your eye once arriving at the pasture, which offers a view of three holy mountains.
Luorong is considered the starting point of the pilgrimage path to Milk Lake, a main attraction around Chenresig Mountain. Visitors who don’t feel up to hiking can rent horses to the lake.
The distance is about 5 kilometers and takes about two hours on horseback or roughly three hours by walk.
The lake sits at an elevation of 4,480 meters and is fed by a glacier, which sits like a sapphire set among the mountains under the sun.
The highlight comes when one visits Wusehai, another lake that is roughly 100 meters higher than Milk Lake and takes about 20 minutes to reach.
Sitting right at the foot of the Chenresig, Wusehai is considered the most beautiful lake around the pilgrimage circuit in Yading.
The lake is known for producing five colors as the sunlight changes during the day. It’s round and covers an area of 0.7 hectares.
The pristine nature has also attracted international sport events.
Last year, the Skyrun festival, which was jointly hosted by the Chinese company Migu Run and the Switzerland-based International Skyrunning Federation, attracted more than 70 professional runners from 22 countries and regions, including Iran, Italy, Mexico, Nepal and the United States.
This year’s event saw 800 runners from 25 countries and regions.
The local authority has also set up diversified routes to spice up visitor experience.
Country-country races ranging from 29 km to 46 km, vertical climbing and hiking have all been developed this year.
Moreover, a caravan camping site and a low-altitude touring flight will be developed in the coming years, according to provincial tourism officials.
The idea is to develop a travel circle within a two-hour radius around Yading, showcasing plateau views and local Kangba culture.
Two travel routes in the circle that integrates the Yading and Haizishan scenic spots will be ready soon.
Each route will take roughly three days and offer natural scenery and exotic Tibetan elements, including grasslands, an ancient temple and local residences.
The goal: attracting 4.2 million visits from home and abroad and raking in 3.4 billion yuan in 2018.