I go to Meili Snow Mountain several times every year. Or just walk by and watch the flowers, or go deep into the mountains. Meili Snow Mountain is only 340 kilometers away from Lijiang where I live. It is like my reception hall. Whenever relatives and friends come to visit me from other places, I will drive my car once, which is just a three-day trip.
“Meili returns without looking at the snowy mountains”, its beauty and momentum overwhelm other snowy mountains in Yunnan. However, not everyone is lucky to see Merry. Because the altitude of the viewing platform here has reached 3500 meters, it is easy to get high. Moreover, the thirteen peaks of Meili are often shrouded in clouds and mist. If you want to observe closely, you have to go to Yubeng Village. You need to turn over a mountain and walk in. A person like Xiaobian has to walk for a day.
Due to physical limitations, ordinary tourists usually choose to stay at the Feilai Temple on the side of National Highway 214 for one night. It is 30 kilometers away from Meili Snow Mountain in a straight line. The view is excellent. Look at the sunset. The next day, get up early in the morning and enjoy the Sunshine Golden Mountain. Then you can go home. Most young people with good physical strength will choose to climb a mountain to the Yubeng village at the foot of the snowy mountain and touch the glacier from zero distance. Although Meili Snow Mountain is not ranked in the Qinghai-Tibet high mountain family, it is the sacred mountain in the Tibetan people’s hearts. Now Meili no longer allows any form of mountaineering activities, and there is no human footprint on the top of Kawagbo, the highest peak.
Meili Snow Mountain is beautiful, but the cost of visiting it is not expensive. The National Highway is the best viewing platform. Many self-driving tourists in Tibet made a detour to the National Highway 214 in order to meet its beauty. It also has the aura of the patron saint of Tibet, where Tibetans pray and wish to reach Lhasa in peace. In recent years, National Highway 214 is also a popular route for cyclists to enter Tibet. In the 1800km distance from Lijiang to Lhasa, the section of the Hengduan Mountains crossing the three parallel rivers is both challenging and beautiful.
The turning season of Meili Snow Mountain began in late September and lasted until the next spring when the mountain was snowed again. The mountain turners come from all over Tibet. Meili Snow Mountain belongs to sheep, and the popularity of rolling mountain is only behind Gangrinpochi, who belongs to horse. There are two ways to turn the mountain from big to small. Enter the inner transfer route from Xidang Hot Spring Village, and then exit from Ninon Canyon. During the period, you will live in Yubeng Village, and then go to Jade Lake, Ice Lake, and Divine Falls. It takes five days for ordinary people.
The Great Turn will take a full circle around Meili Snow Mountain, with a total length of 280 kilometers. During this period, you will have to climb over two passes with an altitude of more than 4500 meters. Go down to the Nu River and Lancang River at an altitude of 2000 meters. The region spans two provinces. The Nujiang River survey is Chayu County in Nyingchi Prefecture, Tibet, and Zuogong County in Changdu Prefecture, Tibet. The east side is Mangkang County in Changdu Prefecture, Tibet, and Deqin County in Diqing Prefecture, Yunnan. (Dokraya Pass)
There are four seasons along the way. The pass often snows heavily, and the valley is hot. Only short sleeves can be worn. Sometimes we pass through the primeval forest with excellent ecology, and sometimes we pass through the wild village on the edge of the cliff. The last trip was in the town of Quzika in Mangkang County, where the tired body was rewarded by bathing in hot springs to end the trip.
Meili Snow Mountain looks cold, but it is warm when approaching it. On the one hand, the heat in the valley comes from the hot gas flow squeezed up downstream along the river, and on the other hand, it comes from the geothermal energy. It is reminiscent of the words of British botanist Kingston Ward in an article published in British Geographic magazine, “Sitting on the glacier in a single coat, the glacier is cold, but the bank is full of flowers”.
As a photographer, my love for Merry has also reached the level of obsession, with symptoms even exceeding those of Lhasa. There are thirteen peaks in Meili Snow Mountain, with different images. Photographers also have different preferences. However, the positive comments on Mainham are consistent. She is not the highest, but she vividly represents the beautiful and ever-changing female image.
I have known several teachers who shoot around Meili Snow Mountain all the year round. Their works are not only scenery, but also rich and popular. The mountain turners in Meili Snow Mountain come from the region where all Tibetans live. They usually live in their own circle and only meet when they turn the mountain. When they turn the mountain, they are all full of energy and dressed in precious stones. Like the “body, mouth and mind”, their beautiful makeup is also part of the offering.
The rolling hills also promote population mobility. Usually, a couple who meet on the pilgrimage road will be regarded as the cause arranged by the Snow Mountain God. In the process of mountain rotation, I also met an old man who was at the age of eight. Turning the mountain is their last wish. If they die on the road, they will be regarded as the best destination.