Spring Festival

Namjagbarwa Peak

The first impression of Namjagbarwa started with a glimpse of its beauty during my first visit to Tibet in l998.

How beautiful is Eastern Tibet at the height of summer?

The blue river water reflects the snow capped peaks, and the crystal-clear glacier

winds through the green primal forests. The brightly-colored Tibetan villages, the graceful and healthy girls, herds of cattle and sheep on the pastures, and wild flowers of every color in full bloom form a picturesque landscape unfolding before the eyes of every traveler who, too long fettered by the bustle of city life, yearns for the beauty of a natural paradise.

I stood surrounded by the magnificent Tibetan scenery on the Serkhyim La Mountain gazing at wave after wave of towering mountains. The white clouds surged like tides, casting down shadow after shadow from the snow- capped mountaintops. A bank of cloud attaching itself to the mountain was carelessly driven off by a gust of wind, and this was the sharply defined triangular peak of the Namjagbarwa exposed to view. 1 was immediately captivated by its peerless beauty.

But almost immediately, the rolling clouds veiled the mountain once more. When I tried for a second glance, the sky was clouded again and the mountain shyly hidden.

The Namjagbarwa area is a sea of clouds all year round. Some foreign explorers came here via India in the early 20th century in the hope of seeing its scenery and taking pictures, but they waited for a month in vain; the mountain was heavily shrouded in thick cloud, and they had to leave amidst sighs and regrets. Even local people can see its true appearance only on a few days each year.

Lhoba and Monba people live here.Their way of life and religious beliefs are very traditional,and they have a unique morality.

Tibetans regard Namjagbarwa as the road to Heaven, a holy place which ordinary people must absolutely not disturb. They describe it as "a burning fire of snow and lightening"and "piercing the blue sky like a long-handled spear."And they have endowed it with many outstanding titles too:god of heroism. The spoiled and beloved son of the extraordinary beauty and valor of the Nyanqentanglha Mountain, the brutal brother who cut off the head of his kinsman in a fight. and the self-respecting husband not allowing others to see his grief at being separated from his wife.

The Tibetan metaphors originate from unseen, unverifiable traces of the deities, but scientific metaphor has added a bold stroke to the age-old legends. Geologists have likened Namjagbarwa to a divine needle that pacifies the earth.

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Himalayas have been hailed as mankind's last land of mystery, and even regarded as the "golden key" that can open the gate of the earth. The most mysterious thing is that at each end of the Himalayas two peaks stand on the mysterious tectonic knots: at the eastern end stands Namjagbarwa(7,782 meters)and at the western end Nanga Parbat(8,1 25 meters), the world's ninth highest peak. They not only attach the magnificent length of the Himalayan chain to the southern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, but also fix the Eurasian plate to the Indian plate.

Perhaps it is coincidence, but in the age-old legend of the "Battle at Menling"which is in the vicinity, Namjagbarwa was the divine sword used by King Gesar to rescue the people and safeguard the earth.

In fact, the mystery of the mountain itself is no less interesting than the mystery of these geographical phenomena.

Namjagbarwa has existed for over 700 million years. The first piece of land in the Himalayan region to emerge from the sea, it deserves its title of Number One among

The main peak of the Namj-agbarwa pierces the clouds.

the Eastern Himalayan Mountains. The changes it has experienced are beyond the reach of our current knowledge.

Even today, we still know very little about Namjagbarwa. This is not because we do not admire its outstanding beauty; rather, because the mountain has deliberately made a curtain of the clouds and mists, made a protective screen of the canyon and torrents, thus preventing any alien creature from disturbing the solitude and silence that it has enjoyed for hundreds of millions of years.

Those who have been close to it all know that once you have taken the routes to Namjagbarwa, no others really deserve to be called "dangerous." The first human conquest of Namjagbarwa did not happen until 1992, but the great Japanese climber Takei Yoshitaka was killed in the previous attempt in 1991. Over 10 years have passed, and sophisticated mountaineering equipment means "everything is possible" today, but no one else has tackled it again.

A month after seeing the mountain, I personally traveled part of the"routes"--walking through the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon.

It is a mystical canyon, concentrating every type of fine environment and natural beauty, where you can experience the majesty of the Amazon and the austerity of the Himalayas. Passing through it, you are enshrouded in heavy mist, sometimes winding around your fingertips, sometimes circling over your head, as if you were living in a fantastic wonderland.

But extreme beauty often goes shoulder by shoulder with death.

After the great Medog earthquake in 1950, everything within the 100 kilometers from the village of Gala to the canyon became a no-man's 1and. haunted almost only

Monba people walking in dense woods at the foot of Namjagbarwa.

by beasts. On the densely wooded mountain ridges, we could walk only on a small path heavily overgrown with overhanging tree branches and bushes.

The road to paradise is never smooth and 1evel. While the body climbed nearly perpendicular rocks, and the hands grabbed for dear 1ife onto weeds and small branches. beneath the feet flowed the guardian of the sacred mountain. the Yarlung Tsangpo, its seething waters roaring down. water mist rising as the waves hit the rocks of the river's many dangerous shoals.

In the mysterious land of the canyon where the earthquake collapsed glaciers to the ground, Namjagbarwa and Gala Village face each other on opposite banks of the river, forming the entrance of the canyon.

The wind swept past the tattered prayer flags on a high platform. The colorful lichen lay as thick as a wool carpet. the six-character-mantra inscribed on a mani stone in earth was faintly visible.The dilapidated walls left after the earthquake reminded US of the mysterious land where Buddhist monks had chanted sutras. But they were a reminder too that Namjagbarwa's violent character originates from the fact that it stands at the heart of the powerful upthrust of the Himalayas.

After making a horseshoe bend, the roaring river turns south, carrying branches and leaves with it. Because of this unusual turn. warm air from the Indian Ocean has an easy passage into the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and the canyon has become the warmest and moistest region on the plateau.

Straining to look up at the summit until our necks could bend no further back, we could see 0nly as far as the mountain mid-levels. surrounded by chains of white clouds. Several huge ice falls broke through the clouds, sweeping down the misty body of the mountain into the river below, as if huge jade dragons had been ordered to leave the divine halls on the summit to rush upon the intruder at the foot.

China's Ten Most Beautiful Mountains.

A faint mist rose from the bottom of the valley, a light cascade of cloud slipped smoothly from the top, floating white clouds encircled the mountain, and the sword-like gleaming snow peaks were partly hidden, partly visible.

Then, like passing through the final gateway to Heaven, the cold and lifeless atmosphere suddenly disappeared. There was the white of curling clouds, the green of jade-green leaves, the purple of carvin9-like grapes, and the red of blossoming flowers. The beauty of a dimly discernible fairyland was there right in front ofmy eyes.

Looking at the mountain from afar, all you can see are floating clouds. Looking at it from nearby, over 5, 000 meters above you, it is almost invisible. It stands in the world. but very few people can see it. It is hidden in the clouds, but connected with the world we all inhabit. Man has never stopped longing for a distant, unattainable paradise, and Namjagbarwa is precisely that.


Namjagbarwa Peak

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Mount Hua

With the Yellow River to the north and Qin Mountain Range at the back to the south, HuaShan Mountain stands in the north of Huayang County, Shaanxi Province, with an altitude of over 2,000 meters. It is known as West Mount among Five Sacred Mountains.
    There are five peaks of Mount Hua. The East Peak, which is also called the Morning Sun Peak, is the best place to watch sunrise. The South Peak is also known as Wild Goose-Resting Peak. It is situated at an elevation of 2,200 meters and towers over all other peaks on the mountain. The West Peak is al-so called Lotus Flower Peak for the huge lotus flower-shaped rock standing in front of Cuiyun Temple (Jade Green Cloudy Terrace Temple) at the top. Close to Cuiyun Temple lies a huge rock named "Rock Split with an Axe. " It is said in a fairy tale to be the place where little Chen Xiang, son of Holy Mother III, split the mountain to rescue his mother. The North Peak is also called Cloudy Terrace Peak. On the Central Peak are historical sites named af-ter Jade Lady, the daughter of King Mu of the Spring and Autumn Period, so it is also named the Jade Lady Peak. From a distance, these five peaks look like a lotus flower at the top of the mountain, hence, the name of Mount Hua. "Hua" means "flower" in ancient China.
    Mount Hua is known for its precipitous topography. There is an old say-ing:"There has been only one road up Mount Hua since ancient times. " The mad runs for 20 kilometers, from the north to the south, around five promi-nent  peaks:
    Yuquan Garden (Jade Spring Garden) is a place one will certainly pass while climbing up Mount Huashan. It is located at the entrance of the valley. Inside the garden there is a cool, sweet spring, hence the name of "Jade Spring Garden. " The spring is said to come from an underground flow that runs from the jade well at the top of the mountain. On the way up from Jade Spring Garden, there is a zigzag trail flanked by steep cliffs and paved with stone slabs. Qingke Terrance is in the middle of the journey to the top. There is a huge rock on the east part of Qingke Terrance. Standing there and look-ing up at the mountain, one can see peculiar peaks, precipitous cliffs and other towering climbing trails from Qingke Terrance.  Those who are hesitant, timid or unsure of their ability can turn back from this point.
    The trail, from the start of the rock, becomes so steep that it is impossi-ble for a climber to ascend without the help of the railing. The trail includes a number of perilous places, such as the Thousand-Foot Precipice, the Hun-dred-Foot Crevice, Laojun's Furrow, the Ear-Touching Cliff, the Heaven-ward Ladder and the Blue Dragon Ridge, etc.
    The Thousand-Foot Precipice is known as the vital passage of Mount Hua. This precipice is cut into the face of a nearly perpendicular cliff. The step is wide enough for only one man to climb up and down. After the Thou-sand-Foot Precipice appears the Hundred-Foot Crevice. After climbing across Xianren Bridge (Immortal Bridge) and Black Dragon Ridge, one ascends to Laojun's Furrow. On the east of the furrow stands a steep cliff and on the west a deep valley. Nearly 570 steps are hewn from the bottom part of the furrow. The climber must grasp the iron chains for support. Legend has it that Lao Zi, the founder of Taoism, once built a road here. Having found it so difficult to cut a trail into the mountain, he drove his ox to this place and ploughed the furrow in only one night.
    The trail of the Ear-Touching Cliff is especially steep, so that in facing the precipice, the climber must grasp the iron chains. The place is known as Ear-Touching Cliff, for while climbing, one' s ears can' t avoid touching the cliff. At the end of the cliff, one must climb up with the help of the iron chains. This trail is called the Heavenward Ladder. Not far from there is the Canglong Ridge (Blue Dragon Ridge). It is 1,500 meters long and only one meter wide. The ridge winds up and down irregularly with its central part protruding upwards into the air. On each side of the ridge, cliffs fall off into deep valleys. This is the most precipitous trail in Mount Hua.
    In addition, other places such as the Cliffside Road and the Sparrow Hawk Cliff are comparatively more dangerous.

The Yangtze River

The Yangtze River is also known as Changjiang River, or "Dajiang Riv-er" or "Jiang River" in ancient times.
The 6,380-kilometer-long Yangtze River is the longest river in China and the third longest in the world. Its total drainage area is more than 1,800,000 square kilometers, covering nearly one-fifth of the whole area in China.
The Yangtze River rises in the Tuotuo River which runs from the main peak of the Mount Tanggula in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The Yangtze River emerges from its place of origin, winding its way eastwards. In the area be-tween Baidicheng in Sichuan Province and Yichang in Hubei Province, it cuts across a vast mountain ridge, thus forming the magnificent Three Gorges. The section above Yichang is regarded as its upper reaches.
As the Yangtze River flows from Yichang into the plain area, it enters into its middle reaches. At the place where two other large water systems, Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake converge, the Yangtze River rises notably. It flows along its course of lower reaches immediately after Hukou in Jiangxi Province, becoming wider and deeper. Down below Jiangyin in Jiangsu Province a delta is formed. Finally the mighty Yangtze runs into the East Sea from Shanghai City.
Most of the drainage areas of the Changjiang River are cataloged as part of the subtropical zone. With the abundant rainfall in this zone, the flow of the main stream rises. Every year there are 10 thousand billion cubic meters of water flowing into the sea from the river mouth. That is 20 times as much as that of the Yellow River. The drop from the origin to the place where the riv-er flows into the sea is 5,100 meters.
With its tremendous depth and width, the Yangtze River makes possible a vital transportation line in the south of our country. It has long been called "Gold Waterway. " On its drainage area there are 40 million mus of land capa-ble of cultivation. The important industrial cities, such as Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, etc. are located along its shores.

Five-Terrace Mountain

Lying in Wutai County of Shanxi Province, the range of Five-Terrace Mountain winds down from Northern Mount Heng. Its main peak is over 3,000 meters above sea level. The mountain consists of five peaks, the tops of which are plain and wide without any trees like natural terraces. They are called Southern Terrace (Jinxiu Peak), Northern Terrace ( Yedou Peak), Center Terrace (Cuiyan Peak), Western Terrace (Guayue Peak) and East-ern Terrace (Wanghai Peak). That is how Five-Terrace Mountain gets its name. It is also called Cooling Mountain for its cool climate, beautiful scenery, lush flowers and grass, and endless brooks. Far back in the Eastern Han Dynasty, temples appeared on Five-Terrace Mountain. Built and extended through all the later dynasties, a large-scale building complex came into being, consisting of over 50 temples. Taihuai Town, as the center and symbol of Five-Terrace Mountain, has a large collection of temples and high towers. The best-known temple in Taihuai Town is the Xiantong Temple where there are great halls and age-old towering trees. Behind Daxiong Hall is the impressive beamless Wuliang Hall where the most interesting section is Jingzi Tower (a Buddha Tower formed by the letters of "Huayan scripture"). It is said that a Buddhist devotee of Suzhou City spent 12 years completing it. Moreover, in the hall there are 223 steel statues (formerly 499 statues) sitting on the ground as though listening to Sakyamuni on the lotus-like altar. Behind the Wuliang Hall, there is a famous copper hall within which are countless glittering little Buddha statues. In the southeast part of the Central Terrace is the splendid Boddhisattva Top, in which is the Water-Dropping Hall. Even though there has been no rain for a long time, water drops fall from the eaves. The continuous dripping results in rows of deep pits on the slab stones under the eaves. There is also a big copper pot made in the Ming Dynasty. How big is it? It is said that after cooking a meal for 10,000 people, the monk had to make a strong ox plow the rice crust in the bottom of the huge pot. Surrounded by hills, the Golden Temple is very secluded. In the main hall there is a 16-meter-high copper statue of a thousand-handed Goddess of Mercy, the greatest statue of Bodhisattva of Five-Terrace Mountain. Another important site is the Foguang Temple with its clean, tidy hall and quiet yard. The Wenshu Hall, facing south, was built in the 15th year of Emperor Tianhui Rule of the Jin Dynasty. It may be the earliest upturned "Y" shape building in the architecture history of the world. The main part -- East Hall with its primary simplicity and greatness stands on a high platform. In the hall over 30 statues on the altar form a solemnly Buddhist world. Five-Terrace Mountain is active in Buddhist ceremonies and rich in sutra collections. It shares the honor "Four Great Buddhism Mountains" with Mount Emei of Sichuan Province, Mount Putuo of Zhejiang Province and Mount Jiuhua of Anhui Province.

The Sun and Moon Lake

Lying to the north of Mount Yu and the south of Mount Neng, the Sun and Moon Lake is the most famous scenic spot and the largest lake in Taiwan Province.
The Sun and Moon Lake, which is classified among lakes of high sea lev-el, is formed by the water from Mount Yu and the cracked basin of Mount All. The sea level above the lake is 760 meters. The lake is of depth of 20 to 30 meters. Although its water surface area is a little smaller than that of West Lake, it is more than ten times deeper than the latter. The lake is surrounded by the green hills and rising mountain ranges reflected in the water. In the middle of the lake lies a beautiful island, which appears like a pearl in a piece of jasper. The small island, one kilometer in circumference, divides the lake into two. The north part is in the shape of the sun, so it is called the Sun Lake. The south part looks like the new moon, hence the name of the Moon Lake. They were officially named so in the Qing Dynasty and, ever since, have been praised as number one of "the Eight Landscapes in Taiwan. "
There are numerous pavilions, temples and old towers scattered around the lake. To the north of the lake, is a temple called Wenwu Miao half way up the mountain. Three hundred and sixty five steps from the foot of the mountain lead up to the mount. This trail is usually called "the Road to Heav-en." Hanbi Lou, a quiet and elegant building, is located to the west of the lake and affords a perfect place for viewing the surrounding landscape. Facing Hanbi Lou and standing apart from it is an ancient building, Xuanguang Tem-ple, a temple at the foot of Mount Qinglong to the east of the lake. Behind the temple at the top of a stone trail with 1,300 steps is the famous Xuanzang Temple. On the third floor of the temple there is a tower, containing several bones of Xuanzang, the senior monk of the Tang Dynasty.
On the top of Mount Qinglong stands a tower of 9 stories, which is called Cien Tower. The far-off beauty of the Sun and Moon Lake can be seen from the top of this tower.
The scenery of the lake varies with the four seasons, the time of day or night, and with the weather. Perhaps the most unforgettable is an autumn night when the lake is covered with the light fog and the moon is reflected in the lake. Whenever the moon is full at the mid-autumn, the youth of the Gaoshan nationality would gather around the lake. They dance old folk dances on the shores, and will present the folklore of how the fierce dragon was tamed.

Jiuzhai Gou

Jiuzhai Gou lies in the Ebei Zang Autonomous Region of Sichuan Province. It is a valley among the mountains, which stretchs as wide as 30 kilometers and covers an area of 50 square kilometers. The valley is named "Jiuzhai Gou" because around it there are 9 villages, home of the Zang nation-ality. In its isolation from densely populated towns and cities, the valley has preserved its natural environment.
Foremost among its scenic beauties are the colorful lakes of the Jiuzhai Gou. In the vast green primitive forest dozens of peaks penetrate the clouds, capped with snow all year around. More than a hundred lakes like resplendent pearls are inlaid on the colorful ribbon-like valley. According to the legend, these lakes were a hundred mirrors that God presented to the Goddess to ex-press his love for her. The smaller lakes are only about half a square mu, and the larger ones more than thousand square mus. The bottoms of the lakes are covered with a layer of milky white chalk stones. The water is so clear that the bottom is visible to the eye. Blue sky, white clouds, snowy mountains and wooded forests are all reflected in the water. The lakes are bright with many colors.
The unique waterfalls are also part of the magnificent landscape of Jiuzhai Gou. The Nuorilang Falls are the grandest among the numerous falls. These falls have a drop of over 20 meters and are more than 100 meters wide. The water flows at great speed through trees on the heights and falls down into the forest in the bottom of the valley.
The height of Jiuzhai Gou varies from 2,000 to 4,500 meters. It is rich in animal and plant life resources. Such rare and highly valued animals as the giant panda, golden monkey and golden cat, etc. inhabit in the vast primitive forest. Many kinds of natural vegetation are dispersed throughout places of different elevations. Jiuzhai Gou has become a fine research place for study of natural ecology, organism evolution, antiquity, geography, and meteorology.