Shangli Ancient Town

Larong Wuming Buddhist Academy

Serthar Larong Wuming Buddhist Academy is an enormous Buddhist academy. Beneath the deep blue sky and among the high mountain grasslands, thousands of small wooden cabins are densely packed across the hillsides around the academy’s main great assembly hall. The crimson cabins stretch and roll across the slopes, a truly spectacular sight. Many footpaths wind through the academy and are pleasant to stroll. On the hillside to the southwest of the prayer-wheel stupa, you can look down over the entire academy and capture its full panorama. On the highest peak within the academy stands a huge, gleaming golden mandala. Its red walls and golden roofs soar into the clouds, and each of its three tiers is brighter and more open than the one below, making the sacred site feel ever more solemn and majestic.

0.5–1 day

Daocheng Yading

In 1928, American explorer Joseph Rock arrived in Daocheng and published his photographs in National Geographic, causing a sensation. From then on, Daocheng Yading, long asleep in the ice of time, revealed its most ancient and innocent face, and people were enchanted by its allure as the ‘last pure land on the blue planet’. Chonggu Temple, Luorong Pasture, Five-Colour Lake and Milk Lake all have a serene, Shangri-La-like beauty. Among them, the most mysterious are the three sacred peaks. Chenrezig, Jambeyang and Chana Dorje stand in a triangular formation, collectively known as Nianqing Gongga Risong Gongbu. In Tibetan, the name means ‘the sacred site of three guardian mountains that never lose their snow’, and in Buddhism they are called the Three Protector Snow Mountains. This is a sacred mountain in Tibetan Buddhism, and for every Tibetan, making at least one pilgrimage circuit around Nianqing Gongga Risong Gongbu in a lifetime is a cherished wish.

¥146 (April–November), ¥120 (December–March), sightseeing bus ¥120 · 1–2 days

Danba Danglin Natural Scenic Area

A source of pride for Danba, at an altitude of 5,000 m, with pristine vegetation and countless lakes scattered like stars. Said to rival or even surpass Jiuzhaigou in natural scenery. The natural hot springs at Dangling are the best in the entire county. Soak in the hot springs for half a day, then rent a horse and hire a guide to climb up and see the lakes. There is no greater pleasure in life.

Danba Beauty Valley

Danba's beauties have long been famous, and Qiongshan Village (邛山村) in Badi Township (巴底乡), known as “Beauty Valley,” is where they are gathered at their finest. Legend has it that when the Western Xia kingdom was destroyed by Mongol cavalry, many beautiful women fled from Gansu and settled here, giving rise to the internationally renowned Beauty Valley. That these beauties have continued generation after generation is likely thanks to the nourishing rivers and valleys.

1 day

Hailuogou Glacier Park

Hailuogou Glacier is the lowest-altitude glacier at its latitude anywhere on Earth. Its snow basin is the source of the entire glacier. When the snow and ice in the basin accumulate to a certain level, they spill over the rim and form enormous avalanches, so although the basin is beautiful and mysterious, it can only be admired from afar. At the basin's edge lies the largest known ice waterfall in China, crystal-clear and majestic. At an altitude of 2,850 m, a glacier tongue 5,700 m long clings to the ground. Its surface is dotted with ice lakes, ice streams, crevasses, ice mushrooms, ice caves and ice bridges. The glacial arches are crystalline and transparent, blue tinged with green. Visitors who enter and exit through the glacier's “City Gate” arch are exploring the outlet of an underground river, yet what they see is a crystal palace.

Entry ticket ¥90 + sightseeing bus ¥160; cable car (round trip) ¥135; Yajia Love Sea (雅家情海) entry ¥35

Suopo Ancient Watchtowers

Suopo has 84 ancient watchtowers, the most concentrated cluster of such towers in all of Danba and indeed the world, including the world's only pentagonal watchtower. Built from earth and stone, the towers stand upright and straight, with sharp, knife-edge corners, and their walls of stacked stone are thick and sturdy. Most are attached to residential watchtower-houses, while others stand alone on flat ground or in valleys. Despite centuries of wind and weather, they still rise defiantly, displaying a majestic grandeur.

Free, but the owners of the watchtowers charge a fee when you climb up to visit.