Deqen County

cctv.com 01-06-2004 16:05

At the very north tip of Diqing prefecture lies Deqen County, a beautiful and mysterious Tibetan area. The county seat, Shenping town is less than 100 kilometers away from Tibet. Easily you can run into Tibetan caravans passing by the small town of only two main streets.

Shengping is also the highest town in Yunnan province. Because of its remote location and high altitude, it still managed to keep the original flavor of a wild wild west small town.

Taking a stroll along the main street, you may find novelty souvenirs combing through these delightful ethnic stores.

Most people come to Deqen for one thing to view or worship the majestic Meili snow mountains. Located some 10 kilometers west of Deqen county town, the mountain range includes 13 mountains all peaking over 6,000 meters above sea level. Therefore, it's also known as the 13 prince mountains. The main peak, Kagebo peak, towering at 6,740 meters above sea level, is the highest mountain in Yunnan province, and one of the eight sacred mountains worshipped by the Tibetans. Legend has it that the peak is the incarnation of a Tibetan God who helped local people drive away evil spirit.

Each year toward the beginning of the winter, thousands of pilgrims will trek all the way from Tibet, Sichuan, Qinghai, and Gansu to pay homage to the mountain.

Kagebo peak remains mysterious and elusive to most visitors. For one thing, it's still a virgin peak; for another, it is constantly shrouded by clouds and mist. If you've got the time and the patience, the gorgeous view is definitely worth waiting for.

The one-hour mule riding trip ends up at the Prince temple, a very important worshipping site of the sacred mountain for Tibetans.

Outside the temple, there are several huge mani mounds of colorful religious inscriptions. Stones are not regular stones inside the holy mountain. One piece of rock is even said to embody the wisdom of the world according to local people.

Mingyong glacier

Mingyong glacier is a monsoon marine glacier. Trekking inside Meili mountain is a pure joy. Breathing the extremely fresh air, you could almost imagine how those pilgrims feel when they walk on their spiritual journeys around the Meili mountains. There is a sense of togetherness, a perfect harmony with the Mother Nature.

There are two routes of the walk around the Meili Mountain ritual: inner circle and outer circle. It takes about four to five days to complete the inner circle, and at least two weeks to finish the outer circle.

The total area of Mingyong glacier is six square kilometers with an average width of 500 meters. A glacier of this size is rarely seen at such low latitude. Mingyong glacier is of the lowest altitude and latitude among the modern glaciers in the world. The total length of the glacier is about 12 kilometers.

Editor:Han Ling  Source:CCTV.com