12 items: 12 writings and 0 journal entries.
Journeys are always brief. They leave us tired, excited, surprised, yet fascinated. Sorting through the photographs after a journey is a special ritual. As it begins, the smells, temperatures, scenes, and feelings all come rushing back.
The Qilian Mountains are made up of seven roughly parallel ranges, separating Qinghai from Gansu from east to west. Within their broad expanse lie not only the remote Hala Lake and the beautiful Qinghai Lake, but also Xining, the city where I grew up.
Amne Machin, standing in the center of Golog Prefecture in Qinghai, is one of the four sacred mountains of Tibetan tradition. Its summit remains snow-covered throughout the year, giving it an imposing presence. The Yellow River, flowing out of Ngoring Lake, bends around Amne Machin, sustaining the animals and plants here and creating a rich ecosystem.
Yueguzongliequ, originating at the foot of the Bayan Har Mountains, flows eastward out of Yushu and into Golog before eventually reaching Gyaring Lake and Ngoring Lake in the upper reaches of the Yellow River.
Mountains are hardly rare on the Tibetan Plateau, the world's third pole. But some mountains take on a different meaning because of geography, culture, religion and tradition. Gado Jowo, a mountain of relatively modest height in central Yushu Prefecture, stands apart because of its status as a sacred mountain.
Hundreds of millions of years of geological change have given Nangqên rich mineral resources and created the ancient salt fields of Duolunduo. The traditional salt-making techniques preserved to this day are the best tribute to this gift from nature.
If the Tanggula Mountains and Hengduan Mountains form the body of Nangqên, then the stories of King Gesar, widely told across this land, are its soul. Duolunduo Village, a hidden paradise with a rather modern-sounding name, is where a thousand-year-old story unfolds.
Nangqên County lies in southeastern Yushu Prefecture, surrounded by the Hengduan Mountains and the Tanggula Mountains. Here, high elevation does not mean barrenness. Abundant summer rainfall covers the mountains in green and fills the landscape with life.
Sacred Mount Jiangjiaduode holds the blue waters of Suo'e Lake in its embrace, quietly looking toward Yushu City 100 kilometers away. Wrapped in cloud and mist, it hid itself from us, unwilling to be disturbed.
If not for the provincial border sign, I would hardly have realized that I had already entered Sichuan. Sêrxü, tucked between Yushu and Golog in Qinghai, is the highest county town in Sichuan Province.
The Yellow River flows eastward from its source at Yueguzongliequ, but not long after entering Sichuan Province, it turns back toward the northwest and re-enters Qinghai. In doing so, it brings abundant water to eastern Qinghai and irrigates the fertile land along both banks.
Yushu means “ruins” in Tibetan. We will not discuss why it was given such a heavy name, because after the earthquake, it was reborn.