Ding Zhen Litang: Riding a pony at the foot of the snow-capped mountains and lying on the grass for a day
"My home is in Litang County, Garze Prefecture, Sichuan, at the foot of Genie Snow Mountain." In the past few days, Ding Zhen, a Khamba man, has become famous on the Internet with his pure and handsome appearance, and has also entered people's attention. , and his hometown Litang.
Litang is located in the west of Sichuan Province and is the only place where National Highway 318 enters Tibet. Many tourists on the Sichuan-Tibet line pass by here, rushing to Daocheng Aden, Linzhi, and Lhasa to explore the legendary majestic and majestic scenery.
But before Ding Zhen, few people knew that Litang itself was a scenery not to be missed.
I believe many people have an impression of Litang in Ganzi, Sichuan, because there is the famous "National Highway G318" landmark. It is 3,118 kilometers away from Shanghai and 654 kilometers away from Chengdu. It belongs to the southeastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the middle section of the Hengduan Mountains. It can be classified into the well-known Kham region. Because of its altitude of 4,014 meters, it is also known as the "Highest City in the World". The poet Tsangyang Gyatso once left a love song: "White crane, please lend me your wings. If you don't fly far away, just go to Litang and fly back." This love song added countless romance to this small town. color.
Thirty million years ago, the Indian Ocean Plate continued to collide with the Eurasian Plate, and the majestic Himalayas began to rise. The southwest region that was originally under the ocean shifted in the north-south direction under the huge force. The folds and deformations eventually formed today's Hengduan Mountains. The high mountains intercept the warm and moist airflow, and the abundant surface water breeds large rivers. In this land, the Jinsha River and the Yalong River run through it, and the Shaluli Mountains run from the north to the south, bringing Litang a completely different and beautiful landscape of mountains, rivers, forests, lakes, grasslands, etc.
Hidden deep in Litang, Genie Snow Mountain belongs to the middle section of Shaluli Mountain in the Hengduan Mountains. With an altitude of 6204 meters, it is the third highest peak in Sichuan and the thirteenth goddess among the 24 sacred mountains in Tibetan areas. Every summer, abundant monsoons pass over the plateau, forming snowfall in the high mountains of Genie Mountain, whereupon glaciers develop. In the long process of melting, the water meanders down through the mountains, and patches of plateau forests that block the sky and sun grow wildly, represented by Sichuan spruce; the forest is followed by primitive shrubs and grassland downwards; At the bottom of the valley are winding river channels and dense swampy meadows.
There is a small pool on the grassland, reflecting the clear blue sky, long white clouds and rolling snow-capped mountains. That is the "Eye of Genie". Different from the "Devil's Eye" in Aiken Spring in the Qaidam Basin, there is a circle of water plants growing in the pond of Genie's Eye, which is as vivid as a pupil, so it is called the "Eye to Heaven".
The melted ice and snow of Genie Mountain provides an endless supply of water for the Litang River. There are strings of swamp wetlands and lush pastures along both sides of the wide and gentle river. This is the middle section of the Shaluli Mountains. The largest grassland - Maoyaba Grassland, with an altitude of 3800-4500 meters. Although it is not as vast as the Inner Mongolia prairie, it has a unique alpine grassland landscape. Every July to September, the water and grass on the Maoyaba Prairie are lush and the wild flowers are in full bloom. Cattle and sheep wander around in the sea of flowers looking for food. Looking from a distance, the blue sky, white clouds, snow-capped mountains, clear water and green grass complement each other, presenting a breathtaking feast of beauty.
Travel for dozens of kilometers along the 318 National Highway in the northern part of the grassland until you reach the foot of Haizi Mountain. Haizi Mountain is located between Litang and Daocheng, with an average altitude of 4,500 meters. There are 1,145 large and small Haizi dotted around, and its scale and density are the highest in China. Some lakes are light blue in the center and dark blue on the outside, with distinct circles; some are seasonal lakes that can only fill the lake basin during the rainy season; some lakes are distributed in strings, like pearl necklaces on the mountains... The largest lake on Haizi Mountain in Litang Haizi is Ranjincuo, covering an area of 2.75 square kilometers. The lake is rich in plateau yellow croaker, nourishing yellow ducks, wild birds, sambar deer, argali, forest musk deer and other alpine creatures. Some people say that the lake water in the mountains is like a tear flowing on the surface of the earth, while the lake water in Haizi Mountain is more like a diamond dropped accidentally by God, shining in the mountains.
Genie Snow Mountain brings water, and water nourishes the grassland. Every August, Litang holds the Grassland Horse Racing Meeting and the Bazi Festival. Tough Kham men and beautiful Kham girls gather from all directions on the Maoyaba prairie to show off their grace and skills. After Ding Zhen became angry, he said that he did not want to leave Litang and wanted to take Pony Pearl to the Jockey Club, which made people more curious and expectant about the Jockey Club in Litang.
Before the horse racing meeting every year, the herdsmen put on their national costumes, mount their horses, and station themselves on the grasslands near the county town with tents, pots and bowls, yak meat, butter, tsampa, candies... The spectacular tent city emerged almost overnight.
On the official day, the riders, wearing bright Tibetan robes, led their precious horses to the starting line. Following the order, the horses galloped wildly, and the scene was filled with people. Horse racing here is not just about comparing speeds, there are also endurance races, walking races, equestrian races, etc. Among them, the most thrilling ones are handstand on horseback, hiding in horse belly, flying riding shooting, and throwing Hada. Therefore, there is a saying circulating in Tibetan areas, "When it comes to horse racing festivals in the Kham area, the largest one is in Litang, Ganzi."
The popularity of Jockey Club in Litang has profound geographical and historical origins. For thousands of years, Litang has been an important town on the Tea Horse Road. Tea produced in Tianquan, Qionglai and other places on the western edge of the Sichuan Basin, and silk from Chengdu have been continuously imported into Tibetan areas from here. Different from today's Sichuan-Tibet Line, merchants could only cross the shoulder of Genie Mountain from Litang to the west. Instead of passing through Haizi Mountain, they went directly to Zhubalong and Batang through Bomi Township at the bottom of the valley. Go around eight turns, up and down. The trail leading from southern Kham to Lhasa is accessible only by horseback and on foot. In ancient times, horses became the most important means of transportation in Litang.
Although neighboring Yunnan business gangs often use mules with stronger carrying capacity as transportation, the herdsmen in Litang are still accustomed to accompanying horses. On the one hand, Genie Snow Mountain looks gentle from a distance, but in fact it is very steep. In addition, the widespread glaciers can easily trigger avalanches, so the climb is not easy. Horses are more docile than mules, and can be climbed in an emergency. Follow people's instructions and escape in time to reduce the loss of people and goods. On the other hand, livestock is an important family property of herdsmen. Horses can cultivate fine breeds from generation to generation and can be passed on and exchanged. However, mules are hybrids of horses and donkeys and cannot reproduce the next generation. Once lost, it is irreversible.
For Kham men, horses are the closest companions in their lives. People integrate their knowledge, domestication and love for horses into horse racing activities, which is more important than riding skills and the advantages and disadvantages of horses. The gathering is the most persistent and common activity among herdsmen. In the Gesar Dynasty about a thousand years ago, people even used horse racing to determine their leaders. There is a proverb that says: "Horse racing should be on flat grass, and heroes should be on the backs of strong horses." This kind of worship of horse racing and heroes It was engraved into the local cultural genes and eventually evolved into a grand horse racing meeting.
Butter tea is made from butter and strong tea. It can drive away the cold when it is cold and can remove greasiness when eating meat. Picture source/Litang County People’s Government Office Official Account
At the same time, the Jockey Club is also a place where herdsmen and traders conduct trading activities. Farmers and herdsmen scattered across the plateau not only need to sell their own yak meat, mare's milk, cheese and other products, but also need to buy from merchants the products they and their families need throughout the year, especially the tea leaves for making butter tea.
The most important thing is that Mount Genis belongs to the horse in the legend. Like Ali’s Mount Kailash, there is an endless stream of people turning around the mountain. Originally, people would hold horse racing, singing and dancing, and a bonfire party after worshiping on the third day of June in the Tibetan calendar every year. Later, this festival was fixed in August in the Gregorian calendar. It eventually became the most attractive horse racing event in the country and is listed as a non-famous event in Sichuan Province. material cultural heritage.
Geographic corridors are often corridors for ethnic migration. The Hengduan Mountains, located in southwest China, is an important dividing line between the first and second steps, connecting the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. It presents a typical "corridor" geographically and is also a natural passage for the migration of various ethnic groups in the southwest. Litang, located in the middle of the Hengduan Mountains, has been an important transportation hub connecting Sichuan to Tibet and Yunnan since ancient times. Migrating ethnic groups come and go, forming ethnic cultures with their own characteristics.
Tibetans are the ethnic minority with the largest population in Litang. Most of them live in villages at the foot of the mountains and in dams by the river, and they mostly make a living by herding. This is because Litang has a high altitude, low temperatures, and long winters, making it difficult to carry out traditional agricultural farming. The grassland here is rich in species and can be called the best pasture in Sichuan and Tibet. Herders can domesticate yaks and sheep in exchange for Living supplies.
Qianhu Zangzhai in Letong Ancient Town is an important settlement in Litang, consisting of 13 Tibetan villages with more than 4,000 Tibetan houses. For thousands of years, Tibetans have used wooden pestles to pound loess and build dense walls to build houses, which are stable and warm enough to survive the long winter. The exterior walls of these buildings are rich in color, including white, ginger, dark red, and black and red. Among them, white is the main color of most residential buildings because the people of the snowy plateau regard white as the most auspicious and pure color. Most of these buildings have flat roofs and square appearance, and there are five-color prayer flags that must be installed in every house.
Changqingchunker Temple, located in the north of Litang County, is the oldest and largest Tibetan Buddhist temple in Kham. It is known as "the three major temples in Lhasa above and Anduotar below." Among the temples, there is a saying that Litang has everlasting youth, Ker Temple. The temple building is located on the mountain, with scattered heights and distinct layers. The snow-capped mountains stretch in the distance and are magnificent. In the sixth month of the Tibetan calendar every year, the Changqingchun Ker Monastery will hold the largest and most solemn "Zhubi Rixiao" (turning around the mountain in June) in accordance with ancient customs. In addition, there is also a unique Butter Flower Festival.
Many scholars believe that the Naxi people who live in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau originated from the ancient Qiang people who lived in the Huang (Huang River) area of northwest China in ancient times. Due to climate changes and wars, they moved southward They migrated to the upper reaches of the Minjiang River, then migrated southwest to the Yalong River Basin, and then moved westward to the east-west zone of the upper reaches of the Jinsha River. Therefore, their historical remnants are common in the border areas of Sichuan, Yunnan and Tibet. Especially in the Ming Dynasty, the chieftain Mu of Lijiang immigrated a large number of Naxi people to Batang and Litang. With powerful force, he controlled the commercial activities along the Tea Horse Road and built watchtowers and houses to support the lives of the people. Litang still retains some Residential houses built in the Naxi architectural style.
In contrast to the nomadic life, the Han people also brought their farming habits here after immigrating to Litang. They found that the climate in the valleys below the mountains is relatively warm, and the average annual sunshine hours are 2,630 hours, which is conducive to the growth of crops. Therefore, they can use the warm seasons to farm and grow crops such as highland barley, radish, safflower wheat, and white potatoes. . In order to assist in farming, many families raise cattle. On the cold plateau, yaks have far better survival capabilities than cattle and produce more milk and meat than cattle. However, yaks are not docile enough to be harnessed to plows, and cattle cannot adapt to the plateau climate to survive, so yaks and cattle are hybridized. The yak came into being. It has the docile character of the ox and the high cold resistance of the yak. It is more suitable for the needs of Han people in farming.
From the snow-capped "Thirteenth Goddess" Genie Snow Mountain to the free and vast Maoya Prairie, from the historic Jockey Club to the distinctive ethnic life, this is "Ding Zhen" "World" is also a real and beautiful Litang.