Sea of Clouds over the Wa Mountains

　　The Awá Mountains are located in Ximeng County, Simao City, and the sea of clouds is a unique natural phenomenon in this region. During the winter and spring seasons, strong radiative cooling occurs at night in the Awá Mountains. Warm air from the lower-altitude river valleys meets the cold air descending from the higher elevations along the mountains, leading to the formation of a thick sea of clouds beneath the temperature inversion layer that blankets the tranquil valleys. When the sun rises, the sea of clouds becomes dazzlingly beautiful. By noon, as temperatures rise, the cloud layers begin to churn, surge, and shift dramatically—mountains and clouds appearing and disappearing in a fusion of countless shifting scenes. The sea of clouds over the Awá Mountains forms after midnight and gradually dissipates after 11 a.m. the next day. Some mountain peaks pierce through the cloud cover, standing abruptly against the sky like bamboo shoots emerging from the earth, while small hilltops partially submerged in the clouds float halfway up their slopes like tiny hats, resembling small boats bobbing on the waves of the cloud sea.

　　The sea of clouds over the Awá Mountains is ever-changing and truly spectacular. Viewing the sea of clouds from Mengkan offers a uniquely beautiful scene. The milky-white mist sometimes drapes over villages like layers of gauze, sometimes crashes against the shores like surging ocean waves, and at other times cascades like waterfalls into rivers and lakes.