The Dahug Ice Mountain Scenic Area offers unique natural conditions and advantages for cycling activities. The undulating snow-capped mountains, vast Quaternary ancient glaciers, and habitats of Sichuan golden monkeys create a picturesque paradise for mountain outdoor sports. It has been designated by Sichuan University as a research and development base for outdoor sports studies. Here, you can not only admire the magnificent modern mountain glaciers, ride the world’s highest-altitude cable car, and pay tribute to the solemn history of the Long March, but also experience the simple local customs, taste Tibetan cuisine, and enjoy the fun of green mountain cycling under the ice mountain.
Zhou Quanfu, Director of the Event Organizing Committee and Director of the Dahug Ice Mountain Scenic Area Administration, stated, “There are three fundamental purposes for holding the bicycle cycling race. First, to show the world that Dahug Ice Mountain is far more than just an ice mountain—it is a large-scale comprehensive eco-tourism destination integrating sightseeing, leisure, vacation, and outdoor sports. The ultimate landscapes of glaciers, colored forests, sunrises, sea of clouds, lakes, forests, flowers, meadows, and Tibetan villages complement each other, offering a world-class tourism experience. Second, to inform people that visiting Dahug Ice Mountain is not limited to driving—hiking and cycling are also great options. This reflects the transformation of tourism methods within the comprehensive destination strategy and aligns with new global tourism trends. Third, to highlight that Dahug Ice Mountain, along with Jiuzhaigou, Huanglong, and Siguniang Mountain, constitutes one of the four major international premium tourism areas on the western Sichuan plateau. Within the new world tourism destination cluster on the western Sichuan plateau formed by Jiuhuang Airport and the upcoming Hongyuan Airport, we are one of the main routes and core areas, as well as a key hub connecting air and land travel markets.”
During the event, the scenic area also held a photography exhibition showcasing the ice and snow and colored forests of Dahug Ice Mountain.
The reporter also learned that the Heishui County Party Committee, government, and Dahug Ice Mountain Scenic Area Administration will hold cycling competitions and green cycling activities annually, integrating more cultural elements into these events, aiming to truly establish them as an outdoor green sports tourism brand that combines ice and snow tourism, colored forest tourism, and leisure vacations. This initiative aims to promote the concepts of low-carbon, eco-friendly, aerobic, and healthy lifestyles. Leveraging the fashionability, visual appeal, participation, and environmental benefits of cycling, it will serve as an important medium for advocating green and healthy living in the Heishui-Dahug Ice Mountain Scenic Area. Gradually, the area will expand to include sports such as mountaineering, rock climbing, trekking, leisure outdoor activities, and comprehensive orienteering, driving rapid development in mountain outdoor sports and leisure vacation tourism at Dahug Ice Mountain.
Relevant leaders from the Sichuan Provincial Sports Bureau, Aba Prefecture Sports Bureau, Heishui County Party Committee, government, and Dahug Ice Mountain Administration attended the event.
Dahug Ice Mountain Self-driving Tour Route: Chengdu – Wenchuan – Maoxian – Heishui・Dahug Ice Mountain
Inquiry Hotline: 0837-6729999; Official Website: www.dgbc.cn; Official Weibo: @Dahug Ice Mountain; Official WeChat & Mobile App: Dahug Ice Mountain.
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Introduction to Tourism Resources in the Heishui-Dahug Ice Mountain Region
Heishui County possesses a variety of rare resources, including large contiguous areas of colorful forests, millennia-old glaciers, plateau lakes, meadows, a convergence of Tibetan and Qiang cultures, and revolutionary historical sites. These include the Kalonggou Scenic Area, which is actively applying for national scenic spot status; the Naizigou Colorful Forest, known as the “Eighty-Mile Gallery” and a rare sight in China; the mysterious and majestic modern mountain glacier—Dahug Glacier; the towering San’ao Snow Mountains and the Reshotang Hot Springs among other natural landscapes; as well as cultural sites such as Tang Dynasty cliff carvings, stone inscriptions from the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Luhua Guanzhai that reflects the power of local chieftains and the hardships of serfs, relics of the Long March, and rich Tibetan-Qiang ethnic culture and mysterious religious heritage.
Dahug Ice Mountain Scenic Area
The Dahug Ice Mountain Scenic Area is located in Heishui County, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China. It is a rare modern mountain glacier tourism destination, with a planned touring area of 210 square kilometers and a nature reserve spanning 632 square kilometers. It is another premium scenic area developed in Aba Prefecture after Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong, and is a shining pearl embedded in the China-Sichuan-Aba-Dajiujiang International Tourism Zone.
During the peak of the Quaternary glacial period, the Dahug Glacier was a large flat-topped ice cap glacier. Currently, the scenic area contains 13 modern glaciers covering a total area of 6.04 square kilometers. The northern and southern slopes of the snow mountain feature modern mountain glaciers 60 to 200 meters thick, among which the most spectacular three-section glaciers—Glaciers No. 1, 2, and 3—cover approximately 8.25 square kilometers, formed over a hundred million years ago, and are the soul of the entire scenic area.
The Dahug Ice Mountain Scenic Area boasts rich biodiversity with distinct vertical distribution, including over 1,000 species of wild plants and 153 species of wild animals. Rare wildlife such as Sichuan golden monkeys, Tibetan macaques, antelopes, and argali are abundant and highly visible in the wild. Dahug Ice Mountain is steeped in history, presenting a series of exquisite cultural landscapes. Glaciers, snow mountains, colorful forests, Tibetan villages, and lakes complement each other beautifully. The local Za wine culture, armor dance, polyphonic folk songs, and the culture of the Long March have deep historical roots. From June 1935 to August 1936, nearly 90,000 soldiers of the First and Fourth Front Armies of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army crossed the Changde and Dahug Snow Mountains within the scenic area, and later held the famous “Ma’ergai Meeting” of the Central Politburo of the CPC—the most notable meeting during the Long March—at Ma’ergai below the Dahug Snow Mountain.
Kalonggou
The Kalonggou Scenic Area, located in Maizha Township about 70 kilometers northeast of the county seat, covers a total area of 403 square kilometers. It features stunning calcium waterfall formations, hot spring streams, karst caves, stalactites, diverse bonsai-like rock formations, dense primeval forests, and the colorful valleys of autumn, together creating a 40-mile colorful forest landscape. The 250-meter-high Yulong Waterfall is majestic, forming a 33-square-kilometer calcium landscape.
“Kalong” in Tibetan means “Kaluoluo,” which translates to “Flower Valley” in Chinese.
Kalonggou consists of scenic spots such as Changlonggou, Forty-Mile Colorful Forest, Reshotang, and Dagushan Snow Mountain. The valley is pristine and lush, with terrain ranging from lower to higher altitudes featuring moss landscapes, calcified waterfalls, primeval forests, and stone forests. The calcified waterfalls are particularly distinctive, surpassing those of Huanglong in scale and varying in style. In autumn, the colorful red and yellow forests are mesmerizing. It is 70 kilometers from the county seat of Heishui.
San’ao Snow Mountain
San’ao Snow Mountain, with its main peak at an elevation of 5,285 meters, is located on the eastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, in Heishui County, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province. It lies 16 kilometers from Luhua Town, the county seat of Heishui, and 310 kilometers from Chengdu. Known locally as a sacred mountain, San’ao Snow Mountain consists of three independent peaks, all pyramid-shaped and arranged in a “品” (Chinese character for “goods”) formation. The main peak, Aotaiji (meaning “Father of All Mountains”), stands at 5,286 meters, Aotaimei (“Mother of All Mountains”) at 5,257 meters, and Aota’na (“Child of All Mountains”) at 5,200 meters. The name “San’ao” (Three Aos) originates from these peaks, also referred to as Aotai Snow Mountain.
Naizigou Eighty-Mile Colorful Forest Valley
“Naizigou” means “beautiful, fertile, happy, and peaceful” in Tibetan. The Naizigou Eighty-Mile Colorful Forest Valley derives its name from the serene and secluded Naizigou Valley and is famed for its breathtakingly beautiful colorful forest. The area is rich in vegetation, bathed in sunshine, and abundant in oxygen, making it a natural “oxygen bar.” The colorful forest of Naizigou stretches magnificently for eighty miles. The tree species mainly consist of birch, pine, cypress, maple, and various other trees, interspersed with coniferous and broadleaf forests, secondary forests, and shrubs in different colors, densely covering the hillsides. Under the clear blue sky, trees in hues of purple-red, pink, orange-red, golden-red, deep yellow, grass green, yellow-green, brown-red, and brown create a vibrant scene of “all things competing freely under the frosty sky.”
Sergu Tibetan Village
Sergu Tibetan Village is located at the eastern gateway of Heishui County, bordering Maoxian County, at an altitude of 1,790 meters. It lies in an arid valley with a humid climate and abundant produce, often referred to as a “Little Jiangnan.” “Sergu” in Tibetan means “a place rich in gold.” Sergu Tibetan Village is a typical example of the blending of Tibetan and Qiang cultures. Built along the mountain slope and beside the Meng River, it is an ancient, simple, and mysterious Tibetan village settlement. Some call it the “Ancient Fortress of the East,” while others liken it to the “Little Potala Palace of Northwest Sichuan.”