The journey to Lugu Lake via Xichang is not very far, but it is rugged and full of dangers.

Lugu Lake, hidden deep at the junction of southwestern Sichuan and northwestern Yunnan, has attracted much attention from the outside world because of its mysterious Mosuo people and beautiful lakes and mountains. However, the mountains are high and the roads are dangerous and the journey is difficult. It is not easy to walk into Lugu Lake and explore the secrets of Mosuo people's life.

Lugu Lake spans Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, each occupying a part of it. It is under the jurisdiction of Yanyuan County of Sihai Province and Ninglang County of Yunnan Province respectively. Either entering from the direction of Lijiang, Yunnan, or entering from the direction of Xichang, Sichuan, the journey is full of ups and downs and hardships.

In September 2019, when I decided to visit Lugu Lake for the third time, I chose the self-driving route from Chengdu - Xichang - Yanyuan - Lugu Lake. This line has a total length of 700 kilometers, of which 440 kilometers are from Chengdu to Xichang, with high speed all the way. However, the 260 kilometers from Xichang to Lugu Lake is a rugged road full of dangers.

National Highway G348, the former provincial highway S307, is the only passage from Xichang to Lugu Lake. On the way, you must pass through Yanyuan, a small plateau city, which is 135 kilometers away from Xichang and 125 kilometers away from Lugu Lake. The entire road winds along the southeastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with many mountains and twists and turns, making it difficult to navigate. Among them, it is 135 kilometers from Xichang to Yanyuan, and there are two large mountains blocking it. One is Mopan Mountain, with an altitude of 1,700 meters; the other is a small mountain, with an altitude of more than 3,200 meters. We also have to cross the Yalong River and Dajin River. The 125 kilometers from Yanyuan to Lugu Lake are all walking in the hinterland of the Daliang Mountains, which has ups and downs and overlapping. The mountains are high and the roads are winding and narrow, and dangers can be seen everywhere.

When I decided to take this road to Lugu Lake, I checked some information carefully. It is generally reported that this line has high mountains, narrow roads, many bends, falling rocks, and poor road conditions. When driving on this road, I realized that it was not a myth. Starting from Xichang to Lugu Lake, the 260-kilometer journey actually took nearly 7 hours, and this was without traffic jams.

After leaving Xichang and walking along the national highway G348 for about 40 kilometers, we arrived at the foot of the famous Mopan Mountain. Fortunately, a 3,430-meter-long road tunnel passes through the mountain, suddenly shortening the Mopanshan Highway, which is more than 1,700 meters above sea level. Mopan Mountain, which used to take two to three hours to cross, can now be crossed in just ten minutes. The Mopanshan Highway Tunnel, completed in 2011, refreshed the history of highway construction in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture and shortened the distance from Xichang to Yanyuan by one-third.

In addition to Mopan Mountain, there is another mountain between Xichang and Yanyuan County, called Xiaogaoshan. The name of the small mountain is small, but it is actually not small. The pass is 3188 meters above sea level, and the top of the mountain is more than 3800 meters above sea level. The ups and downs stretch for hundreds of kilometers. Since ancient times, it has been an important pass and traffic artery in and out of Yanyuan County. At the northern foot of Xiaogao Mountain, there is a section of winding mountain road that is dozens of kilometers long. It has steep slopes and sharp turns, like a dragon and a snake. Some people call it "Nine Bends". The actual number of turns is far more than nine, it's just a lucky number or the maximum number. The "Nine-Curve" curve is steep and steep, causing frequent traffic accidents. Some people call it the "Sad Curve".

When we finally climbed up to the 3288-meter Xiaogao Mountain Pass and entered the southern foot of Xiaogao Mountain, we suddenly felt that the world suddenly opened up, and Yanyuan County was clearly visible. It seems very close at first glance, but in fact it is still dozens of kilometers away. Starting from the pass, the G348 National Highway almost dives and turns sharply downward. When you turn the last sharp S bend, a straight avenue emerges, several kilometers long. It looks flat, but in fact the slope is still there, and it slows down until it reaches the edge of the county town.

The name of this slope at the southern foot of Xiaogao Mountain cannot be found on the map. I accidentally saw a "Manpozi Road Ban" sign on the side of the road, so maybe it was called "Manpozi". As the name suggests, there are slopes in the slowness, dangers in the slopes, dangers in the road, and roads in the slopes, which is somewhat appropriate. There is a folk song in Xichang that says: "Small high mountains, small high mountains, drivers feel scared when they come here; there is ice and snow in winter, and rainy autumn and summer; there are many steep slopes and dangerous places, and the roads are narrow and slippery; climbing up small mountains is like passing through the gate of hell." . It is a true portrayal of the road conditions in the small mountains.

What is gratifying is that the Xiaogaoshan Highway Tunnel is currently being excavated, and it is said that it will be completed and open to traffic in 2022. It is also said that a highway will be built from Xichang to Lugu Lake... By then, crossing the small mountains is as fast as crossing Mopan Mountain, and it will be more convenient to go to Lugu Lake.

Over the small mountain is the small plateau town of Yanyuan. From the navigation point of view, Yanyuan County is still 140 kilometers away from Lugu Lake Lige Peninsula. A wide Lugu Avenue came towards me, thinking it was the road leading to Lugu Lake. But after a few kilometers, we drove onto the winding and narrow S307 provincial road and realized that it was a county road.

After passing Yanyuan, continue along the S307 provincial road. After that, the journey to Lugu Lake was all about climbing over mountains and ridges, crossing bridges and drilling holes, and traveling through the hinterland of Daliang Mountain. Sometimes there are few human traces, sometimes there are Yi villages, sometimes towns and streets, and sometimes they are accompanied by the Jinsha River. Along the way, although the highway does not have the ups and downs like Xiaogaoshan, the overall road condition is not as good as the G348 national highway. Narrow, many bends, potholes, rockfalls, landslides, mudslides, etc. occur from time to time. Only vehicles are obviously scarce. Except for the occasional tourist bus and private car, there are few large trucks passing by. Although there are speed limit signs along the way, there are not many illegal photos taken. When the road conditions are better, you can speed up and start running. Even so, it was already evening by the time we arrived at Lugu Lake Luoshui Village Inn.

Counting on my fingers, I have been walking for a full 10 hours since I set off from Chengdu early in the morning.

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