Where is Gaoligong Mountain?

Gaoligong Mountain, Gaoli is the name of an ancient tribe in the mountain, and Gong means mountain. Gaoligong Mountain is not just a mountain, but a huge mountain range with dozens of snow-capped mountains. It is like a giant dragon hovering in southwest China, with the Tibetan Plateau at its northern end and the Indo-India Peninsula at its southern end. It is like a huge corridor sloping from north to south, spanning five latitudes, like a giant dragon extending from north to south, connecting the plateau and the ocean. It is known as the corridor where animals from the north and south meet, a refuge for rare animals, and a gene bank of species. Researchers from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences discovered a new tropical rainforest in Baihualing, Gaoligong Mountain Nature Reserve, which is currently the highest recorded tropical rainforest in the world.

Overview of Gaoligong Mountain

Gaoligong Mountain belongs to the fault block zone in the southern part of the Tibetan Plateau and the western Hengduan Mountains. It is the suture zone where the Indian plate collides with the Eurasian plate and the plate subducts. It is a famous deep Great fault longitudinal valley area. The steep slopes and deep cuts make the vertical height difference exceed 4,000 meters, forming a spectacular vertical natural landscape and three-dimensional climate. The uncanny workmanship has created countless magnificent, strange and dangerous landscapes, such as the Milky Way Splash, strange peaks and rocks, Shimen Pass, canyon wall shadows and so on. This mountain, which spans five latitudes and looks like a giant dragon, is the only area on earth that transitions from a humid tropical forest to a temperate forest on a large scale. It is an extremely precious and rare area with outstanding biodiversity in the world.

In 1986, Gaoligong Mountain was listed as a national nature reserve. In 1992, Gaoligong Mountain was listed as Class A (the most important nature reserve in the world) by the World Wildlife Fund. In 2000, UNESCO officially approved the Gaoligong Mountain National Nature Reserve as a member of the World Biosphere Reserve Network. There are 391 protected areas in 94 countries around the world, China has only 19, and Yunnan Province only has Gaoligong Mountain and Xishuangbanna. Gongli Mountain is bordered by the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to the north and the Indo-India Peninsula to the south, which makes it have transitional characteristics from south to north in terms of meteorology and biology. On Gaoligong Mountain, you can see flora, fauna and native species from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to the Indochina Peninsula, and many ancient species are also preserved.

Therefore, Gaoligong Mountain has become the largest and most precious territory in the animal and plant kingdoms of China and Yunnan. She has awe-inspiring titles such as a paradise for pheasants, the birthplace of the ancestors of mammals, and the cradle of East Asian plants. When talking about Yunnan, people often describe the three-dimensional distribution of climate by saying that one mountain has four seasons, and ten miles are different. In fact, this sentence originally referred to Gaoligong Mountain. The top of Gongli Mountain is shrouded in clouds and fog all year round, and the weather is freezing. The mountainside is neither hot in summer nor cold in winter. The Nu River Valley at the foot of the mountain is scorching with the sun all year round. As the climate changes, vegetation and ecology change rapidly. Therefore, Gaoligong Mountain has a very significant and rare vertical distribution of vegetation and ecological types.

Topographic features of Gaoligong Mountain Gaoligong Mountain is the westernmost mountain in the Hengduan Mountains. Its height and width are smaller than Yunling and Nushan. The northern part of Gongli Mountain is located in the Tibet Autonomous Region and is called Bosula Ridge. The mountain range extends from west to north. After entering the Dulong and Nu Autonomous County of Gongshan, Yunnan, it is called Gaoligong Mountain. From north to south, the average altitude is about 3,500 meters. The northern section is higher, with an altitude of more than 4,000 meters, and the tail section is about 2,000 meters. Because the Nu River cuts deeply, the relative height is very high and the mountains are steep. It is a massive mountainous area divided by rivers after the earth's crust rose. It is mostly composed of metamorphic rocks, with a large area of ??magma rock distributed in the lower part. There are modern volcanic groups distributed on the western slope of Gaoligong Mountain in Tengchong, which reflects that the current crustal activity is still relatively intense (see Tengchong Volcanic Group).

Located in the upper part of Gaoligong Mountain between the Nujiang River and the Longchuan River Valley, at the junction of Baoshan and Tengchong, the Gaoligong Mountain Nature Reserve was established in 1983 and is a national nature reserve. The vegetation in the reserve is warm temperate coniferous and broad mixed forest, starting from the south of Lushui County in the north to Tengchong and Baoshan in the south. It is long and narrow, covering an area of ??about 1234 square kilometers. Because the terrain is high and it is upwind of the southwest monsoon, there is heavy rainfall and the forest grows thick and tall. Generally, the valley bottom is a dry and hot valley type vegetation, the middle part is a broad-leaved forest, and the peak at an altitude of 3000 to 3500 meters is a mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forest or a pure fir and hemlock forest. The main protected plants include Cephalopod cedar and rare animals such as long-tailed langurs and white-browed gibbons.

Gongli Mountain - Main Landscape

1. The ancient road Gaoligong Mountain preserves the famous Southern Silk Road in the 4th century BC. This ancient road runs from Chengdu to Kunming, Dali, and Baoshan, passes through Gaoligong Mountain, and reaches Myanmar, India, and Afghanistan via Tengchong. It has a history of more than 200 years earlier than the Northern Silk Road. The ancient Silk Road was 1.5-2m wide, and the road surface was entirely made of stones. Starting from Baihualing and winding up the mountain road, you will reach the Gaoligong Mountain section of the Southern Silk Road. Trekking along the ancient post road, the once prosperous ancient road has become a silent history book. Stepping on the stone slabs covered with emerald green moss, I rubbed my feet with fallen leaves that had drifted for thousands of years. Moss and fallen leaves obscure the ancient legends of the trail.

Occasionally, you can see semicircular horseshoe prints embedded in the stone slabs, and sometimes you can pick up rusty horseshoes. It seems that you can still touch a heavy and historical page: under the shouts of horse basins and caravans, groups of caravans walked through the dangerous ancient post roads, passing on civilization and hope at each stop. The ringing sound of brass bells and horse hooves has been ringing for centuries.

2. Waterfalls. Spectacular waterfalls are dotted in Gaoligong Mountain. At noon, the mountains and valleys were cut into a wonderful sketch of light and shadow. The light was bright and green; the backlight turned green. The mountains are graceful and changeable under the light.

However, under people's search, the waterfall suddenly emerged from the bushes, turning into strips of white clouds. The brown ocher became more solemn and profound in the sound of the waterfall, like a wise man. In the distance, a large waterfall pours out from between two opposing valleys. It appears that as the generator pours down, it quickly dives into a narrow-walled, wide-bottomed well-shaped rock. Then it fell down about four or five meters and plunged into the jungle, flickering in and out of light. The noise was particularly deafening, adding to the silence of the mountain.

3. The beautiful stone moon of Gaoligong Mountain There is a towering peak in the middle of Gaoligong Mountain on the west bank of the Nujiang River. At an altitude of about 3,360 meters, there is a marble-hewn hole, about 100 meters deep, 40-50 meters wide, and 30 meters high. When a pedestrian looks at the peak of the opposite mountain from a hundred miles away, he will see through the cave the bright sky on the other side of the mountain, like a full moon. There is a magical legend about the moon: In ancient times, there was a flood. The man in charge of the sky saw that no one was building ships in the village, so he sent his daughter down to help build ships. Sure enough, one day, the water rose and so did the boat. The daughter threw the mirror in her arms into the water, and the water receded. Guan's son took the opportunity to shoot three arrows, which penetrated the rock wall.

Seeing this, the Dragon King did not dare to be angry anymore, so he retreated and left a cave on the top of the cliff of Gaoligong Mountain. Lisu people living abroad say that their ancestors were cared for by the stone moon when they lived under it. The bus from Liuku to Gongshan saw steep peaks and mountains along the way. The winding road passes through Fugong County, enters the border of Lishadi Township, and comes to a paddy field on the slope. Looking up at Gaoligong Mountain, you can see a huge circular hole, and you can see the white clouds in the northwest sky, like a bright moon fixed on Gaoligong Mountain.

Li Gongshan - Tourism related transportation: Baoshan Airport has two flights to and from Kunming every day. The journey takes about 40 minutes and the full fare is about 600 yuan. Baoshan Airport is 9 kilometers away from downtown Baoshan, and a taxi costs 25-30 yuan. You can also take a night bus (sleeper) in Kunming and get to Baoshan in about 10 hours. From Baoshan, take a shuttle bus to Mangkuan, Liuku and Tengchong. Get off at Gangdang on Liudong Highway 78km, and then take another vehicle to Baihualing (11km journey). ). Or start from Kunming, arrive at Liuku in Nujiang Prefecture, take a shuttle bus from Liuku to Lushui County, and then take a shuttle bus from Lushui to Pianma (there are also shuttle buses from Lushui to Pianma). All the way through is the Gaoligong Mountain Nature Reserve.

Tourist season: October to May of the following year is the suitable tourist season for Gaoligong Mountain. February to March and October are the best seasons to visit. From February to March, the Nu River to the east of Gaoligong Mountain is crystal clear, kapok blooms on both sides, and the top of the mountain is sometimes covered with snow, and the three-dimensional climate is very obvious. In October, there are golden rice fields on both sides of Gaoligong Mountain. In the protected area, the autumn colors are obvious and the colors are richest. It is the best time for photography, videography and sightseeing. Climbing route: Gaoligong Mountain is a large-area concept. Its national nature reserve extends from Gongshan, Fugong and Lushui counties in Nujiang Prefecture to the north, to Tengchong County in the middle, and to Longyang District of Baoshan City in the south.

The main peak of Gaoligong Mountain is in Nujiang Prefecture, and most hikers go to Gaoligong Mountain in Nujiang Prefecture. Starting from Gaoligong Mountain, after crossing the mountains, they walked north along the Ancient Tea Horse Road in the Dulong River Basin. Or hike up Mount Gaoligong (20 kilometers away) along the Silk Road. Passing through Baoshan (or Liuku) - Baihualing - Nanzhai Gongfang (3250 meters above sea level) - Linjiapu, it takes 10-12 hours to complete Gaoligong Mountain in one day. And the routes around Gaoligong Mountain: Baoshan (or Liuku-Baihualing-Huangzhuhe-Baihualing-Yukang-Tengchong). Accommodation: Yaojiaping Forest Tourism Resort has been built in the center of the nature reserve. The resort is 2,540 meters above sea level, 21 kilometers away from Lushui County and 42 kilometers away from Pianma Port. You can also stay at the Baihualing Science and Technology Visitor Reception Center.