On August 7, the journey was relatively long, starting from Shigatse to Jilong Valley. The altitude gradually rose from 3,800 meters to more than 5,200 meters (the height of Everest Base Camp), and then dropped rapidly to 2,800 meters. The entire journey lasted nearly 12 hours.
When we set out early in the morning, it was still rainy in the Shigatse area. After approaching the Mount Everest Nature Reserve, the rain stopped. Unfortunately, the clouds were too thick and completely blocked Mount Everest.
After leaving the Everest observation deck, we began to travel southwest and entered the plains on the plateau with an average altitude of 4,800 meters. Although it is said to be a plain, its landforms actually vary greatly. There are dry riverbeds impacted by glaciers and rivers, deep trenches with claws and claws in the ground, wetlands with rich vegetation, gravel fields with shrubs, and of course, the indispensable Beautiful rural life. What deserves our attention is that there are overhead transmission lines and telegraph poles everywhere. We admire the builders of China's power grid for going over mountains and ridges at such a high altitude to deliver electricity to every village. Sometimes it’s really hard to imagine how these difficult erection tasks are accomplished? Heroic power grid builder?
This is the Shishapangma Peak viewing area. Shishapangma Peak is the only snow peak above 8,000 meters that is completely within China. The plains are dotted with cattle, sheep and horse villages. Looking into the sky, the rolling snow-capped mountains stand out and are reflected in the wilderness.
This is a place with abundant water plants and wetlands. We saw four or five beautiful wild donkeys walking leisurely by the road. The wild donkeys must be described as "beautiful". Their coats are rich in color and can be Not like a domesticated black donkey. Wild donkeys are very alert and will stay away if they see people or vehicles approaching. Wild asses forage mainly near wetlands. Further on, the Tibetan driver suddenly discovered the black-necked crane, a national first-level protected animal. It is the only crane that survives on the plateau. It is an auspicious bird called by the Tibetan people. We went to the habitat to look for it in the Nyingchi area last year, but we did not see it. , this year we met unexpectedly. Black-necked cranes wander around among the horses, looking for food. They feed on grass roots and crops, and live in peace with the horses.
Now that the clouds in the sky have reduced a lot, we found a small pond and stopped to take pictures of the reflection of the snow-capped mountains. At a glance, it was deserted and the mountains surrounded the sky, as if we were in the center of the world. After all, the altitude is very high and the light is strong. Looking at the landscape for a long time will make your eyes dry, so you still need to wear sunglasses.
At six o'clock in the afternoon, we finally arrived at the only plateau lake on the road, Pekucuo. There were few tourists at the lake, only a few from Guangdong. Due to the cloud cover and insufficient light, the color of the lake appears light green, the wind is a bit strong, and the lake surface ripples. Snow-capped mountains, lakes, grasslands and streams are intertwined. Great beauty.
At 7 pm, we crossed the last 5200-meter mountain pass and began to enter the stage of rapid altitude descent, heading towards our destination, Jilong Valley. This is a gap in the Himalayas. From the plateau landform, the stairs descend and gradually transition to the rainforest climate. The Gyirong Zangbo River meanders in the split canyon. Our car follows the waves of the river all the way forward. The towering cliffs on both sides squeezed against both sides of the river. The exposed cliffs showed red and white interlayers. They were completely different from the rocks crushed by glaciers and barren soil on the plateau. They were laminated rocks and began to have trees. , shrubs rising layer by layer.
After driving in the canyon for nearly an hour, when we were about to exit the canyon, we turned a corner and the lush, forest-covered mountains suddenly appeared in front of us. Several snow-capped peaks towered into the clouds among several green mountains. . When we opened the car window, a rich forest smell hit our face, sweeping away our fatigue from the nearly 11 hours of travel and making us feel physically and mentally comfortable. This is a gift from nature.
Tomorrow we will stop in Jilong Town to rest and enjoy the "Naixia Village", the back garden of the Snow Mountain Goddess.