Through the Ganjia Grasslands
We left Xiahe and drove through the Ganjia Grasslands. Being from a prairie region myself, the grassland felt immediately familiar. But these grasslands, unlike those I was familiar with, were mountainous. And where I was used to seeing cattle or bison, here there were yaks everywhere.
At one point we pulled off of the two-lane highway for a photo opp where some yaks were grazing. We were far from alone. One similarity between Americans and Chinese – we all seem to love a photo opp. Many, many cars had stopped alongside the road and people were wandering into the landscape to take selfies with the yaks. The desire for the perfect selfie appears to be international.
Langmusi
Langmusi is a small town on the border between the Sichuan and Gansu Provinces with two Tibetan Buddhist monasteries – Kirti Gompa in Sichuan and Serti Gompa in Gansu. The Gansu monastery was founded in 1472 and is a significant Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) institution. The gilded roofs of the monastery shimmer amid a mountainous landscape. To one side are jagged granite peaks and on another are red rock outcroppings reminiscent of the Sedona area of Arizona.
There were similar photo restrictions in Langmusi. Most of the interiors were off limits for photos – especially those with buddhas. Still, there were lots of photo opportunities to be had. The golden roofs, paired with the colorfully painted walls were brilliant in the high-altitude sunlight.
We didn’t go to the Sichuan side of Langmusi, but I realized I had been fairly close to this area a few years ago when I was touring Sichuan Province. I’d visited Jiuzhaigou, the “Nine Settlement Valley” (wikipedia link). Having traveled south from Lanzhou this time, and north from Chengdu last time, it was obvious that there was some distance between these two cities. However, on this trip — all the way from Lanzhou — we were seeing the construction of a new high-speed rail line that will soon connect these cities and make this region much more accessible.
While it will soon be much easier to get here, I’m sure the experience will change as well. If you want to experience the remote feeling that Langmusi and some of these other sites have now, you should visit soon. Once the train line is open, people will have a much easier time getting here — and I’m sure they will come in throngs.
The architecture and colors in this area are candy to the camera. I would love to return with the time to sit and watch the light. To see how night falls in these villages. But, we’re on a mission and it’s time to move on. We make for our hotel in Diebu. But not without a few more yak encounters:
Not to worry. No physical contact was made with the yak and no yaks were hurt in the making of this blog post.
