Dagu Glacier National Park

For thousands of years, Dagu Glacier wasn't known to people until Japanese scientists through satellite found it hiding in mountains in 1992. After a week's investigation, scientists discovered that Dagu Glacier is the lowest, largest and youngest glacier in the world. And it is the nearest glacier from city and the most beautiful scenery in glacier region so far.

"Da Gu" literally means glacier in Tibetan. Dagu Glacier, part of the 632 sq km Sichuan Dagu Natural Reserve in the Heishui County, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province, has a sightseeing area of 210 sq km. It is located in a convenient and accessible position, about 280 km from Chengdu.

Dagu Glacier, Sichuan, China

Dagu Glacier is a geological & ecological tourism region. It integrates the features of modern and fossil glaciers, primeval forest, alpine meadows, snowy mountains, Tibetan villages, and rare plants and animals, making it an ideal destination for sightseeing, holiday-making, recreation, as well as scientific exploration. Like a shining pearl inlaid in the Pan Jiuzhaigou Valley Tourism Region, Dagu Glacier, as its name indicates (in Chinese, Dagu means 'reach the antiquity'), is a channel through which to get close contact with and explore the ancient times. Dagu Glacier is one of the central activity zones of modern alpine glaciers belonging to the late quaternary glaciations in the eastern verge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Over the past ten thousand years, its scale has been gradually shrunk by the global warming. At the present, there are 13 modern alpine glaciers in the some 200 sq km zone, such as glacial U-shaped valley, glacial cirque, glacial lake, and glacial waterfall, all with their distinctive shapes and charms and presenting a brilliant view.

The Glacier and Lake in Dagu Glacier National Park

The scenic area is featured with high biological diversity and clear vertical distribution of plants. There are more than 1000 varieties of wild plants and some 150 wild animals, including a dozen of rare animals such as rhinopithecus, roxellana, golden takin, argali, and flying squirrel, all of which can be encountered in the wild. The charms of Dagu Glacier can be felt in all seasons. In the turn of spring and summer, the mountains are enveloped by myriad flowers, bringing forth a colorful and lively world. In the autumn, the mountains are painted all red by the golden leaves. And in winter, what comes into your view will be a fairy snowy forest.

A Tibetan Village in Dagu Glacier National Park

Here you will also find unique folk customs. In the Tibetan villages surrounded by snow peaks, verdant mountains, and green waters, you will have a close taste of the villagers' drinking culture, polyphonic folk songs, profound religious belief, and dizzying native costumes. In addition, there are Dagu, Changde, Yaksha, the three large snowy mountains, and the site of Luhua Meeting, which witnessed the hardships experienced by the Red Army in their famous Long March in the 1930s.

The Summit of Dagu Glacier

What's amazing about Dagu Glacier Scenic Area is that you can traverse high mountains and deep valleys without walking up steep mountain slopes, locate yourself in the snowy forest without braving snows, and find yourself in the mountaintop without doing climbing. Once entering the Dagu Glacier, you will find yourself bathed in a world free from any world disruptions and freshened by the pure and brilliant beauty of the Mother Nature as well as experience the awesome impact as manifested by the dramatic environmental evolution of the earth over the long course of time.

Dagu Glacier Scenery

There is no direct transport from Jiuzhai Valley to Dagu Glacier Park (Dagu Bing Chuan in Chinese). To get there you will have to get a bus to Mao Xian, then Hei Shui. Dagu Glacier Park is 9km from Hei Shui. You could also get a bus to Ma Er Kang and then to Hei Shui but this would more than likely add a day onto your travel plans.


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