Live Your Best Lives
There's a wilderness in everyone's heart. A place where death and beauty dance together, a place that inspires both awe and aspiration. Many consider it a must-do in their lifetime, and traversing this uninhabited area is a source of pride for many adventure enthusiasts. It's the Qiangtang River!
Qiangtang, the world's second largest land nature reserve and China's largest uninhabited area, means "northern highlands" in Tibetan. It covers an area of more than 700,000 square kilometers and has an average altitude of 4,700 meters. It is the highest terrace in my country and is known as the "roof of the roof of the world."
Qiangtang, one of the five largest pastures in China, is located between the Kunlun Mountains, the Tanggula Mountains and the Gangdise Mountains. It is not only a paradise for wild animals and plants, but also a fertile cultural land with rich sedimentary layers.
It is a free land enclosed by the Kunlun, Tanggula, and Gangdise mountain ranges, and was never permanently settled by humans until the second half of the 20th century.
Large areas in the northern part of Qiangtang have always been regarded as "no man's land" or "forbidden zone for life" because of the high altitude, lack of oxygen and inconvenient transportation, making it impossible for humans to adapt to the living environment here.
The southern part of the Qiangtang River boasts a dense belt of lakes stretching over 1,000 kilometers from east to west. This belt boasts the world's highest number of lakes and the highest surface area of any plateau lake region. It's not only a paradise for wildlife but also a rich cultural heritage site, boasting a rich sedimentary layer. It's a pristine ideal for photography and off-road enthusiasts.
Geographical location: 87 kilometers northeast of Shuanghu County, Tibet Autonomous Region
Area: 422 square kilometers
"Puruo" means "silver bowl" in Mongolian and "Gangri" means "snow mountain" in Tibetan.
Puruogangri is a key national scientific research scenic spot located in the core area of the Qiangtang Nature Reserve. It has an average altitude of 6,600 meters and an ice field area of 422 square kilometers. It is the third largest glacier in the world after Antarctica and the Arctic, so it is called the Third Pole!
Glaciers, lakes, and deserts coexist in a harmonious trinity. Puruogangri, bathed in sunlight, resembles a spotless snow lotus blossoming from the mud. And the landmark within the glacier, the Heart of Puruogangri, symbolizes a pledge of love for the Earth.
From November to April of the following year, you can enjoy the wonders of Linggocuo Lake's winter ice walls, ice caves and other wonders.
Geographical location: Shuanghu County, Nagqu City, Tibet Autonomous Region
Not far from Baling Township lies an 80-million-year-old plateau geothermal spring, a truly authentic wild hot spring. Enjoying these 80-million-year-old sulfur springs at an altitude of 5,000 meters is incredibly effective for rheumatism, rheumatoid arthritis, and skin conditions! It's a truly refreshing experience for both body and soul.
Geographical location: Northern Tibetan grasslands, at the junction of Shenzha, Bange and Nima counties in Tibet Autonomous Region
Lake area: 1,640 square kilometers
Selin Co, the second largest saltwater lake in China and the largest lake in Tibet, means "the Devil's Lake with its glorious splendor" in Tibetan.
In the past decade, numerous glacial meltwater rivers and lakes have connected with each other, causing the level of Selin Co Lake to rise sharply by nearly ten meters. The overall lake area has expanded by more than 700 square kilometers. By 2010, it had surpassed Namtso Lake to become the largest lake in vast Tibet.
At present, the area of Selintso is still expanding. The lake is wide and vast, and the shadows are cast on the lake. The light of the sky and the shadows of the clouds form a bright and shining interweaving with the water surface. The strong contrast is fascinating! One glance can lead to the soul.
Location: In the 5th village of Qinglong Township, Bange County, Nagqu Prefecture, Tibet, on the island of Chaduolangka in the north of the holy lake Namtso
Lake elevation: over 4,700 meters
The Holy Statue Gate is located on the famous Chadu Namtso Island on the north bank of Namtso Lake, on the Bange County side of Nagqu Prefecture in Tibet. It is named after a small hill shaped like an elephant by the lake.
In 2015, the Year of the Sheep in the Tibetan calendar, Namtso Lake became a popular pilgrimage destination, following the Tibetan tradition of circumambulating the mountain in the Year of the Horse and the lake in the Year of the Sheep. To facilitate this, the government built a road around the lake, making pilgrimage even more convenient.
This also caused the "Holy Elephant Heavenly Gate" hidden on the north bank of the Holy Lake to emerge from obscurity. After standing quietly for thousands of years, it finally came before the world.
Namtso Lake and Holy Elephant Gate are scenes that have never shocked me so much. Nature and humanity are matched in the magnificent heaven and earth.
Not only that, our crossing trip this time involves 24 Co Lakes scattered across the Qiangtang Plateau, including Selin Co and Nam Co, which will allow you to make mistakes 24 times again.
The Tso Lake in Qiangtang has a captivating blue, a blue that penetrates deep into the bones, a blue that melts everything, a blue that is enough to induce hallucinations...
The vegetation in Qiangtang is relatively simple, consisting mainly of high-altitude, cold desert steppes. Nearly 500 seed plant species have been discovered, over 50 of which are medicinal.
Due to the special climatic conditions, the vegetation and plants here are extremely fragile. Once they are persecuted, they cannot recover or take a long time to recover.
Because it is far from being disturbed by humans, wild animals have truly become the "masters" of this place. Today, Qiangtang has become the world's largest wildlife paradise.
Most of the animals living in Qiangtang are endangered species unique to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau—including the Tibetan wild donkey, wild yak, Tibetan antelope, Tibetan brown bear, black-necked crane, Tibetan antelope, Tibetan fox, plateau rabbit, Tibetan snowcock, Tibetan sandgrouse, and snow finch. These animals are found only on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and are its greatest gift to humanity.
Perhaps the most public introduction to the Qiangtang region came from the film "77 Days." This first Chinese-language polar expedition film, based on the true story of adventure writer Yang Liusong's 77-day solo journey through the Qiangtang no-man's land, presents Tibet and the Qiangtang region, the world's largest uninhabited wilderness. Yang, a man facing setbacks in life, journeys alone across the Qiangtang no-man's land.
"Why must I go to Qiangtang in this life? Because of its simplicity, the simplicity of things and people." For 77 days, I traveled 1,400 kilometers to Qiangtang in northern Tibet. The only things that accompanied me were the wild winds and snowstorms in the wilderness, and endless loneliness and despair.
It is generally believed internationally that the maximum time a person can survive in the wild is 50 days, but Yang crossed the "Third Pole" alone for more than 70 days.
For those who haven't read the novel that inspired the film "77 Days," understanding the spatial sense of Qiangtang is particularly important. Our goal is to give you a quick sense of the outlines of this wilderness within the limited space of this film. The protagonists of the wilderness change daily, but the stage remains eternally silent.
Come to Qiangtang, this is its best era!
