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If you haven't been to Jiuding Mountain, I recommend you take a look! This is a small guide for hiking and camping in Jiuding Mountain, I hope it will be helpful to you.
Jiuding Mountaincheck the details
Jiuding Mountain is located between Hongbai Town in Shifang City, Deyang City, and Shigu Township and Nanxin Town in Maoxian County. It borders Qingping County in Mianzhu City and lies in the central part of the Minshan and Longmen Mountain Ranges, 120 kilometers from Chengdu. The main peak and nine summits of Jiuding Mountain are located in Hongbai Town, Shifang City. The mountain's highest peak, Lion King Peak, stands at 4,989 meters. Jiuding Mountain's unique scenery blends grasslands, snow-capped mountains, and primeval forests with natural, geological, and astronomical phenomena such as Buddha's light, mirages, and seas of clouds. The scenic area is home to over 300 animal species and 3,000 plant species, including the giant panda, a national treasure, and Davidia involucrata and Ginkgo biloba, renowned for their fossilized plants. It is a natural museum of geological wonders, offering not only exceptional tourist value but also high scientific and aesthetic value.
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Jiuding Mountain is located in Maoxian County, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, only about 170 kilometers away from Chengdu.
Jiuding Mountain's main peak, Lion King Peak, stands at 4,989 meters above sea level and is the highest peak in the Longmen Mountains of the Minshan Mountain Range. In 2009, Jiuding Mountain was selected as one of China's Top Ten Unknown Mountains by China National Geographic magazine. Jiuding Mountain is at its most beautiful from mid-June to late July, when the meadows are covered in colorful wildflowers.
Depart from Chengdu
Navigation: Jiuding Mountain Taiziling Ski Resort
Mileage: Approximately 170km
Time: About 3.5 hours
After reaching the ski resort, continue driving up to the starting point of the Couple Tree hike. The rest of the way is on foot. The Jiuding Mountain flower sea is mainly concentrated near Jigong Mountain, Jizhaopeng, and Heilongchi.
It is recommended to hike up the mountain on the first day and camp at Jizhaopeng or Heilongchi. On the second day, hike down the mountain and pick up the bus at Bailongchi for a 12km loop.
During the flower season in June and July every year, several local people will set up temporary camps in Jizhangpeng, providing a full set of camping equipment including tents, sleeping bags, and moisture-proof mats. They can also provide drinking water and simple breakfast and dinner, making food and accommodation relatively convenient.
For hikers and photography enthusiasts with good physical strength, it is recommended to carry your own camping equipment to camp at Heilongchi. It is more convenient to take pictures of the starry sky at night and watch the sunrise in the morning.
The most noteworthy attraction of Jiuding Mountain is undoubtedly the vast sea of flowers dotting the mountain's meadows. The annual flowering season begins in mid-June and lasts until the end of July. Alpine azaleas, primroses, irises, pedicularia, and Tibetan cypripedium—in vibrant colors of red, yellow, pink, and purple—cover the mountaintops, creating a beauty beyond words.
Away from the light pollution of the city, the air at an altitude of more than 3,000 meters is more transparent, making it easier to see the brilliant starry sky and the vast Milky Way at night.
In the morning, the sun rises from the horizon, illuminating the eastern sky red. The sunlight shines on the snow-capped mountains, seemingly coating them with a layer of gold. This is the Golden Mountain in the Sunlight. If you're lucky, you can also see a spectacular sea of clouds rolling beneath your feet, as if you're in a fairyland.
In ideal weather conditions, you can see a number of snow-capped mountains on Jiuding Mountain, including the Yaomei Peak of Siguniang Mountain, the highest peak in Li County - Dahuang Peak, the king of Qiang Mountain - Xiaoxuelongbao, Ershigu - Xuelongbao, Taizicheng, Lion King Peak, etc.
Black Dragon Pond is a high mountain lake on Jiuding Mountain. Local people say that there is a dragon in the lake and you cannot speak loudly when passing by, otherwise you will disturb the dragon and it will rain heavily.
Bailong Pond is located at the foot of the mountain, with a road leading directly to the lake. It used to be much larger than it is now, but the 5.12 Wenchuan earthquake damaged the rock formations at the bottom of the lake, creating cracks that caused the water level to drop and nearly dry up. Although the Jiuding Mountain Scenic Area has invested significant resources in repairing and sealing the cracks, the current water level is still much lower than before.
Couple Tree (2900m) - Lilipa - Shimenkan - Jizhaopeng Campsite (3700m)
Hiking distance is about 6km
Cumulative climb of about 800m
It takes about 3-4 hours
Husband and Wife Tree (approximately 2900m above sea level) - Starting point of the steep climb (approximately 3150m above sea level)
Mileage: approximately 2.5km
Elevation climb of about 250m
Average slope 10%
The scenery along this section of the gravel road is average. There are local vans going back and forth to pick up passengers, and the fare is about 15 yuan per person. If you walk, this section takes about 40 minutes to 60 minutes and is relatively easy to walk.
At the entrance of the Lilipa trail, locals set up stalls to sell barbecue, potatoes, instant noodles, drinks and other things. This is also the last place where you can get supplies on Jiuding Mountain. You can’t buy anything after entering the mountain.
Lili climbing starting point (about 3150m above sea level) - Shimenkan (about 3600m above sea level)
Mileage: approximately 1.5km
Altitude climb of about 450m
Average slope 30%
The road is quite steep. This section is probably the steepest and most difficult section of the entire journey. Although it is only 1.5km, it takes about 1.5h-2h. As the altitude increases, it becomes more tiring as you walk further.
If it rains, this section of the trail becomes extremely slippery, multiplying the difficulty. However, Jiuding Mountain's most beautiful flower season coincides with western Sichuan's rainy season, making it prone to rain in June and July. Without slip-resistant shoes, it's easy to fall, resulting in a wave of unflattering photos of falls every year, earning hikers the nickname the annual Jiuding Mountain Mud Race.
Shimenkan (about 3600m above sea level) - Jizhuapeng Campsite (about 3700m above sea level)
Mileage: approximately 1.5km
Altitude climb of about 100m
It’s a very gentle uphill climb, which is relatively easy, but the altitude is quite high, so the hike is still a bit tiring, and it takes about 30-60 minutes.
When we arrived at the camp and put down our luggage, we saw wild flowers all over the mountains waiting for us to take beautiful photos.
I slept until I woke up naturally in the morning, packed up my things after breakfast and set off, going down the mountain from Black Dragon Pond to White Dragon Pond.
Jizhaopeng Campsite (3700m above sea level) - Heilongchi (3850m above sea level) - Bailongchi Pick-up Point (3300m above sea level)
Hiking distance is about 6km
Cumulative climb of about 150m
It takes about 3-4 hours
From the Jizhuapeng Campsite at an altitude of about 3,700 meters to the Heilongchi at an altitude of about 3,850 meters, the distance is about 1.5 kilometers, the altitude climb is about 150 meters, and it takes about 45 minutes.
The road from Heilongchi at an altitude of about 3,850 meters to Bailongchi at an altitude of about 3,300 meters is about 5 kilometers long, with an altitude drop of about 450 meters, and takes about 3 hours.
It should be noted that Bailongchi is not on the way down the mountain. You need to go to the scenic area highway and then walk along the plank road for more than ten minutes to reach the edge of Bailongchi Lake.
Whether you're looking for flowers, enjoying the scenery, stargazing, or camping, this is a great place to go. I'm always amazed at the wonders of nature, which can create such beautiful natural scenery, so we should go there more often when we have time.
