Revisiting Songpinggou in Maoxian, Aba Prefecture, Western Sichuan

In the last few days of the October 2024 trip to Western Sichuan, Ali and his group visited the three major valleys in Aba Prefecture, Sichuan: Songpinggou in Maoxian, Bipenggou in Lixian, and Shuangqiaogou in Siguniang Mountain, Xiaojin County. Under the October sunshine, these three valleys were incredibly splendid, unfolding a series of dazzling and magnificent scenes that amazed, enchanted, and captivated us.

Ali had visited Songpinggou and Bipenggou during the September 2024 trip to Gannan and Aba, but at that time, he did not find anything particularly stunning about them. Unexpectedly, a month later, when Ali returned to Songpinggou and Bipenggou, he found they had changed, almost unrecognizable: the once ordinary lakes were now profoundly deep and emerald green like jade; the once lush green leaves had turned bright red or golden, as brilliant as clouds at sunset; the mountain peaks once shrouded in clouds and mist now revealed sparkling snowy summits.

On October 21, 2024, we first explored Songpinggou, one of the three major valleys. Songpinggou Scenic Area is located in Diexi Town, Maoxian County, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province. It features attractions such as Baishihai, Mohai, Five-Color Pool, Pearl Waterfall, Changhai, Upper Bailahai, Lower Bailahai, and Fangcaohai. It is one of the best-preserved earthquake disaster sites in the world.

On August 25, 1933, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Diexi in Maoxian, causing mountain collapses and burying the ancient city of Diexi. Rocks of various sizes tumbled down the mountains, blocking rivers and forming landslide lakes. These landslide lakes became the many lakes in Songpinggou.

Today, the hillside next to Baishihai is still piled with a large number of stones of various sizes. One stone bears red characters that read: "Earthquake Site, 1933."

Our visit lasted just over three hours: from around 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Ali chose not to take the scenic shuttle bus but strolled along the plank road, enjoying Baishihai, Mohai, Pearl Waterfall, and the colorful forests along the way. However, there was no time to visit the Five-Color Pool and Changhai at the valley’s end.

But Ali felt no regret because the turquoise lakes, white waterfalls, and red and yellow leaves everywhere dazzled his eyes and relaxed his body and mind. Besides, there will be plenty of time in the future; the sights not seen this time can be saved for next time—beautiful scenery is worth seeing again and again! Moreover, the scenery changes with the seasons, so the views will be different each time!
2025-10-21

Post by LiteraryLegends | Oct 23, 2025