Alpenglow of the sunrise at Meili snow mountains
Meili Snow Mountains (Chinese: 梅里雪山) is a mountain range in the province of Yunnan, China. It lies close to the eastern end of the Himalayan range.
The range rises to over 6,000 metres above sea level. The highest peak, Kawagarbo (view the location from Google Earth), considered sacred by Tibetan Buddhists, rises to 6,740 metres.
Although these peaks are not nearly as high as Mount Everest， none of the major peaks in the Meili range have ever been summited due to the difficulty.
Rumor has it that people who see the alpenglow of Kawagarbo will be lucky for a whole year. It’s a bit early to say “Happy New Year” just yet, but I wish you a lucky 2026.
White Horse Snow Mountain
Another snow mountain (Chinese: 白马; Pinyin: Baima; white horse) to the south of the Meili range. It “only” rises to 5,430 metres.
Vineyard at the foot of the Hymalayas
Vineyard owned by the LVMH group, which also owns famous brands such as Louis Vuitton and the Moët Champagne. Located in Shangri-La, the wine produced here boasts to be the only kind whose grapes are raised in the Himalayas.
Nyidên Snow Mountains
Nyidên, or Yading, is a nature reserve in Daocheng County, in the southwest of Sichuan Province, China. See the location on Google Earth.
There are three snow mountains sanctified by Tibetan Buddhism: Xiannairix (Chianrezig, 6,032 m), Xianuoduoji (Chanadorje, 5,958 m), and Yangmaiyong (Jambeyang, 5,958 m).
The picture above shows Xiannairi and Xianuoduoji. My lens isn’t wide enough to get all three mountains in the same frame.
The three snow mountains are located kind of as a triangular:
For a panoramic view of this region, see here. The view is from the peak of Yangmaiyong.
The background is Xianuoduoji.
There are a few famous lakes in this region:
Milk Sea
The milk sea is located between Xiannairi and Yangmaiyong. See a panoramic view of the milk lake here on Google Map.
Five Color Sea
Also located between Xiannairi and Yangmaiyong. It’s difficult to get the two lakes in one shot because the five color sea is slightly higher.
Sname Lake
Another lake near Yangmaiyong, sitting at 4700 metres. Technically, it’s off the official route in the nature reserve, and it requires quite a hike up a mountain pass to view it.
Boyong Lake
Yet another lake. Boyong Lake, or Boyongcuo (cuo means lake in Tibetan), sits at 4700 metres. The snow mountain in the background is Yangmaiyong.
It requires a c.a. 14km round trip hike (also non-official route) above 4000 metres to get there.