Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (;
Naxi: or ) is a mountain
massif
In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...
or small mountain range in
Yulong Naxi Autonomous County,
Lijiang, in
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...
province, China. Its highest peak is named Shanzidou
or Shan-Tzu-tou
() and it is
above sea level.
Etymology
The Chinese name, Yùlóng Xuěshān, translates directly as Jade Dragon Snow Mountain; it is sometimes translated as Mount Yulong or Yulong Snow Mountain. The mountain's
Naxi name is Mount Satseto.
Geography
The Jade Dragon Snow Mountain massif forms the bulk of the larger
Yulong Mountains, that stretch further north. The northwestern flank of the massif forms one side of the
Tiger Leaping Gorge (Hǔtiào Xiá, 虎跳峡), which has a popular trekking route on the other side. In this gorge, the
Jinsha (upper
Yangtze
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
) River descends dramatically between Jade Dragon and
Haba Snow Mountain. The Yulong Mountains lie to the south of the
Yun Range and are part of
Southwest China
Southwest China () is a region in the south of the People's Republic of China.
Geography
Southwest China is a rugged and mountainous region, transitioning between the Tibetan Plateau to the west and the Chinese coastal hills (东南丘陵) and ...
's greater
Hengduan Mountains.
Settlements surrounding Jade Dragon Snow Mountain include
Baisha Town to the south,
Longpan Township to the west,
Daju Township to the northeast, and
Jade Water Village
Jade Water Village () is a natural village in the town of Baisha, Yulong Naxi Autonomous County, Lijiang, Yunnan, China. The village serves as a Dongba cultural centre, and a home to Nakhi people. The village is near Jade Dragon Snow Mountain
...
at the foot of the mountain to the east.
Exploration history
In 1938, an expedition led by the Australian lawyer, feminist, conservationist, and mountaineer,
Marie Byles
Marie Beuzeville Byles (8 April 1900 – 21 November 1979) was an Australian conservationist, pacifist, the first practising female solicitor in New South Wales (NSW), mountaineer, explorer and avid bushwalker, feminist, journalist, and an ori ...
, failed to reach the summit due to bad weather. Bitterly disappointed by this failure, she became a follower of Buddhist thought as a consequence.
Shanzidou has been climbed only once,
[Tamotsu Nakamura, "East of the Himalaya", '' American Alpine Journal'', 2003, p. 146.] on May 8, 1987, by an American expedition. The summit team comprised Phil Peralta-Ramos and Eric Perlman. They climbed snow gullies and limestone headwalls, and encountered high avalanche danger and sparse opportunities for protection. They rated the maximum technical difficulty of the rock at
YDS 5.7.
The Austro-American botanist and explorer
Joseph Rock spent many years living in the vicinity of Mt Satseto, and wrote about the region and the
Naxi people Naxi may refer to:
* Naxi people (), an ethnic group mainly living in southwest provinces of China
* Naxi language, the language of the Naxi people
* Naxi District
Naxi District (Tibetan: Jang; ) is a county-level district of the city of Luzho ...
who occupy it. An interest in Rock later drew the travel writer
Bruce Chatwin
Charles Bruce Chatwin (13 May 194018 January 1989) was an English travel writer, novelist and journalist. His first book, ''In Patagonia'' (1977), established Chatwin as a travel writer, although he considered himself instead a storyteller, ...
to the mountain, which he wrote about in an article that appeared in the New York Times and later, retitled, in his essay collection ''
What Am I Doing Here?''. Chatwin's article inspired many subsequent travellers, including
Michael Palin, to visit the region.
Tourism
The view of the massif from the gardens at the
Black Dragon Pool
Black Dragon Pool () is a famous pond in the scenic Jade Spring Park (Yu Quan Gong Yuan) located at the foot of Elephant Hill, a short walk north of the Old Town of Lijiang in Yunnan province, China. It was built in 1737 during the Qing dynasty ...
(Heilong Tan) in
Lijiang is noted as one of China's finest views. The mountain is part of ''Yulong Snow Mountain National Scenic Area and National Geological Park'', an
AAAAA-classified scenic area. The Park operates a tourist cable car that climbs to an observation platform at an elevation of , and there is also another higher observation platform, one of the highest in the world, at an elevation of for close views of the snow peak. Due to the extremely high elevation many people become oxygen starved and carry cans of compressed oxygen to help. Some have criticized the cable for accelerating the melting of the snow and reducing the water retention by the mountain.
The mountain was featured on Episode 4 of ''
The Amazing Race 18''.
File:1 yulong xueshan yak 2012.jpg, Yak and cascading pools with the mountain in the background
File:Lijiang Yunnan China-View-of-Jade-Dragon-Mountain-01.jpg, View of Jade Dragon Mountain
File:玉龙雪山瀑布.JPG, Yulong Snow Mountain Waterfall
File:1 yulong xueshan 2012.jpg, Glacier on top of the mountain
File:Lijiang Yunnan Black-Dragon-Pool-01.jpg, Yunnan Black-Dragon-Pool
File:Lijiang Snow Mountain Summit.JPG, A view approximately 900m below the summit
File:水色會變的藍月谷 20190928195012.jpg, The characteristic of the Blue Moon Valley of Yulong Snow Mountain: water renowned for its "milk" color and its "pure" quality becomes blue when the weather is nice.
References
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Five-thousanders of the Transhimalayas
National parks of China
Mountains of Yunnan
Tourist attractions in Yunnan
Geography of Lijiang
Yulong Naxi Autonomous County