In Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, on the west side of China’s Sichuan province, sits Daocheng County, a small, mountainous region that about 31,000 ethnic Tibetans call home. Daocheng currently has the world’s highest civilian airport, sitting at 14,472 feet (4,411 meters) above sea level. Most visitors to the region will make their way to Yading Nature Reserve to hike among the forests and high meadows of the Hengduan Mountains, and photograph some of the colorful and clear lakes and streams. Gathered here, a handful of images from the lofty peaks and valleys of Daocheng County.
A Photo Trip to China’s Daocheng County
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Read moreThe blue water of Five Color Lake, photographed on a sunny day in Yading Nature Reserve in Daocheng County, in the southwest of Sichuan province, China #
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Read moreA view of Yading Village on a winding mountain highway in Daocheng County #
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Read moreDaocheng Airport, photographed in Sangdui Township on April 15, 2018. The facility is the world's highest civilian airport, sitting at 14,472 feet (4,411 meters) above sea level. #
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Read morePrayer flags line a bridge in Daocheng's Yading Nature Reserve. #
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Read morePeople gather on the side of a road in a town in Daocheng on October 20, 2008. #
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Read moreChonggu Temple, set in a valley at the base of Mount Chenresig. #
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Read moreA closer view of Chonggu Temple #
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Read moreA mountain road heading into Yading Nature Reserve #
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Read moreTourists visit a white Buddhist pagoda in Daocheng. #
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Read moreSun reflects off snow on the peak of Yangmaiyong, a mountain in Daocheng that measures 19,547 feet (5,958 meters) tall. #
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Read moreThe "milky sea," a lake in Yading Nature Reserve #
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Read moreA Buddhist stupa stands in a wide mountain valley in Daocheng. #
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Read moreA river flows through a glacial valley in Daocheng. #
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Read moreAutumn colors, photographed in Yading Nature Reserve #
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Read moreSunlight filters through golden larch branches in Yading Nature Reserve. #
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Read moreA bird, photographed in a forest in Yading #
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Read moreHorses graze at a nature reserve in Daocheng. #
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Read moreChinese tourists explore a log structure in a pasture, with Mount Yangmaiyong, reaching an altitude of 19,547 feet (5,958 meters), in the background. #
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Read moreA long-exposure photo of a stream flowing under a cable bridge in Daocheng #
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Read moreClear water flows through a stream in a pasture in Yading Nature Reserve. #
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Read moreMani stones, tablets inscribed with the mantra of Avalokiteshvara, "Om mani padme hum," stand in a stack in Yading Nature Reserve. #
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Read moreA tower of prayer flags sits in a field in front of the mountain known as Xiannairi. #
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Read moreBlooming flowers line a field in Daocheng. #
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Read morePeople hike among prayer flags in Yading Nature Reserve to see the "milky sea" on April 13, 2016. #
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Read moreA mountaintop glows during sunset in Daocheng County, Sichuan province, China. #
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