Glaciers of Hailuoguo

If you live in this part of the world where summer is all year round and the feeling of winter is almost non-existence. Don't worry, if you want to experience the coldness of winter and at the same time enjoy the beautiful scenery of snow-capped mountains and glaciers, there is something here for you. You do not have to endure the long journey to northern Europe or Alaska. You also don't have to climb very high altitude mountains. There is one glacier park not too far from Chendu (4 hours flight from Singapore), in the province of Sichuan in China. It is called Hailuogou National Glacier Forest Park. It is located on the eastern side of Gonggar Mountain in Luding County of Sichuan Province. At a height of below 3000 metres, you are able to view the spectacular view of glaciers and frozen water falls.
 

We did just that in 2007. We visited Hailuoguo glacier park in Sichuan. Altough it was in mid March, there was still plenty of snow and the ground was still very icy. Glaciers in Hailuogou are typical modern marine glaciers, which are rarely found either in low-latitude places or at low altitude. Its lowest point is only 2,850 meters above sea level. Glaciers cover 31 square kilometres of the Gully. Classified as Modern Glacier, they came into being 16 million years ago. The Grand Glacier Cascade -- 1,000 meters in height and 1,000 meters in width -- is the only one in the world. Its 6 km glacier tongue penetrates into the virgin forest, forming a rare natural landscape with the blend of glacier and forest.

The spectacular view of glacier of Hailuoguo

The park boasts many geographic attractions, including ancient glaciers, grand glacier cascade, virgin forests, wild animals and hot springs, etc.

In front of glacier

Hailuoguo

When we reached the destination, we had to take a cable car up the eastern side of Mount Gonggar. From there we walked for quite a distance on a snow filled mountain track to a confined area where tourists gathered to view Mount Gonggar and its glaciers. The children in the group could not resist the fun of throwing snow balls at  each other. Initially the sky was cloudy and misty and the view became very hasty. We thought that we could have come at a wrong time as the whole place was so foggy that could hardly see anything. As we waited in anxiety, suddenly the mist began to clear. After a couple of minutes, the full view of the snow-capped mountain appeared before our eyes. And then amidst the snow-filled mountain, the long anticipated glacier finally appeared. We could hear the crowd roared at the view of the glacier. We were all stunned at such awesome view. Without delay, you could see tourists running here and there, busily clicking away on their cameras to capture the scenery. This time lady luck was really on our side, we could see the full view of the glacier and it was so close to us that we felt we could almost touch it.

The Grand Glacier Cascade, with a drop of 1,080 meters, is made up of numerous ice cubes. Looking like the milky way descending from heaven, it sends out brilliant rays in the sunshine.


Outdoor hot springs

Snow-capped mountain

Beyond the cascade there is a snow basin -- the source of the glacier. When the frozen water accumulates to a certain amount and the surplus ice and snow need to find a way out, there will be an avalanche. So, for safety’s case, the snow basin can only be seen from afar, which is a pity for such a unique attraction. Moreover, the glacier fall may collapse at any time, too. During spring and summer, the dynamic seasons for glaciers, over 1,000 avalanches may happen in a day. In one such collapse, the falling ice can reach 1 million cubic meters. 

The mist slowly clearing

Initially, the view is misty

Since the vista is several kilometres from the Grand Glacier Cascade, tourists do not need to worry about harms from even the biggest avalanche.

 

Another special attraction of Hailuoguo is its hot springs hidden either in virgin forests or under the cover of snow and ice. The most noted ones are at No.1 and No. 2 campsites.

In No.2 Campsite, hot springs gush out from rock cracks year round, with a daily flow of 8,900 tons. Water temperature at the mouth can reach a temperature of 90 °C. The hot springs gush into a small pond, from where they drop down along a cliff to form a waterfall of eight meters wide and 10 meters high. The spring water is believed to be effective in curing diabetes, neuralgia, arthritis and gastroenteritis. Nearby, a swimming pool has been built in the open air for tourists’ convenience.  There are also a big swimming pool and small-scale bathrooms in No.1 Campsite. The famous Gonggar Miraculous Fount is located at 1,600 meters above sea level, where travellers don’t need to worry about altitude sickness. Still, most of the visitors favour hot springs in No.2 Campsite because they are rustic, with more natural taste.

The experience of immersing yourself in hot springs during winter was beyond imagination. On one hand your upper body was feeling the freezing cold temperature of the open. On the other hand your lower body was feeling the heat of over 40 °C of the pool temperature from the hot springs. As long as you were in the pool, it was sheer relaxation as the heat from the water kept you wanting for more. But when you got up and left the pool, the extreme coldness of the winter air would make you shiver from inside. Hence, once we had enough of  the hot springs, we had to rush to the changing room before catching the cold.

Apart from snow-capped mountains, glaciers and hot springs, this region has huge virgin forests covering an area of 70 square km. The forests boast 4,800 species of plant, including fir, wild sweet-scented osmanthu, wild rhododendron, ginkgo, algum, magnolia, single-leafed grass, and such medicinal herbs as Chinese caterpillar fungus, caladium, pseudo-ginseng and tuber of elevated gastrodis. The legendary place is also home to over 400 kinds of wild animals, including 28 endangered species under state protection. While roaming through the area, tourists may luckily encounter animals such as blue sheep, macaques, or even pandas and sunbirds.