I declare this is the most beautiful village in Aba Prefecture
Darcy once went to Malkang, Aba Prefecture, Sichuan in 2018 and interviewed Germa, the president of the Malkang Jiarong Cultural Research Association. He recommended a Malkang cultural travel route to readers: first go to Changlie in the mountains Temple, along the way you can see the whole picture of Markang, a canyon city hidden in the mountains. Go down the mountain to Ati Temple, and then follow the Suomo River to Songgang Zhibo Diaolou and Guzang Village to experience the Jiarong Tibetan dwellings. Afterwards, we walked around Maerkang County and went to a thangka shop to see Jiarong Thangka. In the evening, we went to Zhuokejiguanzhai and stayed in Xisuo Village to feel the eternal melody of "The Dust Has Settled".
Click on the image below to learn about Malcon’s humanistic history
This early summer, we followed Yingying & Xiao Liu, the professional travel experts of Sichuan Adventure, starting from Chengdu for three days and two nights, to the core hinterland of Jiarong Tibetan people, at the Mengtun River in Li County In the river valley, look for waterfalls; then go to Markang, follow the "Malaysian youth" Genga, eat Tibetan food known only to the locals, see ancient Bon and Gelug temples, and then go to the secret village of Markang where there are almost no tourists , feel the most primitive and peaceful village in Tibet.
Muang Tun River Valley, looking for waterfalls
After the highway is repaired, the journey from Chengdu to Malkang will only take more than three hours. Many people who go to Malkang simply drive straight there without resting on the way, which only lasts three hours, so as to feel at ease. This time, we went back to "Slow Goose" and went to Li County on the first day.
The specific route is: Chengdu - Dujiangyan - Yingxiu - Wenchuan - Taoping Qiang Village - Xuecheng - Xiameng Township - Shangmeng Township - Ribo Village, The journey took about 3 hours, and we arrived at Ribo Village, Mengtun River Valley, Shangmeng Township, Li County. Hada Inn .
Arriving here, we are already in the Mengtun River Valley. This is the territory of Jiarong Tibetan people, with an altitude of 2000-5500 meters, snow-capped mountains, alpine lakes, canyons, forests, streams, temples, 24 of them surrounding Xuelongbao (the highest snow-capped mountain here: 5527 meters above sea level) The ravines converge here. When everyone comes to Mengtun River, they go deep into the ditches to get close to the nature that is naturally nourished. The ditches that are often visited are Gaoqiao ditch, Laojun ditch, Yupi ditch, etc.
We stayed at Hada Inn, had lunch, and wandered along the road to see the nearest Eniyomo Waterfall in the village. It was considered a walk in search of waterfalls, and we randomly picked wild strawberries on the roadside to eat along the way. , get to know different plants and trees, walk along the mountain, and slowly you will see the third-level waterfall. The hiking is not difficult and can take 2-3 hours to go back and forth. Because it is not a scenic spot, there are not many people. The mountains, trees, and water all have a wild atmosphere. It is considered a beautiful wild place, and everyone sighs: It seems that as long as it is not a scenic spot, it is better to go anywhere. Be more comfortable.
After going down the mountain, you can wander around Ribo Village. Jiarong Tibetan houses retain the traditional style, and most of them are built with stones and logs. You can also go to the nearby Sangdeng Monastery. It has a history of nearly 600 years and is a temple of the Nyingma sect of the Red Sect. On April 10th every year, the Sangdeng Monastery holds an annual temple fair, which is the most important time of the year. The most solemn worship activity. In the afternoon, we will show off the Buddha. It is a thangka with an area of about 30 square meters and a weight of several hundred kilograms. There is a sacred stone in the temple, which is a Buddha handprint that is not found in large temples in Qinghai, Tibet, Ganzi and other places. It is equivalent to a temple-protecting treasure.
If you don’t want to go out, just drink tea in Hada Station and wait for dinner. The inn was founded by the veteran Tsering Tashi. More often, we will see the big housekeeper Fat Sister, who travels all over the country and settles in the Mengtun Valley. She is enthusiastic, talkative and full of energy, taking care of everyone's food and accommodation. Almost all three meals a day are cooked by the fat lady, which is really the biggest feature of Hada Station. During the day, there are wild vegetables to eat, in the evening there is Tibetan hot pot (you must order two plates of bacon), and on the next day there are sugar buns made by her herself. , Hanamaki fried dough sticks and other breakfast options.
When everyone is eating, she is always watching from the side, like the patriarch of the family. If you are happy with your meal, she is happier than anyone else.
(Waterfall in Mengtun Valley)
Be a "Malaysian Youth" for a day in Malkang
After breakfast, we walked from Mengtun Valley to Malkang. The road is relatively smooth and easy. You can drive directly to Malkang for lunch. As the capital of Aba Prefecture, Malkang is a "convenient big city" where food and accommodation are not tight. Moreover, Malkang is also very famous for its urban nightlife and beer culture.
When you come to Malkang, just follow "Malaysian Youth" Genga . It was also during this trip that we learned that in recent years, many young people from Malkang have returned to their hometown after studying all over the world and tried various things in this land. They jokingly call themselves: "Malaysian youth", and they also have exclusive Position and organization. Inheriting the genes and traditions of the nation, he is simple, enthusiastic and has a sense of nature. He has seen the outside world and absorbed all kinds of thinking, injecting the blood of confidence, sunshine, openness and tolerance into Malkang, but those traditions have been retained.
Genga is a representative of Malaysian youth. He loves his hometown deeply. He worked as a translator in India and took tourists from all over the world to visit Sichuan and then visit his hometown. Don’t be a traditional tour guide, formulate and find your own routes, lead everyone to explore and discover, show everyone the tradition and real situation of Malkang, make friends honestly, and recommend your hometown generously. In the past two years, he has fallen in love with motorcycle riding, so during this trip, he rode a motorcycle as a navigator and took us up the mountain to see the Chabei Lakang Temple in Malkang . We went up the hillside and climbed Just go to the top of the steps. Genga introduced that this is also a combination of one of the few Bonbo temples and Gelug temples in Tibet. The main statues in the temple are the Patriarch Xinrao and the Shusheng statue. There are rich Buddhist scriptures, small pagodas, and exquisite statues of the Holy Mother of the Three Realms from the Uizang area and other precious instruments. He taught us how to pray in Saronda and then recited scriptures silently beside him. There are almost no tourists here. When we were doing prayers, we saw local grannies coming to the temple to do volunteer work and making "Tsa Tsa" by hand. The spiritual daily life of Malkang people is hidden here.
Before we set off, we knew that Genga would take us to eat the most authentic Tibetan meal in Malkang: Xiyuankang Tibetan meal. Indeed, it is difficult to find this place unless it is brought by locals. He taught everyone how to eat Tibetan earthen pots and Tibetan steamed buns. He also taught everyone how to eat hand-cut mutton. During the dinner, he sang toast songs to everyone and told stories about his childhood. After eating and drinking, we wandered back to our residence along the Suomo River. It was already hot summer in the plains, and spring had just begun here. The wind and air on the plateau were the warmest in the year. It was really the most comfortable time.
(Daily life of Malaysian youth)
Secret Village, Gurgou Village
This Gulgou Village has the same name as Gulgou where there are many hot spring hotels. This village is Genga’s hometown and his family lives here today. Gurgou Village is on the only road from Chengdu to Markang (National Highway 317), between Suomo Township and Markang County (about 28 kilometers away from Markang County).The local Tibetan people call it "Gebro" , with an altitude of 3100-4900 meters, is a half-agricultural and half-pastoral village.
When you see the White Pagoda, you can see the canteen at the entrance of the village. It can also be regarded as a community store and activity center for villagers, where you can bask in the sun, drink tea, warm up by the fire, and set up a dragon gate array. When we came, the grandfather from the village was sitting in a corner, sorting out his scripture cards, carefully arranging them one by one, and then flipping through them one by one, quietly and solemnly. We all felt envious as we sat and watched. The old people here have their own spiritual life. They devote themselves to it every day and continue to absorb nutrients. They don't feel that their days are empty and lonely.
Because there is no contamination from tourism or farm entertainment, the village is a natural, daily, and peaceful Tibetan village. In fact, there are still a lot of villages like this in Tibet. As long as you don’t check in for Internet celebrities, follow traffic, or travel for utilitarian purposes, it is relatively easy to find similar villages. Nature is the eternal nature. The sky, land, rivers, plants, crows, temples, old castle-like houses, and even local people’s cemeteries all change slowly and freely according to the original laws, basically following the The laws of nature, and because there are no traces of artificiality or performance, when people enter the village, they will naturally be surrounded by the original ecology: along the way, they can see wild alpine rhododendrons, boletes, wild peonies and various unknown wild plants. Genga 80 My grandfather, who is many years old, is performing prayers. Halfway up the mountain, there is his old Tibetan house. Walking along the back of the house, you will go deep into the mountains and jungles. The hiking begins inadvertently, and getting to know the nature of the mountains will also come with it. If the weather is good, I will walk more. If it rains, I will go down and sit at Genga’s house, warm myself by the fire and drink Tibetan tea. I will walk according to the weather, heart and mind.
The people I met in the village were all peaceful and friendly, not overly enthusiastic, but very willing to show their kindness, which is very precious. If you have been to Gurgou Village, you will understand that if people stay in such nature and land for a long time, they can develop such a living state. What is a good life? This is one of them.
That day, standing in the middle of the mountain, facing a green valley, our little traveling companion Wuyou said one of the few words of praise during this trip: "Beautiful!" This girl is less than two years old. She is almost ours. She is the youngest travel companion in these years of work travel. Yes, I am willing to call her a travel companion because she has shown amazing travel literacy beyond her years during this trip. To put it simply, she has a sense of community. , not that many things. Of course, this is more due to her very cool parents who are engaged in outdoor travel. They treat her as a person, not just a child, respect her personal will and feelings as a human being, respect her choices, and train her social groupness. She eats almost the same food as us. If she is not full, she will eat instant noodles at night; when gathering, she is even faster than us, and sometimes she will wait for us downstairs; she even hikes in the forest with the help of her parents, And through the stream; she has her own way of expression. She will open her mouth wide when she is happy, and she will also interact with us gently. When she is embarrassed, she will express her unhappiness in silence instead of yelling uncontrollably. During these few days with her, we often forget that she is a child, because she has almost no sense of a child's existence; but we always think about her because we like her so much and want to be close to her all the time.
This was a gift given to her by her parents on June 1st. She went to the plateau. Thank you to her along the way. Because of her, we have the opportunity to see everywhere we go from the perspective of a child. She will feel unhappy in a closed social space, but when she goes to open nature, she will be sincerely happy, no matter the environment or conditions. It's different from the city. She makes us reflect on where we came from. When we were innocent, we felt happiness in nature, a simple and direct expression.
By simply being with us, we can be healed.
Yes, whether it is natural mountains and rivers, scenic lands, or simple children, beautiful things never seek attention.
Genga told us that further up the village, there are two primitive seas. No, we are already looking forward to and planning our next trip, returning to Gurgou Village and “camping by the sea”.
(Peaceful daily life in Gurgou Village)