Travel Notes | Exploring the Millennium Ice Cave of Yiga Glacier

5.2 Depart for Yiga Glacier

I always feel that

Between the life we live and the life we write,

There shouldn't be any fences.

Yiga Glacier –

It’s a place I’ve wanted to come to for a long time.

When you come here, you not only want to find blue ice caves, multi-level waterfalls and underground rivers,

I would also like to know more about the civilization that remains in that ancient village.

-This is a video that I have been editing for a long time.

You can see how fast the glaciers are melting

Yiga 14th Village –

This small village is located at the foot of the glacier.

Like an isolated island hanging in the world,

It has a pure aura that cleanses the soul.

I lived on the glacier for three days,

The starry sky and the Milky Way without expectations,

After seven o'clock every night, heavy rain comes as expected.

It rained all night and stopped promptly at eleven o'clock the next morning.

The sound of wind and rain every night is enough to bring me peace of mind,

The sunshine and rainbow after the rain are also unexpected surprises.

Isn't this the same in life?

Behind the black is the dawn,

Behind the blue is purity.

-Photographed by Li Heng in 2018.11 & 2019.4

Yiga Glacier is a continental glacier. The earliest glacier tongue poured down as a whole and intersected with the Niwu Zangbo Canyon. At the intersection, a multi-level waterfall group hundreds of meters long was created. The glacier tongue used to go deep into the winding mountain road, and now only a few bits are left, but these few bits are also different from the glaciers I have seen before, like huge white wings blooming under the snow-capped mountains. Yiga is located in Jiali County, Nagqu City, only separated by a mountain from Bomi, but very few people know about it.

My teammate is a weird one. When we started from Lhasa, we had to take the shuttle bus instead of driving. He wanted to experience a different feeling. He severely criticized me after returning from Linzhi last time, saying that I was not stable in driving. To be honest, I have been in Lhasa all year round. I have stayed in Lhasa for a long time. It is really comfortable to come back to Nagqu. Friends whom I haven’t seen for several years are still warm to see each other. A bag was thrown in front of me (including the small school bag I was carrying), and I said, "Beauty, look at the bag for me," and then left. At that moment, I suddenly felt that my previous understanding of boldness was wrong, and I sincerely I feel that trust is so simple here.

Day 1：2020.5.2

From Lhasa Northern Suburb Passenger Terminal, take the shuttle bus from Lhasa to Nagqu

Departs on time at 9:00 a.m., arrives in 6 hours

Ticket price: 💰100/person

The buns at the breakfast shop at the door are big and cheap.

Key Points: – How to go through security if you carry a gas tank?

– Hidden in a pot and passed the security check openly.

Due to the epidemic this year, inspections in Nagqu City are extremely strict. In Nyingchi and other places, as long as you have a Lhasa City Health Code or a quarantine release certificate, you can choose one of the two. However, in Nagqu City, you need to scan the code and fill in the information separately, and the shuttle bus will take you to the County People's Hospital. The temperature checks, pass slips, and security checks at the gate are much stricter than those in Lhasa and Nyingchi.

County People’s Hospital – Nagqu Passenger Terminal – Jiali County

The shuttle bus leaves on time at 4:00 p.m. and arrives in 4 hours

Ticket price: 💰130/person

This section of the road is even worse than the road to Ali.

8:00 p.m. Arrive in Jiali County to rest. If you can’t imagine how cold it is in Jiali County, then let me tell you: “They are still heating it now”. If you are not used to Tibetan food, there are still many Sichuan restaurants here, but I still recommend a seemingly inconspicuous Shaanxi restaurant. Here I tasted the long-lost taste of old Beijing fried noodles, which I have also eaten in Tibet for so many years. The most delicious and closest to the taste of Beijing Zhajiang Noodles.

Day 2: 2020.5.3 Dad’s birthday

I purposely washed my hair before setting off this morning, because I knew it would be difficult to have the chance to wash my hair in the coming days. First of all, there is no shuttle bus in Jiali County - the "lawless place" Niwu Township. It is difficult to get a bus. It may take several days to get a bus. Normal carpooling costs 💰150 per person, but there are not often people. , it’s difficult to get it together, maybe it takes two or three days to get it together, the chartered car is 💰600 and can go directly to Niwu Township, and the 100-kilometer road is a 4-hour drive. The terrain and ecological environment here are very similar to Jilong, but the roads are more like Nepal. People living here basically don’t speak Chinese. A pickup truck from Niwu Township to Yiga 14 Village gave Jianpu a Coke, but he didn’t drink it. , I only drink bottled Lhasa beer, and I have to drink it while driving. The 30km road takes 2 hours to drive, which is the same as driving from Jilong to Canada. The road conditions are not explained. You can judge by yourself. People who have traveled overland to Nepal must have already understood it. . I remember when I was in Nepal, there were 5 people in the front seat of an off-road vehicle, including the driver, and 6 people in the trunk. I was sitting in the trunk, chatting with the other 5 people, talking about local customs, and got hit on my leg after getting off the vehicle. It's green and purple, but it still feels interesting.

Shishi Village is just a few kilometers away from the foot of the glacier. You can walk along the winding mountain road until dark. After dark, you can still vaguely feel the light reflected by the glacier illuminating the road ahead. No matter how difficult the road ahead is, there is no problem that chicken legs 🍗 cannot solve. I think of this time last year, when I reached the Zhuomala Pass on the way to the mountains, my stomach growled with hunger, and the water in the water bag froze into ice. Duo, Fat Brother gave me a chicken drumstick. To be precise, I asked for it shamelessly. In Fat Brother’s reluctant eyes, I quickly and satisfactorily ate the whole chicken drumstick, and then continued walking with full energy.

-The moment a rainbow appears

-Can be charged with solar panel between 11am and 5pm every day

It rains every night, and it keeps raining. I can only pray for good weather the next day, haha😃 Indeed, there is always good weather in just a few hours from noon to afternoon every day. Tibetan friends said that there are black bears, brown bears, white bears, and spotted bears near the glacier. The spotted bears are the most powerful ones. They asked me if I was afraid? I said: "Don't be afraid, what's the use of being afraid? The more afraid you are, the more aggressive you will be." In fact, there are very few necessities in life. With solar charging and being able to eat every meal, I feel very satisfied.

Although there is no starry sky, the scenery is still extremely beautiful, with clear streams, high waterfalls and floating fairyland, making it a real and tangible fairyland. Wisdom is often times nearer when we stoop than when we soar.

Day 3：2020.5.4

Today we stayed at last night’s campsite for an extra day, looking forward to good luck. During the day, we collected firewood, cooked, photographed waterfalls and encountered a rainbow, and prepared to photograph the stars at night. There will be a daywhen a few little bits of good fortune come together. Under various unknown conditions, I learned how to use trekking poles and stones to build a tent. In the afternoon, I lay on the stones and basked in the warmth of the sun. I almost fell asleep. At night, the rain that will not be missed every day will follow. , and we were not able to wait for the starry sky as we wished, and we encountered heavy rain and a leak in the air mattress. It really happened that the house leaked and it rained all night, but it was okay. The next thing that happened must be a good thing.

Day 4: 2020.5.5

It was quite exciting to cross the river from the landslide area today. The water level was higher than when we explored the route yesterday. We never expected that the water would rise when we returned in a few days. Today I went to look for ice caves. The heavy rain that came as scheduled never missed my appointment, but today it came earlier. I explored the most beautiful ice caves, waterfalls, and underground rivers for two consecutive days. Fortunately, I was in one of the ice caves. I found an underground river, as if the underground river hidden deep in the ice cave leads to the entrance to another world. It seems that like Zangbo Badong, the stone door behind Waterfall No. 2 may be the door to Shambhala.

The rapid melting of glaciers has exposed white smooth rocks after melting. The seemingly smooth and sloping rocks are actually very easy to walk on. On the contrary, the small gravel scattered on the sloping rocks is very slippery. I slipped many times and almost even managed to take a photo. I slipped into the waterfall and slipped and fell on the way back to the camp. I heard the sound of bones and the clear cracking sound of the lens. It seemed that I was only suitable for the menial work of collecting firewood and making fire for cooking. . .

Day 5: 2020.5.6

Today I gathered firewood, made a torch, and prepared to take pictures of the fantastic ice cave starry sky. However, thick clouds and pouring rain extinguished this beautiful vision. But in my heart, I still don’t have any extravagant demands or obsessions. Although there is no tallest mountain in the world, the snow on the top of the mountain remains unchanged all year round. Although there is no lowest river valley in the world, the water rushing down is equally exciting. Close your eyes, it is the sound of all things, open your eyes, the dream is right in front of you. Live the life u have imagined.

In movies and in life, winning or losing is determined by the aftertaste.

So it doesn’t matter if it’s slower or harder now.

You just have to bloom.

Maybe somewhere many years from now,

I will look back on the past with a sigh:

Two roads diverged in a wood,

And I chose the less traveled route,

From then on, the path of his life was determined.

sowing,

Don’t expect fruitful results in autumn,

One seed causes a splash of joy.

A person is like a tree,

Sometimes it grows upward,

But the tree still needs to take root.

It is a good behavior to develop outward and find roots downward.

You can understand where you are coming from and where you are going.

Day 6：2020.5.7

Compared with scenery, culture is what I want to see more on the road. Yiga Shishi Village is the village closest to the glacier, and it is also the place I most want to walk out of the glacier. There are only a few houses in the village, and most of them are cattle and horse pens. At first, there is no sound of people talking, only the sounds of cows mooing, horses neighing, dogs barking, and birds chirping. Until I walk deep into the village, I find a little boy with curly hair. Boy, obviously he also saw me - this outsider who suddenly broke in. At first he was playing with a water pipe, and then he found me. He was not afraid at all and looked at me boldly, but full of curiosity.

But at this moment, my attention was attracted by a burst of chanting, and I turned around and found a small temple (specifically, only a small room) - as if it was a secret existence hidden in the Peach Blossom Spring. There is only a large prayer wheel and nothing else. Four women sit around the prayer wheel while chanting sutras and pulling the ropes with their hands. The entire prayer wheel is rotated by the five ropes connected to the bearings. They were surprised at first when they saw me, and then enthusiastically invited me to come in and pull the prayer wheel together. The little boy happily ran into the temple ahead of me, sat next to Ajia, and looked at me with pure and undisguised eyes. It seemed that They did not reject me as an outsider who suddenly broke into their peaceful life, and were full of curiosity about me. I gave the White Rabbit toffee that I was reluctant to eat on the way to the little boy, and he happily took it in his hand and ate it. Look at me from time to time.

The four Ajias have different personalities. The first one on the right is enthusiastic and cheerful, and actively invites me to pray together; the second one is lively and interesting, chubby and full of joy, and easily attracts the attention of others. He likes to chat with friends about everyday things. ; The third one is deep, restrained and resonant, and has been looking at me meaningfully, and a certain kind of affirmation can be seen in her eyes; the fourth one is mysterious and has a story, and there is a certain kind of firm confidence on her face covered with tattoos. The pattern is like some kind of totem, and also like some kind of symbol during the slavery period. In fact, no matter what it is, we don't care, she is doing her own thing as usual. This is their daily life, simple and contented, knowing what they want better than anyone else.

-Old photos of Yiga Glacier many years ago

- Make gestures of drinking water with your hands,

Grandpa brought me home to drink butter tea

-The old man took out all the cordyceps he dug and showed them to me.

- Before leaving, the old man watched us off silently

The horse followed us a long way

There has never been a journey where I can remember every detail so clearly without looking through my diary or even recording it. Time is like being engraved in the mind. If you touch any point, your thoughts will continue and you will suddenly be in the present moment. No one in the village here can speak Chinese, but pulling the rope of the prayer wheel connects our hearts. The old man walked into the temple later. I took the initiative to hand the rope into his hands, and he took me to his house to make butter tea for me to drink. First, he took out the machine for making butter tea. We all know that many remote villages are powered by water. It generates electricity. When the machine is running, the lights in the room flicker on and off, the TV news stops playing, and the electric prayer wheel rotates slowly. Then they show us old photos of glaciers in the past. In just a few decades, glaciers have melted. , the landscape has undergone great changes. When he left, his horses came back. They grazed quietly, and the grandfather watched us leave silently. The horse followed us for a long time until we walked out of the village, but the warmth we met on the road always remained in our hearts.

-Take a short tractor ride to Village 11

-11 Village with a canteen and Lhasa beer

on the river bank,

When spring comes,

The ice and snow melt,

The river is overflowing,

Back to the shore,

Because of calmness,

And become clear and transparent.

A small shop suddenly appeared on the road,

Undoubtedly a surprise among surprises.

Looking at the Lhasa beer covering a wall,

You know how much the locals like to drink it,

When Jian Pu, who drove a pickup truck, gave him a Coke, he refused to drink it.

He only drinks Lhasa beer while driving.

It was a very lucky thing to come to Dawa's house. The road from Village 11 to Village 10 was very long. When we arrived at Dawa's house, it was already dark and it was raining heavily. He invited us to stay at his house for free, and he warmly He heated the pancakes on the stove and kept pouring butter tea for us. The chili stewed lettuce made by Dawa’s mother was really delicious, and she also brewed the Tibetan highland barley wine, which was very moist in the mouth and had a pure taste. I ate non-stop on this rainy night. I secretly sent a red envelope to Dawa that night. He was in his 40s. He was as happy as a child when he received the red envelope. He showed his brother on his phone and went again. Showing it to his mother, I smiled and looked at their cute expressions while drinking highland barley wine.

We want to quiet ourselves,not the world. This night was not the sound of chanting, but the sound of Tibetan TV programs. Dawa’s mother saw me wiping my face with wet wipes, applying eye cream, and combing my hair with my fingers. She was also stroking her hair, so I laughed secretly. , she must also love beauty. At night, when there is no electricity and the power is cut off, I use the lamp Dawa found for me to write a diary. No matter where I go, I am used to bringing a notebook and a pen to record the beauty of every day. The windows were only half glass, so the wind could blow in at night, but I was still warm enough to sleep in my sleeping bag until dawn.