Jade Dragon Snow Mountain of Lijiang

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(Provided to People's Daily Online/Ye Lin)

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (Yulong Mountain) is the southernmost glacier in the Northern Hemisphere.

The Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is also called Black and White Snow Mountain, because the joint of Two Horn Peaks in its south is connected by limestone and basalts, which is in sharp contrast. Consisting of 13 peaks, among which Shanzidou is the highest with an altitude of 5,600 meters (18,360 feet), the mountain stretches a length of 35 kilometers (22 miles) and a width of 20 kilometers (13 miles).

Looking from Lijiang Old Town in the south which is 15 kilometers (nine miles) away, the snow-covered and fog-enlaced mountain resembles a jade dragon lying in the clouds, hence the name. The mountain is a holy mountain for the Naxi (also spelt Nakhi and Nahi) people, a soul of the tribe. Allegedly, the Naxi tribe believed that their Genius "Sanduo" was the god of mountain, living on the Jade Dragon Mountain.

Famous for its ice and snow sights, altiplano and meadow attractions, virgin forest and landscape, the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is the core area of Lijiang Old Town's natural sight. It is a botanist's paradise, and a "kingdom of medicinal materials". Of the 13,000 kinds of plants in Yunnan, more than half of them can be found on Jade Dragon Snow Mountain as well as 400 types of trees in 20 primeval forest communities. The view of the massif from the gardens at the Black Dragon Pool (Heilong Tan) in Lijiang is noted as one of China's finest views, and part of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Scenic Area, a AAAAA-classified scenic area.

• Old Town of Lijiang
• Towering grandeur of Naigu stone forest in Yunnan
• Picturesque scenery of red earth in Dongchuan, SW China's Yunnan

• Discovering Yunnan

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