Hailuogou Glacier [Ganzi]

"One of Top Six Most Beautiful Show Caves in China"
Ranked by China National Geoegraphy Magazin

Hailuogou Glaciers in Luding County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province: Refusing to melt

Hailuogou is an important part of national-level Mt Gongga scenic spot. It lies in the southeast of Ganzi Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province, east slope of Mt Gongga and is a skyscraping mountain in the east of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Hailuogou Scenic Area is a low altitude modern oceanic glacier, complete virgin forest as well as integrative scenic area consisting of boiling, hot, and cold springs in Asia, nearest to mega polis and easiest to get. Hailuogou glacier is also called No 1 Glacier. It is 14.7 km long and is the longest in the 71 glaciers of Mt. Gongga. It occupies an area of 16 square km with highest height of 6750 m and lowest 2850 m. It possesses 3 steps longitudinally: first basin, the gestation place of glacier; second is icefall, 500 to 1100 meters wide and 1080 high that is the highest and grandest icefall in China; the third is glacier tongue, which extends 6 km into the forest, forming strange scene of the coexistence of forest and glacier. The activity of Hailuogou Glacier is very strong. In the movement of glacier, there forms glacier circular arch, ice cavern, glacial staircase, ice gate, ice lake and serac which are as glittering and translucent as jade and crystal.

The crystalloid snowflake in original state will turn to granular neve under earth heating power and self-pressure, and then these granular neves will turn to medium grain, then thick grain. The granular neves will subside gradually under the pressure of upper granular neves then rime to granular ice. In the process of granular neve turning to granular ice, the thaw water run along with the granular neve and freeze the granular neve in the bottom and make the air between granules close and turn to air bubble. Granular neve contains more air bubble and the volume is bigger which looks white, so it is called "white ice". Because of further pressure, part of air bubbles has been removed and the remains have been compressed and gradually turn to blue block ice--glacial ice.

Block ices move under gravitation and form glacier. The process from snowflake, granular neve, and granular ice to block ice is called "ice formation" in glaciology. In this process snowflake turns to glacial ice after a series of recrystallization metamorphism. It is the difference between glacial ice and water ice. This process is very slow and usually needs several decades, even several centuries. The older the glacier ice, the clearer the ice mass is. If you watch close, you can easily distinguish white ice and blue glacier ice with compressed air bubble in Hailuogou.

There is a necessary condition for the formation of glacier that is the height of firn area
should exceed snow line. Snow line is the height where the snow thaws every year, which is also called zero balance line of solid precipitation. If nowhere exceeds snowline, there can be no glacier.

Best time to go
May and June
An average annual temperature is from 46.4F to 57.2F in summer and Autumn.
The rainy season is from June to October and the snow is from October to February next year.

Ticket
Admission to Hailuogou: RMB 82/person, sightseeing bus: RMB 70/person,
cable car: RMB 160/person (roundtrip, from No 3 campsite to No 4 campsite)
Admission to Hot springs: RMB 65/person (At No 2 campsite)

Around Landscape
Mountain Gongga, Moxi Town, Er’daoqiao Hot spring, Jinggang Temple, Nanwu Temple, Ganzi Temple, Cuopu Scenic Area, Yading Scenic Area, Three Sacred Mountains, etc

Local Snacks and Specialties
Cherry, Loquat, Aroma peach, Chinese chestnut, Walnut, Cacti fruit, Persimmon, Peppertree Prickly ash, Edible tree fungi, etc.

Travel Tips
Bring warm clothes with you because weather is change to cold at night in mountain.
Viewing the glaciers must within the security lines.
Wearing sunglasses protect you from the ice and snow.
Loud cries and fireworks are prohibited in the glaciers areas.
Precautions should be taken for stone dropping on the passage from glaciers.
No littering in the park. Wastes should be taken back to the tourist center.
Notice safe when you dunk hot spring. Be sure to respect local customs and traditions. Please take sunbonnet, sunglass, and suntan oil in summer.

Distance
Beijing (2042 km) Chengdu City (290 km, 468 km, 750 km) Hailuogou Glaciers