Meili Snow Mountains

The Meili Snow Mountains are located on the border between  Deqin County in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture，Yunnan and Zayu County in Tibet，lying deep in the Hengduan Mountains where the three waters of the Jinsha，the Lancang and the Nujiang rivers converge．

It is a holy place of pilgrimage for Tibetan Buddhists，and the first of the eight great divine mountains in the Tibetan region．They connect with Mount Adongeni to the north，and with Biluo Snow Mountain to the south．Its main peak is Kang Karpo，6，740 meters above sea level，the highest peak in Yunnan Province．

To local Tibetan people，Mount Kang Karpo is the residence of their guardian deity and they believe that once the mountain is scaled by man，the god will leave，and without the god’s blessing，disasters will happen．In the Feilai Temple，Miancim the wife of Kang Karpo，is worshipped．She is a pretty woman riding a wild deer．In fact，whether Miancim or Kang Karpo，all the l 3 high peaks in the Meili Snow Mountains have an enchanting beauty．

The four seasons in the snow—capped Meili are distinctly different．Between the foot and the summit are several systems of plant distribution，transitioning from the tropical zone to the northern frigid zone．Above the snowline，there are steep snow—capped peaks encircled by clouds and mist，but below it are evergreen vegetation and flowers in full bloom．

Glaciers are widely distributed in the Meili．Here low--latitude and high--altitude monsoon modern marine glaciers have developed．They wind down along the valley，their ice tongues stretching down to the 2，700一meter forest area，just over 800 meters away from the waters of the Lancang River．The natural prot0—ecology around the glaciers is well preserved，representing the diverse natural and geographical characteristics of the xerothermic valley of the Lancang River．

The complex geology of the Hengduan Mountains and the changeable climate in the 10W—latitude snow mountains mean that the Meili are fraught with fatal dangers．Violent glacier movements have aggravated fissures in the mountain body still further，giving rise to suspended glaciers，hidden ice crevices，ice avalanches and snow avalanches．When a joint Sin0—Japanese team climbed the mountain，a snow avalanche killed all l7 members and even today，the Meili Snow Mountalns  still remain unconquered．