Shenmulei Scenic Area

Chinese name: 神木垒（Shen Mu Lei)
Location: Qiaoqi village, Baoxing County, Ya’an City, Sichuan Province
Ticket: Entrance ticket CNY55.00
Estimated time of tour: 3-4hours
Recommended time of visit: Apr to Nov.
Nearby attractions: Dongla Grand Canyon,Mount Dawagengzha, Bifengxia, Bifengxia Valley, Dengchi Valley, etc.

Shenmulei Scenic Area is located in Baoxing County, Sichuan Province. It is 50km away from downtown Baoxing. It sits at the elevation about 3000m, west of Qiaoqi Tibetan village. It is part of Mt. Jiajin Scenic Area and Mt.Jiajin National Park. It covers an area of 40 square kilometers, consisting of virgin forests, snow peaked mountains, river systems and highland grasslands.

Shenmulei has unique landforms and primitive natural scenery. It has beautiful scenery, excellent air, and alpine meadows and calcified flow pools form a unique natural style. A bird's-eye view of the scenic area, forests and snow-capped mountains and streams set off each other, various peculiar mountains and colorful pools correspond to each other, tourist mountain roads and wooden bridges are cleverly interspersed between them, and various cattle, sheep, mules and horses are added, making the entire scenic area like a natural picture scroll Generally, a unique landscape is formed.

Newly built plank routes allow visitors to trek in its dense forests and enjoy the fresh air. This area is home to many Tibetans. The grasslands on highland are their grazing ground for goats and yaks. There are not much modern facilities in this area, the pristine scenery is purely natural and original.

● Mt. Jiajin and Long March

Jiajinshan (Mt. Jiajin), as Shenmulei Scenic Spot is part of, is a formidable snow mountain in Sichuan Province. Jiajin is it pronunciation in Tibetan language. It is home of abundant forests and many rare species of plants and animals, such as Golden Monkey(Rhinopithecus), Takin (Budorcas taxicolor) and Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). In Tibetan language, Jiajin means”high and steep”, it precisely depicted the overall character of this mountain. It sits between Dawei village of Xiaojin County and Baoxing County of Ya’an City.

The tough terrain and unpredictable weather make it a tricky place to traverse for animals and people. Even today, with modern technology and facilities, climbing over this mountain is still considered a challenge. But more than 90 years ago, an army managed to conquer this vicious land with bear foot and very little gears. The attempt was part of grand march later known as the Long March of Chinese Red Army. It started thousands miles away from this mountain in China’s southwest Jiangxi Province in 1934 by Chinese Communist Party. It was a survival march for communists who were at that time desperately trying to break the besieging of Nationalists who were the ruling power of China. They made their way at the foot of this mighty mountain in 1935 and managed to pass it as no one expected. Traversing this mountain was seen as a key victory for Chinese communists and led to its successful strategic relocation.