Kyle ObermannExplorer

Mount Gonga is located on the western side of Sichuan Province, approximately 330km from Chengdu. The trek around its western face follows major river valleys and traverses one pass over 4900m (highest point). In its entirety, the trek takes five to six days to complete and is entirely above 3000m. The closest major town and best access point to the route is Kangding (康定). Kangding is a bustlin...

Start from Chongu Monastery and go toLuorong Pasture. To get here you can either walk 6km on the boardedpathways or take a ~20minute electric cart for 80RMB round trip or50RMB one way. The Luorong Pasture offers some great views of thesurrounding peaks, especially a famous and jaw-dropping view of theshear Jampelyang peak. From Luorong it is about a 300-400mascent over 5k to Milk and Five Color...

The trail up is a combination of manmade and natural stairs that take you up to the top. At the summit, you will find beautiful views of the area, and a pavilion where you can have a picnic lunch. To head back down by a different route, continue on the northern trail, which will take you past more scenic views, then down to the north end of the parking lot.

This trip makes a great extended weekend getaway from Beijing. Mt. Xiawutai lies in the neighboring province of Hebei and is Hebei's highest peak at 2882m. Getting to the mountain requires either taking a bus from the Beijing South Railway station to the town of Taohua (桃花镇) or train to Xiahuayuan (下花园). Either option is for under $15 and takes about 3-4 hours. If taking the train, you'll need ...

Starting from almost sea level, it’s almost a full 800m climb to the top of the highest peak, Baegundae. The most direct route is about 7km start to finish, although it’s also possible to do an out and back route for those with less time. Overall, the whole hike takes 3-5 hours and follows a mix of dirt trails, stone stairs, and granite slope with chains for safety when nearing the top. In wint...

Day 1Start from bus drop off in the park, walk 500m up the road to Chonggu Monastery (冲古寺). Once you reach the monastery keep heading up and start walking on the road where the little carts are taking tourists up to the Luorong Pasture (洛绒牛场). This walk is unpleasant as technically it is only for carts, but after about 500m or so from where they are picking up tourists the path will branch off ...

FromXining, Qinghai Province's main airport and city, take the bus 6~hours to Qilian Town (祁连县).The bus ticket is 58RMB and the first one leaves at 8:15am everyday.There are multiple buses every day.From the SE end ofthe Qilian (near the main town square) head almost due south,following the patchwork of small roads through the town until youreach a main road (small, but the only one) that leads...

This is a really nice section of the Great Wall that is much less known than many other parts. You are likely to hike here and find yourself the only one on the wall. Some parts are completely overgrown, you have to bushwack through the growth on top of the wall to go ahead and stairs are dangerously crumbling, other parts have been fully restored.Practically, if you want to do it entirely on y...

To get there, first talk to park ranger at the Pine Springs Visitor Center. There is a gate that you may need to borrow a key for. You will need to actually drive out of the park to get to the gypsum dunes, leaving and heading west on 62/180 for 14 miles and then take a right (head north) on private road 1576 21 miles close to Dell City. Before you reach Dell city there will be a turn off heade...