Meili Snow Mountains ( Chinese : 梅里雪山 ; pinyin : Méilǐ Xuěshān ), Mainri ( སྨན་རི། ) or Minling Snow Mountains ( Tibetan : སྨིན་གླིང་གངས་རི། , Wylie : smin gling gangs ri ) is a mountain range in the Chinese province of Yunnan . It lies close to the northwestern boundary of the province and is bounded by the Nujiang river on the west and the Lancang River on the east. The Meili are subrange of the larger Nu Mountains , themselves a constituent range of the Hengduan group.
29-504: The crest of the range rises to over 6,000 metres (20,000 ft) above sea level, making for impressive prominence over the river valleys to the east and west, which are between 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) and 1,900 metres (6,200 ft) in elevation. The highest peak is Kawagarbo , which rises to 6,740 metres (22,110 ft). Kawagarbo is considered sacred for Tibetan Buddhists . Other significant peaks include Mianzimu , Cogar Laka and Jiariren-an . Because of restrictions and dangerous conditions, none of
58-551: A huge challenge that its glacier water resource is getting scarcer annually. Protecting the environment and preventing the area from losing its water resource becomes more important each year. The environmental protection in Meili Snow Mountain could be decisive to its biome system. Kawagebo Kawa Garbo or Khawa Karpo ( Tibetan : ཁ་བ་དཀར་པོ། , ZYPY : Kawagarbo ; also transcribed as Kawadgarbo , Khawakarpo , Moirig Kawagarbo , Kawa Karpo or Kha-Kar-Po ), as it
87-501: A huge trend of decreasing each year. Most of the precipitation is in summer while winter has the least. The monsoon period contributes the most to the annual precipitation. Approximately 67% of the precipitation is in the Monsoon period. Among all the observations since 1990, the precipitation in Spring has decreased by 10% in total. The amount of precipitation also has a strong correlation with
116-656: A range of high peaks that are generally referred to by Tibetans also as Kawagarpo. A mapping error by the Chinese army during the 1950s transcribed the name for a lower range of mountains to the north on a much larger area that also included Kawagarbo. The name of this lower range in Tibetan is Menri (Wylie system; Sman-ri in the Wade–Giles system; name means Mountains of Medicinal Herbs), but is most widely known by its Chinese transliteration, Meili Xue Shan (梅里雪山 or Meili Snow Mountain). This
145-408: A strong correlation with the elevation. During the monsoon period, the precipitation decreases as the elevation gets lower on the west side of the mountain range. However, the precipitation raises tremendously on the east side of the mountain where the elevation is below 3,700m. Due to the increasing trend of temperature and the decreasing trend of precipitation, the Meili Snow Mountain range is facing
174-469: A trend of increasing each year since 1990. The temperature of the area is distributed by the mountain range that splits the area into west and east. The temperature on the North-West side increases the most while the east remains mostly the same across the whole year. The increasing trend of temperature in the Meili Snow Mountain range has a strong correlation with the elevation. At an area higher than 4,000m,
203-637: Is a mountain range in the Chinese province of Yunnan . It lies close to the northwestern boundary of the province and is bounded by the Nujiang river on the west and the Lancang River on the east. The Meili are subrange of the larger Nu Mountains , themselves a constituent range of the Hengduan group. The crest of the range rises to over 6,000 metres (20,000 ft) above sea level, making for impressive prominence over
232-540: Is a sacred mountain in Tibetan culture . The local people believe ascending the mountain is blasphemy and any mountaineering accidents constituted anger of the gods. After considering the local cultural perspectives and for the safety of the expedition, the local government at Deqin has forbidden further climbing activities in the Meili Snow Mountain area. The average temperature in Meili Snow Mountain Area has had
261-424: Is found on the west or Salween River side of the range. Coincident with this extreme topographic gradient is a similarly steep environmental gradient. Compressed within this short distance are subtropical scrub ecosystems along the arid canyon bottoms, rising through dry oak forests, humid mixed deciduous-coniferous forests, cold temperate coniferous forests, alpine meadows and scree above treeline, to permanent snow on
290-490: Is known by local residents and pilgrims, or Kawagebo Peak ( Chinese : 卡瓦格博 ), is the highest mountain in the Chinese province of Yunnan . It is located on the border between Dêqên County , Yunnan, and the counties of Zogang and Zayü of the Tibet Autonomous Region . It rises about 20 kilometres (12 mi) west of Shengping (升平镇), the seat of Dêqên County, which lies on China National Highway 214 . What
319-462: Is now Dêqên County has been part of Yunnan since the 1720s, when the current border with Tibet was established by the early Qing Dynasty. Kawagarbo is one of the most sacred peaks in the Tibetan world and is often referred to as Nyainqênkawagarbo to show its sacredness and avoid ambiguousness with the other Kawagarbo in the Anung-Derung -speaking Gongshan County . Kawagarbo is the high point in
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#1733085681152348-459: Is the name most widely applied to the range by Chinese and Western sources. The Meili range is a small massif of the much more extensive Hengduan Shan , the major north-south trending complex of mountains lying along the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau in eastern Tibet , northwestern Yunnan , western Sichuan , and far northern Myanmar . The Meili Xue Shan forms part of the divide between
377-515: The Salween (Nujiang) and Mekong (Lancangjiang) rivers. The Meili Xue Shan has over 20 peaks with permanent snow cover, including six peaks over 6,000 m (19,700 ft). Topographic extremes are immense, with vertical relief ranging from less than 2,000 m along the Mekong River on the east to 6,740 m on the summit of Kawagarpo within 10 km horizontal distance. Even greater topographic relief
406-503: The Yunnan side of the massif. Because it descends from near the summit of Kawagarbo, it is also considered sacred by Tibetan Buddhists and two temples are located along its lower edge. From those temples, the rapid retreat of Mingyong Glacier is obvious, especially to local people who observe it year in and year out. A monk from Taizi Temple reflected on this rapid retreat of Mingyong Glacier, concerned that it might be punishment from Kawagarpo for
435-435: The area is distributed by the mountain range that splits the area into west and east. The temperature on the North-West side increases the most while the east remains mostly the same across the whole year. The increasing trend of temperature in the Meili Snow Mountain range has a strong correlation with the elevation. At an area higher than 4,000m, the temperature's increasing trend gets larger per meter. The precipitation has
464-461: The dominant religion of the Kawagarbo area, with followers of Gelugpa doctrine being the most common. Tibetans believe that their warrior god would leave them if a human should ever set foot on the peak of Kawakarpo, thereby robbing the peak of its sanctity and leading to disasters in the wake of the loss of the god's protection. Tibetans have also established a centuries-old sacred geography around
493-432: The elevation. During the monsoon period, the precipitation decreases as the elevation gets lower on the west side of the mountain range. However, the precipitation raises tremendously on the east side of the mountain where the elevation is below 3,700m. Due to the increasing trend of temperature and the decreasing trend of precipitation, the Meili Snow Mountain range is facing a huge challenge that its glacier water resource
522-408: The high peaks. The Mingyong Glacier, descending from the summit of Kawagarbo, terminates at a low elevation just before the subtropical life zone. The range is highly affected by the monsoon , leading to especially unstable snow conditions, which have affected climbing attempts (see below). Kawagarbo is one of the most sacred mountains for Tibetan Buddhism as the spiritual home of a warrior god of
551-729: The lack of devotion by him and his fellow Buddhists. The retreat of Mingyong Glacier, linked to a warming climate in the Deqin area, has received considerable attention for its implications for biodiversity conservation, retrieval of climber's bodies killed in the 1991 avalanche, impacts on Mingyong village water supply, and in the broader context of climate change impacts to biological and social systems in northwest Yunnan and beyond. Meili Xue Shan Meili Snow Mountains ( Chinese : 梅里雪山 ; pinyin : Méilǐ Xuěshān ), Mainri ( སྨན་རི། ) or Minling Snow Mountains ( Tibetan : སྨིན་གླིང་གངས་རི། , Wylie : smin gling gangs ri )
580-405: The major peaks in the range have ever been summited. In Tibet, people usually call the mountain by its peak Kawagarbo or Taizi(Prince) Snow Mountain. In Tibetan, "Meili/Mainri" means mountains of herbs. People named the mountain "Meili/Mainri" because of the valuable herbs on this mountain. Meili Snow mountain has 13 main peaks. They are also called "Taizi (Prince) Thirteen Peaks". Kawagarbo
609-413: The mountain is blasphemy and any mountaineering accidents constituted anger of the gods. After considering the local cultural perspectives and for the safety of the expedition, the local government at Deqin has forbidden further climbing activities in the Meili Snow Mountain area. The average temperature in Meili Snow Mountain Area has had a trend of increasing each year since 1990. The temperature of
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#1733085681152638-476: The peak in conjunction with a Chinese group. Their activity caused heavy protests from the local Tibetan community due to the mountain's cultural and religious significance. On 3 January 1991, a nighttime avalanche killed all seventeen members of the expedition, in one of the most deadly mountaineering accidents in history. The same Japanese club from Kyoto returned in 1996 and made another unsuccessful attempt. American expeditions, led by Nicholas Clinch , visited
667-529: The peak, maintained by religious leaders from local monasteries in negotiation with local villages. This sacred natural site preserves the natural resources and ecological health of the range. The first attempt on Kawakarpo was made in 1987 by a party from the Joetsu Alpine Club of Japan. In the winter of 1990–91 a Japanese group from the Academic Alpine Club of Kyoto University attempted
696-467: The range have ever been summited. In Tibet, people usually call the mountain by its peak Kawagarbo or Taizi(Prince) Snow Mountain. In Tibetan, "Meili/Mainri" means mountains of herbs. People named the mountain "Meili/Mainri" because of the valuable herbs on this mountain. Meili Snow mountain has 13 main peaks. They are also called "Taizi (Prince) Thirteen Peaks". Kawagarbo is a sacred mountain in Tibetan culture . The local people believe ascending
725-403: The range in 1988, 1989, 1992, and 1993, attempting other major peaks, but were unsuccessful. In 2001, local Chinese government passed laws banning all future climbing attempts on cultural and religious grounds. As of 2010 , none of the significant peaks of the range have been successfully climbed. Mingyong Glacier descends steeply from the east face of Kawagarbo into the Mekong River valley on
754-406: The river valleys to the east and west, which are between 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) and 1,900 metres (6,200 ft) in elevation. The highest peak is Kawagarbo , which rises to 6,740 metres (22,110 ft). Kawagarbo is considered sacred for Tibetan Buddhists . Other significant peaks include Mianzimu , Cogar Laka and Jiariren-an . Because of restrictions and dangerous conditions, none of the major peaks in
783-473: The same name. It is visited by 20,000 pilgrims each year from throughout the Tibetan world; many pilgrims circumambulate the peak, an arduous 240 km (150 mi) trek Although it is important throughout Tibetan Buddhism, it is the local Tibetans that are the day-to-day guardians and stewards of Kawagarbo, both the deity and the mountain. The ancestral religion of the Kawagarpo area, as in much of Tibet,
812-458: The temperature's increasing trend gets larger per meter. The precipitation has a huge trend of decreasing each year. Most of the precipitation is in summer while winter has the least. The monsoon period contributes the most to the annual precipitation. Approximately 67% of the precipitation is in the Monsoon period. Among all the observations since 1990, the precipitation in Spring has decreased by 10% in total. The amount of precipitation also has
841-500: Was Bön , a shamanistic tradition based on the concept of a world pervaded by good and evil spirits. Bön encompassed numerous deities and spirits which are still recognized today, and are often connected with specific geographical localities and natural features; the major mountain peaks in the Hengduan Mountains are thus all identified with specific deities. Kawagarbo is one of these. Since its introduction, Tibetan Buddhism has been
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