Four Girl Mountain

The Four Girl Mountain Scenic Area is an unspoiled wilderness park located in western Sichuan Province, near the town of Rilong in Aba Autonomous Prefecture. It's 220 kilometers (about 136 miles) from Chengdu, and will take you about five or six hours to reach by bus. The main attraction of this scenic spot is unspoiled natural beauty. The unusual shapes of the mountain peaks are rarely seen anywhere else in the world. The blue sky, clouds and mist, snow peaks, ancient cypress forests, rushing waterfalls, and alpine meadows make this area a nature lovers dream. The biggest scenic area in Aba Autonomous Prefecture, Four Girl Mountain Scenic Area includes one mountain-- Four Girl Mountain, and three valleys-Two-Bridge (Shuangqiao) Valley, Long-Peace (Changping) Valley, and Alpine-Lake (Haizi) Valley.

Four Girl Mountain consists of four adjacent mountain peaks. It got its unusual name from a local Tibetan legend that says the four peaks are the embodiments of four pretty girls. At 6,250 meters (about 20,500 feet), the highest peak of Four Girl Mountain, known as "the little girl" is also called the 'Queen Peak' of Mt. Shu Shan in the Hengduan range. There is a higher 'King Peak' in Sichuan province but it is not in this area.

Four Girl Mountain is famed for its steep and imposing ridges. The high meadows are gorgeous throughout the four seasons. Hundreds of wildflowers burst forth in spring, giving way to luxuriant green trees and grass in summer. In the fall, the leaves on the trees blaze in color heralding the coming snows of winter. Because of the clear, blue sky, the thick forest at the foot of the mountains, the verdant grassland, and the murmuring streams, Four Girl Mountain is sometimes known as the 'Alps of the Orient'. You may, in fact, think you are in southern Europe.