A wild jewel

Yading's natural beauty lures a growing number of hikers, runners and festival goers, but it's still remote enough to offer solitude

It's a pilgrimage and an experience mixing with fun and challenge to jog in the pristine wilderness at an elevation above 4,000 in Yading.

I heave along the 10-km tortuous track that traverses terrain from mountain and grasslands to lake shore. Walking at such a high altitude is already very demanding to me, but seeing some other runners beside me at the Yading Skyrunning Festival spurs me on.

Some sections are covered with small gravel, and some only allow for one to pass at a time, with a precipice immediately on the other side. But the view is spectacular.

Three mountain peaks blanketed by dazzling white snow resemble a beacon and guide the way for us all the way.

"These three peaks are clad in white all year long, and locals regard them as having been given by Buddha," a local guide tells me at the festival in early May.

The blue waters of rivers and lakes meeting lush alpine meadows all make for a majestic tapestry.

Multicolored prayer flags and local Tibetans leading mules hauling goods along the difficult mountain path add an exotic touch to it.

Yading sits in southern Daocheng county, Garze Tibetan autonomous prefecture, in Sichuan province.