Kangding 康定Kāngdìng

Why go to Kangding

Kangding, Dartsedo in Tibetan, sits at about 2,560 metres in a steep valley where the Zheduo and Yala rivers meet, and for centuries it was where Tibetan and Han traders met too. Today it's a busy town of monasteries and riverside streets, and the natural first night's stop for travellers heading west onto the plateau. Climb Paoma Mountain, the hill of the famous 'Kangding Love Song', and make a side trip to Mugecuo, an alpine lake at nearly 3,800 metres in the forested mountains north-west of town.

The story

In the late 17th century the Qing court made Kangding, then called Dajianlu, the official market for tea traded into Tibet. Porters carried towering loads of brick tea over the mountains from Ya'an, and Tibetan-run guozhuang houses lodged the caravans and brokered their deals. The town's love song, a local folk tune collected in the 1940s, went on to become one of the best-known songs in the Chinese-speaking world.

What to see at Kangding

• Paoma Mountain 跑马山: The hill above the town that gave the love song its name. A cable car runs up from near Jinggang Temple, or you can walk up in about half an hour, for views over the rooftops and valley.
• Anjue Temple 安觉寺: A small Tibetan Buddhist temple in the middle of the old town, easy to drop into between other stops.
• Nanwu and Jinggang temples 南无寺与金刚寺: Two neighbouring monasteries on the hillside south of town, known together as the 'twin temples in the cloud forest'. Jinggang Temple has a masked dance in the Tibetan calendar's fifth month.
• Mugecuo 木格措: An alpine lake at about 3,777 metres, around 20 km from town, with forests, grassland and hot springs nearby. It is the area's classic day trip.
• Evening square dancing 广场锅庄: Locals gather in the evening in the town square to dance in circles to traditional music; visitors are welcome to watch.

How to visit Kangding

The old town is small and compact, with a river through the middle, so you can see the temples and square on foot in a day. Paoma Mountain has a cable car and a half-hour walking route. Mugecuo needs a separate day trip by car or taxi, and its inner bus loops the lake and forest, so start early and wrap up for the altitude.

How to get to Kangding

Kangding is about 3.5–4 hours from Chengdu by bus or car on the Ya'an–Kangding expressway. Alternatively, take a train from Chengdu to Ya'an (about 1–1.5 hours) and continue by road; the railway west of Ya'an is still under construction.

Where to stay

Stay in the town centre, around the streets between the bus station and the central square, where you can walk to the river, shops and temples. Kangding is the usual first night west of Chengdu and a good place to adjust to the altitude.

What to eat

• Braised yak 卤牦牛肉: Sliced yak simmered in spiced brine and eaten cold or warm, a staple of the town's Tibetan-influenced shops.
• Highland barley flatbread 青稞饼: A dense, nutty flatbread from highland barley, often eaten with the braised yak.

Tips for visiting Kangding

• At about 2,560 metres, Kangding is a good place to spend a night acclimatising before crossing the 4,298-metre Zheduo Pass to the west.
• Snow can close Zheduo Pass at short notice, even in spring and autumn, and summer rains bring landslides; check road conditions before setting out.
• Garzê is open to foreign travellers without a special permit, but rules for some areas can change at short notice; carry your passport, which hotels and road checkpoints ask for.

Nearby

• Tagong Grassland 塔公草原 50 km
  Yak pastures, a revered monastery and the snow peak of Zhara Lhatse on the horizon
• Hailuogou Glacier 海螺沟 60 km
  A glacier spilling down into fir forest beneath Mount Gongga, Sichuan's highest peak
• Jiaju Tibetan Village 甲居藏寨 100 km
  Painted Gyalrong Tibetan farmhouses on a mountainside, in a valley of ancient towers
• Mount Mengding 蒙顶山 100 km
  Misty tea terraces and an imperial tea garden where tea growing is said to have begun

Also within 30 km: Mugecuo Lake 木格措 (20 km), Minyak Holy Land, Kangding 木雅圣地 (20 km), Dadu River Suspension Bridge, Luding 大渡河悬索桥 (30 km).

On the map

Open Kangding on the illustrated map to see the terrain around it, what else is close, and to add it to a trip and plan the days.

Learn more

• Wikipedia: Kangding