Moxi Ancient Town – The Old Town at the Foot of Mount Gongga

Located at 1,600 meters above sea level, on the eastern foothills of Minya Konka (Mount Gongga, or Gonggashan), Moxi Old Town is the gateway to Hailuogou Glacier Forest Park, and Mount Gongga itself. As a small, ancient town in Luding County in the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province, Moxi Ancient Town is a place that surrounded by pasture lands and farms, with the huge mountains of the Daxue Shan mountain range at its back.

Moxi Ancient Town – The Old Town at the Foot of Mount Gongga

Moxi town is a settlement of Han, Yi, and Tibetan people, and the town itself dates back to before the Qing Dynasty. The name, Moxi, literally means “A Promising Land” in the ancient Qiang language. While it is now the buzzword for Hailuogou, Moxi Town dates back to the time of the ancient Sichuan-Tibet Tea and Horse Road, known as Chamadao, which began in the tenth century. After tea was introduced to Tibet during the Tang Dynasty (618A.D.-907A.D.), it became a popular drink there, for its warmth and its aid to digestion. Moxi Town was an important town along the ancient Tea and Horse Road for supplies and rest, since nearby Kangding was the center for Tea Horse Trading in Kham.

Newly built hotels, restaurants, shops, and inns line the now-modern street.

Although it is the gateway to Hailuogou, it is outside the protected area, and it has become the main tourist base for visitors visiting Hailuogou Glacier Forest Park. The Tea and Horse Route has now become an ancient relic, and the former ten-day trek from Kangding to Moxi Town has now been reduced to a few hours with the highway that follows the ancient road. The town is once again booming, not with tea, but with tourism. Newly built hotels, restaurants, shops, and inns line the now-modern street that runs the 400 meters from the north to the south of the town.

While the town has many old buildings as well, even off the main street the small shops have turned to catering for the tourists, with modern bakeries, silver shops, small restaurants, and modern, well lit bars set into the ground floor of ancient Tibetan buildings.

Highlights of Moxi Old Town

Old buildings from Ming and Qing Dynasty

Whilst the town has had a lot of modernization over the last several years to cater to the ever-increasing volume of tourists that come here, it still retains many of its older buildings. Some of them can date back to the Ming Dynasty, in the 14th century. Many of the periodic buildings remind you that the town is a mix of Han, Yi, Tibetan, and Qiang ethnic minorities, and has a very long history.

Built on the hillside, with mountains on its east, west and north sides, Moxi Town is still a typical two-horse town, despite the modernization of recent years. Old-style Tibetan houses line parts of the main street, and if you wander off down the side streets, which are narrower, you can see the real origins of the town, and its more ancient buildings. Tarmac gives way to streets of cobbled stone, lined both sides lined with old, wooden, two-story buildings from the last Qing Dynasty (1644 -1911), many hung with Chinese-style lanterns that light the streets at night.

two-story buildings from the last Qing Dynasty

The ancient part of Moxi Old Town has just one street left in its original style. Here the buildings date back to the Ming Dynasty and many are preserved, with old-style shop fronts still plying their trades in local handicrafts and traditional Tibetan and Han foods, including yak meat. But even this ancient street has adapted to cater for tourists, with a few modern restaurants and bars set into the ancient buildings, although they still retain their original styles and architecture on the outside.

Aside from the ancient Ming and Qing Dynasty buildings, some parts of the town although not modern, date back to less ancient times than their counterparts do. Deep among the older streets of the town lies a small part of western culture, in the form of an old, gothic Catholic Church, which was built by French missionaries in 1918. However, while the church may be a western notion of religion, the style and architecture is very oriental, blending the French romanticism with the traditional temple style of southwest China.

Gothic Catholic Church

Another old feature of the town’s architecture is the famous Luding Bridge. This crossing of the Dadu River in Moxi Town is a historical landmark from the Qing Dynasty, and is made from 13 huge iron chains and hundreds of wooden slats. All 13 chains run from one side of the bridge to the other, with four acting as handrails, while the other nine run underneath the wood of the bridge’s walkway. Legend says that, after Emperor Kangxi unified the warlords of ancient China under his rule, he ordered the construction of the bridge to strengthen the economic and cultural exchanges with the Tibetan people living in Sichuan Province. At both ends of the bridge are ancient wooden gatehouses, a feature that is unique throughout China.

Culture of Local Ethnic Groups

The culture in Moxi Town is a strange mix of Han Chinese, Tibetan, and Yi Chinese. When the people first came to the lands around western Sichuan, the softer, lusher lands were inviting, and they slowly filtered into the valleys of Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou. As the clans slowly split off and formed tribes, some of these clans became the modern-day minorities of China, such as the Qiang and Yi people.

The Yi minority, or “Nuoso”, are one of the largest and most widespread of all the peoples who left the Himalayan region for the lower altitudes. The Yi minority have retained much of their ancient culture and heritage, despite being faced with modern globalization. Yi religion is coalesced around the Bimo Shamans, leaders who were revered for their ability to read, write, and recite the ancient Yi scriptures of life, birth, death, harvest, and many other important cultural ceremonies. They have their own form of writing, which has survived to the present day.

Yi Minority

Sichuan Province is home to a large number of Tibetan people, spread across both northern and western Sichuan. Their culture is traditional Tibetan, and majority is devout Buddhists. In this area of western Sichuan, around Minya Konka, the indigenous population is Tibetan. The ancient Tibetan kingdoms extended into what is now Sichuan, Yunnan, Qinghai, and Gansu, and the people of these regions have remained after they were taken over by the ancient Chinese rulers. While they may not be as nomadic as their plateau-based brethren in Tibet proper, many are farmers, and they follow the traditions of the Tibetan farmers, as well as all of their customs and festivals. Even the houses of the area are of the traditional Tibetan design, and in Moxi Town, there are still many large, Tibetan houses that line the main street, as well as being found in almost every part of the town.

Local Snacks

Snacks in Moxi Town vary from traditional Tibetan, to spicy Szechuan, with a few tasty dishes from Yi cuisine that are both spicy and sour. Yi food is not subtle, and the flavors are distinct and fierce, much like the people, or very subdued and plain. Buckwheat pancakes are a popular snack, as are unpeeled boiled potatoes, or fire-roasted potatoes.

Tsampa - The Main Food in Tibetan Cuisine

Tibetan snacks are the same wherever you go, and while not always delicious, they are very nutritious and filling. The main food in Tibetan cuisine is tsampa, which is also a staple of foods in Moxi for Tibetan people. Yak meat here is considered a delicacy, since there are not many yaks in the area, but noodle soups, butter tea, and momos are still prevalent in the area.

Han dishes and snacks can differ between regions, and the Han Chinese in Sichuan eat mainly traditional Sichuan dishes. Sichuan food is traditionally hot and spicy, and it is famous for its “tongue-numbing” dishes.

Best Time to Visit

Most tourists come to Moxi town for their Mount Gongga tour or Hailuogou tour. Hailuogou Glacier Park has different scenery in different seasons, and each season brings its own activities and things to see. In summer the valleys are filled with the sight of thousands of wild flowers in full bloom, giving the grassy meadows a blanket of colors. In autumn the leaves all turn varying shades of red, gold, and amber, which covers the wooded hills of the valley. As the leaves drop in late autumn, the valleys are covered with a carpet of red and gold leaves, leaving the bare branches of the trees looking like thin fingers reaching toward the sky. Summer and autumn are the best times for hiking along the trails, and getting the best shots of these color-rich scenes, though you need rain gear in summer due to it being the rainy season.

Hailuogou Glacier Park

In winter the area is a world of white, as snow covers the entire area, and it is nice to take walks along the valley through the bed of virgin snow. However, it can get very cold, and sometimes the roads are blocked with the heavy snow falls, so it is advisable not to wander too far unaccompanied. As spring comes around, the temperature gets a little warmer, and the snow in the lower regions of the valley starts its thaw. Small rivers trickle down the hillsides to the main river that runs along the valley floor. As the thaw continues, new buds start to appear on the trees, and the new spring leaves start to cover the branches, while the early blossoms of the clover and heathers form a sea of lilac flowers in the meadows.

8 Days Mount Gongga Adventure Tour

Where to Stay in Moxi Ancient Town

Moxi Town has been developed over the years, with plenty of new hotels and inns being built along the main street. Some of the most popular, and most convenient, are the hotels that are near the Hailuogou Service Center, as they are within easy walking distance of the shuttle buses that transport visitors to the valleys, and the camps for viewing the glaciers.

Hotels in Moxi Town

Hotels in Moxi Town range from four-star down to one star, and there are also a number of local guest houses, where you can stay in a traditional Tibetan house, with local Tibetan meals. A number of the inns in the town also have rooms that can be rented as a base while you are hiking the area or visiting the glaciers in the park.

How to Get There

Chengdu to Moxi

There are several ways to get to Moxi Town from Chengdu, and the easiest is to hire a car with a local driver. The route is also pretty straightforward, as there are few turns off the highway before you get there. Or you can take a flight from Chengdu to Kangding, and then hire the car in Kangding, which makes it easier to get there.

Chengdu to Moxi

Or there are buses from Chengdu that you can take, that leave Chengdu Xinnamen Bus Station at 9:30am and 9:50am, which drop off either in Moxi Town or at the entrance to Hailuogou. The trip takes around seven hours, and a normal ticket costs around 116 CNY.

Moxi to Hailuogou Glacier Park

Getting to Hailuogou Valley from Moxi Town is relatively simple. There are shuttle buses that run from the Hailuogou Service Center that can take you to Camp 3, where you can walk the glaciers or try the cable car that goers up to Camp 4, where you can get a great view of Minya Konka. Entrance to the valley costs around 91 CNY each, while the bus costs 70 CNY and the cable car is 150 CNY per person.

Moxi to Hailuogou Glacier Park

Moxi to Yanzigou Scenic Area

Getting to Yanzi Valley from Moxi Town is not as simple as Hailuogou. While there is a bus that can drop you at the entrance to the valley, there are no roads that run inside, so you will need to walk or hire a horse. Horses and guides can be hired in Moxi Town, for around 80-120 CNY per day. You will also need to feed the guide while you are with them, so it is a good idea to have enough food for him as well. Guides are not necessary in the valley, but it is a good idea to have one if you can. Plus, the local guides know the valley well, and can help you with local knowledge and routes to take.

Moxi to Yanzigou Scenic Area

Unlike Hailuogou, there are no restaurants or eateries in Yanzigou Scenic Area, so you will need to take enough food and water with you for your whole trek. There are a few people that live in the valley, though, so if you want a break from camping, your guide can arrange a stay in a local home for the night.