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We started off from Xinduqiao Village early in the morning. Xinduqiao, located at the intersection of Sichuan – Tibet Highway, is reputed as the Paradise of Photographers. Situated on a sea level of about 3,300 meters, it’s an endless grassland with winding streams and mountains. As we drove along, we saw forests changing colors from yellow leaves scattered here and there into a great golden world of deep golden color.
Although this tranquil and pristine land seems just like God’s secret garden, we didn’t linger for too long and continued driving to our destination: Seda, the place of my dream.
After traveling through a long and bumpy road, we arrived in Seda County at 2 in the afternoon. Seda (Sertar) which means “golden horse” in Tibetan, lies in the southeast of the Tibetan Plateau.
Before we began the challenging mountain hike, we decided to see Tianzang Funeral (Sky Burial) first.
Funeral is the usual means for disposing of the dead among the majority of Tibetan people as well as many Mongols. The corpse is offered to the vultures to eat. For Tibetan Buddhists, this custom is considered an act of generosity on the part of the dead, since they are providing food to sustain living beings. Such generosity and compassion for all beings are important virtues in Buddhism.
The procedure took place on a site where a large flat rock lies higher than its surroundings. Simple as it was. Groups of vultures were already hovering above the site. What the vultures brought was not only a lot of noise but a terror. For some reason, I got chickened out at the last minute and turned away.
And so we began hiking for the panoramic view of Seda from the highest point of the mountain. Seda is home to the Larung Gar Buddhist Academy, the world’s biggest Buddhist school founded in 1980s. Now it houses tens of thousands of monks and pilgrims, which constitute the vast majority of the Seda population.
Not long after we started, we were breathing heavily and felt dizzy and a pain in the head. The effects of the altitude were not expected so soon. However we insisted to finish the journey. At last we reached the top with an altitude of 3,014 meters. We stopped and stared at the beautiful view in awe: a vast sea of red houses. The houses are all built in a wood style that is traditionally found in this region. The houses are built so close together that they are almost on top of each other, layers and layers of them.
Not until my partner told me that my complexion didn’t look good did I realize I was cold and breathing heavily. So we returned to our hotel.