A spectacular extraterrestrial landscape formed under the heavy pressure of ancient glaciers 2 million years ago

Haizi Mountain is a national nature reserve located between Daocheng and Litang, and is also part of the Haizi Mountain Park in the Daocheng Geopark of Sichuan. It has an altitude of 4500-4700 meters and covers an area of nearly 6000 square kilometers, with 1145 lakes of various sizes scattered throughout. This high density of lakes gives the mountain its name, 'Haizi Mountain'. The area is the largest ancient glacial relic on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Traveling along National Highway 227, one can see a desolate and bleak landscape on both sides, filled with large rocks, glaciers, and glacial lakes, resembling the surface of a strange Mars. Everywhere are geological relics left by ancient glacial erratics. Around 3 million years ago, during the Quaternary glaciation, a massive ice cap over 500 meters thick formed here, almost completely covering this high plateau. The immense pressure of the glaciers caused the originally solid granite mountains to gradually crumble under long-term pressure, and the fragmented rocks were carried far away by the glaciers, forming 'glacial erratics'. This created the largest glacial relic on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, a geological wonder and a treasure trove of unique flora and fauna. Due to its excellent observation conditions, with no light pollution and thin air, the world's largest and most sensitive cosmic ray observatory, a space environment monitoring network's ring array solar wind radio imaging telescope, and a large optical infrared telescope are established here. Daocheng Astronomical Park is also built here, where one can stay overnight on the plateau and gaze at the vast starry sky and twinkling meteors. Haizi Mountain is not only a geological marvel but also a training ground for novice mountaineers.