Songpan

Songpan City is a bonanza of ancient temples and historical monuments. On the southwest of the city is the magnificent Guanyin Pavilion dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy, a female form of the Buddha. Being at the top of a hill, the temple is surrounded by beautiful scenery and provides a vantage point for some perfect pictures. While the Temple of Great Mercy is famous for its bell. Its gong could be heard as far as the provincial capital Chengdu in the old days.

In the northern suburbs of Songpan City lies the charming Chuanzhu Temple. Due to its location, tourists visit the temple on their way to other tourist attractions like Huanglong, Zoige, Jiuzhaigou, Hongyuan, and the prairies.

Among the historical monuments of Songpan, the Ancient City Wall built during the Ming Dynasty is the most famous. The wall was made by boiling together glutinous rice, tung oil, and lime. The wall is 12cms thick, 10 meters tall, and 6,200 meters long.

Another historical site near Songpan is the Ancient Battlefield and Tongyuan Bridge. This site still has the sentry towers, beacons, passes, and the battlefields along the Minjiang and Fujing river valleys in good condition. Of course, it would be a shame to leave Songpan City without visiting the historical Red Army Long March Memorial Park. This park is located on the Yuanbao Mountain and is an important symbol for the Communist Party of China. It is the venue of several important meetings held during the long Red Army march and political struggle.

The way from the Chuanzhu Temple to Gainitai is covered by the most fascinating scenery of vast meadows and prairies where the local are involved in animal husbandry. There are several tiny Tibetan Buddhist temples in the region because the locals are very religious and pious people.