Yading, Protected area in Sichuan, China

Yading is a nature reserve in Daocheng County, southwestern Sichuan, built around three separated snow peaks arranged in a triangle: Chenrezig, Jampelyang and Chanadorje. More than thirty jagged rock peaks stand around them. The main summit rises above dark conifer slopes, and prayer flags hang from gnarled trees on the snow-covered ledges below.

American explorer Joseph Rock brought international attention to this region through his photographs and articles published in National Geographic magazine in 1928, documenting the landscape and local communities.

The three sacred peaks – Chenrezig, Jambeyang, and Chanadorje – embody different Buddhist Bodhisattvas and draw pilgrims who perform ritual circumambulations around the mountain massifs.

The three peaks stand apart in a triangle: Chenrezig is the first seen in full from the Daocheng side, while Jampelyang stays hidden until past Chonggu Temple and Shenshuimen. Chenrezig's clockwise kora takes about 10 to 13 hours, climbing twice from around 4,000 to 4,700 metres; local tourism authorities ban private kora in a written notice posted at the Luorong pasture horse-rental point. In autumn and winter only sunrise lights Chenrezig's summit, whereas Jampelyang shows its sunrise glow and Chanadorje its sunset glow.

Pearl Lake mirrors Mount Chenrezig during clear conditions, while Luorong Pasture at 4,150 meters (13,600 feet) elevation offers unobstructed views of all three sacred mountains simultaneously from its grazing grounds.