Top Ten China Off-the-Beaten-Path Adventures

Climb with the eagles at Gongga Shan, Western Sichuan's "Sublime White Mountain"—a 24,783 foot pinnacle of ice where successful summits have happened only twice. The peak is clad in four glaciers, the largest of which—Hailuogou or "Conch Gully"—frosts the mountain's eastern flank.

In 1980, the area became part of China's Hailuogou Glacier Park (accessible through the village of Moxi), which serves up wooden chalets and hot springs to eager visitors. Adventurers can brave the trek to the peak, or wander the picturesque grounds and their ice floe-covered lakes.