Danba Beauty Village in Sichuan

Danba County of China's Sichuan Province is known as the "Beauty Village." Girls born there are considered to be beautiful, possibly due to its favorable environment and climate. Danba lies along the eastern border of the Ganzi Tibet Autonomous Prefecture in the western Sichuan. The county of Danba has been dubbed 'a kingdom of one thousand castles.' Groups of castles were scattered around strategic positions in the village. Towers and citadels were built hundreds of years ago for defensive purposes and delivering messages between villages. Looking from afar, the groups of towers and castles standing in the gorgeous Danba Village is breathtaking.

Highlights of Danba Beauty Village

Jiarong Tibetan

The main residence living in Danba is Jiarong Tibetans. Different from the local Tibetans in Tibet, the Jiarong Tibetans in Danda have their own language and customs. The Jiarong Tibetan language is influenced by Tibetan language, Qiang language, and Han language.

It’s a great chance to experience Jiarong Tibetan culture and local life in Danba Beauty Village.

Generally, Jiarong men keep long hairs and wear their traditional clothes in white and green with knives or forks hanging on the left waist. And the Jiarong Titan girls living in Danda are beautiful so that the village is also called the beauty village. Even if they are both Jiarong Tibetans, they have different costumes at different ages in different villages. So you can spend a few days to travel around Danba County to experience different customs of the local Jiarong Tibetans.

Featured Tower and Castle

Danba is also known as a kingdom of stone castles with hundreds of years of history. The ancient watchtower is made of earth and stone, with a beautiful appearance and a solid wall. Most of the ancient towers are connected to the folk houses, and some of them are also built separately in the flats and valleys. The shape of the watchtower is generally a high-shaped square cylinder: four corners, five corners to eight horns, and a few up to ten triangles. The height is generally not less than 10 meters, more than 30 meters, and the highest is 50 to 60 meters.

You will be amazed by the stunning ancient watchtowers built by local Danbas.

The featured stone tower is a unique building in Danba and is distributed throughout the county of Danba, mainly on the banks of the river. Looking around, there are only three or five towers scattered on the hillside in some places, and in other places, dozens of towers are undulating to form a spectacular group of towers.

How to Get to Danda Beauty Village

The beauty village is located 8.5 kilometers from Danba County (around 340 kilometers from Chengdu). Since there is no local bus running between the county town to the village, tourists can only rent a local vehicle to get there.

The most convenient way is to take an arranged car from Chengdu to the Beauty Village directly. The price may be high, but it is the most comfortable way to go. Generally, it takes about 8 hours by private car from Chengdu to Danba Beauty Village.

Thanks for the great road network in west Sichuan, there are about 5 ways to get to Danba from Chengdu via some the most famous attractions in this area, such as the Mount Siguniang Scenic Area and the Tagong Grassland.

Here are the sample itineraries for your reference:

Since Danba County is 140 kilometers from Kangding, where there is an airport, it is also possible for tourists taking a flight from Chengdu to Kangding and then move to the village by car.

There is one daily flight from Chengdu to Kangding. It departs at 9:05 a.m. from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport and arrives at Kangding Airport at 10:00 a.m. And it takes about 5 to 6 hours to drive from Kangding Airport to the village.

Best Time to Visit Danba Beauty Village

Generally, the best time to visit Danba Beauty Village is spring (March to May) and autumn (September and October). In spring, you can enjoy the pure white pear blossoms together with the lovely pink peach blossom covering the valleys. There are also apple blossom and pomegranate blossom which make it more colorful in spring. Best Time to Visit Danba Beauty Village Generally, the best time to visit Danba Beauty Village is spring (March to May) and autumn (September and October). In spring, you can enjoy the pure white pear blossoms together with the lovely pink peach blossom covering the valleys. There are also apple blossom and pomegranate blossom which make it more colorful in spring.

Autumn, from September to November, is the best time to appreciate a colorful scene in Danba Beauty Village with red maple leaves, golden birch forests, and white snow-capped mountains.

Influenced by Qinghai-Tibetan monsoon climate, the weather of Danba is mild with the annual average temperature around 14℃. January is the coldest month in Danba with the monthly average temperature of 4℃, while the hottest month is August with an average temperature of 22℃.

Notice: Due to the cold weather in winter, from December to next March, the road to Danda may be frozen. It is not suggested to drive to Danba during that period.

Other Attractions near Danba Beauty Village

Mount Siguniang

Mount Siguniang is 111.6 kilometers away from Danda and 230 kilometers away from Chengdu. Generally, you can take a Danba tour from Chengdu via Mount Siguniang Scenic Area.

As one of the top hiking and trekking destinations in Sichuan, Siguniang Mountain is a wonderful place to take a leisure trekking through the valleys or challenge a mountain climbing to the top of the mountain.

If time allows, you can also stretch your legs to Mt.Siguniang and enjoy a scenic trekking around three valleys.

In the Scenic Area, there are three valleys and four mountains. The famous three valleys in Mount Siguniang include Changping Valley, Shuangqiao Valley, and Haizi Valley, which are all good for leisure trekking and sightseeing.

The name of Siguniangshan Mountain actually refers to the four mountain peaks, namely Dafeng (5025m), Erfeng (5276m), Sanfeng (5355m) and Yaomeifeng (6250m). Dafeng and Erfeng are the popular mountain climbing destinations for most travelers. And the highest peak, Yaomei Peak is one of the dreamy destinations for mountain climbers from all over the world.

Ya’an City

Located 120 kilometers away from Chengdu, Ya’an city is on the way to Danba Beauty Village. The famous tourist attractions in Ya’an include the Bifengxia Panda Base, Mount Mengding and Shangli Old Village.

Different from the Chengdu Giant Panda Base, Bifengxia Panda Base offers a more natural living environment for giant pandas. And Mengding Mountain is the home of the famous Mengding Green Tea.

Tagong Grassland

Located 111 kilometers southwest to Danba Beauty Village, Tagong Grassland is in Tagong Town, Kangding of Sichuan Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Here you can visit the famous Tagong Temple and Muya Gold Tower against the backdrop of Yala Snow Mountain.

Enjoying the spectacular view of Tagong Temple, Muya Gold Tower and Yala Snow Mountain altogether

With over 1000 years of history, Tagong Temple is an important Sakya temple in the Kham Tibetan area. There is such a saying in the local Tibetan people that “if you haven’t got a chance to get to Lhasa, you can go to Tagong Temple for pilgrimage instead”.

Yala Snow Mountain, at 5884 meters above the sea level, is one of the important holy mountains in Tibetan area. With the peak covered by snow all year round, Yala Snow Mountain is not only a sacred mountain for local Tibetan pilgrims but also a famous trekking destination in western Sichuan.

Conclusion

The Beauty Village is one of the famous attractions in Danba County, where you can not only meet the beautiful and kind-hearted local Jiarong Tibetans but also witness the featured watchtowers with hundreds of years of history.

The best time to visit Danba Beauty Village is spring and autumn, during which you can enjoy the most colorful scenes.

It is quite convenient to get to Danba from Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan. And on the way to Danda, there are also some popular travel destinations in west Sichuan, such as Mount Siguniang and Tagong Grassland.

If you need any help to plan a trip to Danba or want to add the Beauty Village to your Sichuan Kham tour , please feel free to contact us. Our experienced travel expert will help you arrange the best travel route based on your need.

Photogallery of Wastern Sichuan Danba Travel and Tours