Zhada County
Go straight toward south from Shiquenhe along the Rutog-Ngari highway, and after 255 kilometers you will arrive in Elephant Spring River Valley, where is the Zhada County.
Appreciation of the clay forest
The clay forest, also called earthen forest, is one of the most famous scenery areas in Zhada County. The orogenic movement in ancient antiquity has made the bottom of the lake ascend. And the undulating clay forest were formed by the flushing of water subsidence and long years of weathering. In Zhada County, the clay forest stands on both sides of Elephant Spring River wind over more than five kilometers. The shapes of some clay are like warriors defending the mountain top, some like thousands of horses galloping, and some like devout followers of a religion cultivating themselves, standing there quietly. From different views, you can get different wonderful scenery. Driving a car in these clay forests as if driving around foots of the titans. That kind of feeling is impressive and magnificent.
It takes a dozen hours from Shiquenhe to the clay forests by car. If you want to go from the Sacred Mountain toward north or leave Zhada toward south, you can get off at Nabuga(also called Naburu), about 136 kilometers away from Shiquenhe. But there are not many buses for hitchhiking. So you may need to accommodate in hotels there. Actually, the so-called hotels are several clay houses built on the wild sands by a group of Tibetan.