The spectacular Minay Konka in Sichuan Province. [Phot/Baidu.com]

A tourist takes photo in front of the Minya Konka. [Photo/China Tibet Online]

Mt. Gongga or Minya Konka is located in Luding, Kangding and Jiulong County, Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province. In Tibetan language, "Gong" means permanent snow cover, while "Ga" means white, so Gongga means white snow cover.

It is located in the Miya Raogang area, a traditional Tibetan Buddhist administrative division. Local people also call it Miya Gongga.

Minya Konka peak is a high snowy peak with narrow ridges.

The towering peak rises to an awesome 7,556 meters above the sea level, making it the highest peak east of the Himalayas, and is the highest mountain in Sichuan Province.

While wildlife on the grasslands has been deeply affected by the changes in Tibet, remote mountain peaks and valleys often serve as refuges of isolation where wildlife remains abundant. In the high and steep Gongga Mountain, the snow does not melt perennially.

The climate of Minya Konka is moist, snowy and very changeful so the climbing is more difficult than Mt. Qomolangma. In 1932, an American expedition group firstly scaled the peak while a mountainering team from China reached the summit in June, 1957. Since 1932, only seven expeditions, with 22 people, have reached the summit successfully.