Even before you arrive in town, it's not hard to see why KANGDING , 60km west of Luding, China, is portrayed as one of the wildest settlements in China, nor why the government had such a tough time controlling the region until the 1950s. The walls of Daxue Shan (the Great Snowy Mountains) rise immediately beyond the town and, whatever the maps might say, this is where Tibet really begins. An ugly collection of concrete apartments and dark-roofed houses carelessly arranged along the fast-flowing Zhepuo River , Kangding is still very much a nexus between cultures. As the capital of the Ganzi Tibetan Region , Kangding is thick with government staff, recently arrived Muslim Hui, and tough-looking Khambas - eastern Tibetan "cowboys" - here to buy supplies - while valley slopes above town are dotted with monasteries and bulbous white chortens (Tibetan pagodas).

 

Though tea is no longer the prime currency, trade is still Kangding's lifeblood, and the central streets bustle with activity. On the east bank, there's a produce market in the rickety alleys near the mosque 's blue gate, shops selling Persian rugs, religious attire and finely ornamented knives, as well as weekend markets grouped around the public square on the far bank, with wares piled high on collapsible beds being scrutinized by Tibetans sporting straw hats and heavy turquoise jewellery. Over the second bridge, Anjue Si is a quietly busy collection of courtyards and Tibetan shrines over on the west bank, whose monks are tolerant of tourists wandering around. East above town, the upper slopes of Paoma Shan - look for the transmitter tower - host a couple more small temples and a horse-race festival in the middle of the fourth lunar month.