A place shaped by time

Ever-shifting views

The bus winds toward Bitahai Lake, the park's crown jewel. At 3,500 meters above sea level, the lake stretches three kilometers from north to south, its surface so still it mirrors the surrounding spruce forests and the tiny island at its center — an island that local lore says was once visited by an 8th-century Buddhist master.

Wang stands at the front of the bus, pointing out details along the route: the places where larches turn golden in autumn, where black-necked cranes spend winter, and where rhododendrons bloom in spring.

She has taken this route countless times, but she is never tired of it — its scenery varies with every season.

"Winter brings a different Potatso," she says. "It's snow-covered and silent, and the sky is so blue. This place is never the same twice. That's what makes it worth coming back again and again."