14th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Milky way burst over sacred peak

The picture was shot on China's Tibetan Plateau at an elevation above 4100m / 13450ft, at Yading village which is believed to be the "Shangri-La" which Joseph Rock discovered in 1928. As night fell, a magnificent sea of stars burst out above the snowy mountains and dark clouds. The snow peak, Chenresig, follows the name of the Bodhisattva of Mercy, and is regarded as a sacred mountain in Tibetan religion and the summit has never been reached by human.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 10.2015
Date Uploaded: 11.2016
Photo Location: Ganzi, China
Copyright: © Zihui Hu