Sunday 15th May
Our final morning on Balangshān, before we continue north towards the Tibetan Plateau. The rain has continued overnight and it rains all through the 50 minute drive to the mountain. As we begin to ascend, the temperature drops and the rains turns to snow. By the time we reach the road tunnel it is apparent that it has snowed all night. 8-10cm of fresh snow coats the forest. I have never seen heavy snow on deciduous forest before. But then I have never seen deciduous forest at 3500m before:
We scan the higher slopes to see if we can find a Monal coming down to feed from its roost site. After 30 minutes or so Roland locates a male Monal descending through the snow. Of all the views of Chinese Monal I had anticipated, tobogganing was not one of them:
:
With little other bird activity we descended to check the mid-altitude slopes of Balangshān . I wondered how insectivores survived in such conditions? 
We soon found out – the sky was filled with large flocks of Plain Mountain Finches and Rosy Pipits all descending from higher altitudes. Birds were pouring out of the sky, landing on the roadside and on verges to feed in snow free areas:
Then into this monochrome scene, a vivid flash of colour: a fabulous male Blue-fronted Redstart perched up close to the road:
We stopped for breakfast, more porridge from the car… 
… before driving, for the final time, up and over the pass and down the other side of Balangshān. We rose above the clouds, up to 4500m and then dropped down to head towards Rilongzhen:
Birds had clearly descended from the higher slopes down onto this of the mountain too. A large flock of several hundred Brandt’s Mountain Finches fed by the road:
There then followed a procession of great birds, most of which performed nicely for the camera which also benefited from the light reflected off the snow. Male White-throated Redstart:
Pink-rumped Rosefinch:
Streaked and Pink-rumped Rosefinches:
White-browed Rosefinch:
And another stunning male White-throated Redstart:
A Grey-headed Woodpecker was a surprise, especially as it perched up on a rockface for a while:
We then approached Rilongzhen, still high enough to have a dusting of snow, although when the sun broke through the radiation was fierce at this altitude. 
At Rilongzhen we had an enforced stay of about about an hour as the road was closed for roadworks. There was a large wave of warblers above the village, mostly Alpine Leaf Warblers. Again, it was extraordinary to watch phylloscopus warblers feeding in snow covered bushes, although these high altitude species must be adapted to occasional late falls of snow:
Red-billed Chough wheeled overhead, Crossbills were in the pines; warblers were Greenish and Alpine Leaf Warblers and we had our only glimpse of Chinese Babax. A flock of Snow Pigeons glided past, flying like no other pigeon species we had seen. Their effortless, light wingbeats were more reminiscent of gulls. A distant singing Przevalski’s Nuthatch was a bonus:
Once the road was re-opened at midday, we spent the rest of the afternoon driving north and at some unsigned point we enter the Tibet Autonomous Region. We pass through rural villages in the river valley. This small boy is standing next to a cigarette stall:
China has a problem with smoking. In particular it has a male smoking epidemic. Women rarely smoke, two thirds of Chinese men do. They currently smoke more and start earlier than ever before. The Lancet reports that during this decade, the 2010s, smoking will cause 20% of all adult male deaths in China. “China is the world’s largest grower, manufacturer, and consumer of tobacco and has the largest workforce devoted to tobacco farming, manufacturing, and sales. Being a government monopoly, China Tobacco (the Chinese National Tobacco Corporation) provides over 7% of the Central Government’s annual revenue through both taxes and net income“. Local beliefs, including that the Chinese are less susceptible to smoking related cancers and that smoking is an intrinsic part of Chinese culture, do little to help. But then fatalism seems to be part of Chinese life. Below, this truck pulled out in front of us to dump a wrecked car into the lorry on the right of the picture as we passed right underneath it. Only us westerners were screaming:
In the late afternoon we reached the Mengbishān pass:
We spent an hour or two searching for Sichuan Jay here, unsuccessfully, but did turn up Crested Tit Warbler and another nice zoothera thrush – Long-tailed Thrush:
As the light fades we descend into a beautiful traditional Tibetan village, Choktse. In this disputed region of communist China, prayers were being held at the temple:
Prayer wheels on the bridge:
The largest town in the region is called Aba, which would have presented endless pun opportunities, but we have arranged to overnight in Barkam instead. Neither sound very Chinese. But then again, the locals would have it that we are no longer in China.
Next: the Tibetan Plateau.