Hóngchí yī zhǎng, huāhǎi yī xià; yínhé yī dī, jìn zài yǎnqián. — One pool of red, a sea of flowers below; the Milky Way hanging low, right before the eyes.
Hongchiba (红池坝, Hóngchíbà) is a 4A-rated (November 2012) high-mountain resort at Wenfeng town — the county’s flagship plateau destination, built around a named pool (the “red pool” of the name) and the summer flower sea that covers its grassland. Tickets run 90 yuan in peak season and 60 off. Beyond the flowers, the area holds the plateau’s set pieces: West-Flow Lake (西流湖), the Son-of-Heaven city ruins (天子城), Silver Factory Flat (银厂坪), and the Summer Ice Cave (夏冰洞) — a cave that keeps ice through the hot months, which is either a geological joke or the mountain showing off.
The product is the season. In summer the grassland goes over to flowers — the plateau’s meadows turn into the flower sea that gives the area its modern reputation, and the whole plateau reads as a high garden. The same grass, outside the season, is the stargazing product: Hongchiba’s light pollution is among the lowest in the municipality, and the Milky Way is a naked-eye object on a clear night. The “cloud café” (云上咖啡馆) is the plateau’s modern furniture — a coffee stop built for the view, sitting above the cloud inversions that form in the valleys below.
The plateau is cold at night in every month, and the stargazing is a patience trade — bring a real layer and stay late, because the sky performs after the day visitors leave. The Summer Ice Cave is the local curiosity worth the walk: ice in July, because of the cave’s internal geometry rather than any magic. The flower sea’s peak is short and weather-dependent; check the current flowering status before the drive.
flowcloud would say that the county’s plateau runs two products on one grass — flowers for the day visitors and the galaxy for the ones who stay — and that the mountain charges 90 yuan for both.
Practicalities
- Rating: 4A (graded November 2012)
- Tickets (旺/淡): 90 / 60 yuan
- Address: Wenfeng town
- Getting there: mountain road from the county seat; allow a half-day for the climb ⚠️ (checked October 2026, subject to change)
- Time needed: a full day; overnight recommended for both the flowers and the stars
Words and Names
红池坝 Hóngchíbà — Hongchiba, “red pool flat”, the plateau’s name · 西流湖 Xīliú Hú — West-Flow Lake, the plateau’s water · 天子城 Tiānzǐ Chéng — the Son-of-Heaven city, the ruins on the flat · 夏冰洞 Xiàbīng Dòng — the Summer Ice Cave, the ice-in-July cave · 银厂坪 Yínchǎng Píng — Silver Factory Flat, the old silver-works flat · 花海 huāhǎi — flower sea, the summer product