PLACE GUIDE

Midui Glacier 米堆冰川

Midui Bingchuan

Midui’s icefalls descend into a landscape of mixed forest, fields and village life in Bomi’s Yupu area.

Entry & permits for Tibet (Xizang)

Foreign tourists need Tibet entry approval, commonly called a Tibet Travel Permit, and an organised visit arranged through a specialist travel agency in China. Confirm your approved route before booking transport. Requirements differ for Taiwan residents and for travellers using mainland or Hong Kong/Macao Chinese resident documents; check the document guide before you book.

Check the travel-document requirements →

Policy scope verified: 2026-09-06. UK FCDO: China regional travel advice ↗ State Council Taiwan Affairs Office: Tibet entry approval ↗ Xizang Department of Culture and Tourism: Medog border permit notice ↗

White glacier tongue above a green valley with traditional wooden houses
Midui Glacier descending toward the valley near Midui village, Bomi County · 西藏波密县米堆冰川，冰舌延伸至米堆村附近山谷 Source-recorded photograph date: 22 May 2010 (original upload date). · 牛糞 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo adjustments

Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.

Explore the region

Tibet (Xizang) · 西藏自治区 →Nyingchi · 林芝市 →

About Midui Glacier

The contrast is its defining feature: high ice and steep rock sit above a green valley rather than an empty polar-looking plain. The visitor approach passes through the Midui village area and continues towards the glacier viewpoint and lake. The glacier is actively changing, so the experience is one of viewing it from the managed route, with cloud and rain often altering what can be seen.

The glacier is formed by the convergence of two icefalls, with a tract of old-growth forest between them. It is a maritime glacier, 8.5 kilometres long, originating at 6,300 metres and descending to 2,400 metres above sea level. It lies where the Nyainqentanglha Mountains (念青唐古拉山) meet Boshula Ling (伯舒拉岭), within a concentration of monsoon-influenced maritime glaciers.

The surrounding habitats range from alpine meadows to coniferous forests dominated by spruce and fir, together with dense rhododendron growth. They support animals including snow leopards and Himalayan blue sheep. Glacial meltwater supplies regional rivers, while the glacier's rapid retreat is associated with global warming and affects rivers flowing towards India.

What to look for

  • The converging icefalls above the forested lower valley.
  • The glacier lake and the contrast between ice, woodland and Midui village’s fields.

The surrounding area

Eastern valleys, lakes and canyon scenery around Basum Tso and the Yarlung Zangbo.

Location & getting there

Getting to Midui Glacier

Leave the G318 corridor for Midui village in Yupu Township, east of Bomi’s county seat, and begin at the glacier scenic-area entrance.

  • Local reporting documents a shuttle connection followed by the visitor approach towards the lake; confirm the current arrangement on arrival.
General visit reminders

Allow room for the terrain and weather when choosing your route. Check the operator’s current trail, shuttle and cableway notices where applicable, and confirm the return connection before setting out. A broad landscape pin does not identify every trailhead or access point.

Combine your visit

Suggested order for this visit:

  1. Midui village approach

    Begin with the settled valley below the glacier.

  2. Forest visitor path

    Notice the unusual transition from woodland towards ice.

  3. Managed glacier-lake viewpoint

    Finish at the permitted viewing area without entering the ice.

This is an editorial sequence based on the features described in the sources. Confirm access locally; no walking time, shared admission or guaranteed interior access is implied.

AI illustration: Rhododendron flowers on a shrub (general reference, not this place).
AI illustration · AI 示意图（景观类型参考，非实拍） · 山地杜鹃花丛 — A general visiting detail, not an exact view of this place.
Mountains & forests · 山岳／森林 →

Find Midui Glacier

米堆冰川 · 林芝

Amap · 高德地图Approximate pin · 近似位置Apple Maps · 苹果地图

The pin marks the area, not the entrance.

More places nearby

Approximate straight-line distances between map pins, not travel distances.

Ranwu Lake 然乌湖

29 km away

Ranwu Lake occupies a landslide-dammed basin beside the road corridor through Baxoi. It feeds the Parlung River and is framed by mountains and glacier country, but its accessible shores also include fields, grazing animals and…

View guide →

Sources & visit information

The sources below support the place-specific description and arrival information. Suggested combinations are editorial planning ideas; confirm current opening, entry arrangements and transport services for your date.

Visitor information adapted and edited from Wikipedia contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0. Source revision 92583222.

Background paragraphs translated and condensed from Wikipedia contributors, "米堆冰川", Chinese Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0. Source revision 92583222.

Background paragraphs condensed from Wikipedia contributors, "Midui Glacier", English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0. Source revision 1301415212.

China Revealed · Editorially updated 2026-10-07