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Beautiful specimens showing large, lustrous, deep orange crystals of scheelite associated with brilliant black twinned cassiterite crystals and tabular, gemmy crystals of aquamarine beryl on beds of muscovite crystals are characteristic of Mount Xuebaoding, Sichuan Province, China. These specimens have already become familiar to mineral collectors in the West, and supplies of them should continue to be available, thanks to active specimen mining and marketing by the Chinese.
INTRODUCTION: THE SETTING
"Pingwu," "Songpan," "Mount Xuebaoding," "Xue Bao Diang" and occasionally "Huya" are the locality designations generally cited for specimens of orange scheelite associated with cassiterite and beryl from Sichuan Province in central China. Xuebaoding (pronounced "Shway-bow-ding") Mountain, known to the local Tibetan population as Shardungri, is the source of the scheelite; it lies in the autonomous Tibetan Aba Prefecture, on the eastern border of Songpan County. Part of the mountain lies in Songpan County and part lies in Pingwu County. At 5,588 meters, the mountain boasts a year-round snowcap and is one of the highest peaks in Sichuan Province (the highest is the 7,556-meter Gongga).
The town of Songpan, lying at an elevation of 3,000 meters in the valley of the Minjiang River, is an important center of tourism thanks to its picturesque appearance and its many Tibetan inhabitants. During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.), the Tibetan-style old quarter of the town was encircled by a 6,200-meter-long city wall made of brick, and several impressive gates are still preserved. From Songpan, trekking tours may be undertaken-those done on horseback are especially popular. The town lies 320 km from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, and it may be reached from there by public bus in about 10 hours. The area around Songpan, called Munigou, is a special attraction for tourists, and is now under development by the government of Songpan County, as are the adjoining Jiuzahaigou and Hualong areas. These parts of Aba Prefecture offer a characteristic local charm because they display the customs and folkways of the cultures of Tibet and of the Qiang peoples. 50 km northeast of Songpan one traverses a mountain pass at 4,000 meters and comes into the impressive Hualong National Park, at 3,300-3,600 meters above sea level. In the valley of Hualong ("yellow dragon"), which is regarded as...