Mount Gongga, also known as Minya Konka, is the highest mountain in Sichuan province, China. It is also known to locals as "The King of Sichuan Mountains". Situated in the Daxue Shan mountain range, between Dadu River and Yalong River, part of the Hengduan mountainous region, Mount Gongga is the easternmost 7,000 metres (23,000 ft) peak in the world and the third highest peak outside of the Himalaya/Karakoram, after Tirich Mir and Kongur Tagh.
The peak has large vertical relief over the deep nearby gorges.
The Minya Konka area was intensely explored in the 1930s, amongst others by the Swiss topographer and artist Eduard Imhof.
Mount Gongga is one of the most popular destinations for international mountaineers. It is famous for its high climbing level. It was first climbed in 1932 by an American expedition; they also did an intense surveying work in the area, establishing the height of 7556 m. They describe their climb and the months in China in the book "Men against the Clouds", an outstanding piece of mountain literature. More dangerous and adventurous than climbing the Mout Everest, Mount Gongga now just have been conquered by 24 people.
The only building in the area is the lamasery, so camping is the only way. There is a lot of scrub up to 5000 m altitude - one might have to look a while for a really good place. A good basecamp site is at about 4380 m, there is also running water (at least sometimes). The little valley is avalanche-safe and there are lots of birds singing, a beautiful place.
The best time to climb Mount Gongga is the period between the rainy season and dry season, that is to say, in late May to early Jun and in mid-Nov.