Ya'an (Chinese: 雅安) is a prefecture-level city in the western part of Sichuan province of Southwest China, located just below the Tibetan Plateau. Ya'an, is the starting point of the Sichuan-Tibet stretch of the Tea-horse Road. The brick tea produced in Ya'an, which was called frontiers tea was carried by caravans traversing the Erlang Mountain to Tibet and further afar to India and Nepal to exchange for horses, drugs. Those trading activities went on for centuries, which boosted economy along the road and brought peace and stable atmosphere to the frontier regions.  

Ya'an is one of the birthplaces of tea culture, whose tea growing history can be traced back to the Western Han Dynasty over 2,000 years ago. Tea trees planted at the Mengding shang Hill by a man who was engaging in herds were believed to be the ancestors of China's tea. Even today, tea grown at the Mengding shan is still considered superior. 

As the world- famous hometown of giant pandas, Ya'an is place where the 1s panda was discovered. The number and density of the giant pandas in Yaan rank the 1st over the world.

Ya'an has a mountain subtropical monsoon climate. Spring with a lot of rain is not a recommended travel season, The annual temperature averages between 14.1 degree centigrade and 17.9 degree centigrade.

Geography

Ya'an is located at the western edge of the Sichuan Basin and on the upper reaches of the Yangtze, covering the transition between the Chengdu Plain and the Tibetan Plateau. Its latitude ranges from 28° 51′ 10″ — 30° 56′ 40″ N and its longitude from 101° 56′ 26″—103° 23′ 28″ E. Neighbouring prefectures are, starting from the northeast and moving counter-clockwise, Chengdu (NE), Meishan (E), Leshan (SE), Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture (S), Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (W), and Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture (N). With an area of 15,300 square kilometres (5,910 sq mi) and a population of 1,530,000, [3] The city is encircled by mountains, and four rivers flow through it.

Ya'an Attractions

Best sights in and around Ya'an include the Mt. Erlang, Mt. mengding.

Mt. Erlangshan

Mt. Erlangshan is characterized by primitive forests, varied wildlife, rugged mountains, unspoiled streams. The view from the mountain summit is superb, with towering peaks often cloaked in mist, like a white dragon rolling in from the sea. At night, streams of cars running along the precipitous winding roads with their lights reflecting with each other are like dragons dancing splendidly.

Mt. Mengding

Ancient tea garden at Mountain MengdingMt, Mengdingshan Scenic Area consists of a royal garden where Wu Lizhen, the founder of Mengshan Tea in Han Dynasty planted seven seeds of "miraculous tea" ,some ancient stone trails from Palace of King Shu to Tiangai Temple and a tea museum.

Accomodation in Ya'an 

Do not expect too much in comfort in accommodation while traveling Ya'an. Most of the hotels in the city only cater to Chinese visitors and English is very less spoken. The Ya'an Hotel and Ya'an Yudou Hotel are considered the best two hotels in the town.

Transportation to Ya'an

Ya'an is the gateway from Sichuan and Yunnan to Tibet. There are no trains or flights to Ya'an and the only practicable way is by highway. Ya'an city is served by three bus stations with the Ya'an Tourist Station most important to travelers. Tourist bus station lies at the junction of Beier Road and Yabi Road and there are arrivals from Chengdu, Leshan, Kangding.

Administrative Subdivisions

Map	#	Name	Hanzi	Hanyu Pinyin	Population (2004 est.)	Area (km²)	Density (/km²)
	1	Yucheng District	雨城区	Yǔchéng Qū	340,000	1,060	321
	2	Mingshan County	名山县	Míngshān Xiàn	260,000	614	423
	3	Yingjing County	荥经县	Yíngjīng Xiàn	140,000	1,781	79
	4	Hanyuan County	汉源县	Hànyuán Xiàn	350,000	2,349	149
	5	Shimian County	石棉县	Shímián Xiàn	120,000	2,678	45
	6	Tianquan County	天全县	Tiānquán Xiàn	150,000	2,394	63
	7	Lushan County	芦山县	Lúshān Xiàn	120,000	1,364	88
	8	Baoxing County	宝兴县	Bǎoxīng Xiàn	60,000	3,114	19