2,685 meters above sea level

If you're ever craving a rush, drive up the mountains in Yunnan Province in China. There are no barriers on this road. It's just you, your car and the treacherous fall down that awaits if you steer the wheel even one degree in the wrong direction. In order to reach your destination, you will spend hours twisting and turning through the cliffs. Every few feet it will feel as if your car is going to go straight off. It's incredibly exciting, albeit in a I-can't-believe-I-survived-that-turn-oh my god-I'm-going-to-die kind of way.

So what else would a bunch of 20-year-old college students do? One chilly day in October, we crammed into a bus and set off for Lugu Lake. To alleviate the fear of our bus flying off the cliff, we sang Disney songs most of the way. And then it started to rain...and we heard the wheels squealing against the road...we saw our lives flashing before our eyes...

But miraculously, we made it to the top in one piece. And what did we see?

(Lugu Lake panoramic taken by Nancy Wu)

2,685 meters above sea level lies this beauty, nestled in between the mountains that border Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces. Your first glimpse of this lake will take your breath away, literally. You have to inhale and pinch yourself a few times to make sure you're not dreaming. The surrounding area is hazy, as if you're in the clouds. The water ripples softly in the daylight, a blue so clear you can see yourself in it...

You will start to believe that there might be someone up there working magic after all.