Jiuzhaigou Part 6: Chengdu/Summary

The final highlight of the Jiuzhaigou tour was of course the giant pandas. The Chengdu Panda Preserve has probably the largest numbers of panda, over 40. These panda are very active playing and eating.
Chengdu is a very nice city; it is a great place to relax for a few days. We also took the opportunity to see the traditional opera that highlighted the changing face show. This is amazing; a performer can change the face mask AND costume by a flash of a fan or a flag. Summary: I am so glad that Sam and I had the opportunity to visit Jiuzhaigou. There are so many scenic sites in the area: Huanglong, Jiuzhaigou, and Emei Shan. The trip was strenuous, mainly because of the bumpy ride and high altitude of Huanglong on the first day of our visit. However, we have no regrets. Jiuzhaigou was truly the trip of a live-time.

Jiuzhaigou Part 5: Emei Shan

Emei Shan (峨眉山) is one of the four sacred mountains of China. It has been designated a World Heritage Site because of its breathtaking scenery, misty mountain, and historical Buddhist sites. Emei consists of a chain of very high summits (3100 meters, 9300 feet).

How we got there:
From Chengdu, it was a 2-hours bus ride (nice highway) to the foot of the mountain. Emei is 9300 feet. To save on walking, we boarded the special mini-bus that took us part way (1.5 hours) up the mountain. We then hiked 40 minutes up to reach the cable car stop (at 7500 feet). The Swiss-style cable car ride took us up 15 Km to the summit – well, not quite. We still have to walk the remaining 20 minutes to reach the summit. The final hike had me huffing and puffing in the high altitude. Luckily, Sam bought me a bamboo walking stick that helped me challenged the summit.

One of Emei habitats are the monkeys. Their best talent is to snatch food from tourists. We were advised by our tour guide to conceal food in our backpacks.

What’s at the summit?
Emei is best known for the sea of clouds and the many temples. The most famous temple is Jinding (golden roof temple) at the summit. It was raining and foggy that day (Emei is foggy most days) for us to see anything or to take good pictures. Next to Jinding is a small little temple that is reported by Sam to be very spirited.

Jiuzhaigou Part 4: Jiuzhaigou

Jiuzhaigou is located in the Sichuan province of China, close to Tibet. The name Jiuzhai means "Valley of Nine Villages," derived from the 9 ancient Tibetan villages that still call the region home. The average height of the region is about 3,000 meters (9,000 feet) with the highest point of 4,700 meters (14,000 feet) above sea level. The water is so beautiful that there is a saying “After visiting Jiuzhai, you don’t want to see other water.”

The park is a World Heritage Site and is extremely well maintain; no gasoline-operated vehicles are allowed inside as well as a list of other restrictions in order to preserve the park. The water is pristine and has a high mineral content; therefore, fallen trees are calcified and are visible under water.

"Jiuzhaigou's best-known feature is its dozens of blue, green and turquoise-colored lakes. Originating in glacial activity, they were dammed by rockfalls and other natural phenomena, and then solidified by processes of carbonate deposition. Some lakes have a high concentration of calcium carbonate, and their water is very clear so that the bottom is often visible even at high depths. The lakes vary in color and aspect according to their depths, residues, and surroundings."
Jiuzhaigou is composed of three valleys (gou’s) arranged in a Y shape: Rize Valley 日则沟, Zechawa valley 则查洼沟, Shuzheng gou 树正沟. All scenic spots are exquisitely beautiful (picture 1). My personal favorites are Nuorilang Falls 诺日朗瀑布 (picture 2) and Five Flower Lake 五花海, a shallow multi-colored lake whose bottom is criss-crossed by ancient fallen tree trunks (picture 3).


How we got there? We flew from Hong Kong to Chengdu (2.5 hours), then flew to Jiuzhaigou (45 minutes). We were told by our tour guide that road travel is banned because of hazards resulting from the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. After arrival at the park, we transferred to electric-operated mini-bus (the Chinese government banned gasoline-operated vehicles to preserve the park).

Lodging: We stayed overnight at the Sheraton which is conveniently located right at the edge of Jiuzhaigou.

Jiuzhaigou Part 3: Huanglong

Huanglong黃龍 (means yellow dragon) is a World Heritage Site located in the northern Sichuan Province that has

"outstanding travertine formations, 3300 cascading terraced pools, hot springs and waterfalls lying beneath the snow-capped Minshan mountain range which carry the easternmost Chinese glacier. Huanlong’s major scenery is concentrated in the 2.2 miles long Huanglong Valley that includes snow-clad peaks and the easternmost glaciers in China. Due to its layered calcium carbonated deposit patterns, the valley resembles a golden dragon winding its way through the virgin forest, stone mountains and glaciers. Along the valley are scattering numerous colorful ponds of different sizes and shapes, which are strewn with gold colored limestone deposit giving a shimmering golden hue to water, so in sunlight, a golden dragon seems to surge forth from the forest. Thus it was named Huanglong Valley (Yellow Dragon Valley)."



How we got there?
From the Jiuzhai airport, it was a 2-hours very bumpy drive up the Minshan Mountain just to get to the Huanglong scenic area. We then transferred to a mini-bus driven by the local Tibetans. Road construction everywhere made the ride hazardous. Because the altitude ranges 1700-5588 meters (5,100 - 16,764 ft) above sea level, many in our tour group experienced altitude problems, despite the fact we were all prepared with canned O2 sprays. At least one person was bus-sick.

The first scenic spot of Huanglong is Yingbin Pond (meaning welcoming quests pond.) Travelers then walk up to the other 6 scenic ponds. The best pond is of course all the way at the top called Shuanwan Pond. It was raining and I was not for the challenge so I stopped at the first pond at the bottom and waited while others in our group pursued the other ponds. The scenery was truly beautiful and I was glad we were able to visit Huanglong. Would I visit again? Probably not.

Jiuzhaigou Part 2: The Tour Package

Getting there is not easy. Most travelers first fly to Chengdu, then change plane to fly into Jiuzhai. Since the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, traveling is restricted by air into Jiuzhaigou’s Jiuhuang Airport a necessity. Because all travel is by air and the fact Jiuhuang Airport is built on top of a mountain, the trip was not cheap.

We evaluated several tour packages (most were operated from the West Coast area) and finally decided on joining a tour originating from Hong Kong - to help ensure a larger tour group. There is a host of travel agencies in Hong Kong; we chose China Travel Service (www.ctshk.com) 6-day tour of Jiuzhaigou that included HuangLong and Emei Mountain 九寨溝、黃龍、峨嵋山(金頂)、樂山、成都 CB 六天直航團(四程機) for HK$6899 (USD$887). The price included 4 flights (Hong Kong-Chengdu-Jiuzhaigou-Chengdu-Hong Kong), 5 night’s hotel, all meals, and attraction admissions.

Here’s the itinerary by day:
1. Travel: The flight from Hong Kong to Chengdu was about 2-1/2 hours, an evening flight that left Hong Kong at 7:30 PM. By the time we arrived and checked into the Tibetan Hotel, it was midnight.
2. Flight to Jiuzhaigou. We flew early the next day to Jiuzhaigou. It was a 45-minute flight but it was delayed. We arrived around 1 PM, had lunch, and boarded a bus for a 2-hour ride to Huanglong. After visiting Huanglong we lodged at the Sheraton Jiuzhai. In the evening, we attended a Tibetan folklore dance show at the Sheraton Hotel (CNY 150, about USD $22). We left at half show because the music was too loud and we did not quite enjoy the show.
3. Jiuzhaigou: Full day sight-seeing
4. Flight back to Chengdu; visited Lashan
5. Emeishan (Emei Mountain)
6. Chengdu Panda Reserve. The visit was great, we had not seen so many pandas in one place. It was great to see ‘active’ pandas; they were playing, eating bamboo, climbing trees, etc. In contrast, the two pandas at Ocean Park Hong Kong sleep much of the time. We took the 5:30 PM return flight to Hong Kong.

暢遊被列入世界自然文化遺產之一，有 “童話世界”的美譽 ～九寨溝風景
暢遊有 “人間瑤池”仙境之稱～黃龍風景區，飽覽令人迷醉的自然風光 暢遊被列入世界自然文化遺產及有中國佛教四大名山之一~峨眉山轉乘環保包車上峨眉山，繼後乘纜車前往海拔3077米高的金頂，感受「登臺輕世界，俯覽小山川」的境界 峨眉山金頂四面十方普賢金像~是世界上最高的金佛，也是第一個十方普賢的藝術造型。金佛系銅鑄鎦金工藝佛像造像，通高48米，總重量達660噸。 乘遊船欣賞舉世著名的《樂山大佛》及《臥波大睡佛》

Jiuzhaigou Part 1: Introduction

During our visit to Hong Kong in July 2010, we took a 6-day package tour to Jiuzhaigou which is located in the Sichuan province of China, close to Tibet.
"The name Jiuzhai means Valley of Nine Villages, derived from the 9 ancient Tibetan villages that still call the region home. It is known for its habitat of giant pandas and for its many stunningly colorful lakes, multi-level waterfalls and mountains." The average height of the region is about 3,000 meters (9,000 feet) with the highest point of 4,700 meters (14,000 feet) above sea level. The water is so beautiful that there is a saying “After visiting Jiuzhai, you don’t want to see other water.”

Our 6-day Jiuzhaigou tour included the Jiuzhaigou National Park, Huanglong National Park, Emei Shan, LeShan, and of course, Chengdu.

This web site http://www.pbase.com/jonbatchelor/jiuzhaigou has a good collection of pictures that will give you a feel of the scenery.

Taishan Part 18: Closing Thoughts

I am so glad that I made the trip to Taishan. The timing was so right - time, companionship, information about the travel from web search - all fell into place that made the trip possible. It is a good place to visit for a very short time.

Taishan is a very laid-back. Living standards have improved. Some factories have been built and people from the villages can work in the factories to earn more money. Work in the rice field, while still hard, is also much improved. Machines are used instead of water buffalos and humans. Instead of doing all the work themselves, many people hire migrant workers from Guangxi and Hunan to work the fields.

Our driver told us that of all people living in Taishan, half are the locals and the half are retirees returning from overseas. He also told us that people in Taishan are laid-back. The retirement age in China is currently 50 years old. People who are in the late 40s are already getting ready for retirement by working very short days (like leaving work at 11:30 AM). What do they do with their time? Play mahjong, of course.