Western Sichuan I love the scenery and people I meet on the road the most

In January 2019, Western Sichuan, I came again.

The first time I got to know Western Sichuan was because of "Passing Through Your World" and because of Daocheng Aden. At the end of the year before last, when I was planning a winter vacation travel plan with my friends, we finally decided on it as our destination because of the saying "It might be more dangerous to go to Western Sichuan in winter." A group of three people came to Chengdu and chartered a car to drive to western Sichuan. We went to Seda and saw the sky burials and the Buddhist Academy. There I also experienced the feeling of being so high that I was afraid that I would not wake up the next day. We also went to Daocheng Yading. Yes, this is the place I am most looking forward to during our six-day trip. One advantage of staggering the crowds and choosing to travel in the off-season is that you don’t have to be crowded with crowds and can enjoy the beautiful scenery quietly, but there may also be a fatal disadvantage that you may not encounter the scenery you want. Maybe I was lucky enough or had a good mentality. Last year in Western Sichuan, I was in a good mood and the scenery in front of me was what I expected. So last year, I wrote a paragraph in a tweet when I traveled to western Sichuan: Some people will always complain that "this place is not as beautiful as they say" because of the bad weather , but in fact it has always been "I Maybe not so lucky.” If you go out and walk a lot, you will find that not every experience will be good, but every experience will be unique to you. Some people will wait for hours for a sunrise or a sunset; others People will spend days waiting for a moment or good weather. If you don't have it, don't complain that this place is not beautiful enough.

This trip focused on Meili and Yubeng, but when I saw the map of China when planning my itinerary, I once again included Western Sichuan in the itinerary. I also wanted to experience Western Sichuan in the off-season.

The first stop in western Sichuan is Siguniang Mountain. During the itinerary, we only stayed here for one day and two nights. We were going to walk to Shuangqiaogou. After four or five hours of bus ride, we arrived at Siguniang Mountain Town. Because I was carrying my backpack, a young lady traveling alone asked me, "Are you here to climb the mountain?" With such words, we gave up our original plan. Choose to climb the peak of Siguniang Mountain together. On the way, we also met a guy who was traveling alone, so the "Road to Survival" eventually grew to five people. We walked all the way from the entrance of Haizigou to the entrance of Changpinggou. We wanted to see the Bingshi Bar, but unfortunately the boss went home. In the evening, the five of us had dinner together and took the first group photo before departure. Maybe because I ate too much, I had high fever on the first day at high altitude. When I returned to the inn, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to set off tomorrow. Fortunately, the innkeeper's wife gave us a lot of help. At night, I saw the starry sky on the balcony of the inn. It was really beautiful, so I ended the day in a good mood.

(Photo taken by Huawei P20)

Fortunately, Gao Fan said goodbye to me when I woke up, signed the "life and death certificate" and we were ready to go.

Maybe it’s because we haven’t exercised for too long, or maybe we got too intense before we could adapt to the high altitude. We (actually me) were really tired along the way, and we only walked 1/3 of the way, so our shoes were left behind for us. Traces of a dirt road.

Along the way, we will be amazed by the beautiful scenery along the way. At this time, we have to use the saying "Stand high to see far." When we look back at the road we have walked, our mood will suddenly become brighter. After stopping and going until about 5 pm, we finally arrived at the base camp at 4,400 meters from the sea. The 15-kilometer hike took seven hours and the altitude increased by 1,000 meters. I was so tired that I didn’t want to take photos. I just wanted to fall into the sleeping bag in the stone house.

Then, the most unforgettable twelve hours began. In the slate room is a row of cold beds made of stone (I even feel that using the word "bed" to describe it is too unfair). There is no light inside, only the faint light emitted by the mobile phone screen. There was no signal so the faint light faded away. The best way to kill time here is to sleep, so after eating the instant noodles that the guide made for us in hot water, we fell down and got ready to sleep. I slept in a sleeping bag in a slate house at an altitude of 4,400 meters. My feet were still cold from walking all the way, and my jacket was barely used as a pillow. I couldn't fall asleep in any position, but in such an environment, I had no choice but to bite the bullet and let myself sleep.

Warm up

slate house

Two layers of sleeping bags stacked on top of each other

Not long after I slept, my breathing became increasingly difficult, and I lay on my side, panting heavily. Later, the guide ran in and told us that a girl suddenly had pulmonary edema and was unconscious. They had to carry her down overnight and let us take care of ourselves. At that moment, I couldn't control myself, and tears fell immediately, because of fear and because I was really uncomfortable at that time. My friends around me also rushed up to comfort me and take care of me. That night, everyone was more or less hyperactive, coupled with the cold and fear, everyone did not sleep well. At that time, I felt that this night was too long. So we began to give up sleeping and started chatting. That night we talked about a lot of things about each other and the past. I don’t know why but I silently shed tears again. I lamented the fragility of life and felt lucky to have this group of people around me.

In the middle of the night, one of my friends had a headache that was getting worse and worse. He felt like he was going to explode. The girl who studied rehabilitation medicine immediately ran out and called the guide. The only person who did not call the guide was the owner of the stone house. At that moment, I shed tears again unconsciously, for no reason. The two friends who were traveling with me and I both had severe altitude sickness, so after discussion, the other two people continued to climb to the summit at 4 o'clock in the morning, and the three of us waited until dawn and descended directly. Soon after, the guide came back. The guide said that if the girl had been sent a minute or twenty minutes later, she might have died. That was the fourth time I shed tears.

At about four o'clock in the morning, the two of them and the only boy left in the next room followed the guide and set out with the guide. However, because the road was not easy to walk and the altitude difference was huge, they came back not long after walking. So at dawn, we went down the mountain together. Because the altitude sickness was really uncomfortable, a friend and I chose to ride down the mountain on horseback. It's ridiculous to think about it. I remember on the first day on the way up the mountain, I felt a little distressed when I saw the horse carrying heavy luggage. But at this time, due to physical reasons, I had to let the horse carry the heavy weight of me. Sitting on the horse all the way down the mountain, you don't have to worry about running out of energy. Looking at the scenery when you come, you can feel emotions in your heart.

After going down the mountain and returning to the inn, I suddenly felt that I had really survived. I took out my mobile phone with full signal and immediately informed my family and friends that I was safe. I sat by the fire and chatted with the landlady about the hardships of the journey. Fortunately, I got through it.

I also said goodbye to the two friends I met in Siguniang Mountain at the inn. good luck.

I returned to the inn and started to wash up and sort out the miserable situation of the past two days. I felt like I smelled like a stable, and my white clothes also left traces of climbing. (Really don’t wear white clothes to go out!!!) In the evening, I also met a guy who came to climb the mountain alone at the inn. We talked about many past experiences and the day ended.

The next destination is Aden! But we had to spend one night in Xinduqiao first. We carpooled and changed buses three times to pass through Danba and reach Bamei, and finally arrived at Xinduqiao. I was looking forward to meeting Gongga all the way. The LP said that if you stayed overnight in Xinduqiao, you could choose to stay in Waze Township, so I chose two hotels on a certain trip. I booked the first one three times but failed and had to choose another one. This is how sad things happened. The hotel is located in the eastern part of Waze Township and is quite far from Xinduqiao Town. Because it is the off-season and it is difficult to find a car, the driver told us that we should stay in Xinduqiao Town, so that it would be easier to find a car on the road the next day. Then there was no hot water in the hotel so I couldn't take a shower. Even washing up became a lot more troublesome. Even if I turned on the electric blanket for a long time, I couldn't feel the heat. I asked the proprietress at the front desk how to get from here to Aden. The tickets to Daocheng were sold out and the chartered bus was too expensive. I was suddenly at a loss. A person returned to the room and began to feel sad. Suddenly he felt that the road ahead would be difficult, and tears fell again. Not long after, I wiped away my tears and went out again to ask the boss lady if there was any other way to get to Aden. In the end, we chose to take the bus bound for Xiangcheng and get off at Sangdui Township on the way, and then chartered a bus to Shangri-La Town. The boss lady also helped. We arranged for a driver to pick us up in Sangdui Township. I finally settled the matter for tomorrow. I immediately washed up and got into bed, recording my mood that night in a memo.

I got up early the next day and started on the road. The scenery I saw on the road was familiar, and I felt a little more emotional. However, I still couldn't suppress my sleepiness and fell asleep countless times along the way. When I got off the bus in Sangdui Township, I was still in a daze. The chef who sent us to Shangri-La Town was very kind. When we passed by Daocheng, he took us around for a while. It was also at that time that I realized that the small village where "Passing Through Your World" was filmed was not in Daocheng but in the countryside. city.

When we came to Shangri-La Town, we were still on a familiar trail. The hotel we stayed in this time was right behind last year’s hotel. After putting down our luggage, we went to the old place to eat noodles. As soon as we entered, it felt like it was a world away and it was just yesterday. While eating noodles, we heard a familiar voice. Looking for the voice, we once again encountered a Tibetan wedding. Unlike last year when we just stood at the door and watched, this time we walked in and really felt the feeling of a Tibetan wedding.

Entering the Aden Scenic Area, this time we first took the short route that we did not take last year and saw Chonggu Temple, Xiannairi and Pearl Sea. The journey was very leisurely. I met cows, birds and chipmunks, took photos while standing on the frozen pearl sea, and chased at the feet of Xian Nairi. Although the route was very different from last year, the memories from last year are still fresh in my mind.

On the way down the mountain on the sightseeing bus, maybe because of the bumpy mountain road, I started to feel dizzy and nauseous. My companion's words, "Can we change the ticket?" prompted us to change the ticket and go home early. Back at the hotel, after getting over the sadness, we began to think about the time to go home. Finally, we successfully changed our reservation and went home two days early. After changing my visa, my friend and I went out to buy dry food for the next day. We were very excited at the thought of being able to go home two days early.

The next day, we were going to take the long route to Milk Sea and Five Color Sea. One of our friends went to the hospital because of gastroenteritis, so we walked with the guy we met in the supermarket the day before. Because we were afraid of not having enough time, we didn’t stay too long along the way. There were icy roads along the way, which made it difficult to walk, but maybe because of my experience last year, I wasn’t so scared this time (although I still fell! Hmph!). On the way, I still sighed, "If you don't come with us this time, I feel like neither of us would dare to go up." The younger brother also replied, "Without you, I wouldn't be alone today." "Take the long road", I think, it is precisely because of encounters on the road that we become braver and more unscrupulous.

Finally, we boarded the Five Colored Sea, which is a place I didn’t go to last year. We stayed there for a long time, took a lot of photos, and got to know this group of strangers because of the photos. After coming down from Wu Color Sea, we went to Milk Sea again. This time Milk Sea was different from last year. It was almost frozen and the wind was very strong, so we left without staying for too long. This time, I met a group of new friends, including the little brother who came out to carpool to walk the Sichuan-Tibet Line in 2000, the little brother who came to Aden alone to experience the Three God Mountains and the sea of ​​milk and the five-color sea, and the little brother who works crazy so that he can have more fun There are eldest brothers who spend a lot of time traveling, and there are also eldest brothers who have been on the road for several months. Along the way, we went down leisurely, chatting and listening to stories. I really liked this feeling.

If it weren't for the fact that we had to keep on the road, I think we would have had a drink and got together in the town this night.

After three hours of driving, we arrived at the last stop in western Sichuan - Xiangcheng. This name didn't give me much favorable impressions, but when it came into my sight, I fell in love with it and regretted that I didn't consider it as a destination. After dinner in the evening, I walked around the town with my companions. It was really wonderful.

Xiangcheng, I will definitely come again, please wait for me.

"Away from the city, what I look forward to most is the scenery and people on the road."

Traveling through Western Sichuan in the off-season by bus + carpooling + chartered car may be the only experience in your life. I like Western Sichuan very much. There are so many places in Western Sichuan worth exploring and experiencing in depth, so I will definitely come to Western Sichuan many times. However, the next time I come there may be by self-driving, and the next time I come again it will probably be in other seasons.