Looking for the last Shangri-La - Daocheng Aden

<Milk Sea>

This epidemic allowed me to have a "winter vacation" after graduating many years ago. I really hope that the epidemic will pass soon. I am so idle at home that I am almost growing mushrooms. I always have to find something to do for myself. I decided to finish some travel notes that I have been putting off for a long time. This is one of them. Last summer I wrote about the spring of 2020.

It was midsummer at that time, and I had just returned from a trip to Xi'an. When we were in Chengdu and it was very hot and irritating, we heard someone say that the scenery along the way in Western Sichuan was beautiful and the climate was pleasant. My second son and I signed up to join the tour without even thinking about it. . Without further ado, let’s start my journey.

Let’s take a look at the Grand Canyon first. Forgive me for being ignorant. I was very excited when I saw the canyon for the first time. I wanted to shout at the top of my voice and shout into the distance, but there were many young brothers around me. After thinking about it, I decided never mind.

Show everyone a fairy coming out of the mountain

I have always imagined the scene: boundless grassland, a red truck driving past.

Do you who were born in the 90s still remember the scene of galloping horses in "Huan Zhu Ge Ge"? There are also lyrics that everyone is familiar with: "Let us be the companions of the mortal world and live a leisurely life."

In my fantasy, I should be riding a horse on the grassland at this time. When the tour guide actually brought me a horse, I gave up on the spot... So, the reality is that I hugged my knees and sat on the grass to watch the tour guide alone." Keep company with horses in this mortal world and live a carefree life." However, it is also good to sit quietly and take it all in.

There are so many scenic spots along the way that I can’t remember them all. It’s very messy to sort them out, so I’ll just post the photos. The uncanny workmanship of nature, Tuer Mountain. Do you see the bunny ears?

Along the way, there are scattered stones all over the mountains and plains outside the car window, so it is called: Stone Mountain? ?

We met a sika deer on the way, it was so cute~~~ You can also get close to the sika deer and feed him. With the enthusiastic recommendation of a little Tibetan girl, we bought a bag of corn kernels to feed the sika deer. Getting close to small animals is always a wonderful thing~~~

I also met plateau "traffic police" along the way, and just followed them slowly, slowly, since they were not in a hurry. Hahaha~~~ I will accompany you until the end of time!

As soon as I got in the car, I heard that there might be a traffic jam on the road. Because there was no place to go or a store to reach, it would take an hour or two for the traffic police to come from the city. We really encountered a traffic jam. The traffic jam caused by the car accident formed long queues on the roads in front, back, and in the distance as far as the eye could see. According to experience, there is no point in being anxious. We have to get out of the car and have some fun. For example, it is a good choice to watch the car accident scene as a crowd, complain to each other, catch mosquitoes with bare hands, or lean on the railing to take pictures.

In places with high altitudes, materials are scarce, and this is all we can eat every day. It is not easy to go out, so we have to make do with everything. After going out for a few days, we really miss the food in Chengdu. I remember when we were going up to Zheduo Mountain, the tour guide told us that we couldn’t eat good food on the mountain. So, I would eat two big bowls of rice for every meal from now on. The group had the largest appetite, which made me feel uncomfortable in my stomach when we went to the plateau. I'm so stupid.

After that, I tried to eat only vegetarian dishes at every meal. You must have maintained a good physical condition in the first few days, otherwise when the average altitude later reaches more than 4,600, you will suffer. Our second child even had to go to Daocheng County Hospital for oxygen. It would be miserable.

I picked up a somewhat shabby Tibetan clothes to wear at the dining place~~~

The scenery along the way is all preparation for the final destination Daocheng Yading.

Maybe you, like me, are deeply impressed by the passage in "Passing Through Your World": On the morning when the ice and snow melted in Daocheng, Mao Shiba's voice came from the navigator: "Lizhi, have you arrived in Daocheng again? Here it is. Positioned as Chonggu Temple, the place where I propose to you is the most beautiful promise at the foot of Xiannairi Snow Mountain and in front of Chonggu Temple.

Yes, I am a movie fan. I followed the movie to the outside. I want to see such a beautiful place described in the movie, Daocheng.

When we arrived in Daocheng County, the air was very good and a bit cold. We all wore jackets. After a night's rest, the next day, early in the morning, we started to go into the mountains, yes, into the mountains.

Let’s take a look at the preparations before entering the mountain

There are caves like this where you can rest along the way. The temperature below is very cool, which is a world away from the outside. You will feel cold if you stay there for a long time.

Of course, mineral water and toilet paper are must-haves, as is a sunscreen hat, and a lipstick. The suggestion is to bring as little other things as possible. It is really important to conserve your energy after a whole day of hiking.

Thick hair towards the scenic spot~~~

I thought that after stepping through this door, I would enter the scenic spot. In fact, after entering this gate, we had to take a sightseeing car for nearly an hour and go through the eighteen bends of the mountain road to reach the scenic spot.

This section of the journey is quite exciting. The altitude keeps increasing and the car climbs over mountains one after another. You can imagine how far away our destination is, deep in the mountains and old forests. I really admire the explorer who discovered this scenic spot, he is really great.

We came to Chonggu Temple. Well, it’s just a temple. I have never been interested in temples and ancient towns. I just pretended to be excited for a short time. This trip has three destinations: Milk Sea, Five Color Sea, and Pearl Sea. The tour guide suggested only going to Milk Sea, Five Color Sea or Pearl Sea. We didn’t know the situation, so we chose to go to the easiest Pearl Sea. Let’s start our trip~~~

We were lucky, the weather was great that day and we didn’t use the raincoats and boots we brought. On the way we met an old woman on crutches carrying a camera. An old woman who likes to travel will spend her time seeing the world with her wife and family after retirement. I think she must be someone who loves life and cherishes it.

The photo taken in front of Xiannairi Snow Mountain was too far away. I still didn’t think it was snow. They all laughed at me, haha.

In almost an hour, maybe an hour at most, we arrived at the legendary Pearl Sea. It's just a very ordinary lake. What makes it special is that it is backed by the Xiannairi Snow Mountain. I suggested that we go on a long trip to see the Milk Sea, and the second child agreed, not wanting to see the most beautiful scenery after coming all the way.

Thick hair to the sea of ​​milk~~~

We took a 20-minute sightseeing bus to the foot of Milk Sea Mountain. You must buy tickets in cash here. We didn’t have any cash. With the help of other guys who bought tickets, we finally got on the sightseeing bus.

After walking through these plank roads, we started climbing the mountain. It took 3 hours to go up the mountain, stop and go, drink water, apply sunscreen, and ask people on the way to ask about the remaining distance. The 4.6km journey is bound to be filled with interesting adventures...

The little mouse looks so cute

We watched blue sheep, climbing over rocks and walls; and the cute little squirrel. After seeing it once, we looked for it in the trees along the way. We looked forward to it all the way, hoping to encounter it a few more times. It's a pity that I never saw it again.

It took us about 2 and a half hours to reach the Milk Sea. From a distance, it looks like a crystal clear sapphire. I felt at the time that the trip was worth it. Fortunately, we came!

We were very excited to see the Milk Sea and quickly looked for the best photo location. There are good photo spots, and everyone lines up to take turns taking photos. Fortunately, there were not many people, and we also took some beautiful photos!

There is also a five-color sea, which we can no longer walk. When the scenic spot here is developed and the transportation to the mountain becomes more convenient, we can come again.

It took more than 7 hours to go up and down the mountain today, 9.2km. We walked the whole way. It was a miracle that we could persevere. If you don't push yourself, you won't know how good you are. Hoho~~~

Finally, here is a video of milk sea for everyone to enjoy

The average altitude of the place where we were active that day was 4,400 meters, and the highest was 4,600 meters. After going down the mountain, my second child suffered from severe hypertension, so we had to take her to the hospital for oxygen. There are so many tourists in the hospital who need oxygen that they can form an oxygen team. It’s so miserable. My head felt a little hot at the time, and the doctor said it was a normal reaction after coming to the plateau. I still remember that I had to pester the doctor to prescribe me medicine. Now that I think about it, I really want to beat myself up, what a waste of resources.

It has been almost half a year, and I have forgotten the process of going up and down the mountain, but now that I think about it, I still remember the feeling of hardship. It was really a different journey than imagined. We both comforted each other and regarded this trip as a kind of exercise to increase our knowledge and strengthen our bodies. I asked the second child: "Then will you come again in the future? Or go to something similar." Isn’t that the right place?” She said, “I don’t want to experience this again.”

I heard that the most beautiful season in Aden is autumn, when the mountains are golden. Therefore, when the development of this scenic spot matures in the future, I will come here a second time.