This ten-day trip, coupled with the bombardment of photos and videos along the way, aroused the interest and attention of many friends in the circle of friends. Every day I receive messages from friends, "How are you doing?" and "Do you have any tips to share?".
After all, it takes a long time to write a ten-day travelogue, so I simply divided it into part one and part two.
Today I’m here to hand in my homework. Please check out the previous part of my travelogue!
The first season of "Just the Boy" premiered on April 11, 2021. The first stop was Western Sichuan, which Liu Haoran has longed for. I originally watched it with the mentality of watching a variety show (handsome guy), but I didn’t expect to be attracted by the scenery of Western Sichuan in the show. My mind was filled with snow-capped mountains and grasslands, forests and seas, seas of clouds and stars, colorful glaciers, and Litang Dingzhen...
Of course, it also planted a seed in my heart that I must visit Western Sichuan if I have the opportunity.
One day in August, A Zhu asked in the group, "Can we go to Western Sichuan in September?"
"Let's go!" he answered decisively.
The right vacation, the right friends, and the right time
Think of it as a 28th birthday gift to yourself.
In this way, we formed the Western Sichuan Brothers Group with our anxiety and expectations for unknown experiences.
This is Teacher A-Zhu’s planning list.
I have to praise Virgo's planning ability, it is really very detailed.
PS: The above is purely planning, please refer to the actual itinerary!
Members: Azhu Ahua Amao Acheng
Transportation: Plane, self-driving
Per capita cost: 4,500 yuan (including accommodation and air tickets)
Clothing: Two sets of summer clothes, one down jacket, two jackets, two pairs of thick pants, two pairs of comfortable shoes, raincoat, and shoe covers. You can adjust according to the season you go. We went there in mid-September, and it will be colder in the future.
Accommodation: The self-driving itinerary will be temporarily adjusted. Fortunately, it is not the peak season when I go, and the rooms at the accommodation locations are still available. The B&Bs and hotels I stayed in during the entire trip are very good. I will tell you the accuracy in the following article. The name of the B&B.
Equipment: Trekking poles, food, oxygen bottles (four people prepared a total of 20 bottles of oxygen, and there were probably about 10 bottles left in the end.)
DAY1: Chengdu - Kangding - S434 - Honghaizi - Yala Pass - Kangding Airport - "Must Drive 318 in this Lifetime" - Tagong Grassland - Xinduqiao
We set out from Amao's home in Chengdu at 8:00 in the morning and crossed the Luding Bridge and Erlangshan Tunnel. wait After 28km of tunnels, we arrived in Kangding at 11:40. As soon as we got off the car, we felt the temperature dropped a lot and the wind was strong. The four brothers immediately wrapped themselves in their coats.
When you come to Kangding, you think you will see "yo-yo men", but in fact there is only a yo-yo city. You can see the slogan "Hometown of Love Songs" everywhere, as well as Tibetan-flavored food and pedestrian streets with ethnic characteristics.
At noon, I checked in with "Just the Boy" Malaya Restaurant ~ (The brand of this store is easy to see, but the entrance is difficult to find. You can search for Dicos and take the elevator through the doorway next to Dicos. That’s it on the 6th floor~)
After we ordered, the restaurant slowly started to fill up, and luckily we didn't have to wait in line. Beef dumplings and yoghurt baguos are a must-try! Don't order the dough slices, they will be inferior in comparison. Because we were staying in Xinduqiao for the night, we continued on our way after having enough tea and food, and then visited the Liuliu City on our return trip.
Depart from Kangding and drive along Provincial Road S434 . Speaking of G318, everyone is certainly familiar with it, and Provincial Highway S434 is another winding mountain road besides G318. It starts from Tagong Town and goes down the Yala River, passing through Jiangba Village, Kangding Airport, Yala Mountain Pass, and Yala Township. , Erdaoqiao Village, Jiaxiacuo, Zhonggu Village, Mugecuo, and ends at Kangding Beimen Gymnasium. The scenery along the way is beautiful, and it is beautiful to take pictures of. It is a road worth checking out. Compared with 318, there are fewer cars and fewer people, and the road conditions will be better. I recommend it to everyone!
As the altitude gets higher and higher, the scenery along the way becomes more and more beautiful. At this time, we had moved the oxygen bottles in the trunk to the car, so we each had one in hand. Every few minutes, A Zhu would ask in his mind: "What's the altitude now?" "It's 3020", "It's 3300", "It's already 4010!" We were like those reporting for military training, hahahaha.
On the way from Kangding to Xinduqiao, you can see the rolling peaks of the Zheduo Mountains and pass by three beautiful viewing platforms: Honghaizi, Yala Mountain, and Kangding Airport .
Honghaizi was the first observation deck we arrived at. In fact, we didn’t know it was an attraction at first, but we just saw many cars stopping here to take pictures, so we got off the bus too. Here you can look up at the sacred mountain Gongga. Haizi in the distance is like a flawless mirror, which can clearly reflect the blue sky and snowy mountains, which is great.
Self-driving travel means being on the road both physically and mentally. When we arrived at the Yala Pass, it was already at an altitude of 4401. Everyone felt a little unwell and started to take oxygen one after another.
Because they are close to Kangding Airport, these observation decks are all no-fly zones, so unfortunately there are no aerial photos. Let me show you the photos~
Kangding Airport is a typical plateau airport with an altitude of 4238m. I wanted to wait for the plane to take off here, but after waiting for a while I didn’t see a plane, so I continued driving to Tagong Grassland. Because we were driving in the wrong direction on the road, we turned from S434. G318, I checked in on Rainbow Road at the airport.
After driving for about half an hour, we arrived at Tagong Grassland. This is the grassland closest to Kangding. There are many yaks, horses and sheep grazing leisurely on the green grass. There is Tagong Temple next to it. As the sun sets in the evening, this scene is really beautiful. Because it was already 18:00 in the evening when we arrived at Tagong, we didn’t stay much longer, took a few photos and continued on our way.
The last stop today - Xinduqiao . This is a small town in the west of Kangding, with an altitude of 3,300 meters. Tibetan villages are scattered along the mountains and rivers on both sides of the road, and there are rows of birch forests. Every few hundred meters you can see a "Photographer's Paradise" sign on the roadside. Indeed, I feel that for those who come here, regardless of whether you know photography or not, you can take a blockbuster movie. After all, the most common thing A Zhu said along the way was "It's so beautiful!"
We stayed at Youmu Xiaoyuan in Xinduqiao that night. The boss was very enthusiastic and helped us carry our luggage upstairs. He also told us that we can take pictures of the Milky Way tonight. If you are interested, you can go to the front around 11 o'clock to take pictures. Everyone agreed and said they would definitely go take pictures at night. After all, they brought cameras and tripods. (I brought this tripod from Qingdao to Chengdu, from Chengdu to Aden and back to Qingdao. It lay quietly in the trunk and was never opened. It was laughed at all the way.)
The owner of the B&B raised a cat (Wang Liangzai) and a dog (Li Meili). Since the four brothers are all pet owners, they were so excited after seeing it that they forgot that we were in a state of high reflexes.
Often the slap in the face comes so quickly. Maybe I didn’t pay much attention to it while watching the scenery or rushing along the way. Once I relaxed at the B&B, I regained my energy. After returning to the room, I vomited and lay down. My sister (Ahua), who was left with nothing to do, came back and forth to take care of the three of us. Oxygen bottles were placed beside everyone's bed. The pictures of the Milky Way and Horses were all floating clouds. Yes, it’s important to save your life.
DAY2: Xinduqiao - Yajiang - Eighteen Bends of Tianlu - Litang - Tu'er Mountain - Shangri-La Town
The sea of clouds seen outside the B&B in the morning~
I got up early and had a meal at the B&B. The originally planned itinerary was to go to the Lotus Sea today, but I heard the lady chatting next to me saying that I must enter the scenic spot at ten o'clock, otherwise I won't be able to get in, and I can't come out until four o'clock in the afternoon. . After hearing this, A-Zhu and A-Hua decided to ask the boss. Amao and I went back to the room to pack our luggage.
The boss’s suggestion is that we go to Shangri-La Town today, go directly to Daocheng early tomorrow morning, and go back in reverse. As a result, we overturned all our previous plans, and Azhu began to change the check-in time of the B&B one by one along the way.
Departing at 10:15, after more than three hours of driving, we arrived at the "Eighteen Bends of the Tianlu Road". There are two viewing platforms here: The Ancient Tea Horse Road and The Eighteen Bends of the Tianlu Road . Both of these observation decks can be used for aerial photography. If you have equipment, don’t miss it! I posted it on Moments, and several friends asked me if it was you who posted it, hahahahahahaha. This road is the road from Yajiang to Litang. It is more than 4,500 meters above sea level, so it is called the Heavenly Road. The road is very winding, like being cut by scissors.
The car went around the eighteen bends of Tianlu and drove all the way up until it arrived at Ding Zhen's hometown - Litang. This is the county with the highest altitude on National Highway 318 and is known as the "City in the Sky". Sister Divine Beast told us on the way that Litang is the place with the highest average altitude on this trip, and the B&B we stayed at was also at an altitude of 4,000 meters.
It was already 16:00 in the afternoon when we arrived in Litang. After checking in at the East City Gate, we decided to find a place to find food. After all, we were all a little hungry after traveling all the time. It was still raining when we first arrived in Litang, so Amao suggested having a hot soup pot. After searching Dianping, the Pepper Fish, Wild Mushroom and Yak Offal Soup Pot has a pretty high rating. We ordered the yak hot pot and added three portions of vegetables. One thing to say, the portion is quite large, but the taste is a bit bland and I have to rely on the seasoning. If you pass by, you can try it.
After dinner, I bought a cup of Shuyi Shao Xiancao in Litang (very pleasant surprise!) and continued on my way. The altitude along this road is relatively high, because it is not the peak season and there are not many cars. The clouds can be seen everywhere, which makes us feel like we are flying. When we reach Tu'er Mountain, it reaches an altitude of 4640 meters. Everyone feels different. The level of reflexes was so high that Amao refused to get out of the car even when he reached the observation deck. The three of us still insisted on taking pictures. After taking the pictures, we quickly returned to the car to take oxygen. It can be said that we tried our best! After passing Tuer Mountain, I was lucky enough to see a rainbow~ Here are some beautiful photos!
It gets dark later here than in other places. The sunset just started at 20:00 and there was no signal. Fortunately, I had these beautiful views along the way to pass the time. A Zhu and I both use China Unicom, and A Hua and Amao both use China Mobile. China Unicom's signal in the mountains is almost zero, while China Mobile still has full 4G signal.
I still want to tell you here that the road in the mountains is more complicated. There are no street lights on the road there at night, so we all rely on navigation. Azhu originally downloaded the offline map, but it was too dark on the road at night and he ran to the wrong intersection. In addition, there was no signal on his mobile phone. Makes you bald. The mobile network is yyds in the mountains, like it!
Finally arrived at Daocheng Shangri-La Qiyun Meisu at 21:30 in the evening, which lasted 9 hours. Because we were going to Daocheng Yading early the next morning, everyone finished cleaning up at the B&B and went to bed early.
The name "Daocheng Yading"
I learned this when I watched "Passing Through Your World".
"Let me tell you secretly, there is a place called Daocheng.
I want to go there with my most beloved person and look at the blue sky,
Look at the white snow-capped mountains, the golden grassland, and an autumn fairy tale. "
First meeting, hello, Aden.
(Wait, let me take a few breaths of oxygen before writing!)
At 8:00 in the morning, I had a nice meal at Chongqing Noodles next to the B&B, and then set off for Daocheng Scenic Area. It takes about 15 minutes to drive to the scenic area. There is a dedicated parking lot. The parking fee is 20 yuan a day Everyone needs to buy tickets at the entrance of the scenic area and take a sightseeing bus to Chonggu Temple. (Ticket + sightseeing bus 266 yuan)
The sightseeing car travels for about 40 minutes and will pass by an observation deck in the middle, where you can get off the car and take pictures of icebergs, but the driver will tell you that you only have three minutes, so be quick!
Do you think that arriving at Chonggu Temple is the beginning of this journey? No, you are wrong. You still need to walk 500 meters and then take the next sightseeing bus to Luorong Cattle Farm ( Round trip by sightseeing bus is 80 yuan ). After 15 minutes, we finally arrived at Luorong Cattle Farm , and today’s journey officially started.
Daocheng Yading is mainly composed of Xiannairi, Yangmaiyong, Xianuoduoji "Three sacred mountains and" Chonggu Temple, Luorong Cow Farm, Milk Lake, Five-Color Lake, Pearl Lake, Azalea Terrace "It consists of six scenic areas. The emerald green meadows, colorful forests, clear blue lakes, and magnificent and holy snow-capped mountains, the scenery here maintains a purity that is almost extinct on the earth, with unique landforms and pristine natural scenery, and is known as " The last pure land on the blue planet ”.
After entering, I heard many tourists say that the scenic spot is divided into long-term and short-term . The short round trip takes about 2 hours of walking, mainly to see Xiannairi and Pearl Sea, which is relatively easy. The long round trip takes about 6 hours, mainly to the Milk Sea and Five Color Sea deep in the snow-capped mountains.
I vaguely remember that Teacher Azhu said that short-term is not interesting, so everyone directly chose long-term. (Now that I think about it, we are young and ignorant) If you want to save energy, you can book a caravan after entering the cattle farm (the one-way fee is 300, and you are not allowed to ride a horse down the mountain) and you can ride a pony to Sheshen Cliff. It is about one-half of the way to the Milk Sea Scenic Area, and the remaining one-half can only be reached on foot, because they are all steep steps and more dangerous.
Of course, we didn’t hire a caravan, we were all hiking. Each person carried 2 bottles of water, a bottle of Coke, a Snickers bar, and two bottles of oxygen in his bag. I also carried an extra camera. The first half of the journey consumed a lot of energy. When Amao arrived at Sheshen Cliff (the stop of the caravan), she decided to go back and not continue climbing. A Zhu also said that she needed to slow down. Ahua and I decided to go up the mountain to have a look, adhering to the belief of "it's time to come".
So it became that Ahua and I continued to climb, Azhu rested, and Amao went down the mountain.
Every step up is a confrontation between mental and physical strength. The really tiring part is walking about 2 kilometers, and there is a climb of more than 400 meters. The road is very difficult to walk, and you have to rest every two steps. Especially along the way, it was sometimes windy, sometimes rainy, and the weather changed all of a sudden, which was really disappointing.
The signs on the roadside will always tell you that the mountains are high and the roads are steep, so you need to be steady to win. When I was 1.1km away from Milk Sea, my high reflexes became more and more serious. I told Ahua to let her go first, while I took my time and would gather at Milk Sea later. In this way we were divided into four echelons.
When we were still 500m away from Milk Sea (the road signs showed a straight line distance), I asked the tourists walking down how long it would take to walk. They said it would take half an hour, and told me, "The road you are taking is too long." It’s too steep. You should take the slower road next to it, which is suitable for going down the mountain.” This news was a shock to me, who was so high that my legs were weak and I couldn’t walk. I was so broken that I wanted to give up on the spot.
But when I thought that Ahua might have been waiting for me at Milk Sea, and I couldn’t contact her (China Unicom had no signal at all in the scenic spot, so we were cut off from the outside world for 7 hours in the mountains.) I could only hold on and breathe oxygen and go up. Climb. There were also many enthusiastic people on the road who told me, "Keep going, it's so beautiful up there, it would be a pity not to go up and have a look."
So, Ahua and I met in the Five Colored Sea!! The spirit defeated the physical strength, scattering flowers!!
Here I would like to share with you the Milk Sea and Five Color Sea, which can be regarded as the fruits of this trip! Because the last battery car leaves at 6 o'clock and the last bus leaves at 7 o'clock, we must go down the mountain before 4 o'clock.
After taking the photos, we were ready to get up and go down the mountain. On the way, we met A Zhu. Even though he was feeling unwell, we finally made it to Milk Sea.
Because there was no signal all day, and my health was too much, I wanted to take the sightseeing bus down the mountain to rest. On the way down the mountain, I separated from Azhu Ahua and walked first.
The sheep we encountered while going down the mountain ~ there were many small animals along the way
I breathed oxygen all the way and worked hard to reach the sightseeing bus stop. I didn't feel much when I took the sightseeing bus to Aden in the morning. I kept turning when going down the mountain. I was already in a state of hypoxia and felt dizzy. Now with motion sickness, I really felt like vomiting.
The bus arrived at the exit of the scenic spot. When I got off the bus, I saw many people holding on to the railings and vomiting. I really wanted to join them, but I still couldn't bear to go to the toilet. On the way down the mountain, we talked to our group about the situation. Amao was worried that something might happen to me, so he came to pick me up with Huoxiang Zhengqi and Suxiao Jiuxin Pills. I would like to express my gratitude to Amaoღ(´･ᴗ･`)!
After taking some time in the car, A-Zhu and A-Hua also came back. Everyone rested in the car for a while and then drove back to the B&B. After all, none of the four brothers wanted to stay another minute at that time.
By the way, why do you call Ahua the mythical beast sister? It’s because she was the only one walking 10 kilometers in Aden and there was no reaction at all, Jue Juezi!
Aden’s thoughts:
This is really the most difficult 10km I have walked. Walking at low altitude and high altitude are completely different. If you go, I sincerely recommend that you book a caravan. It will really save you money in the second half of the journey. A lot of physical strength.
In terms of equipment, it is recommended to pack lightly. Don’t bring too much food. If you can’t finish it and you are not in the mood to eat, bring some high-calorie foods such as chocolate and hot water. Just bring two bottles of oxygen. Don’t rely too much on oxygen in the early stage. If you feel really uncomfortable, take it out and take a few puffs. Then be sure to bring a raincoat, because the climate in the mountains is so changeable, and it may snow even if you go in October.
Although it was very tiring, I really felt that the trip was worth it. From the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain, you can watch the changes of the four seasons. When you climb to the depths of the snow-capped mountains and see the two gem-like seas, you will also be in awe of the miraculous craftsmanship of nature.
After returning from Aden, everyone rested early and continued on their way to Litang the next day. As for the story of "City in the Sky" and the rest of the journey, we will leave it to the next article, so stay tuned.
End of the previous article.