Travel Notes | Early Summer in Daocheng Yading

At the end of May and the beginning of June, I was fortunate enough to form a group with my friends alone and embark on the long-awaited graduation trip to Daocheng Yading. Yading is the name of a village located in Shangri-La Town, Daocheng County, Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, a far away place. Perhaps it is because it is close to the sky that it is so unique. Instead of the busy traffic and feasting of the city, there are pure and simple Tibetans, snow-capped mountains and vast expanse of grassland.

We started from Chengdu and walked on the beautiful 318 National Highway, passing through small counties built on the mountains such as Ya'an, Kangding, and Daocheng, and climbed over the majestic mountains such as Zheduo Mountain, Tuer Mountain, and Haizi Mountain. The mountains are full of different scenery along the way, and I can't help but marvel at the uncanny craftsmanship of nature. After this trip, we settled in Daocheng County to prepare for tomorrow’s hike.

Milk Sea and Five Color Sea are places of longing, and the beautiful scenery of hiking starts from Luorong Niu Farm, so taking the bus to Zhaguubeng is the best arrangement. The journey takes about 50 minutes, during which time you can enjoy the scenery along the way. The Snow Mountain Observation Deck is a must-visit place and is worth a moment's stay.

From Zhaguubeng to Chonggu Temple, we need to hike a short distance. This section of the trail is steeper than most of our subsequent hiking trails, which made us worry about our physical strength from the beginning.

You can take a sightseeing battery car from Chonggu Temple to Luorong Farm, which takes about 20 minutes. Here, you can enjoy the beautiful scenery of the snow-capped mountains more closely. The snow on the top of the mountain shines silver under the sunlight, which is very beautiful. Mountains are sacred in the minds of Tibetans, and this snow mountain is even more sacred in their minds. In their view, pointing at the snow-capped mountains with your finger is a blasphemy to the snow-capped mountains, so be sure to pay attention when visiting scenic spots.

At this point, our hiking journey officially begins. We need to hike 5 kilometers along the plank road before we can see Milk Sea and Five Color Sea. In plateau areas, the air is thin and you need to rest if you can't walk very far. We dragged our tired bodies and relied on the oxygen bottles in our hands to walk step by step towards the top of the mountain. The short distance of 5 kilometers took us 3 hours. We kept cheering and cheering ourselves up, after all “We are here!”. (Similar words include"New Year's Eve", "He is still a child", "For your own good", "Just get used to it" " etc.)

Milk Sea (there is no sea in inland areas, and large lakes are called Haizi by locals) does not mean that the water is milky white, but that this ancient glacial lake is surrounded by snow-capped mountains and has a white beach on the edge of the lake. It is like milk, so it is called the milk sea. The weather in the mountains changes all the time. It was clear and clear just now, then it started to blow strong winds, and then it suddenly started raining. We were so embarrassed that we were exhausted even when we reached the top of the mountain. But the moment we saw the beautiful scenery in front of us, our hearts were instantly healed, the fatigue on our bodies was swept away, and we were deeply attracted by it. With a hint of cool breeze, the pure lake water makes you feel peaceful and peaceful. You don't want to say another word for fear of breaking the tranquility. You just want to watch quietly like this, watch quietly, the slightly rippling water patterns and the blue snow lock your eyes there.

Walking a little further up, you come to the Five-Colored Sea. Compared with the purity of the Milk Sea, the Five-Colored Sea reveals a mystery. The water is not translucent, as if it is covered with a veil.

The steep descent made our newly dissipated fatigue even more intense, and our calves could not help but tremble. As the saying goes, it is easy to go up the mountain but difficult to come down. It is really not easy for us to go up the mountain, and it is also difficult to go down the mountain. Maybe it was because we came down the mountain relatively late, but we were lucky enough to see blue sheep coming to the river to eat grass and drink water. This was also a surprise.

At this point, more than half of our trip to Daocheng and Aden has passed, and then it is time to return.

The trip is over and we are about to graduate. When we were chatting on the way back, why did we come to Daocheng Yading? Here, we must be careful not to speak too loudly, walk carefully not to walk too fast, drink water carefully not to take too big a mouthful, and even smile too much. It may cause physical discomfort, which we cannot explain clearly. On our graduation trip, the important thing is not where we go or the scenery along the way, but who we are. Some things, when mentioned many years later, will still make you laugh uncontrollably; some people, even if they rarely see each other later, will still sincerely wish him the best. Graduation is not the end, but a new beginning, because we have never been separated. I hope everyone has a bright future and a long future.