Travel Notes of Jiuzhaigou, Huanglong, Zhangjiajie, and Changsha in July 2017
In June, we had already set this year's travel goal — Jiuzhaigou and Zhangjiajie, but there was no news about my son's school holiday notice. Even after my son's final exam on July 9, it was still unclear, so we took the risk and booked a 4-day tour with a travel agency for July 23: Jiuzhaigou, Huanglong, Paradise Fragrant Valley Lavender Base by round-trip flight. After the tour, we would not return to Guiyang with the group; instead, we would buy our own plane ticket to Changsha, then join a two-day Zhangjiajie tour before returning to Changsha, where we would spend two days and then take a high-speed train back to Guiyang. The entire trip was expected to last seven days.
On July 18, we booked the plane ticket from Jiuzhaigou to Changsha, as well as the two-day tour from Changsha to Zhangjiajie, a three-night hotel in Changsha, and a high-speed train back to Guiyang (G2123).
On July 23, at 4:30 PM, my nephew drove us to the airport. We arrived at Longdongbao Airport before 5:00 PM, bought some Juewei duck neck at the airport, and the plane took off at 7:41 PM. After a flight of over an hour, we arrived at Aba Jiuhuang Airport at 8:55 PM. As soon as we exited the airport, we saw our guide wearing a cotton-padded jacket. Wearing T-shirts and shorts, we rushed onto the bus. It took nearly an hour and a half to drive from Jiuhuang Airport to the hotel. "Nine turns" and "eighteen bends" were no longer enough to describe the ruggedness of the mountain roads we traversed; there were often 180-degree sharp turns. Descending from 3,500 meters above sea level to 1,900 meters said it all. My son and I each had a bowl of instant noodles before resting, but I felt like I didn't sleep at all — the bed was too hard!
On July 24, breakfast at 7 AM was porridge, steamed buns, and some so-called pickles. Luckily, we had brought chili and spicy vegetables! At 9 AM, we entered the scenic area. Jiuzhaigou is shaped like a Y, with the intersection at Nuorilang Waterfall. At the entrance, we took a shuttle bus to Shuzheng Waterfall, then walked to Tiger Lake before taking another bus to Nuorilang Waterfall, then a bus to Arrow Bamboo Lake, walked to Panda Lake, then took a bus to Five Flower Lake, then a bus to Pearl Shoal, walked to Pearl Shoal Waterfall, then walked to Mirror Lake, then took a bus to Nuorilang Transfer Station, and then a bus to Long Lake. Long Lake is at an altitude of 3,103 meters. As soon as we got off, altitude sickness hit again. We walked to Five Color Pond, then took a bus back to Nuorilang Transfer Station and then a shuttle bus to the exit of Jiuzhaigou, arriving at the exit at 4:20 PM. The ticket for Jiuzhaigou was 220 yuan, and the bus fare was 90 yuan, totaling 310 yuan. At the gate of Jiuzhaigou, we bought ice cream and Coke at Dicos (surprisingly, my son's phone number got us a 20% discount, only 38 yuan — a bit embarrassing). Since we didn't participate in the optional Tibetan King's Banquet and Yak Meat Meal (440 yuan), we took a taxi (26 yuan) back to the hotel to rest.
On July 25, breakfast was still porridge and steamed buns. After breakfast, we started the day's journey: When we booked the tour in Guiyang, we were told there would be only one shopping stop, but unexpectedly, we visited two shops in the morning (crystal and Tibetan medicine). Then there were two disguised shopping stops: one was a visit to a Tibetan home (we sat in a room listening to a Tibetan-dressed person talk about Tibetan life, constantly mentioning silverware, then we were taken to a so-called village committee to buy silverware), and the other was that we had to pass through a shopping mall to get to lunch. It was past 1 PM when we headed to Huanglong Scenic Area. We arrived at the entrance at 3:15 PM, stood in line for the cable car, and boarded at 4:05 PM. After getting off the cable car, we walked for an hour to reach Five Color Pond. Due to the late hour, we didn't see the five colors caused by sunlight. Then we walked downhill for two hours and exited the scenic area at 7 PM (Huanglong ticket: 200 yuan, cable car: 80 yuan). After that, we returned to Chuanzhusi for dinner and accommodation.
On July 26, after breakfast, we drove to Dejimeiduo Style Street, where they introduced silk quilts and duvet covers one by one, like a live version of TV shopping. Then we went to the Red Army Long March Monument Park to pay our respects, and then to Gezong Lanze Thangka Academy. A lama with a Cantonese accent spoke for a while, then asked each of us, carefully reading our expressions, and kept a few people. Some paid over a thousand yuan for a package that could only be opened after 49 days. Afterward, we went to a restaurant for lunch, which, like the previous day, was also a shopping stop. Then we visited Xuebaoding Zixun Manor, a field of lavender forming a beautiful picture with the blue sky and white clouds! Urged by the guide, we arrived at Jiuhuang Airport before 2 PM, checked in and checked our luggage, and began a 5-hour wait, marking the official end of the 4-day Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong tour.
Looking back on the Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong trip, I felt quite tired. First, altitude sickness: Usually when I heard others complain about serious altitude sickness, I thought it was exaggerated. Born and raised on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, I thought we'd be fine. But only when we actually got to the high altitude did I realize — 3,000+ meters → 1,000+ meters → 3,600 meters → 4,100 meters → 2,000 meters → 3,000+ meters. Second, the mountain roads had many bends: There's only one road into Jiuzhaigou, with steep slopes and sharp curves, often 180-degree turns. Third, the distances between scenic spots were long: Jiuzhaigou was better with shuttle buses, but Huanglong was really tough — basically over four hours of walking on mountain paths. Fourth, there were long queues at scenic area entrances: We waited 50 minutes just to enter Huanglong. Fifth, the food was poor, barely enough to sustain life, nothing more. Sixth, the itinerary was full of traps: The schedule said only one shopping stop, but traps were everywhere. The complimentary Thangka Academy, the Tibetan home visit, and the Style Street were more dangerous than regular shops. The guides and explainers first gained sympathy, then spoke about how good things were, then offered discounts. The Tibetan home was selling silverware, the Style Street sold quilts and duvet covers, and the worst was the Thangka Academy, which pushed the art of reading people to the extreme. A fellow traveler from Anshun spent who knows how much on a neatly wrapped square package about half a meter long that could only be opened after 49 days. She didn't smile once after coming out of the Thangka Academy. But the scenery was truly beautiful — everywhere you looked was a view. As they say, regret coming, but regret even more if you don't!
On July 26, we left Changsha Airport around 9:30 PM, took an airport bus for about 60 minutes, and arrived at our hotel (Vienna Hotel Railway Station Branch). After checking in and washing up, it was already 11:30 PM, so we quickly went to sleep.
On July 27, we got up at 6 AM and arrived at the gathering point for the Zhangjiajie tour group at 7 AM. After more than five hours, we reached the entrance of Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon. The Glass Bridge at Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon opened in October 2016. It was very strict: besides your phone, a water bottle, and a small personal bag, nothing else was allowed — even cameras were forbidden, stricter than airport security. After passing through the ticket gate, we reached the Glass Bridge in a few minutes. As for the glass bridge, I had already read about it online. I only want to say that the first step made my legs tremble, and I was scared. Below your feet is the canyon, a real challenge for anyone with acrophobia. After the glass bridge came the Sky Suspension Walkway, which, as the name suggests, is a high and winding plank road. After the walkway, we took an elevator for 35 yuan (although the guide said it goes down to the valley floor, it didn't). After 20 minutes, we reached the valley floor, then followed the valley path for two hours to the ferry dock. After a 10-minute boat ride, we disembarked and walked another 10 minutes to the exit gate of the scenic area. In the evening, we spent 270 yuan to watch "Charming Xiangxi," directed by Feng Xiaogang and featuring Liu Huan. I personally felt it was worth it — the flying knife performance was thrilling. We returned to the hotel at 11:30 PM.
On July 28, we set off at 7 AM for Tianmen Mountain Scenic Area and arrived at the entrance at 8:30 AM. The tour had two routes, A and B. Route A was cable car up, bus down; Route B was bus up, cable car down. Our travel agency booked Route A. The cable car took 28 minutes to reach the top station. After passing Li Na's Villa (singer Li Na, not tennis player Li Na), we reached the West Line Glass Walkway (5 yuan for shoe covers). The glass walkway wasn't long, and after yesterday's glass bridge, today it didn't bother me. But the height underfoot was higher than the glass bridge, making it indeed more thrilling. I also saw tourists who, as described online, clung to the cliff wall, afraid to step on the glass. After the glass walkway, we followed the Guigu Plank Road, passed the Suspension Bridge, Guigu Cave, Qiuer Cave, and Tianmen Mountain Temple. We took a 10-minute cable car to Yunmeng Fairy Summit, then walked along the mountain road to Tianmen Waterfall, rode seven sections of escalators (each 60 meters long) through the mountain to Tianmen Cave. After passing through Tianmen Cave, we could either take five sections of escalators or walk 999 steps to reach the square in front of Tianmen Cave. Then we took two bus rides through ninety-nine bends to return to Tianmen Mountain Gate. At 3:30 PM, we got on the bus back to Changsha, arriving five hours later.
For the Zhangjiajie trip, originally I planned to fly directly from Jiuzhaigou to Zhangjiajie and join a local tour, but after searching for a long time, all tours departed from Changsha. I never found a local tour group, and I still don't understand why. Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon also requires nearly four hours of walking. Except for the Sky Suspension Walkway, which was a bit difficult, the valley floor was mostly flat, cool, and easy to walk. Tianmen Mountain didn't require much walking, as the cable cars, elevators, and escalators saved a lot of steps, which was no big deal for me after Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong.
On July 29, we did self-guided sightseeing. We visited Orange Isle, Taiping Old Street, and Tianxin Park, and sampled Changsha specialties: stinky tofu, sugar-oil cake, crayfish, and fish noodles. It was hot!
On July 30, we went to Huangxing South Road Pedestrian Street. It was too hot! After tasting Wu's Pig Trotters, Wuhan Three Fresh Delicacies Bean Skin, Black Classic Stinky Tofu, and Preserved Vegetable and Pork Belly Cake, we took the high-speed train from Changsha South Station at 3:52 PM and returned to Guiyang in three and a half hours.
Written in August 2017
