Travel Journal: Jiuzhaigou, Huanglong, Zhangjiajie, and Changsha in July 2017
In June, I had already set this year's travel goals—Jiuzhaigou and Zhangjiajie. However, there was no news about my son's school holiday schedule. On July 9, after his exam ended, it was still unclear, so I took a risk and booked a tour with the travel agency for July 23: a 4-day fly tour to Jiuzhaigou, Huanglong, and Tian Tang Xiang Gu Lavender Base. After the tour, instead of returning to Guiyang with the group, we planned to buy our own flight tickets to Changsha, join a two-day Zhangjiajie tour, then return to Changsha, spend two days there, and finally take the high-speed rail back to Guiyang. The entire trip was expected to last seven days.
On July 18, I booked the flight from Jiuzhaigou to Changsha, as well as a two-day tour from Changsha to Zhangjiajie, a three-day hotel stay in Changsha, and the high-speed train (G2123) back to Guiyang.
On July 23, my nephew drove us to the airport at 4:30 PM. We arrived at Longdongbao Airport before 5 PM, bought some Juewei duck neck at the airport, and took off at 7:41 PM. After a little over an hour, we landed at Aba Jiuhuang Airport at 8:55 PM. As soon as we stepped out of the airport, we saw our guide wearing a cotton coat. Dressed in 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. The "Nine Turns" and "Eighteen Bends of Mountain Roads" were no longer enough to describe the ruggedness of the mountain paths we traversed; there were frequent 180-degree hairpin turns. The altitude dropped from 3,500 meters to 1,900 meters, which said it all. My son and I each had a bowl of instant noodles and then went to sleep. I felt like I didn't sleep all night—the bed was too hard!
On July 24, we had breakfast at 7 AM: congee, steamed buns, and some so-called kimchi. Luckily, we had brought our own chili and spicy vegetables! We entered the scenic area at 9 AM. Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area is shaped like a Y, with the intersection point at Nuorilang Waterfall. At the entrance, we took the shuttle bus to Shuzheng Waterfall, walked to Tiger Lake, then took the bus again to Nuorilang Waterfall, and then to Arrow Bamboo Lake. From there, we walked to Panda Lake, took the bus to Five Flower Lake, then to Pearl Shoal, walked to Pearl Shoal Waterfall, then walked to Mirror Lake, and finally took the bus to Nuorilang Transit Center to change to Long Lake. Long Lake is at an altitude of 3,103 meters; as soon as we got off the bus, altitude sickness kicked in again. We walked to Five Color Pond, then took the bus back to Nuorilang Transit Center and transferred to the bus heading to the Jiuzhaigou exit, 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 Jiuzhaigou gate, we had ice cream and cola from Dicos (surprisingly, we got a 20% discount using my son's phone number, paying only 38 yuan—embarrassing). Since we didn't join the optional Tibetan King's Feast and Yak Meat Meal (440 yuan), we took a taxi (26 yuan) back to the hotel to rest.
On July 25, breakfast was still congee and steamed buns. After eating, we started the day's journey: When we booked the tour in Guiyang, we were told there would be only one shopping stop. But in the morning, we visited two shops (crystal and Tibetan medicine). Indirectly, we went to two more: one was a visit to a Tibetan home (where we listened 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); the other was that we had to pass through a shopping mall to have lunch. It was after 1 PM when we headed to Huanglong Scenic Area. We arrived at the entrance at 3:15 PM, queued up, and took the cable car at 4:05 PM. After getting off the cable car, we walked for an hour to reach Five Color Pond. Since it was late, we didn't see the five colors caused by sunlight. Then we walked two hours downhill and exited the scenic area gate 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 went to Dejimeiduo Style Street. They introduced silk quilts and silk duvet covers one by one, which felt like a live TV shopping show. Then we visited the Long March Red Army Monument Park. After that, we went to Gezong Lanze Thangka Academy. A lama with a Guangdong accent spoke for a while, then asked each of us individually. He read our faces and kept a few people, who paid over a thousand yuan for a package that could only be opened after 49 days. Then we went to a restaurant for lunch, which, like yesterday, was also a shopping store. Later, we went to Xuebaoding Zixun Manor, where there was 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. After checking in and checking our luggage, we began a 5-hour wait, marking the official end of the 4-day Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong tour!
Overall, the Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong trip felt quite tiring. First, altitude sickness: usually, when I heard others talk about severe altitude sickness, I thought it was exaggerated—living on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, I thought it wouldn't be a problem. But reaching the real plateau, I realized: 3,000+ meters—1,000+ meters—3,600 meters—4,100 meters—2,000 meters—3,000+ meters. Second, the mountain roads had many turns: there is only one road into Jiuzhaigou, steep with sharp curves, often with 180-degree hairpin turns. Third, the distances between scenic spots were long: Jiuzhaigou was a bit better with shuttle buses, but Huanglong was very difficult to walk, basically requiring over four hours of mountain hiking. Fourth, there were long queues to enter the scenic areas—queuing for Huanglong took 50 minutes. Fifth, the food was poor, barely enough to sustain life, nothing more. Sixth, the itinerary had many "pitfalls": the schedule only mentioned one shopping stop, but there were pitfalls everywhere. The complimentary Thangka Academy and the Tibetan home visit and the style street were more dangerous than shopping stops. The guides and lecturers first gained sympathy by talking about how good things were, then offered discounts. The Tibetan home visit was for selling silverware, the style street for selling quilts and covers, and the most dangerous was the Thangka Academy, where reading people's faces was taken to the extreme. A fellow traveler from Anshun spent who knows how much money on a wrapped square package about half a meter long, which could only be opened after 49 days. She never smiled after coming out of the Thangka Academy. But the scenery was indeed beautiful—anywhere you went, it was scenic. As the saying goes: 'Regret if you come, regret even more if you don't!'
On July 26, we left Changsha Airport around 9:30 PM. We took an airport bus for about sixty minutes to the hotel (Vienna Hotel Railway Station Branch). After checking in and washing up, it was already 11:30 PM, and we quickly went to sleep.
On July 27, we got up at 6 AM and arrived at the meeting point for the Zhangjiajie tour group at 7 AM. After more than five hours, we arrived at the gate of Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon. The glass bridge of Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon opened in October 2016. It was very strict: except for a mobile phone, mineral water, and a small bag, nothing else could be brought in, not even a camera—stricter than airport security. A few minutes after entering the ticket gate, we reached the glass bridge. As for the glass bridge, online introductions already exist. I just want to say that the first step felt like my legs were shaking, and I was scared inside. Below was the canyon, which was indeed a challenge for people with acrophobia. After the glass bridge came the Skywalk Plank Road. Just by its name, you know it's a high and winding plank road. After the plank road, we took an elevator for 35 yuan (although the guide said it would take us to the bottom of the canyon, it didn't). After 20 minutes, we reached the canyon floor, then followed the valley path for 2 hours to the ferry. After a 10-minute boat ride, we disembarked and walked another 10 minutes to the exit gate of the area. In the evening, we spent 270 yuan to watch "Charming Xiangxi," directed by Feng Xiaogang and featuring Liu Huan. Personally, I felt it was worth it—the Flying Knife Skill performance was thrilling. We returned to the hotel at 11:30 PM.
On July 28, we set off at 7 AM to Tianmen Mountain Scenic Area and arrived at the gate at 8:30 AM. The tour is divided into two routes, A and B. Route A takes the cable car up and the bus down, while Route B takes the bus up and the cable car down. Our travel agency booked Route A. After 28 minutes on the cable car, we reached the upper station. Passing by Li Na's Villa (the singer Li Na, not the tennis player Li Na), we arrived at the West Line Glass Plank Road (5 yuan for shoe covers). The glass plank road was not long. After yesterday's glass bridge experience, it didn't bother me today, but the height below was greater than the glass bridge, making it more thrilling than the glass bridge. I also saw tourists like those described online—clinging to the cliff wall, afraid to step on the glass. After the glass plank road, we walked on the Guigu Plank Road, crossed the suspension bridge, Guigu Cave, Qiuer Cave, and Tianmen Mountain Temple. We took a 10-minute cable car to Yunmeng Xian Ding, then walked along the mountain path to Tianmen Waterfall. We rode a seven-section (each 60 meters) mountain escalator to Tianmen Cave. After passing through Tianmen Cave, we could either take a five-section escalator up to Tianmen or climb the 999 steps to the square in front of Tianmen Cave. Then we took two bus rides down the Ninety-Nine Bends to the Tianmen Mountain gate. At 3:30 PM, we got on the bus back to Changsha and returned after another five hours.
Initially, my plan for the Zhangjiajie trip was to fly directly from Jiuzhaigou to Zhangjiajie and join a local tour group. But I searched for a long time and found that all tours started from Changsha to Zhangjiajie; there were no local tour groups. I never understood this! Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon also required nearly four hours of walking. Except for the Skywalk Plank Road, which was a bit difficult, the path down to the canyon floor was basically flat, cool, and easy to walk. Tianmen Mountain didn't require much walking—the cable car, chairlifts, and escalators saved a lot of legwork. For someone just back from Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong, it was nothing!
On July 29, we started our independent tour. We visited Orange Isle, Taiping Old Street, and Tianxin Park, and tasted Changsha's specialties: stinky tofu, sugar-oil cake, crayfish, and fish noodle soup. The weather was hot!
On July 30, we went to Huangxing South Road Pedestrian Street. The weather was too hot! After tasting Wu's pig trotters, Wuhan three-fresh bean skin, black classic stinky tofu, and preserved vegetable and pork pie, we took the high-speed train at Changsha South Railway Station at 3:52 PM and returned to Guiyang after a 3.5-hour ride!
Written in August 2017
