Chengdu, Sichuan (Internet-Famous Spots Tour) - Huanglong Scenic Area (First Snow of 2021) - Jiuzhaigou (Late Autumn Scenery)

Travel dates: October 25-28

Travel mode: Round-trip flights, semi-independent travel (joined a tour group for convenience to Jiuzhaigou).

Travel cost: 5500 yuan / 2 people (including Jiuzhaigou tour fee)

City transportation: Metro

Essential app: Tianfu Tong (for public transport, link a bank card in advance and top up!!)

Day 1: Chunxi Road - Kuanzhai Alley - Kuixing Tower - Nine Arch Bridge

Hotel name: Wanjin Mingdi Unmanned Hotel (Chunxi Road Branch)

Hotel price: 160+

About 800 meters from Chunxi Road, very convenient! Walkable to CBD~

The hotel is on a modern commercial street, opposite the fire station (full of security!!!) It’s a peaceful spot in a bustling area, with a simple and elegant decor, quite new, and likely to appeal to young people. It has a smart toilet (so mom doesn’t have to worry about a cold toilet seat in winter)!!! Although it claims to be an unmanned hotel, there is always one person on duty~

IFS Panda

Every city has such a pedestrian street; I came just to get a photo of the panda.

You can see the giant panda’s butt from outside IFS. Take the elevator inside the mall to the 7th floor, and you’ll find the photo spot! I never expected to queue on a Monday afternoon around 2-3 PM T-T…

The mall has many big brands, worth a browse.

Near IFS is Taikoo Li!!! Streets with ancient-style architecture, all big brands – you can buy anything you can think of!

I heard Chunxi Road is full of handsome men and beautiful women, but I didn’t see any T-T. Maybe I picked the wrong time, and they were all at work?

There are many ancient-style commercial areas in Chengdu; this is one of them!!!

Feeling hungry while walking, I randomly entered a skewer shop. It didn’t seem like a trendy spot; the customers were nearby office workers taking takeaways or local regulars.

The selection wasn’t big: basic vegetables and meat, 0.8 yuan per skewer. I didn’t have high hopes, but the dipping powder was incredibly fragrant – not spicy, left a lingering aroma I couldn’t forget. I never found such fragrant skewers again in Chengdu T-T

From Chunxi Road, take the metro to Kuanzhai Alley, another ancient-style commercial area. It consists of three alleys: Kuan Alley, Zhai Alley, and Jing Alley. Shops include ear cleaning, tea houses, souvenirs, ethnic clothing, face-changing performances, and snacks…

Even on a weekday it was a bit crowded, so imagine weekends and holidays. I suggest going during off-peak times.

I read in advance that the snacks here are overpriced, so I went to Kuixing Road for dinner.

Kuixing Tower is about 1000 meters from Kuanzhai Alley, walkable. The whole street is filled with eateries: hotpot, skewers, tangyou guozi (sugar oil fruit), tofu pudding with ice powder, egg puffs, chicken feet, drink shops…

I chose Chen Yanhong Hotpot on a whim – the only hotpot I had in Chengdu. Disappointing T-T.

The pot had three choices: mushroom, clear oil spicy, and pickled cabbage. The taste was average; price was high, 150+/person; and there were cockroaches running around!!! For that price and environment, I’d rather eat at Haidilao. Speechless…

I heard you should eat at chain hotpot places like Shu Daxia, Nan Hotpot, or Shijing Hotpot? A mistake T-T

About spiciness: I thought micro-spicy in Chengdu would be above medium in Guangdong, but it wasn’t very spicy. Is it not authentic? When I was in Chongqing, even micro-spicy was blazing hot.

Tip: Eat early, around 5-6 PM, when there are fewer people and little to no queue~

After dinner, take the metro to Nine Arch Bridge for a walk. The bridge is lined with bars, suitable for party-goers.

Truthfully, the night view at Nine Arch Bridge is average; not worth a special trip. If you’re torn between Jinli and Nine Arch Bridge for night views, I recommend Jinli!!!

Day 2: Huanglong Scenic Area

A week before departure, I booked a 2-day Huanglong-Jiuzhaigou tour on Feizhu.

Tour fee: 715 yuan/person (minibus + 4-star hotel).

Items to bring:

(1) Snacks!!!

(2) Warm clothes!!!

(3) Raincoat, umbrella, rain shoes

(4) Travel pillow and small blanket

About nucleic acid test

One day before departure, the guide contacted us for a COVID test (now you need a 48-hour negative result to enter T-T, and anyone with an asterisk on the travel code is not allowed in)

I heard Huanglong and Jiuzhaigou are a bundled itinerary; no matter which travel agency you join, if you go to Jiuzhaigou, you’ll get Huanglong.

Huanglong’s main attractions are: primitive forest, calcified “haizi” (lakes), and the “Five-Color Pond” from elementary school textbooks.

On departure day, we had to be at the meeting point by 4:50 AM (so early, I couldn’t keep my eyes open T-T). The guide said it takes about 8 hours to reach Jiuzhaigou, so it’s necessary to leave this early, otherwise you won’t have time to explore. Hard, can only catch up on sleep in the car.

Be sure to bring a travel pillow~!!!

Note: Just before arriving at Huanglong, the guide said we needed to “check in.” Suddenly a person came on board selling an anti-altitude sickness oral liquid, making wild claims. 100 yuan per bottle? Two? I suggest not buying it – not very effective. Better to buy some Rhodiola in advance online.

If a salesperson says the oxygen bar on the mountain will close, don’t believe it. After the cable car on the mountain, there are places selling oxygen every few hundred meters. Better to spend 100 yuan on 10 or 8 bottles of oxygen (15 yuan per bottle on the mountain).

At the scenic area entrance, I got an electronic audio guide with earphones, which gave commentary throughout. (The service at Sichuan scenic spots is really smart~~~).

We took the cable car up, about 6 people per car. As altitude increased, the frost on branches and peaks turned into snow. Getting off the cable car and seeing the snow-covered mountaintops was stunning! Perfect timing!!! The primitive forest was blanketed in white, with wisps of mist – it felt like a paradise. Since it was a weekday, there weren’t many people, so taking photos wasn’t crowded. So pleasant!!!

Following the mountain plank road, we passed forest scenery for about 1 km? There was a fork: climb to the top to see the Five-Color Pond, or head down. I thought since I came all this way and wasn’t too uncomfortable, I climbed the 600 meters to the top. But maybe because it was the dry season, the pond had very little water and wasn’t beautiful at all – not colorful. Very disappointing T-T…

The lakes I saw along the way downhill were more beautiful than the Five-Color Pond T-T… I went up by cable car and down on foot, taking about 4 hours to see all the scenery.

About temperature and altitude sickness

Altitude kept rising; at the foot of Huanglong it was already 3200m+ (peak 3600m+?), so temperature dropped. Must bring thick clothes!!! It was more than 10°C colder than Chengdu, and oxygen content decreased. I had slight tinnitus, but no major problem.

Day 3: Jiuzhaigou

After leaving Huanglong, we headed straight to Jiuzhaigou, arriving around 7-8 PM. We just strolled near the hotel.

The scenic area is a short distance from the Jiuzhaigou entrance. It’s large, with various hotels, pedestrian streets, supermarkets, restaurants, and the Songcheng Eternal Love show (too bad the 2-day tour didn’t include it; the 3-day tour does. I saw it in Hunan before – very impressive. If you have a chance, you must go!!)

On the third day, we arrived before Jiuzhaigou opened at 7:30 AM.

Though not peak season, there were still many people. Come early!!! You can spend a whole day inside!!!

Jiuzhaigou consists of three valleys forming a “Y” shape. There are shuttle buses along the Y.

After entering with our IDs, we boarded a shuttle.

Note: The destinations of the buses differ based on crowd flow. They stop at Nuorilang Center (visitor center), where dispatchers assign destinations. Pay attention to the guide’s instructions on the bus!!! (Every bus has a guide~)

My bus went to Primitive Forest. I heard it wasn’t well restored after the earthquake, so we didn’t go to the end – we got off at Arrow Bamboo Lake (plus we had seen the primitive forest in Huanglong and felt it was similar).

My route: Arrow Bamboo Lake - Panda Lake - Five Flower Lake - Pearl Shoal - Nuorilang Center (lunch) - Five-Color Pond

Due to time, I didn’t get off at Rhinoceros Lake through Reed Lake – such a pity (beating my chest T-T crying in the storm).

There was light snow, with wisps of cooking smoke – so beautiful, a paradise on earth. Words can’t describe its beauty. A once-in-a-lifetime experience. If I have the chance, I must come again to savor it slowly.

There’s only one place to eat in Jiuzhaigou – the restaurant at Nuorilang Visitor Center.

(1) Buy some self-heating hotpot, self-heating rice, drinks, etc., at the supermarket near your hotel and bring them in – otherwise thousands of people crowding in one restaurant is miserable.

(2) Arrive at Nuorilang Center around 11 AM to eat first, then continue touring – that way you avoid the peak lunchtime.

Jiuzhaigou tour tips:

1. Book a bus with first-class seats!!! They recline and have charging ports – the trip from Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou takes about 8 hours, so such seats are super comfortable. (I deeply regretted not booking T-T while seeing others in first class – and it wasn’t much more expensive!!!)

2. Upgrade your hotel to at least 4-star/diamond – otherwise you might end up in a shabby guesthouse without even disposable toiletries, which is terrible!!!

3. If time allows, choose a 3-day tour. 2 days is too rushed!!!

4. If possible, go from late October to November to see the beauty of two seasons!!!

5. Prepare self-heating hotpot, self-heating rice, snacks, and water in advance to bring into Jiuzhaigou!!!

Day 4: Wuhou Shrine - Jinli

We returned to Chengdu from Jiuzhaigou around 10 PM, washed up, and slept.

Hotel name: Jiali Hotel (Chengdu Taikoo Li Branch)

Hotel price: 180+

About 600 meters from Chunxi Road, still very convenient! Walkable to CBD~

The hotel is next to a snack street, so Mom doesn’t have to worry about my meals! Quiet at night.

I bought tickets for Wuhou Shrine online the day before (50 yuan each). Must-visit for Three Kingdoms fans. I mainly went to take photos of the red wall, hehe.

Arrived around 11 AM, before the tour groups of older folks. Went straight to the red wall called “Huiling.” It’s quite long. After a photo frenzy, there’s an exit next to it leading to Jinli.

Indeed, Chengdu has many such ancient-style commercial areas – the shop types are pretty much the same as Kuanzhai Alley, but Jinli might have more restaurants and snacks. I heard the night view is better, so I suggest going in the evening.

For lunch, we went to a restaurant called Taolin Restaurant.

Reviews were good! Indeed worth recommending: affordable, generous portions – two of us couldn’t finish three dishes!!! No fails in ordering blind; as a Cantonese, I found it not very spicy. I really think Sichuan’s spiciness is less than Chongqing’s?