October 2021 - Self-driving Tour around Chengdu

October is another great season for traveling. This time we chose a self-driving tour around Chengdu, hoping to visit several places we had long dreamed of. The time was set after the National Day holiday. There were too many places we wanted to go, and after much deliberation, the planned route was: Langzhong Ancient Town—Zhaohua Ancient Town—Jianmen Pass—Doukuai Mountain—Huanglong—Jiuzhaigou—Shenxian Pond—Dalu Ancient Tibetan Village—Baxi Conference Site—Ruorgai Flower Lake—First Bend of the Yellow River—Ruorgai Grassland—Dagu Glacier—Ganpu Tibetan Village—Taoping Qiang Village—Wolong Giant Panda Base—Yingxiu Earthquake Memorial Site—Dujiangyan—Qingcheng Mountain—Liu's Manor Museum—Kuanzhai Alley—Du Fu Thatched Cottage—Wuhou Shrine—Huanglongxi Ancient Town—Mount Emei—Leshan Giant Buddha—Shunan Bamboo Sea—Luzhou—Yaoba Ancient Town. However, significant changes were made during the actual trip.

October 8 (Day 1): Jiaxing - Shangcheng County, Henan (620 km). Stayed in Shangcheng County. Friends arrived at noon, and after lunch we set off at 12:30. Passing through Changxing, Zhejiang; Wuhu, Anhui; Gushi County, Xinyang, Henan, we traveled 620 km and arrived in Shangcheng County, Xinyang, Henan. Thus began the 2021 self-driving tour around Chengdu!

October 9 (Day 2): Shangcheng County - Wanyuan City, Sichuan (880 km). Stayed in Wanyuan. Continued the journey, departing Shangcheng around 8:00 a.m. Passed through Tanghe County, Xinye County in Nanyang, Henan; Shiyan, Hubei; Ankang, Shaanxi. Crossed countless bridges and tunnels, drove 880 km and entered Sichuan in the evening, finally stopping in Wanyuan, Dazhou. There we tasted local specialties, admired the beautiful night view of this important town in the Qinba region, and were thrilled to see a train passing through the city above ground for the first time. Then we had a good night's rest.

October 10 (Day 3): Wanyuan - Langzhong Ancient Town (370 km). Stayed in Langzhong. Langzhong is not far from Wanyuan; we arrived around noon. After lunch at Juxianlou, we eagerly explored the ancient town. Since it was not peak season, there were few tourists, but many shops with signs for "Zhangfei Beef" and "Vinegar Foot Bath." We just looked without indulging, haha. Langzhong Ancient Town is located in Nanchong City, Sichuan, on the middle reaches of the Jialing River. It has a history of over 2,300 years and was a military stronghold of the ancient Ba and Shu states. The town has several entrances, mainly Zhuangyuan Archway, and five core attractions: Han Huanhou Temple, Examination Hall, Huaguang Tower, Zhongtian Tower, and Fengshui Museum. Zhongtian Tower symbolizes the "Ten Paths of the Heavenly Heart" in fengshui. Other streets radiate from Zhongtian Tower, with the main cross streets forming a chessboard layout. There are many protected cultural relics: Zhangfei Temple, Yong'an Temple, Wulong Temple, Prince Teng's Pavilion, Guanyin Temple, Baba Temple, and Great Buddha Temple. Due to energy and time, we four took a chartered car for 100 yuan to visit Aoshan Sacred Land, Baita Mountain, and other spots, climbing high to view the panoramic beauty of Langzhong, surrounded by mountains and winding rivers—very beautiful! Regarding the white pagoda: built in the late Ming Dynasty, it had 13 stories, 27.5 meters high, painted white outside, with 91 steps inside to the top, each floor having windows to view outside. After the May 12, 2008 earthquake, the upper half was destroyed; it was later repaired with raised funds, taking over three months to rebuild by the end of 2008. So the lower half is original, the upper half rebuilt, using old materials from the collapsed part, so now it is shorter than before. We truly admire the disaster-stricken people! On the driver's recommendation, we had dinner at "Chunyi Hotpot" to taste local flavors. It was really delicious and left a deep memory! Due to the mountain city's humidity, fog doesn't clear until 9-10 a.m., so it's best to visit and take photos in the afternoon. Langzhong Ancient Town, along with Lijiang Ancient Town, Pingyao Ancient Town, and Huizhou Ancient Town, are the four great ancient towns of China. Visiting Langzhong fulfilled another wish—very happy! Now I've been to all four! (Lijiang in September 2007, Pingyao in September 2011, Huizhou in March 2012, Langzhong in October 2021)

October 11 (Day 4): Langzhong - Zhaohua Ancient Town - Jianmen Pass - Jiange County (180 km). Stayed in Jiange. Zhaohua Ancient Town in Guangyuan City, Sichuan, has a history of over 2,300 years. It was one of the earliest county-level administrative seats under the prefecture-county system in ancient China, truly the "First County of Ba and Shu." Zhaohua evolved from the capital of the slave-era Juhou State to an important county during the Qin, Han, and Three Kingdoms periods, then through Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing as a key county on the Sichuan-Shu ancient post road, and later to the Republic of China and the People's Republic as Zhaohua County, until 1953 when it became Zhaohua Town. It is rare nationwide for a single place to have continuously experienced such a complete history of local government establishment. Zhaohua is also an important part of the Jianmen Shu Road relic group. At 9 a.m., we left Langzhong and made a detour to this small town on the way to Jianmen Pass. Surrounded by mountains on four sides and water on three, it was quiet and clean, with folk-style shops, snack bars, and guesthouses lining the streets. We chose a small restaurant for a simple lunch and then hurried to our second major destination—Jianmen Pass. At Jianmen Pass, we took the cable car from the north gate to the mountainside, then followed the mountain path, the Glass Observation Deck, and the Tianxi Gorge Plank Road, experiencing the thrilling and magnificent scenery of Jianmen Pass! Standing at the south gate's watchtower, with steep cliffs on both sides, truly "one man can hold the pass against ten thousand." Due to our age, we did not take the Bird Path. But reluctantly, we went to the very end of the Bird Path for photos. (The Yuanyao Path was very dangerous and temporarily closed.) The famous saying "The road to Shu is harder than the road to heaven" had always made me long to see Jianmen Pass. This time, my wish finally came true! That night we stayed in Jiange County and tasted "Wuming Old Hotpot" with a Chongqing flair. Another satisfying day passed!

October 12 (Day 5): Jiange County - Wen County, Gansu - Jiuzhaigou (280 km). Stayed in Jiuzhaigou. We left Jiange around 8:30 a.m., exited the expressway at Wen County in Longnan, and took National Highway 212. After a simple lunch in Wen County town, we continued. Around 1 p.m., we entered Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, passing through the newly built Jiuzhaigou County with rows of new buildings and clean streets—very nice! We arrived at Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area at 3:30 p.m. The 280+ km from Jiange to Jiuzhaigou, two-thirds of which are national highways, took 6-7 hours. Although the road wasn't easy, it was more down-to-earth, allowing us to see scenery not visible from expressways—that was our biggest takeaway! As we drove, the altitude gradually rose from 500m to nearly 2000m, and the scenery kept changing. By the time we reached Wen County, there were already hints of plateau scenery. Seeing this unique landscape again was exciting!!! At the scenic area, we first learned about entry and exit regulations, then chose a small guesthouse run by a Tibetan couple to stay. Dinner was at a nearby restaurant, where we tried a specialty—walnut flower stir-fried with cured pork, but unfortunately only dried flowers were available this season.

October 13 (Day 6): Jiuzhaigou - Chuanzhusi Town (88 km). Stayed in Chuanzhusi Town. Jiuzhaigou is located in Jiuzhaigou County, Aba Prefecture. With snow-capped peaks, dense forests, colorful pools and shoals, crystal-clear streams running through forests and shoals, plus Tibetan wooden houses, prayer flags, and unique Tibetan-Qiang customs, Jiuzhaigou is called a "beautiful fairy-tale world." The scenic area is shaped like a "Y," composed of Shuzheng Gully, Rize Gully, and Zechawa Gully, with a total length of over 50 km. Environmentally friendly sightseeing buses run through the area, stopping on request. Visitors usually take these buses to visit each spot. We set out at 7:30 a.m. and caught the front bus. When we arrived at Long Lake, it was still foggy, like a fairyland! As we went down, the sky cleared by the time we reached Five Flower Lake. Even under cloudy skies, the lake amazed us with its beauty! Jianyan, Arrow Bamboo Lake, Arrow Bamboo Lake Waterfall, Panda Lake, Pearl Shoal, Pearl Shoal Waterfall... we walked and took photos, getting on and off buses, and exited the valley at 3:30 p.m. We had planned to stay two days, but due to weather and excitement, we just wanted to see the beauty quickly. For a thorough visit, two days are better—Jiuzhaigou under sunshine would be even more beautiful! After a two-hour drive, we arrived at Chuanzhusi Town, part of Songpan County, at an altitude of around 3000m. It is a必经之地 (must-pass) for Jiuzhaigou, Huanglong, and the northwestern Sichuan grasslands, known as "Plateau Pearl, Vacation Paradise." Driven by the thriving tourism of northwestern Sichuan, Chuanzhusi has developed into a new plateau tourist town offering food, lodging, and sightseeing. The town is small but beautiful. We stayed in a Tibetan-style boutique hotel. In the evening, we had the local specialty "Yak Meat Hotpot" recommended by locals—very good! Unfortunately, the plateau wind was too biting at night to enjoy the town's night scene.

October 14 (Day 7): Chuanzhusi Town - Huanglong - Ruorgai County (280 km). Stayed in Ruorgai. Huanglong Scenic Area is famous for its fantastic and beautiful travertine pools. The pools are crystal clear, colorful, and very pretty. The area also has forests, canyons, snow mountains, and waterfalls, known as the "Fairy Pool on Earth." We took the cable car up and walked down. The upper cable car station has an observation platform—Wanglongping (altitude 3530m). From there, we walked about 1.5 km to Five Color Pond, the highest part of Huanglong. We walked and looked, reaching the highest platform to capture a panoramic view of Five Color Pond. Then we slowly walked down. Huanglong is very well-developed; just follow the boardwalk downhill. The scenery became more and more beautiful—simply stunning! Although Huanglong is at a high altitude, we walked a lot without much food or water, but we had no adverse reactions. After descending, we continued to Ruorgai. A two-hour drive accompanied by plateau scenery brought us to Ruorgai County town (altitude ~3500m) around 7 p.m. We had dinner and went to bed early.

October 15 (Day 8): Ruorgai County - First Bend of the Yellow River - Li County (320 km). Stayed in Li County. Perhaps due to fatigue from consecutive days of climbing, or not resting and replenishing energy properly at high altitude, I had altitude sickness at night: headache and insomnia. In the morning, I went straight to a pharmacy to buy Plateau An (altitude sickness medicine) and oxygen. After breakfast and medicine at the only breakfast shop on the street, we set off, wanting to quickly leave for a lower elevation. But when we passed the First Bend of the Yellow River, how could we not go? Feeling a bit better, we headed straight for the scenic spot. It was very cold that day, near freezing, and windy. Standing on the observation deck, we forgot all worries, turning round and round, taking photos one after another, unwilling to come down. Here, the Yellow River meets the Bai River, forming the magnificent First Bend—spectacular! After lunch in Tangke Town, we headed toward Li County. The scenery kept changing, altitude decreasing. After 4 hours, we arrived in Li County (altitude ~2000m) at 5:30 p.m. The county town is small, with relatively new and clean houses and streets, a real mountain town where you feel like you can reach out and touch the big mountains. Light rain fell in the evening. After dinner, we rested.

October 16 (Day 9): Li County - Taoping Qiang Village - Yingxiu Earthquake Museum - Dujiangyan - Qingcheng Mountain (150 km). Stayed at Qingcheng Mountain. Today we had several destinations: Tibetan village, Qiang village, Yingxiu, Dujiangyan, and finally Qingcheng Mountain. We originally planned to go to Ganpu Tibetan Village first, but due to a road collapse, we couldn't. So we turned directly to Taoping. The road to Taoping was good, with nice scenery along the way. Passing through Tonghua, the beautiful and tidy Ganxi guesthouses attracted us to stop and visit the village. A wedding ceremony was happening, and villagers warmly invited us to join in a cheerful welcome dance—great fun! Ganxi residential area is near National Highway 317, with neat and generous buildings. Around 10:30, we arrived at Taoping Qiang Village, one of China's top ten ancient villages. Taoping Qiang Village is located in Taoping Township by the Zagunao River in Li County, with a history of over 2,000 years. It is the world's best-preserved inhabited architectural complex integrating watchtowers and houses, enjoying the reputation of "natural air conditioning." Its complete underground water network, labyrinthine passageways, and watchtower-integrated maze-like architecture are hailed by Chinese and foreign scholars as "living fossil of Qiang architectural art" and "mysterious Eastern ancient castle." The current Qiang village consists of old and new parts. The original Qiang people lived in old houses, and after the 2008 earthquake, a new village was built next to the old one. In the village square, there is a local specialty market where we bought some fruit as travel snacks. Yingxiu and Dujiangyan, which we had visited in October 2016 during a trip to western Sichuan, this time mainly accompanied two male friends. Yingxiu is a sad place; although the surrounding environment is now well-developed and people's lives are much better, we still felt heavy-hearted there. We had lunch in the town and left. This time we looked more carefully at Dujiangyan Water Conservancy Scenic Area. Combined with the distant views from 2016, we got a more complete picture. Of course, the entire Dujiangyan area has many historical sites, enough for a full day. It took only an hour from Dujiangyan to Qingcheng Mountain. We arrived at Qingcheng Mountain at 5:30 p.m. Private cars are not allowed up the mountain, so we stayed at a farmhouse at the foot. After dinner, we took a stroll around. There are many farmhouses and a market at the foot; it must be very lively on normal days. Another day ended. Good sleep for the next day's new journey.

October 17 (Day 10): Qingcheng Mountain - Liu's Manor - Anren Ancient Town - Chengdu (120 km). Stayed in Chengdu. Qingcheng Mountain, Liu's Manor, and Anren Ancient Town are all near Chengdu. Qingcheng Mountain has been known since ancient times as "the most secluded place under heaven." It is divided into Front Mountain and Back Mountain. Front Mountain is the main part, with Taoist culture and cultural relics concentrated here, and is what most tourists refer to as "Qingcheng Mountain"; Back Mountain is known for natural scenery, ideal for leisure. We only visited Front Mountain. We took the cable car up, then continued climbing. Along the way, we visited Ciyun Pavilion, Shangqing Palace, then climbed up to Donghua Hall, finally reaching the highest peak, Laojun Pavilion (1260m). Then we descended the same way. Besides being a famous Taoist mountain, Qingcheng Mountain has rich vegetation and beautiful scenery—worth a visit! Anren Ancient Town, built in the Tang Dynasty, is a peaceful ancient town. It houses the well-preserved Liu's family manor, one of China's largest folk museum clusters. Three ancient streets with different architectural styles—Hongxing Street, Shuren Street, and Yumin Street—also feature more than a dozen old mansions. The town is small but exquisite! We visited Liu's Manor because, in childhood, we learned about the landlord Liu Wencai exploiting peasants in "recalling past bitterness to appreciate present sweetness." Liu's Manor was originally the private residence of Liu Wencai, a big landlord in western Sichuan, and is one of the best-preserved feudal landlord manors in China. The manor complex is grand, covering 71,423 square meters, with a building area of 21,055 square meters, divided into two groups facing north and south: the southern part is commonly called the Old Manor, and the northern part the New Manor. After liberation, it was converted into Liu's Manor Museum, now a 4A national scenic spot and a national youth education base. After visiting the manor and strolling through the small ancient town, we entered Chengdu. That evening, a relative of our travel companion treated us to a big Chengdu dinner at the famous "Jimaodian" restaurant. Special thanks to them for their warm hospitality! We stayed in Chengdu for the night.

October 18 (Day 11): Chengdu - Huanglongxi Ancient Town - Mount Emei (180 km). Stayed at Mount Emei. Originally we planned to spend a day in Chengdu, visiting the Panda Breeding Base, Wuhou Shrine, Du Fu Thatched Cottage, and tasting Chengdu snacks. But again, COVID cases ruined our plans; we canceled the day's itinerary and left Chengdu in the morning. Huanglongxi is a western Sichuan ancient town with a history of over 1,700 years, only 38 km from Chengdu. A stream runs through the town, with bluestone-paved roads on both sides. Most buildings are Ming and Qing style, built along the water, with wooden pillars and grey tiles, exquisitely carved railings, quiet and古朴. The town is now a filming location for many TV dramas and movies, including "Furong Town" and "Master Hai Deng." Huanglongxi's snacks are also famous: one-noodle, crispy elbow, pearl tofu, braised yellow catfish, etc., available in most restaurants. This is a place to stroll slowly and savor! After leaving the town, we drove to the next destination—Mount Emei. Driving up Mount Emei is different from taking the bus; private cars can go directly to the Lingong Parking Lot at the foot of the mountain (altitude ~1200m), where there are farmhouses for meals and lodging, and from where you can take scenic area buses up. We arrived at the Lingong parking lot around 4 p.m., with drizzling rain and temperatures at 0°C. There were few people in this off-season; only a few places were open. We chose a place to stay, rested a bit, walked around, had dinner, and went to bed early.

October 19 (Day 12): Mount Emei - Leshan Giant Buddha - Leshan City (50 km). Stayed in Leshan. I remember in the 1980s, on a train to Anhui on business, an elderly fellow passenger who had been to Mount Emei said it was excellent and must be visited. For decades, the wish to go to Mount Emei had been buried in my heart. Now it was finally fulfilled. And the wish to visit all four major Buddhist mountains of China was also realized (Mount Wutai in Shanxi, Mount Putuo in Zhejiang, Mount Emei in Sichuan, and Mount Jiuhua in Anhui). Mount Emei is one of the four famous Buddhist mountains in China, the bodhimanda of Samantabhadra, with many temples that give it a mystical atmosphere. The scenery is beautiful, with different features in each season. Perhaps due to spiritual energy, the monkeys there are famously mischievous, not afraid of people, and will actively beg for food from tourists. There are two main ways to visit Mount Emei: hiking or taking the bus. We chose bus + hiking. We got off the bus and walked up to the Golden Summit. The Golden Summit is at the top of Mount Emei, over 3000m high, made of copper. Unfortunately, the day we went was very foggy, and the sun never appeared. We didn't see the golden, shining summit, but still felt its grandeur and magnificence! Leshan is not far from Mount Emei. The Leshan Giant Buddha is carved into the cliff face of Qixia Peak at the confluence of the Min River, Qingyi River, and Dadu River in Leshan City, hence also called Lingyun Giant Buddha. Due to time and energy, we chose to take a boat tour, allowing us to get a close view of the Buddha's full appearance and enjoy the riverside scenery. When you actually approach the Buddha, you can truly feel its towering height and also marvel at the wisdom of ancient working people! In the evening, we returned to Leshan and tasted the local specialties: sweet-skin duck and bobo chicken. When the boss brought out the bobo chicken, we exclaimed, "Isn't this just skewers?" Haha! Although it was very spicy and not to our taste, it was still delicious.

October 20 (Day 13): Leshan - Shunan Bamboo Sea (East Gate) (230 km). Stayed in Shunan Bamboo Sea. It should have taken 3 hours from Leshan to Shunan Bamboo Sea, but it took over 4 hours, and we only arrived at nearly 1 p.m. because we took the east gate, which involved over 40 km of county roads—again more down-to-earth, haha! The advantage is that there are fewer people at the east gate. Of course, it was off-season anyway, so there weren't many people. We stayed in Qicai Villa in the mountains. For lunch, we enjoyed a small bamboo feast: bamboo shoot stir-fried with pork, reishi mushroom stir-fried with cured pork, stir-fried bamboo egg (bamboo fungus), and bamboo fungus soup. Shunan Bamboo Sea is truly an "ocean of bamboo." Continuous green bamboos cover over 20 ridges and over 500 peaks. Walking in the bamboo sea and mist feels like entering a fairyland. Especially standing on the mountain looking down at the floating clouds and occasionally appearing and disappearing green bamboo—simply stunning. There are many scenic spots in the area, still under development. It's best to go in summer, stay there, and enjoy slowly.

October 21 (Day 14): Shunan Bamboo Sea (East Gate) - Shunan Bamboo Sea (West Gate) - Yibin Lizhuang - Liangping District, Chongqing (450 km). Stayed in Liangping. After breakfast, we went to the nearby Colorful Waterfall. The Colorful Waterfall is in Hulu Valley between Shigu Mountain and Shiluo Mountain. The water from the forest flows down in four levels at Hulong Bridge, with a drop of nearly 200 meters, spectacular. Due to rain, we didn't go down but viewed from above. Today we had to go from east to west, arriving at Guanyun Terrace. Guanyun Terrace area is an excellent place to watch the misty bamboo sea, layered peaks, and dreamlike fairyland. Since the bamboo sea is foggy most of the year, to see the "landscape painting" of mist and peaks, you need sunny weather with fog at the same time. I heard that CCTV once sent a team of over 50 photographers to shoot the "landscape painting" for the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. They traveled all over China and finally selected the dreamlike scene captured in front of Guanyun Pavilion at Shunan Bamboo Sea for the opening ceremony. On the day we went, there was only mist without sunshine, but standing on Guanyun Terrace, looking down at the countless hills resembling thousands of green tortoises awaiting orders, surrounded by swirling clouds, it felt like being in a celestial realm. It was so beautiful and spectacular that we lingered for a long time unwilling to leave. At 10:30, we arrived at Lizhuang. Lizhuang Ancient Town is located on the south bank of the Yangtze River, east of Yibin City, Sichuan, known as the "First Ancient Town on the Yangtze River." Lizhuang has a history of 1,460 years as a town, a millennium-old ancient town on the Yangtze, carrying many red memories. Liquor, white meat, and white cake are local specialties. Overall, it's nice, but quite damaged and currently under restoration. After leaving Lizhuang around noon, our target was to head back. Passing through Luzhou, we arrived in Liangping District, Chongqing, around 7 p.m.

October 22 (Day 15): Liangping - Yuexi County, Anhui (960 km). Stayed in Yuexi. On the 18th, a COVID case transmitted from Xi'an to Chengdu affected our entry into Chengdu. But things didn't end there; cases were also found in Changsha, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, etc. So we decided not to stop in Hunan. Departing Liangping at 8 a.m., we passed through Wanzhou, Yunyang, and Fengjie in Chongqing; Badong, Yichang, Jingmen, and Wuhan in Hubei, arriving in Yuexi County, Anhui, at 8 p.m. after a full 12 hours, covering 960 km, leaving the epidemic far behind.

October 23 (Day 16): Yuexi County - Jiaxing (550 km). Home was not far, and the weather was great. Sunny morning, we set off at 8 a.m. as usual, passing through Tongling and Xuancheng in Anhui; Changxing, Huzhou, Zhejiang, arriving home at 3 p.m. After saying goodbye to our friends, they also returned safely to their home in Lishui around 7 p.m. This self-driving tour ended perfectly.

This joyful self-driving tour around Sichuan lasted 16 days, covering 5,700 km, with a cost of 8,100 yuan per couple. From eastern to northern to southern Sichuan, we encountered countless world-class scenic spots, magnificent plateau and grassland landscapes, and rich Tibetan and Qiang ethnic customs. It was truly a joyful and classic journey!