Knowing the Difficulty of the Shu Road, Yet Preferring to Travel It — Preparation for Another Trip to Western Sichuan (Yunnan Jiuxiang, Maitreya, Stone Forest)
This year's National Day holiday coincides with the Mid-Autumn Festival, giving us eight days off. Adding a few more days of leave on both ends, we can piece together a long vacation of over ten days. Although ten-odd days are really not enough for Western Sichuan, we can still pick a few places to visit. After researching the big loop and small loop routes, I roughly came up with an itinerary. Since we are driving ourselves, we can change it flexibly according to the situation. In fact, traveling in Western Sichuan, uncertainties can happen anytime, so we have to adapt and adjust on the go. The final itinerary is:
D1: September 28, Wuxi - Kunming
D2: September 29, Anning - Maitreya (Mile)
D3: September 30, Maitreya - Anning
D4: October 1, Anning - Xinduqiao
D5: October 2, Padmasambhava's meditation site
D6: October 3, Xinduqiao - Bamei
D7: October 4, Bamei - Luhuo
D8: October 5, Luhuo - Cuoka Lake - Luhuo
D9: October 6, Luhuo - Jiaju
D10: October 7, Jiaju - Barkam
D11: October 8, Barkam - Suining
D12: October 9, Suining - Yichang
D13: October 10, Yichang - Chaohu
D14: October 11, Chaohu - Wuxi
This is not my first time entering Tibetan areas, so there's not much special preparation needed. Taking Rhodiola two weeks in advance still feels useful. I brought sleeping pills, Saridon, and VC Yinqiao tablets, which are essential for high-altitude areas. A good night's sleep can greatly alleviate altitude sickness. The temperature difference between morning and evening in Western Sichuan is large; a thin down jacket is very useful. In the midday, a T-shirt, and in the morning and evening, add a down jacket. Simple and light. In Tibetan areas, weather forecasts and driving times can only be used as references, not taken seriously. It's normal to have big sun and rain at the same time. Also, pay attention to sun protection and bring some snacks that can fill the stomach, because you can't guarantee regular meals during the trip.
September 28: Departure
I booked a flight from Wuxi to Kunming because my friend Aj bought a house in Anning, Kunming. They had already driven there half a month ago to tidy up the house. Originally, I booked a flight at 8 PM from Wuxi to Kunming, while the young beauty Yuyu had a flight from Shanghai to Kunming at 8:30 PM. We could arrive at Kunming at roughly the same time, and Aj could pick us up at the airport. But the day before departure, I was notified that my booked flight was canceled and moved ahead to 3:30 PM. So I researched Kunming metro and airport buses, but finally decided that Aj would pick me up first, and we would kill time near the airport until the young beauty arrived, then pick her up together and go back to Anning.
At Wuxi airport, I used my Ctrip Super Member voucher to get a free VIP lounge. Sipping tea and browsing my phone made time pass easily. During the pandemic, flight routes are not so busy, so the plane was on time. Three hours later, we landed at Kunming Changshui Airport. Aj picked me up and we went to a place called Huaqing Village near the airport to have dinner and kill time. After dinner, we strolled around the village. It turns out that this village and several neighboring villages all do airport business, mostly inns and restaurants, plus several specialty shops. After the pandemic, it has become much quieter. After walking around until there was nowhere else to go, we returned to the restaurant where we had dinner to rest. The landlady was very kind and handed us a handful of chestnuts. When we peeled them, they were raw. We looked back and saw them all happily peeling around a low table, just like we eat sunflower seeds, chatting and laughing. After finishing, they cleaned up and dispersed. The chestnuts were wild from the mountains, crunchy, with a taste like raw sweet potatoes we ate as kids, but a bit troublesome to peel. What we tasted was enthusiasm and friendliness.
After picking up Yuyu, we drove to Anning. The expressway before the holiday was dressed up with bright lights. It was already past midnight, but there were still many cars. It's understandable that daily traffic jams are normal. The 60 km from Changshui Airport to Anning takes about an hour under smooth conditions. By the time we settled down and went to sleep, it was already past 2 AM.
Raw chestnuts given by the landlady
September 29: Anning - Yiliang Jiuxiang - Maitreya
We planned a two-day trip around Kunming. The plan was to go to Jiuxiang first, then Stone Forest, then stay overnight in Maitreya. The next day, we would visit the surroundings of Maitreya and then return.
Yiliang is 52 km from downtown Kunming. The main attractions are Jiuxiang Scenic Area and Yanquan Scenic Area. We went to Jiuxiang Scenic Area. Due to the pandemic, ticket prices for Yunnan scenic spots are all 50% off. Jiuxiang ticket is 30 yuan per person. We mainly visited a karst cave. Jiuxiang Cave is known as the "Museum of Karst Caves". Actually, I am not very interested in caves; I can't remember the various stalactites and stalagmites, and they are all decorated with colorful lights. The distinctive features include an underground grand canyon, rocky terraces, male-female waterfalls, underground stone forest... The most satisfying thing was that there were very few tourists. Everywhere we went was empty, as if we had the entire scenic area to ourselves. Inside the cave, just follow the passage; you won't get lost. It eventually leads to the Lion Hall, where the movie "The Myth" was filmed. After exiting the Lion Hall and seeing the sky again, I thought the tour was over. But no, we had to continue to the second cave, going all the way down, and finally climbing more than 300 steps to exit the cave. After exiting the cave, we still had to walk more than 2 km to reach the scenic area exit. I was too tired to walk, so we took the cable car, 30 yuan per person. The cable car spans across the mountains, and from a height we could see the cave entrance we just passed. Walking through two caves was a bit tiring. I figured I wouldn't be able to walk the Stone Forest anymore, so I changed the plan and went directly to Maitreya to soak in hot springs and rest. We'll go to Stone Forest tomorrow.
The green thing at the entrance of the male-female waterfall — at first I thought it was scaffolding, but it turned out to be a slide.
Having the entire scenic area to ourselves. Terraced fields.
The peaks seen from the cable car, but with hidden wonders inside.
From Jiuxiang to Maitreya is about 100 km. Maitreya City is a county-level city under Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture. There are quite a few attractions in Maitreya, and we chose Keyi Town and Jinping Mountain Scenic Area.
Keyi Town, in my opinion, is a model of a socialist new countryside, mainly showcasing some Yi ethnic features. We drove directly up and circled around. The town was very quiet, with no tourists or local villagers to be seen. Rows of yellow small buildings built along the mountain, with lush flowers and plants, clearly well-planned. There should have been inns operating before, but now basically no customers. Strolling around, clean and serene, it felt quite nice.
From Keyi Town, we went down to Jinping Mountain Scenic Area. Maitreya City is named after the Buddha, and the world's largest Maitreya Buddha is located on Jinping Mountain. The mountain resembles Maitreya, the temple is Maitreya, the Buddha is Maitreya, so the city is Maitreya — quite a distinctive feature. From the foot of the mountain, there are 1999 steps leading up. We arrived late and could drive directly to the top. We viewed the Maitreya Buddha, and from the highest point we could see the city of Maitreya. The clouds and rain had stopped, the sky showed a hint of blue, and the air was fresh. This is a comfortable city.
When in Maitreya, you must soak in hot springs. We booked a hot spring hotel. After dinner, we soaked in the pool to relieve the fatigue of the day, preparing for tomorrow's Stone Forest.
September 30: Maitreya - Stone Forest - Anning
Stone Forest is a very mature scenic spot, usually crowded with people. This year was okay; only at the must-visit spots was it a bit crowded.
Stone Forest ticket is half price at 60 yuan per person, and the shuttle bus is 30 yuan per person. We parked the car, took the shuttle to the visitor center to buy tickets (need to register ID card), and then took another shuttle to the entrance. From the neatly parked rows of shuttle buses and the fact that we didn't have to queue, we could tell there were indeed not many tourists now.
This is my third visit to Stone Forest. As the saying goes, "the rock remains unmoved" — it's still those forests of stones, but now the scenic area keeps expanding, and you have to walk more and more. What used to be visible right at the entrance now requires a slow stroll. Stone Forest is like a maze. If you leave the tour groups, you can instantly feel like you're in a place with no one around, and it's very easy to get lost. Getting lost has its benefits: it brings sudden joy. The feeling of heaven, earth, and man; observing a spider intently; the first sight of a winding path; the joke of choking the master with smoke; a call suddenly appearing from behind... So we chattered all the way, hit the must-see spots, explored remote caves, and found real fun.
Observing a spider intently
Back in Anning, we took a walk around the neighborhood, sat on the grass waiting for sunset, played with the drone, relaxed and unwound. After dinner, we prepared for tomorrow's drive. We planned to drive to Kangding in one day. Checking it, it's about 14 hours, so we decided to set off at 7 AM tomorrow.
