I got the news from internet that Jiuzhaigou National Park will be reopened at the end of September this year.Jiuzhaigou,a place which became one of destinations of my dream China tour for serval years.
I'm from Thailand,amd I haven't been to China before,so I began to implement my China trip since I saw the exciting news.After that,I searched on the internet,I found the information about the Jiuzhaigou tour on Travelsichuanguide.com,and then I emailed them.As a result,I got the reply from the travel advisor quickly.I knew that it will spend 3-4 days to operate the Jiuzhaigou tour,so together with my friends, we bought the air tickets and reserved the 4 days tour package one month in advance.We booked the pick up and drop-off service at the Chengdu Shuangliu Internaational Airport,the 4 days' tour for Jiuzhaigou, Huanglong and Dujiangyan Irrigation System with a private car and an English speaking tour guide for the whole trip.
On Oct.25 early morning arround 02:00am,we arrived at the Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport,the driver already wait for us at the exit.Then he drove us to the hotel to check in directly.About 9:00am we leave Chengdu for Jiuzhaigou along the Minjiang River with stunning scenery.Jiuzhaigou is 490km far from Chengdu.The tour guide told us that the rebuilding of the road from Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou after the 2008 earthquake was finished a few years ago, a new road with several tunnels have put into use,so it took us about 8 hours from Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou.Along the tour, we passed through Yingxiu town,Wechuan county,where the big earthquake of 2008 happened.According to the guide,we known that the buildings in Yingxiu town almost built after 2008,and the buildings are not very high in general.When we arrived at the Jiuzhaigou hotel,it's already 7:00pm,and when we get off the car, it's definitely a little bit cold.Thanks to the driver and guide,we carry the heavy coat with us to keep warm.We went to bed very early after dinner because of we were too tired for spent one day in the car and lack of sleep.
On Oct.26 morning,after breakfast,around 7:00am, we left our hotel for Jiuzhaigou Natinal Park.And we have a full day to spend at Jiuzhaigou National Park.We heard that it has snowed in Jiuzhaigou,so we put on our heavy coat when we go outside.The highest elevation of Jiuzhaigou is around 3000m,and it's my first time to go to such a place with a high altitude.When we arrived at the entrance,there were several bigger groups go inside together with their guides.Later,I was inside the park.By taking the inside sightseeing bus, I could see the beautiful scenery along the road,the wind blew by,and a part of the Jiuzhaigou National Park became a white world covered by the heavy snow.
I saw the water,the soul of Jiuzhaigou,is so cystal clear and rich in colors that it has earned the reputation,so well expressed in the saying 'Those who have visited Jiuzhaigou will no longer appreciate the water landscape again'. Actually,the same with the announcement,after the earthquake in 2017,only the sights from Guankou to Changhai (long lake) are reopned to us now.And the five scenic spots including Chang(long Lake), Wucai Pond(Five-colored pool), Nuorilang Waterfall, Shuzheng Waterfalls and Shuanglong Lake are opened to us for hiking.With many lakes, waterfalls, and Tibetan villages to explore,we always follow our local guide which requested by the park for the safety of us.And the maxmum capacity of Jiuzhaigou park is 5,000 person per day,so we enjoyed ourselves without the crowds in the park,it was a great travel experience in Jiuzhaigou for us though restricted in many ways.And during lunch, we just ate something we bring in the park,which our guide told us in advance.After a full day's sightseeing in Jiuzhaigou, around 17:30pm we back to our hotel to have dinner.Jiuzhaigou means 9 Tibetan villages,so we tried the tribetan food for dinner.And we also saw the Buddhist sutra-streamers and enjoyed the folk songs and dances of the Tibetan and the Qiang people.It's a wonderful experience with the lovely minority people!
On Oct.27,we drove to Huanglong from our Jiuzhaigou hotel, it cost us around 3 hours for 120km' distance.On the way to Huanglong,we stopped at the hightest place of the road where we can see the 5,588 meters high peak-Xuebaoding(Snow pearl summit) of Minshan mountain ranges.The highest elevation of Huanglong is around 4,500m.About the Huanglong Park,We chose to take the up way cable car to save the energy and time,and after reach the highest point of the park-the five-colored pool,then down stairs by another road.When we got off the cable car,we were shocked by the white forest world.It's amazing and I saw the squirrels along the road.Approximately one hour later, we saw the the five-colored pool with its clear and light bule water,it's the symbol site of the park.Hiking in Huanglong National park and enjoy the beautiful natural scenery of primitve forests, calcified waterfalls, Yellow Dragon Bathing cave, the five-colored pool.And the guide told us because of the high altitude,many tourists felt uncomfortable and suffered from different degrees of altitude sickness,so they have to give up the rest journey for the higher altitude place compared with where they feel uncomfortable.I felt very happy to overcame the high altitude both Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong park.After the sightseeing in Huanglong park,we drove to Maoxian county and stay overnight there.
On Oct.28,on the way back to Chengdu,we stopped at the Dujiangyan Irrigation System.When we arrived at this site,it's the time for lunch.So we visited the site after lunch.We learned something important about this project by guide's explanation.The project mainly contains three parts:Yuzui,Baopingkou and Feishayan.Yuzui is a long and narrow dyke built in the center of the Minjiang River, dividing Minjiang into the inner river and the outer;Baopingkou is the main diversion gate to draw in water for irrigation in shape of bottle neck;Feishayan is mainly for prevent the sediment from flowing into the inner river and control the water flow in flood season and dry season of inner river.Maybe the most intresting thing in this site is the Anlan Suspension Bridge,also called Couple Bridge, spans 500 meters (1641 feet) long over both the inner and outer river, right above Yuzui dyke.It used to be secured by thick bamboo rope.And now it is reinforced by tight steel wire, we still can have fun by swinging back and forth on the bridge while walking across.After that it's the Erwang Temple,which in memory of Li bing and his son Li erlang.The guide told me they are not the real emperors in real history,but they deserves the honour and every Chinese should learn from them.Standing on the top of the Erwang Temple-the Yulei pavillon, we saw the whole scenery of the Dujiangyan.We found the buildings in it are not very high like Wenchuan county,becaues Dujiangyan also suffered from the big earthquake in 2008,mang buildings and even the Erwang Temple were destoryed in the earthquake,it's the reason why the new buildings are in medium height.
The Dujiangyan is 61km far from Chengdu,and it's 17:30pm when we got to our hotel.On the way back, the guide gave us some advices on the food and sites in Chengdu downtown area.We will try the hotpot,the Sichuan dishes and as well as the local snacks in the folk streets.By the way, it's a must to see the gaint pandas because I'm in Chengdu,Sichuan province,the hometown of pandas.
It's probably the most appropriate tour we chose,the handsome tour guide, the humorous driver,the enthusiastic minority people,the perfect sites without crowds and etc.Together with the Travel Sichuan Guide, they can tailor tours to definitely meet your needs!
