My new year trip to Jiuzhaigou - The Bus Ride Up
In anticipation of this year's New Year holiday, my friends and I decided that it would be a fantastic opportunity for a three-day road trip to see the beautiful Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong parks. As a bonus, we opted to take the bus for the scenery as we rose into the mountains on the 10 hour trip.
Let the Journey start
We left Chengdu around 7 am, but it wasn't until we reached Wenchuan, the epicenter of Sichuan's massive 2008 earthquake that we were truly awakened by our guide’s voice. From the bus windows, we could still see impassable bridges, the destroyed road on the other side of the river, boulders littering the river and the mountainside, and even cars buried under tons of rock. We simply could not imagine how devastating the disaster was until we saw it with our own eyes. However, despite remnants of the destruction, new development and restoration are happening very fast - beautiful houses have been rebuilt and everything has largely returned to a sense of order and normalcy.
Sadly, when we arrived at Huanglong Park, we found that it was closed because of too much snowfall, so we opted to press on to Zhaga waterfall in Mounigou Valley instead. The area around the waterfall offered a delightful array of pools of different sizes and shapes. Here, for the first time in my life, I saw a waterfall in the heart of winter - shrouded in snow, surrounded by frost-covered ever-green trees, with flows of ice apparently frozen in time as they cascaded down the falls. The frozen Zhaga waterfall, the largest travertine waterfall in China, looked like one of Harbin's amazing ice sculptures rather than a natural water feature, truly amazing.
We were there
We finally arrived in Jiuzhaigou around 5:30 pm, having been rewarded by an interesting array of different styles of Tibetan houses and beautiful snowy landscapes along the way during our long drive. Tomorrow we would head into the park to enjoy the world famous "fairyland."
After a memorable 10 hour bus ride (part 1 of this post) up into the mountains of northern Sichuan, my friends and I finally made it to our destination: beautiful Jiuzhaigou Park in the heart of winter.
The visit to Jiuzhaigou Park
The next morning, we awoke in our hotel to find that everywhere we looked was white and snowflakes were still falling! We could not wait to visit Jiuzhaigou Park!
Jiuzhaigou is made up of three main valleys -
- Shuzheng Valley
- Rize Valley
- Zechawa Valley
All three come together to form a 'Y'. Our initial plan was to visit the virgin forests at the top of Rize Valley first, but it was closed for the winter, so we took the sightseeing bus to Shuzheng Valley instead. On the bus ride, we passed Bonsai Lake, with different plants scattered throughout its blue water, and then passed Reed Lake, where the golden reeds grow so thickly that they contrast the clear stream winding through the reeds. It is said that the stream is the mountain goddess’s towel when she is taking a bath here.
As we stepped out of our bus, in front of a small village where we saw Tibetan prayer wheels and prayer flags flapping in the crisp winter breeze. As we then walked down to the Shuzheng Lake Cluster and Shuzheng waterfall and were amazed by their natural beauty, but quickly moved on to climb up to Tiger Lake for a visit and a number of great photos. Continuing on, we visited Rhinoceros Lake, which is the largest lake in Shuzheng Valley. As the story goes, there was once a Tibetan holy man who was seriously ill and dying, so his rhinoceros brought him here to the lake and after he drank some of the lake's water, he recovered immediately! After that, the holy man was reluctant to leave and decided instead to dwell in the lake forever.
Again getting on the park's free tour bus, we went to Nuorilang for lunch. After which, we explored Nuorilang Waterfall, the widest waterfall in Jiuzhaigou Valley. We were amazed by its grandness and were not surprised to hear that many famous films, including Journey to the West have featured this spectacular waterfall.
After our visit to that beautiful lake at Rize Valley, our final destination was Zechawa Valley, a remote region inhabited by various Tibetan and Qiang peoples. Our highlights from this valley were the famous "Five-Colored Pond" and Long Lake.
Five-Colored Pond is so colorful that it is surreal, like something from Alice's and Wonderland's adventure. I felt just like we were in a dreamland. Long Lake, on the other hand, is imposingly real: the highest, largest, and deepest lake in Jiuzhaigou. Half of this lake was covered in a sheet of snow and the other half was sparkling from its' clear blue water. As kids, we took turns throwing many small stones at the ice trying to crack the ice, but alas, the ice won. :-( Maybe we should have tried skating instead!
As we came to our tale of exploration to an end, the journey through the majestic landscapes of Jiuzhaigou and the snowy vistas of Huanglong has been nothing short of a revelation. The stark remnants of destruction juxtaposed with the relentless march of recovery and beauty underscore the profound resilience of both nature and human endeavor. Our expedition through these enchanted lands, from the mystical allure of the frozen Zhaga waterfall to the ethereal beauty of Jiuzhaigou's valleys, has been a journey of discovery and awe. The crisp air filled with the scent of pine, the sound of prayer wheels spinning in the wind, and the kaleidoscopic reflections in the Five-Colored Pond have imprinted upon us the indelible beauty of Sichuan's highlands. This adventure, etched into our memories, serves as a reminder of the transformative power of travel. For those who seek to venture beyond the familiar, Jiuzhaigou offers not just a journey through space, but a voyage into the heart of nature's resilience and beauty. May this narrative inspire wanderlust in all who yearn to explore the uncharted, to find in themselves the spirit of adventure that drives us to discover the wonders of our world.
If you are planning a trip to Jiuzhaigou, I'm glad to answer any questions you may have. Wish everyone can come and visit this magical place's natural beauty with their very own eyes.