Beautiful Journey: Jiuzhaigou

I've been meaning to write about my journey through Jiuzhaigou in northern Sichuan province for a long time now.

During my first May holiday, Jia suggested that we take a trip through Sichuan--flying into Chengdu, taking a bus to Huanglong and Jiuzhaigou. Everything there looked perfect. The only downside would be the throngs of tourists who set out at the same time as everyone else during every national holiday.

We caught a bus from Huanglong to the town of Jiuzhaigou--the woman taking ticket money gave Jia the number of a Tibetan who hosted tourists inside the park. It was a chilly ride through the mountains of northern Sichuan as a little rain and snow fell along the road. Exhausted from our hike through Huanglong, we stayed near the park entrance at the Jiuzhai Hotel--it had hot water for only a few hours that night for a shower and wasn't overly comfortable. Sans comfort, we were enticed to walk up early enough to be some of the first people into the park the following morning.
Tickets during the holidays were more expensive than other times of year and were only good for one day (usually they're good for a few days). Fortunately, we were staying inside the park and didn't need an extra ticket for the second day. Of course, staying inside the park is illegal, but rarely enforced.

We stayed in the Tibetan village of Shuzheng--it's the first major stop on the bus route through Jiuzhaigou. The building looked like a small apartment complex with a beautifully painted exterior. Inside the rooms were bare and equipped with a squat toilet. Unlike the hotels outside the park, this one had 24-hour hot water but no heat. Including a nice dinner it only cost us 100 kuai. We also met two young teachers from a music college in Chengdu who were on the bus from Huanglong. We traveled a while with them on the second day (until one forgot his camera on the bus and had to chase it down).

The views of Jiuzhaigou are magnificent. At times, words fail to describe the beauty. It is like nothing I have ever seen or could ever have imagined. I could've sat and watched the rivers and mountains for hours. Everywhere we looked there were pieces of Tibetan culture--brightly painted buildings, jinfan and longda sending prayers through the wind, and mills powered by the rivers (and some prayer wheels turned by the same flowing waters).

On the second day, we learned how to avoid most of the tour crowds and enjoy the peaceful silence that nature provided. We also learned that the "eco-friendly" transportation was not as great as advertised--they were normal, diesel-powered buses fitted with better exhaust systems. Still, it is better than allowing private transportation through the park.