Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong Travel Precautions – A Travel Guide

Jiuzhaigou is full of dreamlike and ethereal beauty for many people. It perfectly preserves the original appearance of the primeval forest, allowing you to explore the development patterns and passion of human civilization over millions of years, offering you a unique blend of natural and cultural landscapes. Below, we’ll share some travel precautions for Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong.

Mode of Travel: Independent travel, joined a tour group

DAY1 Chengdu – Jiuzhaigou

First Stop: Dujiangyan Panda Base

Depart from Chengdu city at 8:00 am by bus, arriving at the Panda Base in Dujiangyan around 10:00 am.

Tour Duration: 1 hour

The baby pandas are incredibly cute and adorable, their only exercise is eating and eating.

Second Stop: Lunch in Wenchuan County

In Wenchuan County, you can see the Minjiang River flowing. Many buildings have been rebuilt after the earthquake. However, many people from the mountains are unwilling to move down, as the saying goes, “rely on the mountains to eat the mountains.” After moving down, they have no income. Therefore, the government allows local people to build paid public restrooms on the roadside. When you come to travel here, you have to pay one yuan for each restroom visit.

Third Stop: Songpan Ancient City

Songpan Ancient City has a long history, but the current city walls were rebuilt after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, so it’s not worth visiting.

Fourth Stop: Tibetan Family for Tibetan Hot Pot

Tibetan people are hearty and straightforward, providing a generous amount of hot pot, but instead of hot pot with meat, they offer tripe and other ingredients. During the meal, the Tibetan host will perform songs and dances, and they hope to interact with the guests. As a result, you’ll be constantly busy eating and watching.

After dinner, Tibetan people will invite you to dance the “Guo Zhuang” dance. Although this is a very commercialized process, you can truly feel their 100% enthusiasm when interacting with them.

Accommodation: Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area, Jimo Theme Hotel

【Hotel Facilities】 Four Stars (with electric mattress)

【Hotel Food】 Three and a half Stars

Breakfast: Steamed buns, pickled vegetables, eggs, congee;

Dinner: Rice, mainly vegetables, one fish dish

【Hotel Transportation】 A half-hour walk from the entrance of Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area. Turn left when you leave the hotel, and you’ll find what might be the largest supermarket in the entire scenic area (the prices in the supermarket are 1-2 yuan higher than outside the scenic area on average)

DAY2 Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area Tour

The best time to visit Jiuzhaigou is from mid-October to mid-November. It’s the end of May now, still considered spring in Jiuzhaigou, and many seasonal ponds are dry.

Tour Duration: Enter the scenic area at 9:00 am and exit at 4:30 pm. (I personally enjoy stopping to admire the scenery along the way, so I felt that one day was rushed for visiting Jiuzhaigou. If you just want to take photos, then one day is sufficient.)

Precautions: The weather in the plateau is unpredictable. It started raining heavily as we were about to leave the scenic area, but it stopped quickly. It’s recommended to bring a raincoat. Raincoats are available at the entrance of the scenic area for 5 yuan each.

Touring Mode: As soon as you enter the ticket gate, there are scenic area sightseeing buses (similar to shuttle buses, free to ride within the scenic area) that distribute tourists to different scenic spots. Almost every scenic spot has a sightseeing bus available. It’s recommended to take the sightseeing bus from the highest point of the scenic area, Changhai, and gradually descend for sightseeing.

The highest point of the scenic area – Changhai

I brought my own snacks and had lunch at the viewing platform of Changhai.

Changhai is breathtakingly beautiful. Standing in front of it, your mind naturally calms down.

From Changhai downwards, the altitude suddenly drops. Sudden increases and decreases in altitude are most likely to cause altitude sickness. My symptoms were ear blockage and headache, but it disappeared after walking for about 20 minutes.

The most famous attraction in the scenic area – Wuhuahai

Apparently, in autumn, the trees on both sides of the shore will display different colors, creating a picturesque contrast with the azure lake. However, right now, you can only see lush green trees, which are also beautiful. You can see a snow-capped mountain in the distance, but it didn’t come out well because of the low resolution.

There are many large and small waterfalls in Jiuzhaigou, but none of them have a particularly high drop. The most spectacular is the waterfall at Pandahai, but it’s the dry season now, so you won’t see it.

Walking through the mountains and waters of Jiuzhaigou will make your heart feel bright. Traveling should not only be about eyes and cameras, but also about using your heart to carefully experience.

17:30 Tibetan Mystery Song and Dance Show, three performances a day, 120 yuan per ticket.

The entire show is very impressive. The opening of the show tells the story of an elderly Tibetan woman in her 60s whose greatest wish in life is to make a pilgrimage from her hometown of Jiuzhaigou to Lhasa. The show uses the old woman’s three-year pilgrimage journey as a thread to showcase the beliefs and customs of the Tibetan people in different regions of Tibet. I couldn’t help but shed tears several times while watching the show. The Tibetan people are truly a nation that lives by their faith. They are sincere and devout in their approach to life, and they sing and dance with their souls, without any pretense or hypocrisy.

If you’re interested in the customs and culture of the Tibetan people, it’s worth watching. My ticket was included in the tour package, but if you want to see it, you may need to book in advance.

DAY3 Huanglong – Chengdu

Depart from Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area at 5:30 am, arrive at Huanglong Scenic Area at 8:30 am; take the cable car up the mountain, reach the summit at 9:30 am.

Only the water in the Wucai Pond at the very top has a relatively large volume during this season. It took me one hour to walk from the top of the mountain to Wucai Pond.

Precautions

From Jiuzhaigou to Huanglong Scenic Area, the terrain fluctuates significantly. The altitude rises from 3,000 meters to over 4,000 meters, and then drops again from over 4,000 meters to 3,000 meters. Sudden increases and decreases in altitude are most likely to cause altitude sickness.

Before entering the scenic area, there are many plateau service stations on both sides of the road, providing oxygen cylinders, Rhodiola rosea oral solution (80 yuan per box), high-pressure oxygenated mineral water (80 yuan per bottle), and oxygen-supplying effervescent tablets (80 yuan for four tablets, dissolved in water and drank).

Since I was traveling alone, I bought a bottle of mineral water and effervescent tablets as a precaution against altitude sickness. I drank one-third of the bottle before entering the scenic area and another third while in the scenic area. I only experienced ear blockage when I first entered the scenic area, and everything was fine for the rest of the trip. However, I walked very slowly when I first entered the scenic area. The plateau environment consumes a lot of physical energy. If you feel out of breath, be sure to stop and rest, otherwise, it’s easy to trigger altitude sickness. That’s why it took me an hour to walk from the top of the mountain to Wucai Pond, even though the distance isn’t that long.

Based on my experience, I can’t confirm whether the water actually works or not. Some people on the same bus didn’t drink it and were fine. Altitude sickness mainly depends on individual constitution.

Another significant factor is psychological. Since I had read a lot of information about altitude sickness online, I was a bit apprehensive, and my body wasn’t feeling well. Later, when I saw the breathtaking scenery at Wucai Pond, I forgot all about altitude sickness and was busy taking photos. I felt much better. So, don’t underestimate altitude sickness, but don’t be overly anxious either. You should be fine if you take precautions beforehand.

The journey to Huanglong Scenic Area is arduous. You need to be prepared for altitude sickness, as well as fluctuating temperatures. It was around 8 am when we were at the service station, and the temperature was probably below 10°. Many people chose to rent a coat (60 yuan for a cotton coat). I bought a fleece jacket and thermal leggings (a total of 200 yuan, which might cost around 100 yuan outside the scenic area). When we got to the top of the mountain, the temperature was actually quite high with the sun shining, and I realized I didn’t need to rent any clothes. The weather on the plateau is unpredictable, so it’s best to bring thick clothes when you go to Huanglong.

The road conditions aren’t great either. Although it’s all paved roads, the bus has to go up and down the mountains, turning back and forth. It wasn’t until I got there that I realized what it meant to have “18 bends in the mountain road”.

Wang Anshi once said, “The world’s wondrous, strange, and extraordinary sights often lie in dangerous and remote places that few people reach. Therefore, only those with determination can get there.” Thanks to modern transportation, we have the opportunity to experience these extraordinary sights, but we still need to prepare ourselves physically and mentally. There will be fatigue and dangers, which is why the beauty of the world is so precious.

Two Ways to Descend from Wucai Pond

Take the cable car (highly not recommended, the time it takes to descend is almost the same as walking, and you still need to walk a long distance from Wucai Pond to the cable car station).

Walk 7 kilometers downhill (you can choose to take the emergency passage or the scenic passage. The emergency passage is relatively shorter and is a flat dirt road; the scenic passage is a plank road, and you can admire some ponds along the way, but they’re dry during this season).

I chose to take the emergency passage. Both sides of the road are lined with azaleas, and there’s a long stretch that goes through a forest. Walking through the woods, you can hear the chirping of insects and birds, and occasionally encounter a squirrel.

We gathered at 13:00 to go downhill for lunch, and departed for Chengdu at 14:30. Due to road construction on the section from Wenchuan and Dujiangyan to Chengdu, all the cars were stuck, and we could only inch forward.

We finally arrived back in Chengdu’s Jinniu District on Jinko North Road at 11:30 pm. Our tour guide said that it’s normal to get back to Chengdu at midnight during summer vacation. So, if you’re planning to visit Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong, it’s recommended to choose to fly, otherwise, you’ll spend almost a day and a half on the road.

However, spending time on the road also has its benefits. Our tour guide, Gu Shuai, shared many stories about the earthquake and geological changes along the way. You can also see the post-earthquake reconstruction of Wenchuan and Dujiangyan.

Two Most Memorable Things

Gu Shuai is from Dujiangyan. During the earthquake, he was at school, and luckily his school was fine. However, another school just a kilometer away completely collapsed. They didn’t have many tools to dig, but the parents didn’t give up and dug with their hands. The earthquake buried all the supplies in their homes. After returning home, he dug up a bag of rice from under the collapsed house. The entire family, including 20 people, old and young, ate that bag of rice, having only a bowl of rice soup each day. The young and strong in the family also had to go out to work and help families with more severe damage dig out some food. The whole family built a tent in the field, and slept back to back at night. He said there was nothing they could do but wait for rescue.

The Wenchuan earthquake resulted in 300,000 missing people. These 300,000 people, cars, and buildings were all buried under the mountain. How can you dig through a mountain? It’s impossible.

Another story is that we passed by a place called Diexi Ancient Town. This town used to be a transit station on the Tea Horse Road, where merchants exchanged goods and the town was once prosperous. In 1931, an earthquake split the mountain in two, causing the entire town to collapse. Now, the location of the town is a landslide dam lake. If you dive down, you can still see the ancient ruins of the town. Only one survivor from the entire town, an 11-year-old cattle herder, was on the other side of the mountain herding cattle. He experienced three major earthquakes in his lifetime, including the Wenchuan earthquake. After the Wenchuan earthquake, he was relocated to a resettlement site, and CCTV reporter Wang Xiaoya interviewed him. The old man only said four words: “It’s good to be alive.”

Traveling can be done in various ways. Some people seek relaxation and enjoyment, so it’s recommended to fly to Jiuzhaigou, stay a few extra days, and leisurely explore Jiuzhaigou without rushing to take photos. Some people seek to experience different lifestyles and see different scenery, so it’s okay to endure some hardships. Taking a bus to Jiuzhaigou is a good option because the time invested will always bring different surprises.