Yading Village

Day 4: 16 Oct 2019



Breakfast was in buffet style, with fried rice, to ML's delight. We started journey of winding road, and MK was not feeling well. She didnt take the motion sickness medication today. We stopped the car and let her take the pill, before continuing journey. We reached Shangrila Town (not to be confused with the other Shangrila town in Yunnan Province) and went to buy entrance and bus tickets into the national park proper.

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We only took our day pack as we will be spending two days and 1 night inside the park. We took the shuttle bus into Yading Village proper. The stop where we boarded the bus is stop number 1. There is a big distance between stop number 1 and stop number 2 in Yading Village. Along the way, we keep winding up the mountain road, and Shangrila Village become smaller and smaller from our eyes. The snow mountain began to appear. We saw some shuttle bus stopping points that have scenic views but the buses didnt stop. They are now allowed to stop at these bus stops. The first stop will be stop number 2, where most of the people stay in Yading Village. We got down at stop number 4. For those who cant converse in mandarin, letting the driver know your stop ahead will be challenging.

Our motel is at the turn. Right outside the motel is a huge snow mountain. There were swings and big table outside for people to gather. I like the view outside the motel.

We had our lunch before we got out and do the mini-loop trekking to Pearl Lake today.

We started to flag the buses down, but they didnt stop, even when they have seats. Apparently only the Yading Village shuttle bus will stop, but we didnt know at that time. So we keep flagging, but none of the buses stop for us. Imagine our frustration. Finally the internal shuttle bus came and stopped for us. We got up and sat till the final stop. From there we walked in and saw very beautiful views. The water is so clear.

Once we reached the tibetan temple Chonggu Temple, we made a right turn into Pearl Lake. The boradwalk was very doable. We took about 2 hours, with stopping, to reach the Pearl Lake.

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There were many people taking photos. We took our group shot, and the cloud quickly rolled in to cover the sun. The lake lost its colour without the sun.

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The snow mountain is called Xiannairi. It looked beautiful with autumn colours below.

V1: Small loop clear stream:



V2: Waiting for sunset.



We returned to the grassland near Chonggu Temple. The snow mountain Yangmaiyong can be seen from there. Many photographers were there waiting for the sunset. I waited awhile and took some pictures. Fearing that the shuttle bus will leave without waiting for us, I decided to return to the motel.

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After dinner, I took out my tripod and take the starry night photo, using snow mountain as front ground. It was very cold out there. MK and KM kept me accompanied. Shooting stars went past the sky. I took some pictures, and returned to the room.



Day 5: 17 Oct 2019



We woke up at 6am for the long trek today. After breakfasts, we waited for the first bus that come pick up the early trekkers. About 16 of us waiting for the bus, but no bus came. The locals who got impatient called the control centre to demand for bus. The bus came and we all got up. From the terminal, we walked to the starting point of electric buggy and bought the buggy tickets. The buggy will drive us to Luorong Grazing Field in 20 minutes, where we will start trekking. There are also horses for those who feel like saving the energy for the harder section later, as the horses will do the first 1/3 of the flat section. We chose to trek. We saw bird that look very different there. After about 30 minutes, we saw Yangmaiyong Snow Mountain and the frozen lake in front of it.

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V3: Icy lake in front of Yangmaiyong snow mountain:


V4: Yangmaiyong Snow Mountain.


V5: Waterfall


The trekking up get tougher once the horse trail ended. There were locals who use oxygen canisters. There were also some that dressed well for the photos, something puzzling to us trekkers.

After 2 hours or so, I finally reached the 5-colour Lake. It was beautiful, but the sunlight was not strong enough to bring out the full colour. There was also another lake before the 5-colour Lake, Low dubbed it the no-colour Lake.

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V6: Five-colour Lake


We took out our packed lunch and rest our legs while enjoying the view. After lunch, we walked down to Milky Lake.

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When we finally reached Milky Lake, the clouds rolled by, it started snowing gently. The whole valley is covered by fine snow. It was so beautiful, with golden foliage sprinkled with fine snow. KM and MK finally made it up at this time.

V7: Milky Lake


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V8, 9 , 10: Snowing:






We also saw goats that perched themselves on the cliff.

Yunos and Low returned to hotel much faster than I did, but i didnt know, I thought they were behind me. When I called Yunos, he told me he was already on the bus out to the park entrance. Little did he realised that the bus he was on was the internal shuttle bus, it wont go out to the park entrance. The bus driver asked him where he is going, and made a turn after dropping all passengers at stop number 2, and let him get down at stop number 4. Imagine my shock seeing him at the motel after reunited with Low.

The three of us took out our day pack as well as KM's and MK's and brought them with us to the park entrance. We flagged for bus and one stopped for us. We took the bus out and reached the entrance 1.5 hours later. ML was already in the Burger King, our agreed meeting point long ago. She didnt do the long trek completely, she u-turned at the end of horse trail and returned to the park entrance. According to her, she went for a massage in a shop in Shangrila Town, and fell asleep in there. Then she dragged herself to the Burger King and used the wifi there.

KM and MK finally reached Burger King when the sky has turned dark. They looked tired. Earlier we had already informed the driver to start driving out of Daocheng to meet us at the park entrance. He drove in complete darkness. 1.5 hour later, we were back to Daocheng. On hindsight, we should have stayed in Shangrila Town instead of Daocheng.

Dinner was between me and KM, as the rest have either eaten or too tired to do the ritual.



Day 6: 18 Oct 2019



This morning we didnt have water to bathe or wash up, as the hotspring has frozen upstream due to the cold weather. Breakfasts was not buffet style due to too little people staying in the motel.

The fresh snow in Litang has melted, the mountain has returned to brownish colour.

We drove off to Litang in the morning, and reached there in noon time. We had lunch there and continued to drive on to Xinduqiao.

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134. We returned to the same hotel in Xinduqiao. That evening, we walked to a recommended restaurant to have dinner. After dinner, we walked around the small main street, i managed to get some pastries for supper. To our surprise, there were one or two cabs, so we checked if they can send us back to hotel. The price was quite ok (expensive in their standard, ok for us), but the driver need to drop off someone before coming back to pick us up, which we were ok. It was really tough to walk back to the hotel since the pavement were in construction mode, and street lightings were dim.



Day 7 19 Oct 2019



We drove off to Hailogou today. First scenic stopping point was Zheduo Mountain. Walking up and down were slippery, especially since i dont have trekking poles. There were ladies on beautiful shoes who kept falling to the ground.

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V11: Zheduo Mountain


The journey from Zheduo Mountain to Hailogou was delayed, as there was a tanker broke down in the road, causing a massive congestion both directions. They dont have tow trucks, so they used the excavator to remove the tanker. It was quite a scene.

We finally reached Hailuogou in noon time. We had lunch then we did some souvenir-delicacies shopping.

V12: Pounding walnut:


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We were supposed to go for the hotspring soaking, but in the end Yunos, Low and ML decided to bail, leaving only me KM and MK doing the hotspring.

Dinner was fish soup. Spicy.

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The town looked very beautiful in the night, brightly lit up. Hailogou was very pretty, with wooden shop facade in the old town. We saw a wedding banquet in open air, with dances and songs.

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V13: Wedding dinner seen:


We discovered a boutique hotel that has good western food served, so ML and I decided to stay there to try their pasta. The boss came from Tianjin and spoke perfect English. ML and I were attracted to the Sichuan photobook that the boss bought. He managed to get 2 copies, and it is already out of print. The pictures were so beautiful. Nothing ends the night better with hot chocolate, good pasta and beautiful picture book. KM and MK happened to passby, and we yelled out to them. They came in to admire the pictures too.

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Day 8: 20 Oct 2020



I woke up early and realised the hills outside our hotel was surrounded by mist and fog. Went back to the boutique hotel to have toasts for breakfast. Now that it is day time, I saw that they have a big woooden workshop to do carpentry for their own furniture. It is all so quaint. I like this hotel very much I admit. I like the whole Hailuogou town. The town is so pretty.

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Time to leave for Chengdu Airport.

162. The travel article I have written for this trip was published in Malaysia newspapers on 24 Oct 2021.

Some of my thoughts on this trip.

1. The journey itself was quite interesting. Many scenic view points. Though one can also fly to Daocheng direct from Chengdu, and reach Yading village faster. There are flights that connect Chengdu and Daocheng, but these flights only operate if weather permits.

2. If you are prone to motion sickness, bring motion sickness pills. Bring plastic bags as well. For high mountain sickess, bring diamox or any medication that your physician allows.

3. You can stay inside Jiaju tibetan village itself, but getting out to Danba town centre will be more challenging.

4. Sleeping on electric blanket will dehydrate your body very fast, you will feel thirsty after you woke up. Also you can turn the aircond into heater in the room, just ask your front desk.

5. Try their yoghurt. Not bad.

6. In Xinduqiao, there were only a few cabs to chauffer people from hotel to town centre. You can ask front desk to call them to pick u up to town. It is not that cheap, but considering they dont have much business, it is good that we pay them appropriately.

7. Remember to bring your own lunch into Yading Village national park for the long hike. There were people who sell instant rice (self-heated) near the end of the horse trail as well, beyond that you are on your own.

8. Wet wipe tissues is a good idea for toilet visit etc.

9. Should you get oxygen canisters for Yading Village? Debatable.

10. The entrance tickets for Yading Village is good for two entries. For those who prefer to stay outside the national park at Shangrila, this two-time entry feature is a good thing. It required you to take a selfie with the ticket inside the park for the first entry, in order to be eligible for the second-time entry. You can refer to their latest regulations.

11. I couldnt tell the difference between the internal shuttle bus and the long distance bus that started from the park entrance. They have sign boards at the windscreen. If the buses dont stop for you, and you have waited for awhile, just use your phone to call them. You can ask front desk for the number to call. You have to be able to make request in mandarin though. On the bus, unless you are taking the bus to the final stop, you need to be able to inform the driver the stop number that you want to alight, in mandarin, as soon as you got into the bus and got your seat. There are no proper bus stop shelters along the way except for the starting and ending stops, as the mountainous road is too narrow, most of time we waited for bus in the drain next to the road.

12. The night sky in yading is really something. It is cold, but totally worth it.

13. Food inside Yading Park is a bit more expensive than what you found outside, but the taste is ok, so we will just accept the price, no choice.

14. All foreigners that are staying in Yading Village should check into their motels before 12 noon, as the owners need you to fill up forms and make a report to the police station. So do not take your own sweet time to check in, you might be denied your night stay even if you have booked.

15. For the trekkings in Yading Village, start as early as possible to avoid the afternoon storm/snow.

16. Do not bring your food and drinks bought outside into the restaurants to avoid suspicion.

17. They tend to smoke inside the restuarants.

18. Last bus out of Yading Village is around 7pm, depending on season, do confirm with the staff there before you start your hike.



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