Travel info for Jiulong in Sichuan

Travel Information for Jiulong in Sichuan

A relatively untravelled area to the south west of Kangding is the
mountainous Jiulong county. It is only six hours drive [250km] on the
daily bus from Kangding along a good road, but few westerners come
this way. It's a pity because Jiulong has some of the best alpine
scenery in Sichuan [or if you believe the articles of explorer Joseph
Rock:

"The scenery hereabouts is overwhelmingly grand. Probably its like
cannot be found elsewhere in the world … A scenic wonder of the world,
for centuries it may remain a closed land …."]

The main attractions are the alpine lakes of Wuxu Hai and Lieta Hu,
the yeti "Wild Man" temple [Yeren Miao] and the massive 3000 metre
deep gorge of the Yalong river that forms the western border of
Jiulong with the equally remote Muli county. Jiulong is also a
fascinating melting pot of Tibetan, Pumi and Yi cultures as well as a
few Han Chinese.
Interestingly, its climate is quite mild compared to Kandging, which
makes visiting more pleasant at the end of the year when all the
autumnal colours are out. The locals say the best time to visit are in
June, when all the azaleas and rhododendrons are in bloom on the
mountainsides, and in late October-November, when the autumnal colours
reach their peak.
The main [only] town is Jiulong, a pretty uninspiring one street town
of mock-Tibetan apartments on the main north south highway connecting
the Tibetan highway with the Sichuan towns of Mianning and Xichang.
But the street life is interesting – with Tibetans and Yi in full
dress rubbing shoulders with modern Chinese.
There is a lively market and a lot of interesting eating places in
Jiulong, but it is really only a jumping off point for the surrounding
area. There are also a variety of hotels ranging from the clean and
simple Traffic (Jiaotong) Hotel above the bus station for 40 kuai a
night, to the palatial Longhai Dajiudian –
for 160 a night, that dominates the
town square.

Getting there

A trip to Jiulong is worth it alone for the stunning Tibetan scenery
en route. From Kangding there is a daily bus that leaves at 7am and
costs 72 kuai. It follows the Tibetan highway west towards Litang over
the Zheduo Pass (4280 metres) but then branches off south down a
valley just before Xinduqiao. This road has recently been improved and
is now much smoother than the potholed Kangding-Litang route! The bus
is also comfortable, and when I travelled had Bollywood MTV playing on
the onboard TV.
Heading south the area is completely ethnic Tibetan. Towards Shade the
landscape is barren hills [very similar to Otago NZ] dotted with
Tibetan fort-like houses some with their old village watchtowers still
remaining. There are a few small monasteries also en route. Beyond
Shade there is a turnoff to Liuba, 7km up the track, where horse treks
to Gongga Shan can be arranged. The scenery around here is more wooded
and the road follows a fast flowing tributary of the Jiulong river.
The scenery is very beautiful.
The bus continues south climbing up to the barren Jizu Pass, with
views of some of the Jiulong peaks. Then it descends to the town of
Jiulong, and the houses now look different – with Chinese style
sloping tile roofs rather than the Tibetan style flat roofs. But the
people are still predominantly Tibetan.

The town

Arriving in Jiulong in mid afternoon you will get a lot of friendly
stares from the locals who have seen few "big noses" around town.
Nobody speaks English, but everyone speaks and understands putonghua.
Jiulong town consists of a downhill main street (Tuanjie Dajie)
flanked by two side streets, hemmed in by a valley. The local houses
look rather grim, owing to the use of the sooty coloured black
limestone. There is an old collection of watchtowers – Dapuzi on a
ridge to the north end of town where the Wuxu Hai road turns off.
Otherwise, there isn't much to see in town, but it has all the basics
– a couple of supermarkets, post office, though nowhere to change
western money.
I stayed at the Gao Er Binguan, for 40 kuai a night (ask for Wang Qi!)
, but there are plenty of other hotels to choose from – and they all
seem happy to accept foreigners.

Wuxu Lake

The main attraction of Jiulong is the Wuxu Lake, about 25km north west
of town along a dirt track. This can be reached in about 90 minutes by
car or jeep, which can be hired outside the Longhai Dajiudian for 100
kuai one way/200 return, if you want to be picked up again next day.
There is no bus service.
The road to Wuxu Hai follows a narrow forested river valley past
limestone crags up to the picturesque village of Wuxu, where there are
some tourists cabins being built (not operating yet in Oct 2004). From
here it continues up to a few newly built tourist log cabins right at
the lake. The last 5km is quite rough road and some car drivers may
dump you at the village and tell you to walk the last bit. It's a nice
walk, passing a huge rock covered with colourful Buddhist deity
paintings that locals circle round.
Wuxu Lake is an idyllic scenic spot, flanked to the south by a long
range of grey peaks called the 12 Sisters, and with an expanse of
paddock leading down to the [as yet] unspoiled waters edge. On the
opposite side of the lake (reached by a track on the eastern – ie
right hand side of the lake) the valley continues up to be lost in the
snowy peaks of 18-20,000 foot high mountains. It's all very Shangri
La.
You can stay at the lake in some log cabins just built for tourists,
starting for 20 kuai for a primitive dorm (just one big bed!) to 40-60
kuai for doubles. All blankets etc are supplied, but you could bring a
tent if you wanted – it would be perfect for camping and trekking
here. The log cabins also have a dining hall where you can get good
meals such as beef, lamb etc for 25-30 kuai. Beer is also available,
as witnessed by the huge pile of empties formed into a pyramid outside
the kitchen shack. There is no shop so take everything else you might
need.
The "resort" is run by Jiulong local government, and they are trying
to be eco-friendly and use natural, local materials. They have
installed a lot of bins in the form of hollow tree stumps, but the
first Chinese visitors seemed to be ignoring these.
The guy who runs the cabins is a Yi and his hardworking wife is very
friendly, despite having to cope with a son who is both blind and
crippled.
The Tibetan locals will nag you relentlessly to "Qi ma" - ride their
horses . They do rides up to a waterfall about 30 minutes on from the
other side of the lake, and beyond to hot springs where you have to
build the pool around yourself with boulders from the creek. You don't
need to ride a horse – you can find your own way quite easily by just
locating the well trodden tack that bears off from the middle of the
forest. The locals will charge you about 50 to ride up there on
horses.
It is also possible to walk/ride up the surrounding forested hills to
various lookout points, popular with professional photographers, with
great views over the lake and mountains. These tracks are hard to find
unless a local shows you.
There is also said to be a beautiful lake, Tian Chi" that is sacred
to the locals, about six to seven hours ride up the valley into the
mountains on the opposite side of the lake. I didn't go there,
because you need to camp overnight and take all your own gear.
Word of warning: there are some Tibetan's log cabins on the other side
of the lake, where the canny locals invite you in for a cup of butter
tea made with milk fresh from the yak. It's fascinating if you've
never been inside a Tibetan house before, to sit around the fire. But
the friendliness can come at a price – of 10 kuai per cup! Ask first
"Shou qian ma?" (Do you want money?).
You can arrange for a car to come and pick you up, or if you are fit
it's possible to walk back to town in about four-five hours. Quite a
few day visitors leave around 4pm, so you may be able to hitch a lift
– but don't bank on it!

Lieta Hu and Wahui Shan mountains

Said to be even more beautiful than Wuxu hai, I didn't visit this
place but met a few Chinese/Taiwanese/HK tourists who did. You need to
arrange your own 4wd transport – it costs about 200-300 kuai a day.
The lake is high up in the mountains and is said to contain a monster.
There are also very big frogs around here, apparently!

Yeren Miao (Wild man temple)

About an hour's drive and a 40 minute walk up a bumpy farm track
southeast of town, this small temple is built in a cave, half way up a
cliff. Local legend has it that the local people knew of the cave and
its stream many hundreds of years ago, and visited it to pray for a
good harvest. Then one day some primitive statues and simple
structures appeared overnight. No one knew who did it, and it was
attributed to the "Wild Man" or Yeren – the Chinese term for yeti. You
can now see the yeti's big footprints and hand [paw?] prints,
enshrined in the small temple, reached by a short but steep walk up
the cliff path.
There is a fancy new temple being built at the foot of the cliff – go
past it and look for the track branching off to the left, over a stone
bridge.
If you want to make your own way to the temple, take the left fork
from the main street just after the public toilets. You can't miss the
smell!

Yalong river gorge

There are easy ways and hard ways to see the mighty Yalong river
gorge. The easy way is to simply catch the bus south, on towards the
lowland Sichuan towns of Mianning and Xichang (where you can connect
with the Kunming-Chengdu train line, or take a bus to Lugu Lake or
Lijiang). On the way south, before passing over the high pass to
Mianning, the road skirts the swirling brown waters of the Yalong for
about 20km. Here the gorge is scenic but not as spectacular as the
remote western section where the river carves a massive 300-5000 metre
canyon through the mountains on its north to south flow.
This is the area that Rock described as a scenic wonder of the world.
It can only be reached by 4WD vehicle followed by some arduous horse
riding.
If you have bags of time and money here's how to do it:
Access to the Yalong canyon is via the Yangwe Kong valley, that
branches westward from the road between Jiulong and Wuxu Lake. There
is an extremely rough track that crosses over the 4000 m high Kangwu
Shan pass into the valley, and which runs down to the village of
Sanyanlong. All the people in this valley are Pumi, similar to
Tibetan, but speaking a different dialect. You need to hire a good 4WD
and an experienced driver to do this section (see contact details
later).
Ordinary cars have no chance, and will
not take you.

From Sanyanlong, continue west for about 7km, to the road end at the
hamlet of Shantien. From here you can arrange horses (100 kuai a day
each, including guide) to take you up to the heights overlooking the
Yalong canyon, where there is a small hamlet called Mongdong. You
don't need a tent or bedding if you stay with the friendly locals, but
the only food if you don't eat tsampa, butter tea and ripe cheese is
baked potatoes. The trip involves a steep climb over razor back
ridges, followed by a very long ride up a ridge.
From Mongdong, the views down to the Yalong, 3000-4000 m below are
awesome, as are the views of the surrounding mountains of Muli county,
across the river. According to Rock it took him "five terrible days"
to cross the Yalong river en route from Muli to Jiulong and Kangding,
even though it was only 20km as the crow flies. The steep sides mean
that it is very difficult going.
Nearby (another half day by horse) to Mongdong is the beautiful
mountain of Maidi Gangga (Mutikonka according to Rock) with a
spectacularly beautiful alpine lake beneath it, called Chang Haizi.
Apart from Rock (and me) no westerners or even Chinese have ever
visited this area. If you just want to visit the lake you can get
there in a day from Shantian via a lower village called Lawaling,
though you still have to make the initial steep climb out of the
Yangwe Kong valley.
All arrangements for these trips can be made with a Mr Gao Linzhong,
of the information department of Jiulong county. His contact details
a 0836 3322787/ 139904785029 (mobile). Or you can find him on the
fifth floor of the local government (that's Communist Party) building,
right behind the Jiaoyu Binguan. It's easy to find - the only building
in town with Christmas fairly lights on.