China Part 3: Hop Along to Huanglong

Last time Team J00ster saw Tibetan prayer flags fluttering in the rarefied alpine air was at the foot of Mount Everest. So this latest auspicious sighting can mean only one thing: here be mountains!

 

Was it Confucius who said that it's not about the destination but the journey? Probably not, but hey, the facts never get in the way of a good story on this blog. Just like in Congress. Anyway, the journey to Huanglong National Park is one for the ages. A narrow road precipitously clinging to the desolate, wind-lashed slopes of the mighty Minshan range.

The highest pass on the road tops out at 4,000 meters and really hammers home the magnificent desolation in this part of the world.

Hopefully one of these prayer flags is inscribed with some words to the effect of "please don't let the brakes fail at the next hairpin". The usual "let the yaks be fat and the hot pot bountiful" doesn't really help right now. It's a steep descent into Huanglong valley from up here.

See the winding brown ribbon? Yeah, that's the road. No wonder this place shuts down in winter, it's bad enough descending in perfect conditions like today.

Sure the air is a little thin over 3,000 meters, but one does get the feeling these portable oxygen cylinders are a little overkill. After all, there's a big bus load of chain-smoking lowlanders powering up the mountain singing jolly drinking songs.

Huanglong's trademark is a stunning series of travertine terraces that snake their way down a six kilometer long valley. It's Mammoth Hot Springs done on the usual massive Chinese scale.

Lucky we ignored that stupid Chinese proverb that claimed once you've seen the water of Jiuzhaigou you never need to see water again.

A ancient Buddhist temple rises from the verdant forest surrounding the terraces and just a hint of incense wafts on the mountain breeze. Even the megaphones are temporarily silenced in the presence of such a spellbinding sight.

There is perhaps no better barometer of a nation's maturity than how it treats its national treasures. Fortunately China's report card is finally looking a little better; the parks are immaculate and the facilities top notch. The automated bio-toilets put the typical US campsite long drop to shame.

Does anyone else think these look like someone spilled a tube of Pringles? Must be time to break out the lunch provisions.

Forget Shanghai's Bund, this is the best slice of real estate in all of China. Lucky someone put a temple on it before the bulldozers could get to it.

Finally some smoke that doesn't come from an exhaust pipe or a factory chimney. Even UNESCO will turn a blind eye to the fragrant shrouds of incense that waft through the temple. Of course, it probably also helps when you're a permanent member of the security council.

You can always tell you're half way down when you hit the midway noodle shops.

There it is, the coveted J00ster stamp of approval! Stand back and watch the crowds pour in. Oh wait, they're already here.

Who's ready for a terrace encore?

Just like Tim Tebow, you can never have too much terrace.

Ok, as Woody Johnson discovered, maybe you can have too much.

One of the amazing things about the park is how the colors keep changing as one heads down the valley. From rich turquoise to sparking emerald and back again in a dizzying rainbow of translucent colors.

Just when you've seen enough terraces, Huanglong pulls a new trick out of the bag. The Seven Miles of Golden Sand is a vast expanse of yellow travertine that stretches for a good couple of kilometers down the valley. Not sure where the seven miles comes from, it's big but not that big. Perhaps the discoverer wrote for J00ster in his spare time...

At the end of the Golden Sand is a big waterfall. And a Hubei gal apparently.

The lower terraces weave their way through lush bamboo forests and take on a deeper green tint compared to those higher up. Which is all the excuse we need to offer up another terrace gallery.

 

After six kilometers of terracing, it's time to hit the road back to civilization. Actually, this is probably a road that you don't want to hit, at least when it comes to the flimsy guardrail between you and oblivion.

Accommodation for the night is a working Tibetan village. Unlike the last Tibetan accommodation - a yak hair tent on the frigid plateau of Everest base camp - this one features a few luxuries that go above and beyond a cozy yak dung fire. Like a golf cart to take you to your room for example.

Forget the no smoking sign, where's the "No Self-Imolation" sign?

Where's the golf cart when you need it? It's hot pot time!

China Part 2: You Gotta Go to Jiuzhaigou

Jiuzhaigou, a watery wonderland hidden deep in a valley in the Min Mountains on the fringes of the Tibetan plateau, is widely rated as China's number one national park. And when something is rated number one in China, you have to sit up and take notice. Unfortunately so do one billion other people. Since most Chinese cities are mired under an unrelenting pall of smog it's no surprise that the burgeoning middle class is increasingly keen to experience water free of heavy metals and air unburdened by particulate carbon.

 

The park itself is about 10 hours by bus from Chengdu, but fortunately China's breakneck development means one can also fly into the remote Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport, the third highest in China. From there, it's only two hours to the park and more importantly, only two hours to dinner.

 

 

Carbo loading for the big day tomorrow. Not to be confused with carbon loading, which is what one does when breathing in a Chinese city.

 

 

The early bird gets to avoid waiting in a two hour line to get tickets. Thank goodness for still being stuck on the wrong time zone.

A couple of months removed from a visit to Yellowstone, Team J00ster is ideally placed to judge Superpower Showdown: National Park Edition. Forget who has the most ICBMs, the real bragging rights are in boardwalks and interpretive signs.

Jiuzhaigou opens with a strong hand, the towering, snow covered peaks of the Minshan range that skirts the edge of the Tibetan plateau.

But the absence of thundering bison herds and the presence of thundering megaphone-toting tour groups hands the early advantage to Uncle Sam. At least until China sells a fistful of Treasuries and buys the Tetons.

The park spans a Y-shaped valley with each branch of the Y stretching up into the lofty surrounding mountains. The best way to explore is to start at the top of a branch, in the rarefied air of the primeval forest, and then work your way down to the lush swamps and lakes at lower altitudes.

Along the way is some of the most spectacular scenery you'll see anywhere in the world. Even better, the government appears to have finally realized that not every piece of land needs to be converted into a new condo development; although cynically that might have something to do with the rather exorbitant entry fee multiplied by 12,000 visitors a day.

Here's something for next time a congressman needs some ammunition for another "Those Chinese are stealing our jobs and our intellectual property" rant: not only are they copying Windows, they're copying Yellowstone's boardwalks too!

An ancient Chinese saying holds that once you see the incredible waters of Jiuzhaigou you never need to see water again. Some might say the same thing about posts on this blog, although perhaps not quite for the same reason.

It's not surprising that Yosemite is on the advisory board for the park. Geologically the parks are quite similar; both consist of a long valley surrounded by towering peaks. But Jiuzhaigou does have one big advantage: no cars allowed. Instead visitors are ferried around by ultra-frequent electric shuttles.

 

Incoming double trouble. If you haven't hidden by now it's too late for you, might as well accept your fate and start cleaning.

Nature always puts things in perspective. Out here no one cares if GDP growth comes in at 7 or 8%.

Did we mention the water? It's so clear you can see right to the bottom where fallen trees form mysterious underwater forests. The other plus is if Rock drops his camera in again it will be easy to spot.

The only road in the park is so torturous there's a mirror at every nasty hairpin corner. Which means there's basically a mirror at every corner. Be glad they don't let Chinese motorists on it, it's bad enough that they can't manage to stay in their lane on a dead straight eight lane highway. Be even more thankful they don't let Rock on it.

 

Stand by for the never-ending lake montage.

It's like Milford Sound, except without the sandflies.

Since Mei's mum can't work out how to operate a camera, it looks like we'll have to take turns. Don't tell me the cultural revolution frowned on selfies?

Did we mention the water?

The valley floor consists of a series of terraced lakes, where water meanders from one to the next in a series of spectacular waterfalls. Interestingly, the geology is strikingly similar to Plitvice National Park in Croatia.

Dead trees never looked so good.

The good news is most the tour groups don't venture beyond the bus parking lots. Just like any national park around the world, you only need to walk a hundred meters to have the place to yourself.

The park is too high for a lot of wildlife, but it seems fish don't get altitude sickness.

One of the things that sets Jiuzhaigou apart is the shear variety of scenery packed into one valley. The Pearl Shoal is one of the most unique sights you'll ever come across: an entire river spreads itself out over a broad 45 degree slope in a thin veneer of whitewater.

Pictures don't really do it justice. Especially pictures taken on a phone since the camera Rock trashed in Duluth proved unrecoverable.

It's like the entire hill is sliding downwards in a continuous loop. Remarkable.

The whole show culminates in a giant waterfall at the bottom of the slope. Even better, the roar of the falls drowns out the roar of the incessant megaphone as another tour group spills out of the bus.

Turns out this bootleg Milford Sound is just as good as the real deal. Probably even made in the same factory.

The valley may be a national park, but the native Tibetans still call it home. Check out their ingenious water-powered prayer wheels. The idea behind a prayer wheel is that when it spins it churns out prayers. Attach a waterwheel and bingo, you've got your favorite invocation on infinite loop. It seems constant nagging works, even with the big guy.

Did we mention the water?

This is just to prove that Chinese tourists don't have a monopoly on breaking the rules. Rock really has no excuse since the No Touching signs are, by UNESCO mandate, conveniently available in Chinese, French, and English.

 

 

 

 So many spectacular sights in one day, but this one might top them all.