Jiuzhaigou

[KoolBlue]

My family is planning a short trip to Jiuzhaigou during our 2 week stay in Shanghai.

 

Any bros been there before? Need some advice from someone who's been there. Need to know info about hotel, getting around, altitude, climate, etc.

[Gobbler]

九寨沟, i tot it is in Sichuan province of China?

[Piyopico]

Jiuzhaigou in Sichuan leh. Nowhere near Shanghai????

 

BTW, the area limit the number of visitors everyday with a permit ticket. Better make sure you go during off peak. I suggest you go with a tour, not the best place to go alone.

 

The area is worth your while, most beautiful lakes and streams plus mountain and foliage I have ever seen in my life. After seeing this place I felt Taiwan cannot compare.

 

Must Go!!!

 

 

 

[Acieed]

If you're in Shanghai, usually a short trip would be somewhere like Suzhou, Hangzhou, where it is 1 to 2 hours commute in car or train. Jiuzhaigou is in Sichuan, about 2-hour flight to Chengdu then commute by car another 4-5 hours （450km from Chengdu). But not impossible if you got 2 weeks and 1 week can be in Sichuan.

Edited May 9, 2010 by Acieed

[Siewss]

My family is planning a short trip to Jiuzhaigou during our 2 week stay in Shanghai.

 

Any bros been there before? Need some advice from someone who's been there. Need to know info about hotel, getting around, altitude, climate, etc.

 

 

I'll be going in mid June. Temperature's around 15~20 degC during the day, and drops to around 10 degC during the night. You can either take a bus (10 hrs) or fly (1 hr) from Chengdu. Peak season is in July.

 

Lodging wise, there are 20,000 rooms around Jiuzhaigou, so no worries about shortage. If you want comfort and brand, go for Sheraton. I'm planning for a home-stay with a Tibetian family.

 

 

[Watwheels]

My parents have been there so should be no problem. What I told my parents is to bring extra clothing, just in case. One thing about mountain trekking is that the winds could be unpredictable, temperature could just drop and shrink your balls. This is the part where you can afford to be kiasu. The route up could be quite treacherous cos the roads are narrow and there are risk of landslides.

 

While you are at Shanghai do try out their local cold dishes. I remember trying them at a restaurant near Chen Wang Miao. Not say very delicious or filling but just tasting for the experience. Should be very refreshing during this hot weather. Shanghai basically nothing much to see or buy cos standard of living there is quite high. But nearby places like the scenic Zhong Shan Ling(where Sun Yet Sen was buried) and Nanjing(Nanjing Great Massacre Museum), IMO they are worth going. They are around 4 hours car journey away from Shanghai.

Edited May 10, 2010 by Watwheels

[Doosan]

ytrday evening jz watched the documentary fr S*cable, oooooooooh, wat a paradise.

 

there were so many streams around tat areas, as per introduction, 1 wud take years to view the actual beauty of tis shangri-la

[Anakin]

this is one of the places i must go before i die ...

[Sungod666]

Jiuzhaigou is a UNESCO site, it is very far from Shanghai. Usually you need to get to chengdu or chongqing, than take a short flight to Jiuzhaigou airport. After which, it is a 90 min bus ride to the hotel or the site. Please only stay at the Sheraton. it is the only decent hotel and prices are expensive. THe rest of the so called 4 star hotel simply dont hack it.

 

As for the attraction itself, it is amazing but you will need to bear with the hordes of mainland tourist who swamped the place like a plague. Never go on october, the best time would be March-April where it is less crowded and temperature cool.

The food in the area is terrible because the altitude makes water boil in 80 deg so a lot of cooking is hampered plus ingredients are scarce due to the transport cost. The only way to cook properly is to use high pressure cooking which not all hotel pratice.

 

As for the altitude sickness, please beware, lots of tourist had died on the site or suffered near death due to their inability to survive on the altitude. Not a nice place to bring children. and did i mention you will be hustle contantly along the way. They will bring you to eat some roast lamb that is exorbitant, visit herbal centre, crystal centre and so on. All priced exorbitantly. There is no such thing as free and easy. you need to join a tour group to move around the area and you are the lamb on their bus...:-)

 

So my advice is to skip it because to sum it up, jiuzhaigou is simply a mountain with a few pools of colourful water. fill up your bahtub and throw in different colour dye and you can have your own jiuzhaigou. THe hassle of visiting is not worth it.

 

[Anakin]

from the sound of it, at least u did it once already ... should seriously consider the off-peak season then ...

[KoolBlue]

Thanks for all the advice.

 

I will be actually staying in Shanghai with my bro-in-law for 2 weeks. Now, my wife is thinking that we should make a short trip to Jiuzhaigou since we'll be in Shanghai. Think there are now direct flights from Shanghai to Jiuzhaigou. This means that we can avoid the 10hrs bus journey from Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou.

 

I'm the adventurous type, so I've got no probs with the cold weather, climbing and hiking. More concerned for my parents-in-law who will be joining us. We're now trying to research and find out if it's worth the trip considering that we will be having old folks in tow. I'd have no prob going if it's just me and my wife only.

 

We've already got plans to also visit Suzhou and Hangzhou on other days.

[Spanly]

Just back recently from a package tour to Jiuzhaigou. October is the best time to visit but it came with the price of being the peak & most crowded period as well… have to jostle with the many local & foreign visitors.

 

I heard from our guide that the National Park capped the max to 41k visitors’ tickets daily. On our day of visit, our guide told us that there’s already 20k+ visitors while we’re on our way from our hotel to the park… and that was even before 8:30am. The entrance was jam pack with people… now we know what’s call people mountain people sea . Our guide booked for our group a chartered shuttle bus which will bring us around the park (is huge & impossible to cover by foot)… else again will have to fight with the rest of the crowd for the buses provided by the park.

 

The views are indeed breath-taking & really a highlight of our trip.

 

Would not recommend to people with health issues such as heart problem or high blood pressure as the area is on high attitude and some may experience attitude sickness. There’s also fair amount of walking required so too small kids or elderly with walking difficulties may find it challenging.

 

Some photos to share:

[Lala81]

Haha i know how hard u have to struggle to get a shot with no people inside lol.

Actually beside the camera got few hundred to thousand + people lol 

 

Just back recently from a package tour to Jiuzhaigou. October is the best time to visit but it came with the price of being the peak & most crowded period as well… have to jostle with the many local & foreign visitors.

 

I heard from our guide that the National Park capped the max to 41k visitors’ tickets daily. On our day of visit, our guide told us that there’s already 20k+ visitors while we’re on our way from our hotel to the park… and that was even before 8:30am. The entrance was jam pack with people… now we know what’s call people mountain people sea . Our guide booked for our group a chartered shuttle bus which will bring us around the park (is huge & impossible to cover by foot)… else again will have to fight with the rest of the crowd for the buses provided by the park.

 

The views are indeed breath-taking & really a highlight of our trip.

 

Would not recommend to people with health issues such as heart problem or high blood pressure as the area is on high attitude and some may experience attitude sickness. There’s also fair amount of walking required so too small kids or elderly with walking difficulties may find it challenging.

 

Some photos to share:

 

[Spanly]

Haha i know how hard u have to struggle to get a shot with no people inside lol.

Actually beside the camera got few hundred to thousand + people lol 

You're spot on... all those people with their selfie sticks... those local aunties sure like to bai pattern man; pattern here & there, taking own sweet time to have their photos taken... make me almost wanna puke the way they posed 

Here...shots with lots of pple...

[Lala81]

You're spot on... all those people with their selfie sticks... those local aunties sure like to bai pattern man; pattern here & there, taking own sweet time to have their photos taken... make me almost wanna puke the way they posed 

Here...shots with lots of pple...

20161015_084829_HDR.jpg20161015_150034_HDR.jpg

 

Have to say the mirror lake is very clear. Better than the one in milford sound when i was there.

[Kangadrool]

人间天堂。

[Davidklt]

I was in Chengdu 2 weeks ago. Wanted to make a quick trip to Jiazaigou too. The package from Chengdu is about RMB3000 for 3 days, 2 nights. 45 mins flight. This is the best time to go now as the scenery is the best. Thats why the tour agencies jacked up the prices. If you go in non-peak periods, you can get the package easily for half the price.

 

In the end, I had to go to Xi An on a short notice so I aborted the idea. But I went to the Terracotta warriors site though. 90 mins drive from the city.

 

That is good too. 

[Victor68]

went there more than 10 years ago and went again last month. other than people, it is very scenic. hope they preserve this place for generations to come.

 

china need to improve on 2 key areas. 1st is the exorbitant price to book the vip bus. if they are allowing so many people in, thry need to address this. maybe elect trams will help

 

2nd is the only food centre. of course you could also eat at the restuarants.

 

both issues are again related to people. something china just has too many