Jiuzhaigou

[Victor68]

On 5/10/2010 at 10:45 AM, Sungod666 said:

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.

 

I went twice in different season. It depends how you see it when you mentioned worth it or not. Scenary like that, you got to ask yourself where else can I see them in your lifetime. Someday, it maybe gone forever. 

[Davidklt]

[Davidklt]

On 10/28/2016 at 4:04 PM, Atrecord said:

wow, this place brings back memories...

mostly good ones, some not so good.

 

I went in 1996. Bought a local tour package at the hotel in Chengdu where we stayed. Those days (not sure about now), foreigners easily have to pay more than double the price of locals. So we got a cheap package that tour agencies here will charge more than double for...

 

But the bus ride and the hotels were also cheap standard lor... No JZG airport then. Bus journey there took few days, and we went past and stayed a night at 汶川, which was almost flattened in the big earthquake a few years ago. Went past some snow-filled hills too, and the boiling yak soup sold by people there (in tents) were heavenly - until you realise that it means later have to go and find toilet as drank too much liquid... 

 

The one public toilet that the bus stopped at along the way... simply unforgettable. Better not describe it... Other times, when the passengers shouted, the bus will stop by the road side, all the guys walked somewhere in front, and the women walked somewhere behind... then walk back to bus when done.

 

The photos of 静海 is still pretty much the same - 

The rest of JZG was very scenic, and I believe should still be. Just in case you need encouragement, our tour guide said that the ex-premier of China, 赵紫阳 once said when he was in office, after a visit there: 

 

桂林山水甲天下，九寨风景胜桂林！

 

The hotel was terrible. In the freezing cold weather (we went during China National Day period), hot water was periodic. Someone downstairs will shout got hot water already, and everybody will scramble to quickly bathe. I went with 2 friends, so 3 of us had to be really fast, before hot water supply stopped...

 

Food was also terrible, worse when we were with the local groups. There's where I learnt my lesson and later advised everyone going China to be smarter when ordering food. Instead of the more common dishes like 姜葱炒牛肉, better just order something like 清炒牛肉. Why？ because you will only see 姜 and 葱 and almost nothing of 牛肉. And we had no other choice anyway... 

 

The bbq of lamb, was already happening then. Tasted not bad actually. Felt sad for the lamb, which was running around a while earlier...

 

Oh, i should also mention that our bus broke down in the wilderness twice, one quick one, and the other one lasted maybe 2 hr. The driver himself had to fix something underneath before we resumed the journey, on the .... same bus. Thinking back, si bey worried. Why? Cos on the way there, we had to pass by some roads that were winding around a cliff. Took about 1-2 hr to clear that stretch. At one point, bus was crawling and stopping. Later we realised that there was erosion not long before that, and the road was not properly repaired yet, so while the roads were supposed to be dual carriage ways (one lane each direction), at the point of erosion, the road was so narrowed that one lane was barely passable, so buses from 2 directions need to take turn and slowly cross, really near the edge  ... If ask me to do it now, I will probably de-bus and go back instead of taking risk... We took a different route on the way back.

 

In the same trip, we also went to 峨眉山 and 长江三峡. For the latter, now many places already flooded and no more liao...

Times have changed and like all things in China, things move and change very fast. This is my hotel at the base of Jiuzhaigou.

Free flow of fruits and drinks at the lobby which is very comfy. Reading and tea drinking section too.

Pretty good tech too. Reception called me using Cisco style IP phone.

There is a river next to the hotel. Quite relaxing to listen to the sound of the waters at 10 deg at night.

Edited July 8, 2023 by Davidklt

[Volvobrick]

On 7/8/2023 at 1:02 PM, Davidklt said:

Times have changed and like all things in China. Things move and changes very fast. This is my hotel at the base of Jiuzhaigou.

Free flow of fruits and drinks at the lobby which is very comfy. Reading and tea drinking section too.

Pretty good tech too. Reception called me using Cisco style IP phone.

There is a river next to the hotel. Quite relaxing to listen to the sound of the waters at 10 deg at night.

Something seems missing..... 

 

 

Yeah the hordes of local tourists! 

[Davidklt]

On 7/8/2023 at 1:11 PM, Volvobrick said:

Something seems missing..... 

 

 

Yeah the hordes of local tourists! 

Cos it was off peak season when I went. It was summer. Best time to visit is actually autumn. I have deliberately avoided this. But is hot in the day.

[Jamesc]

The Mujification of the world has started

and I love it!

Mujification - enlightened harmony. 

[Atrecord]

On 7/7/2023 at 9:29 PM, Davidklt said:

Sharing photos of my recent trek at Huanglong.

I also went there en-route to JZG those years ago. I recall it was like got more of the water pools leh... but generally still the same.

[Atrecord]

On 7/8/2023 at 1:02 PM, Davidklt said:

Times have changed and like all things in China, things move and change very fast. This is my hotel at the base of Jiuzhaigou.

Free flow of fruits and drinks at the lobby which is very comfy. Reading and tea drinking section too.

Pretty good tech too. Reception called me using Cisco style IP phone.

There is a river next to the hotel. Quite relaxing to listen to the sound of the waters at 10 deg at night.

Wow, this is a vast improvement from what i saw when i was there. 
how did you go there? Did you go by plane or bus to JZG?

 

[Tohto]

Are we able to visit 九寨沟 in F & E way?

It seem like quite difficult right? As a lot of transport arrangements will be needed.

 

[Tohto]

On 7/8/2023 at 1:02 PM, Davidklt said:

Times have changed and like all things in China, things move and change very fast. This is my hotel at the base of Jiuzhaigou.

Free flow of fruits and drinks at the lobby which is very comfy. Reading and tea drinking section too.

Pretty good tech too. Reception called me using Cisco style IP phone.

There is a river next to the hotel. Quite relaxing to listen to the sound of the waters at 10 deg at night.

Wow, summer time still 10deg. Very nice.

I am in Shanghai and Hangzhou last 2 weeks, some of the day temperature 36 to 37degC.

[Lala81]

On 7/9/2023 at 2:57 PM, Tohto said:

Are we able to visit 九寨沟 in F & E way?

It seem like quite difficult right? As a lot of transport arrangements will be needed.

 

I think most of the sights are up mountainous roads. So u will be spending a lot of time in the bus etc. 

 

[jcmm]

On 7/9/2023 at 2:57 PM, Tohto said:

Are we able to visit 九寨沟 in F & E way?

It seem like quite difficult right? As a lot of transport arrangements will be needed.

 

Shouldn't be a problem. 10 yrs ago I went, reached airport, took a taxi to my hotel. To JZG n back to hotel with flag down taxi. Guess after 10 yrs, now transport should be easier. 

I was there in winter.... planning a trip during summer. 

Edited July 9, 2023 by jcmm

[Davidklt]

On 7/9/2023 at 2:46 PM, Atrecord said:

Wow, this is a vast improvement from what i saw when i was there. 
how did you go there? Did you go by plane or bus to JZG?

 

I took a plane there from Chengdu. But there is another 2 hours taxi from the airport. Added in early check-in etc, about 4 hours.

Thinking back, I should have take the bus from Chengdu. The bus from Chengdu is about 9 hours but it is actually 2x4.5 hours with an overnight stay at Xingduqiao. I should have done that because Xinduqiao is also a very photogenic place. The time savings for taking a plane is not worth it and many times more expensive.

[Davidklt]

On 7/9/2023 at 2:57 PM, Tohto said:

Are we able to visit 九寨沟 in F & E way?

It seem like quite difficult right? As a lot of transport arrangements will be needed.

 

I did it free and easy. Planned everything on my own.

By plane, need to take from Chengdu. 1 hour and another 2 hours by taxi to reach the sight seeing area. I spoke to the taxi driver. He told me he ferried 3 ladies from airport before. First flight in, last flight out. Yes. You can actually do it in a day if you want it fast. But whats the point?

By bus, 9 hours bus ride. 4 hours to Xinduqiao. Free and easy overnight and bus depart at 6 am in the morning. Reach JZG at around 10 am. 

[Davidklt]

On 7/9/2023 at 5:18 PM, jcmm said:

Shouldn't be a problem. 10 yrs ago I went, reached airport, took a taxi to my hotel. To JZG n back to hotel with flag down taxi. Guess after 10 yrs, now transport should be easier. 

I was there in winter.... planning a trip during summer. 

Still the same...plenty of taxis there.

I was there last week. Its summer and hot. I got sunburned, but nonetheless, the scenery is still breathtaking.

[Tohto]

On 7/9/2023 at 5:45 PM, Davidklt said:

I did it free and easy. Planned everything on my own.

By plane, need to take from Chengdu. 1 hour and another 2 hours by taxi to reach the sight seeing area. I spoke to the taxi driver. He told me he ferried 3 ladies from airport before. First flight in, last flight out. Yes. You can actually do it in a day if you want it fast. But whats the point?

By bus, 9 hours bus ride. 4 hours to Xinduqiao. Free and easy overnight and bus depart at 6 am in the morning. Reach JZG at around 10 am. 

Great.. can keep open for future plan.

I just return back from Shanghai and Hangzhou for 2 weeks. It is impossible to flag a taxi on the street already.

Very few on the street and most need booking. 

Like here, people are taking didi which is our Grab. But I don't have a local phone number so not able to registered. 

Anyway, in Shanghai traveling by train is the most easy and fastest. No need to worry of traffic jammed.

Just download the Baidu map will do.

Edited July 9, 2023 by Tohto

[Davidklt]

On 7/9/2023 at 6:29 PM, Tohto said:

Great.. can keep open for future plan.

I just return back from Shanghai and Hangzhou for 2 weeks. It is impossible to flag a taxi on the street already.

Very few on the street and most need booking. 

Like here, people are taking didi which is our Grab. But I don't have a local phone number so not able to registered. 

Anyway, in Shanghai traveling by train is the most easy and fastest. No need to worry of traffic jammed.

Just download the Baidu map will do.

I used Didi throughout my stay China in 4 cities. I registered with my SG number. No issues.

[Tohto]

On 7/9/2023 at 7:05 PM, Davidklt said:

I used Didi throughout my stay China in 4 cities. I registered with my SG number. No issues.

Is the driver able to call back to confirm pick up location?