Hunan (湖南) and Sichuan (四川) are provinces of China in south-central and
southwestern China. Hunan literally means "south of the lake". The lake
that is referred to is Dongting Lake (洞庭湖), a lake in the northeast of the
province. Hunan is known as Xiāng (湘), after the Xiang River (湘江), which
runs from south to north through Hunan and forms part of the largest drainage
system for the province. It is commonly believed that the name
Sichuan means "four rivers", four of the province's major rivers: the Jialing
(嘉陵江), Jinsha (金沙江), Min (岷江), and Tuo (沱江). The area of modern
Sichuan (including the now separated Chongqing Municipality) was known as Ba-Shu
(巴蜀), in reference to the ancient state of Ba (巴) and the ancient kingdom of Shu
(蜀). Shu continued to be used to refer to the Sichuan region all through its
history.
Getting there ...
We joined a Hunan/Sichuan tour (湘川風情) by
Signet Tours because several Woanyu's
friends invited us to travel together with the tour group. This was the
first time we joined this kind of group tour and we were both excited and
nervous with the different travel styles. Since we just went to
Shanghai and
Nanjing with my parents in
September, Woanyu stayed in Taiwan after that trip while I flew back to US alone
to work for 2 weeks, and flew to Taiwan again on 10/10 and met with Woanyu at
the TPE airport on 10/12 morning to fly together to Changsha (長沙), Hunan to
begin our Hunan/Sichuan journey. While I was waiting for Woanyu at the TPE
airport, I finally got a chance to go to the observation deck (open at 6:30AM)
to see some airplanes :-)
Day 2 (10/13) ...
- Yuelu Academy (嶽麓書院)
The Yuelu Academy is on the east side of Yuelu
Mountain in Changsha, Hunan province, on the west bank of the Xiang River.
As one of the four most prestigious academies over the last 1000 years in
China, Yuelu Academy has been a famous institution of higher learning as
well as a center of academic activities and cultures since it was formally
set up during the Northern Song Dynasty. The academy was converted into the
Hunan Institute of Higher Learning in 1903. It was later renamed Hunan
Normal College, Hunan Public Polytechnic School, and finally Hunan
University in 1926. Yuelu Academy was once a center of Confucian learning in
China. This was our first tourist stop for the trip, and we already
started to feel the crowds in China...
We drove to south of the city for lunch after visiting
the Yuelu Academy. It's a fish place (not good for me) with an
interesting name (pronounced the same way as Woanyu's name).
- Mawangdui (馬王堆), Hunan Museum
Mawangdui ('King Ma's Mound') is an
archaeological site located in Changsha. The site consists of two
saddle-shaped hills and contained the tombs of three people from the
Changsha Kingdom during the western Han dynasty (206 BC – 9 AD): the
Chancellor Li Cang (利蒼), his wife Xin Zhui (辛追), and a male believed to have
been their son. It was called "King Ma's Mound" possibly because it
was (erroneously) thought to be the tomb of Ma Yin (853–930), a ruler of the
Chu kingdom during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The
site was excavated from 1972 to 1974. Most of the artifacts from Mawangdui
are displayed at the Hunan Provincial Museum, including lacquered wine-bowls
and cosmetic boxes, which showcased the craftsmanship of the region, and the
famous silk funeral banners; these T-shape banners depicted the Chinese
abstraction of the cosmos and the afterlife at the time of the western Han
dynasty. Xin Zhui's mummified body was so well-preserved that
researchers were able to perform an autopsy on her body, which showed that
she probably died of a heart attack.
Here is the reason why
the body was so well-preserved (no photo is allowed for the body).
- Xiang River (湘江) at Night
Our hotel was right on the bank of the
Xiang River. It's a nice to walk along the river (with many street
vendors) after dinner at night.
Day 3 (10/14) ...
- High Speed Train to Zhangjiajie (張家界)
We had a High Speed Train from
Changsha to Zhangjiajie West (10:04AM -- 12:06PM). After
arriving at Zhangjiajie, we drove south to a tourist plaza next to the "72
qilou" (七十二奇楼 "72 Strange Buildings") to have a lunch. Although we
were only 10-minute away from the famous Tianmen Mountain Cableway (天門山), we
did not get the chance to visit the place even we could see the Tianmen from
the parking lot. Here was where I think the itinerary could be
improved: getting an earlier train to Zhangjiajie and spent less time
in lunch, then we could have sufficient time to explore the Tianmen
Mountain.
- Huangshizhai (黄石寨, Yellowstone Village), Zhangjiajie (張家界) National
Forest Park (map)
After lunch we drove
north to Huangshizhai, a huge mountain land in the middle part of
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park.
In 1982, Zhangjiajie was recognized as
China's first national forest park with an area of 48.1 km2 (11,900 acres).
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is part of a much larger 397.5 km2 (153.5
sq mi) Wulingyuan Scenic Area (武陵源). In 1992, Wulingyuan was officially
recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The most notable
geographic features of the park are the pillar-like formations that are seen
throughout the park. Huangshizhai is the highest area in the park and
it reaches a height of 3,450 feet (1,050 m) and is accessible via cable car.
It was said that Huangshi Gong (黄石公) rescued Zhang Liang (张良, an important
politician/adviser in West Han Dynasty) here when Zhang Liang was traveling
around after he quit his official role in the court. As the essence of
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park Scenic Area, Huangshizhai possesses quite
concentrated attractions.
Day 4 (10/15) ...
- Zhangjiajie Neodalle Hotel (张家界纳百利)
-
Yuanjiajie (袁家界), Zhangjiajie National Forest Park
We went to the
Yuanjiajie area in the morning and took the Bailong Elevator (百龍天梯), the
world's tallest outdoor elevator which ascends 326m (1070 ft) in 88 seconds.
As the most popular scenic area in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park,
Yuanjiajie boasts the best natural scenery. Yuanjiajie is where
Hallelujah Mountain in Avatar movie shot the scene.
Hallelujah Mountain
was originally called the South Pillar of Heaven (南天一柱, also known as the
Pillar between Heaven and Earth, 乾坤柱). It rises 150 meters up from the
valley beneath to stand high up to the sky. Avatar movie has turned
this place into a floating mountain within the planet Pandora, making this
mountain in Yuanjiajie a world renowned must see.
- Tianzi Mountain
(天子山) & Ten-Mile Gallery (十里画廊)
After another long lunch at a
restaurant called "Avatar" (阿凡達餐廳) in the Yuanjiajie scenic area, we took
the chartered bus for more than an hour to take the cable car at the Tianzi
Mountain (天子山). Although the view from the cable car was nice, I don't
think this itinerary was very ideal for me: 1) spent too much time in
lunch (there was some fast food next door), 2) spent an hour just to drive
to the top of Tianzi Mountain (天子山) only for taking a cable car ride, 3) did
not have any time to explore the panoramic views around the Tianzi Mountain
after an hour of bus ride. In fact, the lower Tianzi Mountain
cable car station was not that far from Bailong Elevator.
After getting off the cable car at the lower Tianzi
Mountain cable car station, we took a short bus ride to the Ten-Mile Gallery
(十里画廊). The Ten-Mile Gallery of Suoxi (索溪) Valley Nature Reserve is
located at the base of Tianzi Mountain. The key highlights of Ten Mile
Gallery are more than one hundred of objects on both sides of the canyon which
are formed naturally by the mountains and rocks. They have different kinds of
shapes, some look like human beings, some look like animals, or you can use your
imagination to find how they look like. We took the "mini train" up
to the gorge, and had a leisure walk (only ~ 2km) back to the entrance while
enjoying using our imagination to "see" the mountain formations around us.
- Flight to Chengdu (成都)
After dinner at a fancy
local restaurant, we had a late night flight from Zhangjiajie to Chengdu
(10:20PM -- 11:55PM). It was already passed midnight when we checked
in the airport hotel in Chengdu.
Day 5 (10/16) ...
- Leshan (樂山)
Since we arrived late yesterday, we did not have an early
start this morning until ~10AM. We drove south from Chengdu to Leshan
to see the famous Leshan Giant Buddha (樂山大佛). It is a 71-metre (233
ft) tall stone statue, built between 713 and 803 (during the Tang dynasty).
It is carved out of a cliff face of Cretaceous red bed sandstones that lies
at the confluence of the Min River (岷江), Qingyi River (青衣江) and Dadu River
(大渡河) in the southern part of Sichuan. Construction started in
723 AD, led by a Chinese Buddhist monk named Hai Tong (海通和尚). He believed
that Maitreya Buddha would calm the turbulent waters that constantly plagued
the shipping vessels traveling down the river. We had a boat ride
(very crowded) to view the Buddha from the river. Although the view
was good from the boat, it would be good if we had a chance to climb the
mountain around the Buddha to have a closer view.
Day 6 (10/17) ...
- Hongzhushan Hotel (紅珠山賓館)
We
stayed at the Hongzhushan Hotel for 2 nights. It's situated at the
foot of the Emei Mountain. Combing the unparalleled natural
environments of mountains and lakes with rich history, Hongzhushan Hotel is
one of the top vacation hotels in China. We stayed in the new building
#7. The oriental cultural artistic design blends natural beauty and
integrates tea, Zen, bamboo and other elements to fully demonstrate the
interdependence of mountains and rivers. The in-suite hot spring spa
tub (on the balcony with very good privacy) is a nice touch to the room.
We woke up early and took a leisure walk around the lake to enjoy a perfect
morning.
- Emei Mountain (峨眉山)
Emei Mountain is one of the Four Sacred Mountains
of Buddhism in China (Wutai 五台山, Emei 峨眉山, Jiuhua 九華山, Putuo 普陀山). At
3,099-metre-tall (10,167 ft), Emei is the highest of the four mountains.
The site has seventy-six Buddhist monasteries of the Ming and Qing
dynasties, most of them located near the mountain top. We took the
cable car to the Jinding (金頂), a main peak of Emei at elevation 3,077 meters
(10,095 ft). It is also a common name for the Buddhist Huazang
Temple (華藏寺) built on the summit. The Huazang Temple was originally built in
1377 during the Ming dynasty, but has been rebuilt multiple times because of
fire. The most recent incident happened in 1972, during the Cultural
Revolution. In 2004, as part of the Jinding "Revival and
Renovation Plan" by the Mt. Emei Buddhist Association, the Huazang Temple
was rebuilt along with a 48-meter-tall stupa of the "Ten-faced Puxian
Bodhisattva" (Samantabhadra). The rebuilt temple was officially opened on 18
June 2006.
We had a perfect weather to visit Emei today (although it was
extremely crowded). The majestic Gonggar Mountain (貢嘎山) and the
dynamic changing of the sea of cloud had made the most dramatic background
for the Emei Jinding.
After back to the Hongzhushan Hotel in the evening,
Woanyu and I decided to skip the group dinner. We had a simple but
delicious dinner at the hotel restaurant (we
were the only guest!) and had more time to enjoy the hot spring spa in our
room :-)
Day 7 (10/18) ...
-
Hongzhushan Hotel (紅珠山賓館)
We had a tour to visit Chiang Kai-shek's
residence in Hongzhushan in the morning. The residence was built in
1935. It's a villa hidden in the forest with the classic decor of
1930's.
- Fuhu Temple (伏虎寺)
After lunch, we walked to the nearby Fuhu Temple to
have a good afternoon tea and tea snacks. The temple was first built
during the Tang dynasty. During the Song dynasty, the temple was expanded.
At the beginning of the Qing dynasty (c. 1644), the temple was destroyed.
Starting in 1651, a group of disciples rebuilt the temple over approximately
twenty years. The current temple has thirteen halls and approximately 20,000
square meters.
- High Speed Train to Huanglong Jiuzhai (黃龍九寨)
We took
a High Speed
Train from Emei Station to Huanglong Jiuzhai Station in the evening (5:28PM
-- 8:42PM) and had a dinner box
on the train. I would say the bento box in Taiwan Railway is much
better than in China :-)
The High Speed Train was just open to
Huanglong/Jiuzhaigou in August 2024 (about 1.5 months ago). It was a
much more convenient and reliable way to travel to Jiuzhaigou. But
the station was so crowded
when a full train of passengers were trying to get out of the station at the
same time. 15 minutes later (when we all had the restroom break),
the station was empty again.
Day 8 (10/19) ...
- Huanglong (黃龍)
Huanglong ('yellow dragon') is a scenic and historic
interest area in the northwest part of Sichuan. This area is known for
its colorful travertine pools formed by calcite deposits, especially in
Huanglonggou (黃龍溝 Yellow Dragon Gully), as well as diverse forest
ecosystems, snow-capped peaks, waterfalls and hot springs. Huanglong
was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1992.
We took the cable
car (the station was just right across the road from our hotel in Huanglong)
up to the mountain. Since the highest elevation was about 3570m, many
people were worry about high-altitude sickness. When we reached to the
top cable car station, we were welcome by fresh floating snow.
Most of our group only visited the top area (Huanglong
Ancient Temple 黃龍古寺 and Five-Colored Pond 五彩池) and took the cable car back down.
We decided to walk down along the Huanglong Valley (~ 4 km) to visit more scenic
spots (map). The views
were so amazing and those travertine pools were so colorful (even on a cloudy
day) that I think this part was the real highlight of Huanglong. However,
the allocated 2-hour time for us to walk down was not sufficient at all.
After passing Golden Sand Pavement (金沙鋪地, about 2/3 down), we had to start
to run in order to make back to the hotel to have the lunch with the group
at 1:30PM. Again I think the lunch arrangement could be better or more
flexible :-(
After lunch, we moved from Huanglong to Jiuzhaigou (about
2 hours of driving).
Day 9 (10/20) ...
Jiuzhaigou (九寨溝) was inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1992 and
a World Biosphere Reserve in 1997. The Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and
Historic Interest Area is a reserve of exceptional natural beauty with
spectacular jagged alpine mountains soaring above coniferous forest around a
fairyland landscape of crystal clear, strange-coloured blue, green and purplish
pools, lakes, waterfalls, limestone terraces, caves and other beautiful
features. The remote region was inhabited by various Tibetan and Qiang
(羌族) peoples for centuries. Jiuzhaigou ("Nine Settlement Valley") takes its name
from the nine Tibetan settlements along its length. Until 1975 this
inaccessible area was little known. Extensive logging took place until
1979, when the Chinese government banned such activity and made the area a
national park in 1982.
The park is a Y-shaped
valley (with North pointing downward) with three main sections: the Zechawa
(則查窪溝), Rize (日則溝) and Shuzheng valleys (樹正溝).
- Nuorilang Falls (諾日朗瀑布)
The falls, near the junction of the valleys,
are 20 m high and 320 m wide. They are reportedly the widest highland
waterfall in China, the widest travertine-topped waterfall in the world, and
one of the symbols of Jiuzhaigou.
- Long Lake (長海), Zechawa (則查窪溝)
Long Lake is crescent-shaped and is
the highest, largest and deepest lake in Jiuzhaigou, measuring 7.5 km in
length and up to 103 m in depth. It reportedly has no outgoing waterways,
getting its water from snowmelt and losing it from seepage.
- Five-Color Pond (五彩池), Zechawa (則查窪溝)
Five-Color Pond is one of the
smallest bodies of water in Jiuzhaigou lakes. Despite its very modest
dimensions and depth, it has a richly colored underwater landscape with some
of the brightest and clearest waters in the area, which makes it one of the
most crowded spots in Jiuzhaigou.
- Mirror Lake (鏡海), Rize (日則溝)
Mirror Lake (the 3rd largest in
Jiuzhaigou) is another quiet lake casting beautiful reflections of the
surroundings when the water is calm. I think we got one of such calm
moments when we were there.
- Rhinoceros Lake (犀牛海), Shuzheng (樹正溝)
As the second largest lake,
Rhinoceros Lake is about 2.2 km long, and 17 meters depth, extending to
200,000 square meters. You can view it changing into different green in the
different areas. The story goes that in olden days, a lama came here on a
rhinoceros. He was seriously ill and was on the verge of death. The
rhinoceros took the lama to the lake, and after the lama drank some
water of the lake, he recovered unexpectedly! Then the lama decided to leave
the rhinoceros at the lake as an appreciation (or offering) to the lake
(there might be many different versions of this story...).
- Tiger Lake (老虎海), Shuzheng (樹正溝)
- Shuzheng (樹正溝)
The Shuzheng Valley is the northern (main) branch of
Jiuzhaigou. Shuzheng Waterfall is the most representative attraction
in Shuzheng Valley. It's 72 meters wide and 25 meters high. The lakes
upstream, among the shoals and stepping stones, make the waterfall more
magnificent. Shuzheng Lakes (樹正群海) are stepped series of respectively
18 and 19 ribbon lakes formed by the passage of glaciers, then naturally
dammed.
- Arrow Bamboo Lake (箭竹海), Rize (日則溝)
Scores of tall bamboo canes, the
favorite food of giant pandas, grow around Arrow Bamboo Lake. The
beautiful waterfalls flow through the bank of the lake and forests.
- Five Flower Lake (五花海), Rize (日則溝)
Five Flowers Lake is named after
the flamboyant algae in the water. With colors of goose yellow, black green,
russet brown, magenta, and emerald green, these lakes are like a tapestry of
multicolored brocade. Five Flower Lake is a shallow lake whose bottom
is criss-crossed by ancient fallen tree trunks.
- Pearl Beach (珍珠灘), Rize (日則溝)
Pearl Beach is a wide, gently sloping
area of active calcareous tufa deposition covered in a thin sheet of flowing
water (the ripples or bubbles of water look like shining pearls). It empties
into the famous Pearl Beach Waterfalls (珍珠灘瀑布), where the shoal drops 28 m
in a 310-metre-wide broad curtain of water. A scene of the television
adaptation of the famous Chinese ancient novel "Journey to the West" (西遊記)
was filmed there
Day 10 (10/21) ...
- High Speed Train to Chengdu (成都)
It's time to go back to city.
We took a High Speed Train back to Chengdu at about noon (12:03PM --
2:21PM). There are actually 3 different train stations in
Huanglong/Jiuzhaigou region (Huangshengguan, Songpan, Huanglong Jiuzhai).
Our train departed from Huangshengguan, which was different from the
Huanglong Jiuzhai station where we arrived 3 days ago. We had a simple
sandwich lunch box (prepared by the hotel) on the train. I think it's
the best lunch I had for this trip :-)
- Kuan Zhai Xiang Zi (寬窄巷子)
After a short break in the hotel in
Chengdu, we headed to a tourist spot "Kuan Zhai Xiang Zi" (Wide-Narrow
Alley) for some sightseeing/shopping.
Chengdu is the capital city of the
Sichuan Province. With a population of 20,937,757 at the 2020 census, it is
the fourth most populous city in China, and it is the only city with a
population of over 20 million apart from direct-administered municipalities.
Founded by the Kingdom of Shu (蜀) in 4th century BC, Chengdu is unique as
the only major Chinese settlement that has maintained its name unchanged
throughout the imperial, republican, and communist eras for more than two
thousand years.
- Shu Feng Ya Yun (蜀風雅韵)
After a hotpot dinner, we went to Shu Feng Ya
Yun (蜀風雅韵), a Sichuan Opera House for some traditional Chinese/Sichuan
opera, Chinese music performance, and famous Sichuan Bian Lian (變臉, changing
faces) show. Even we had front row seats, we still could not see how
they changed their face masks so quickly (video,
video).
Day 11 (10/22) ...
- Dujiangyan (都江堰)
The Dujiangyan is an ancient irrigation system.
Originally constructed around 256 BC by the State of Qin by Li Bing (李冰) as
an irrigation and flood control project, it is still in use today.
During the Warring States period, people who lived in the area of the Min
River (岷江) were plagued by annual flooding. Li Bing investigated the
problem and discovered that the river was swelled by fast flowing spring
melt-water from the local mountains that burst the banks when it reached the
slow moving and heavily silted stretch below. Instead of building a
dam, an artificial levee was constructed to redirect a portion of the
river's flow and then to cut a channel through Mount Yulei to discharge the
excess water upon the dry Chengdu Plain beyond. After the system was
finished, no more floods occurred. The irrigation made Sichuan the most
productive agricultural region in China for a time. In 2000,
Dujiangyan became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Wuhou Shrine (武侯祠)
Wuhou Shrine was built in 223 A.D as a temple to
commemorate Liu Bei (劉備, the founding emperor of Shu Han, one of the Three
Kingdoms of China) and his prime minister Zhuge Liang (諸葛亮). It is the
only combined memorial temple for both a king and his minister in China.
The present Wuhou Memorial Temple was rebuilt in 1672 during Qing Dynasty.
- Jinli Street (錦里)
Jinli Old Street is the biggest traditional street
in Chengdu and is right next to the Wuhou Shrine. Jinli is a place of
local food and shops and a good place to wonder around if you have time.
It was so crowded that we only took a few pictures at the gate of the
street.
Day 12 (10/23) ...
- Chengdu Research Base of Giant
Panda Breeding (成都大熊猫繁育研究基地)
The giant panda is no doubt the most
popular animal from China. The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca),
also known as the panda bear or simply panda, is a bear species endemic to
China. The giant panda lives exclusively in six montane regions in
Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces in China at elevations of up to 3,000 m
(9,800 ft). As few as 1,864 giant pandas live in their native
habitat, while another 600 pandas live in zoos and breeding centers around
the world.
Chengdu Panda Base was founded in 1987. It started with 6
giant pandas that were rescued from the wild. Over the past three
decades, the Panda Base, thanks to its innovative research, has addressed
key technical problems in feeding and management, reproduction and cub
rearing, disease prevention and control, and population genetic management
of giant pandas and established the largest ex-situ conserved population of
captive giant pandas in the world, which now sits at over 244.
- Sanxingdui (三星堆)
Sanxingdui is an
archaeological site and a major Bronze Age culture in modern Guanghan,
Sichuan, China. Largely discovered in 1986, following a preliminary
finding in 1927 (when a farmer stumbled across objects while digging an
irrigation ditch), many Chinese archaeologists have identified the
Sanxingdui culture to be part of the ancient kingdom of Shu (古蜀), linking
the artifacts found at the site to its early and legendary kings.
Archaeologists from the Sanxingdui Museum say the city was established some
4,800 to 2,800 years ago, until it was abandoned around 800 BC for unknown
reasons. This discovery in Sanxingdui has become one of the most
important archaeological finds of the 20th century and has forced scholars
to rewrite early Chinese history. The Shu kingdom, which emerged in
the Sichuan basin during the Bronze Age, is believed to have developed
independently of the Yellow River Valley societies traditionally considered
the cradle of Chinese civilization.
There are a few most important relics
in the museum: Bronze Standing Figure
(青铜大立人像), Gold Staff (金杖),
Bronze Sacred Tree (青铜神树),
Jade Zhang (祭山玉璋), etc.
They are listed as the national treasure class one and will not be allowed
to go overseas in any exhibition. The collection in Sanxingdui museum
was really amazing and it was the biggest surprise to me for this entire
trip.
- Shu Yan Fu (蜀宴赋)
Shu Yan Fu is an immersive dinner experience
combining fine dining with beautiful performances. It was a perfect
event to conclude our Hunan/Sichuan trip.
Day 13 (10/24), Going Home ...
We had a flight at about noon from Chengdu to Taipei (with a transfer in
Fuzhou). My original plan was to go back to Taiwan to stay with my parents
for 4 days and returned to US after the weekend. However, I got a mild
cold and occasional cough, and we were worry we may be contagious and brought
the cold to my parents, so I booked a hotel (instead of staying home with my
parents) for 2 nights as a temporary solution. After talking with my
parents a few times, we decided to fly back to US 2 days earlier so we did not
even have a chance to meet with my parents and families this time :-(
Although traveling with a group tour was a very different experience from
what we usually did as independent travelers (that I usually planned
everything), it was overall a very positive experience this time (since it was a high-end
expensive tour :-)). I would like to thank our guide Clara who
helped everyone in everything and set a high bar for any guide I may have in
the future. It does have some pros (good logistic especially in China) and cons
(less flexibility and non-ideal itinerary for me in a few cases), but I think it
would be a very good choice for most people. For us, I think I will start
to plan our next trip by ourselves and think about group tours later when we are
older :-)
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