Journey to the West
Xiannairi Mountain, Yading
Sichuan, the well-known home of giant pandas, opera, and spice, is a place that left a lasting impression from my first visit to Chengdu late last year. The food, the people, the scenery, everything about the place had a different feeling to my experiences in China up to that point. And since that visit, I’d been longing to return and explore more of what the region had to offer.
I could have easily accepted an entire trip just to Chengdu again. Still, despite the fact the food, the people, and the surroundings were all calling me back there, the intention this time was to head further afield and explore one of the most beautiful spots this planet has to offer. A place that is often regarded as the only ‘real China’ that is left - the Tibetan plateau.
Stretching a momentousness 2.5 million square kilometres and spreading over multiple regions, tackling the tiniest corner of the plateau in Western Sichuan wasn't even going to scratch the surface, but it was worth a try.
Chengdu 成都
Touchdown was a bit of a contrast compared to the dry, sunny day that greeted me when I landed here last winter. This time it’s rain and a lot of it. But still, I was thankful for being out of the 40+ degree heat of Shenzhen and looking forward to discovering more of the secrets this place had to offer. Wet shoes were a small price to pay, and the rain was doing me the favour of keeping Chengdu from becoming the furnace it has the potential to be during July and August. Spending a few days here again reminded me how much of a great place it really is.
With only a short amount of time to spend in the city before journeying to the west, it was a busy few days eating hotpot, meeting friends, walking around the New Century Global Center, visiting the Leshan Giant Buddha, and of course, finding time to drop into the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding again. Nonetheless, after soaking up the delights of Chengdu once again, it was time to move on.
Giant Buddha, Leshan
Breakfast at the giant panda research centre
Kangding 康定
A 4-hour drive away from Chengdu takes you to a whole new world. The trip to Kangding is a pleasant enough drive, mainly through tunnels interspersed with brief glimpses of wonder as mountain peaks brush clouds and rivers carve valleys into the landscapes below. The moment we arrived in Kangding, it was apparent we were entering a different part of China altogether. A sapphire river rushing through the centre of the town, fresh air, mountains on either side, buildings that felt old, characterful, almost welcoming in fact. My kind of place.
A day and a half here passed quickly, but it was enough time to squeeze in a few visits to places around the town as well as rack up almost 40,000 steps of exploration and fuel the fire of excitement for what was to come. A quiet sunset over mountains viewed from inside the grounds of Nanwu Temple highlighted the end of the first day and is certainly up there as one of the most peaceful places I’ve been for a while. Day 2 followed with some hiking around the Mugetso Scenic Area, famous for its high-altitude lakes, as well as some adventures on the cable car above the town itself and a bit more wandering around. Both days were fueled by dropping into random noodle shops and restaurants and taking advantage of the delicious local food.
Kangding
Daocheng 稻城
The early bird catches the worm, and usually, that's what I’m aiming to photograph when I’m out at 6 am. But in this case, the hope was to try and avoid as much traffic as possible. Much of the journey from Kangding to Daocheng is made up of Route 318, essentially China’s own Route 66, stretching from Shanghai in the East to Zhangmu in the West and, as such, a very popular summer road trip. Now, for someone from the UK, the prospect of a 10-hour drive is not ideal. Drive in one general direction for ten straight hours from anywhere in the UK, and you’re in the ocean. Drive 10 hours from where I live, and you can be halfway across Europe. It’s safe to say I wasn’t looking forward to this part of the journey at all. And perhaps if the trip had been anywhere else, I would have hated it as much as I anticipated I would, but that was significantly underestimating the landscape. Winding up mountain roads and sauntering down the other side, grassland plateaus for miles to see, sunshine, mist, clouds, climbing up and over 4000m and all the way back down to 2000m. There was something to see on every inch of the drive, and for almost 10 hours straight, I simply stared out the window in awe of everything that passed by and probably enjoyed the ride more than anyone else did.
Stops were brief but full of delightful encounters with locals, all keen to ask questions and chat, which my poor Chinese thankfully just about made it through. There’s something about people in small towns and villages that just exudes a kind and welcoming nature. The locals always have time for you, always interested in meeting a new face, a curious, genuine interest, and the simple pleasure of talking to a stranger that’s just taken a quick stop by your farm to stretch their legs. At least that’s the lasting impression I’m taking away from this trip. It might not be the same everywhere, but that’s certainly what we got from Sichuan.
Thinking back now, I wish I’d asked a few people along the way for a portrait, just to capture that warmth and joy I remember. I guess that’s just another reason to do the drive again.
Finally, arriving in Daocheng late afternoon, we took a short walk around the area. Tired, we settled down for the evening, ready to take the comparatively short, but no less outstanding, 2-hour drive to the Yading Nature Reserve in the morning, our final destination.
Yading 亚丁
From Daocheng to Yading is still a bit of a journey, a mixture of winding up-and-down roads and driving through valleys, but nothing compared to the previous day’s endeavour. The entrance to the Yading reserve resides in Shangri-la town, not to be confused with the other Shangri-la in Yunnan. After purchasing tickets to enter the reserve, it’s about another hour by coach up and over the mountains. A brief stop at the top to take in the views and snap some pictures of the magnificent Xiannairi peak, then it’s down the other side to Yading village, where we’re staying.
By complete luck, we happened to have booked the perfect hotel with an unbelievable view of the mountains. To be fair, I’m sure all the hotels had great views. It was impossible not to! Every panoramic image and most of the pictures I have of Xiannairi peak were taken from the terrace behind the hotel. A reasonably sized area with lounge chairs and the perfect place to simply sit and take in the view. Something I did on many occasions, sometimes even without a camera. Had it not been for the clouds and full moon, there would have been a perfect view of the milky way rising over the mountains every night, too. Sadly, we weren’t treated to that spectacle - just another reason to return.
Having finally reached Yading over the four days of travel, it was time to settle in to base camp and get prepared for the serious hiking to start. I’d already planned to be out every day, getting up for sunset, then going for breakfast, and finally setting off to wherever the day would take us.
The ups and downs were about to start, and I couldn’t wait.
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Head over to Instagram to see more images from the trip.
