(Sichuan-Tibet South Line In, Qinghai-Tibet Line Out) of the second Yajiang, Litang, Daocheng Aden, Batang

Number of days: 19 days
Time: September
With whom: husband and wife
Updated: 2023.10.09

Departure point: Beijing;

Date: September 3, 2023 ~ September 21, 2023 (19 days);

Husband and wife (61 cows and 62 tigers, two post-60s)

Destination: Everest Base Camp.

Vehicle: Harvard H62.0T four-wheel drive;

Drugs: plateau an, glucose, berberine, cold and heat clearing powder, silver yellow drop pills, fast-acting heart-saving pills, oxygen respirators, etc.;

Documents: ID card, driver's license, driving license, border pass;

Clothing: Clothing for all seasons; Bed linen and thick bedding.

DAY4: September 6th. Today's route is Yajiang-Litang-Daocheng Aden, 366 kilometers. At 7 o'clock in the morning, we set off when it was still bright. Today we have to pass through the eighteen bends of the heavenly road, and as soon as we hear the name, it is a challenge for us who have been driving on the plains for a long time. When we arrived at the "Eighteen Bends of the Heavenly Road", the sky was already bright, fortunately, there were not many large trucks, we could often take advantage of the road to turn sharp corners, which is the advantage of getting up early and rushing, there are not many cars, it is not easy to get stuck in traffic, and it is easy to drive. I used to see G318 traffic jams on the Internet, and I was always very worried, afraid of being stuck on the road, so we even prepared quilts and thick down jackets. The mountains, grasslands, and canyons along the way are charming under the sunlight, which is no less than Xindu Bridge. We stopped at the Scissors Bend Mountain Observation Deck, Xiong Zongka, Nimagong Mountain and Kazila Mountain Observation Deck, climbed high and looked far away, and experienced that we could not enjoy the breadth on the plain. However, due to the unclear markings of the site, many mountains have not been able to distinguish the specific location of these famous peaks, and I hope that those who come after them can do their homework and give some guidance. The altitude of these observation decks is about 4,000 meters, and we have no high reaction.

Scenery along the way

Litang

At more than 10 o'clock, we arrived at Litang County, which is known as the "City in the Sky" , at an altitude of more than 4,000 meters. The G318 line passes through the city, and its famous check-in points are the east and west gates.The Maoya Prairie is near the West City Gate, and he is rated as one of the six most beautiful grasslands, covering an area of about 251 square kilometers. The Wuliang River flows quietly in the grassland, and the surrounding mountains are surrounded by grasslands full of flowers. The cosmos around the Infinite River is huge. There is also Litang Temple at the check-in point, and we don't know anything about Tibetan Buddhism, so we give up.

Litang East Gate

Litang Ximen

by the Infinite River

Coming out of Litang County, turn to G227 and drive to Daocheng Aden, passing through Rabbit Mountain and Haizi Mountain. Vehicles drive past the top of Haizi Mountain, there are many small lakes on the top of Haizi Mountain, blue sky, white clouds, and high mountains are reflected in Haizi Mountain to form a beautiful pattern, and there are several observation decks on Haizi Mountain, where you can stop and take pictures.

Haizi Mountain

Haizi Mountain Observation Deck

Haizi Mountain

At 4 p.m., we arrived at the scenic spot of Daocheng Aden, Ren Village, Shangri-La Town. Some people suggest living in Shangri-La Town, in fact, Shangri-La Town is still some distance from the scenic spot, and people who live in Shangri-La Town at an altitude of 2,900 meters have to drive to the parking lot at the entrance of the scenic spot. Living in Rincun, which is 3,000 meters above sea level, you can walk a few hundred meters to the entrance of the scenic spot. We stayed at the Rencun Quiet Xiaoying Holiday Inn (China-TravelNote has a high rating), which is 600 meters away from the entrance of the scenic spot. Think about it, if you live in the town, you have to drive down the mountain after playing, which is tiring enough (unless someone comes to pick you up from the hotel). There is oxygen in the inn room, which can relieve the fatigue of the day. The food at the inn is relatively delicious, and some guests come to the inn to eat based on online recommendations.

DAY 5: On September 7th, I spent a whole day visiting Daocheng Aden Scenic Area today (this was also the only day on this trip without driving). I got up at 6 a.m. and ate some BYO food. Bring oxygen and food, depart at 6:40, and we arrived at the ticket gate of the scenic spot at 7 o'clock. When we arrived at Zha Guanbeng, we were not in a hurry to go to Chonggu Temple, because we heard from the front desk girl that we definitely couldn't rent horses, because there were only 120 horses. We came to Daocheng Aden with the attitude that it would be difficult to go as far as we could and that it would be difficult to board the sea of milk on our own. At this time, a Tibetan guy asked if we needed a tour guide, and we talked to him about our concerns, and he said that if he was used as a tour guide, he would definitely be able to rent a horse, and he would pay the bill after reaching the top. We immediately followed him to Chonggu Temple and took a sightseeing bus to Luorong Cattle Farm. When we arrived at the Luorong Cattle Farm, the guy immediately ran to the rental point a few hundred meters away to line up, and we followed behind to the place where the horse was rented. After arriving there, we realized that there were only 30 horses a day, and the passengers were sent to the area near the Sheshen Cliff in four times, which should be 120 times, not 120 horses. Fortunately, we rented the third batch of horses for 300 yuan/horse one way. There is an interval of one to one and a half hours between batches, and you can take advantage of this gap to carefully appreciate the Luorong cattle farm. The turquoise grassland is shining with golden light under the sunlight, the river is flowing quietly, the Gesang flowers are blooming on the grass, and in the distance you can see the tall Yangmaiyong (Manjushri Bodhisattva) snow-capped mountain, and if you are lucky, you can also see Xiano Dorji (Vajra Hand Bodhisattva), a plank road leading to the milk sea stretching into the distance.

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Fragmentation

Los Angeles Cattle Farm

Horse team

Yang Maiyong

Milk Sea

Sea of Milk

The sea of colors

Five Colored Sea

We rode up the mountain at half past ten, After about 40 minutes, we arrived at the Sashen Cliff not far away.From here to the milk sea, it is all a plank road, we climbed up step by step, and when we felt short of breath, we took oxygen to temporarily relieve it, and the two of us only consumed two cans of oxygen a liter during the whole climbing process. With the help of the tour guide, we triumphantly landed on the sea of milk and the 4,700-meter-high five-colored sea, feeling proud in our hearts, our eyes are in heaven, and our bodies are not in hell. The milk sea is large, and the lake water is light blue, which is particularly surprising against the backdrop of high mountains. The five-colored sea is divided into two small lakes this season, which are dark at first glance, but with the change of the angle of sunlight, the color also changes, and it is very beautiful against the backdrop of tall mountain peaks. The service facilities of the entire Daocheng Aden Scenic Area are still relatively complete, and there are several toilets and lounges in the middle. Hot water is also available in the lounge at Sacrifice Cliff. We had lunch at the five-color sea lounge (self-hi hot pot and bread), and we brought our own boiling water to the mountain because we were worried about the temperature of the hot water at high altitudes. When we returned to the Luorong Cattle Farm, it was half past 4 p.m., and we were exhausted and could no longer go to see the Pearl Sea in the short term. It was already 6 p.m. when I returned to the hotel by sightseeing bus. We completed the long line of Daocheng Aden in eleven hours. Soak your feet in hot water after returning to the hotel to relieve fatigue.

DAY6: September 8. Today's route: Daocheng Yading - Cuopugou - Batang, 400 kilometers. Yesterday's long journey in Daocheng Aden made our legs sore. Therefore, we decided not to take the short line and continue our trip to Tibet. After breakfast, at 7:20, we set off for Batang. Follow the road G227 back to Litang the day before yesterday, and then take G318 to Batang. There are two roads in the middle, one is G318 to Batang, and the other is G549 to Grene South Line to Batang. Considering that the G318 is a relatively mature route and suitable for people of our age, we chose the G318. On the way back, we passed through the "red grassland" and saw that the nearby grass was still green, so we didn't go to see it. After passing Haizi Mountain and Rabbit Mountain, I was condescending, and I saw the vast Maoya Prairie, and the huge contrast of the scenery made me feel particularly happy. Walking on the G318 section from Litang to Sister Lake, you can't feel that you are on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau at all, just like walking on the grassland of Inner Mongolia, with green grass, high clouds, small rivers winding, and yaks grazing quietly. When I was approaching the Sister Lake, because of the road construction and temporary traffic control, I took this opportunity to check in at the Sister Lake Observation Deck. After checking in, the car was allowed to pass, and we passed smoothly. Not far after the sister lake, on the right side of the road is the visitor center of Cuopugou, we didn't notice at the time, we drove in along the road signs, the road conditions inside were not good, and the scenic spot was under construction. When we arrived at the gate of the scenic spot, the railing intercepted us, we explained that we did not notice the situation of the visitor center, and the guard asked us to call the visitor center, transfer the ticket money, and after receiving it, lift the pole and let us in. After passing the Zhangde grassland, we couldn't continue to drive in, we had to take their battery car (of course, it costs money) to enter the lake (or hike in by ourselves), we took the battery car to Cuopu Temple, we were not interested in the temple. Since the driver is Tibetan, he can only ask for a general tour route. We took a stop back to Kangzhulatso, asked about the time of the last bus, and went by ourselves. There were few tourists along the way, and we only met 7~8 tourists. But the scenery of Kangzhula Cuo and Zhima Yongcuo gave us a surprise, the color of the water of these two small lakes is actually comparable to that of Jiuzhaigou, but the area of the two small lakes is too small to be compared with Jiuzhaigou. Cuopu Lake is large, we walked along the north shore of Cuopu Lake to the south bank, followed the road signs to the route of the battery car, saw the battery car, waved and stopped, sent us to the transfer point, it was already 5 o'clock in the afternoon, on the way back to G318, we saw the Zhangde grassland under the sunset, the golden yellow against the green background, reflected on the water, beautiful, Cuopugou was worth the trip. We arrived in Batang at half past seven in the evening.