Number of days：5 days
Time: October
Average cost: 2600 yuan
With whom：parents and children
Tour kinds: Photography, Self-driving, Humanities, Free Travel
Updated: 2024.10.28

【Foreword】

It's still very hot in Guangdong in October, so let's go to Sichuan to experience autumn. I said, "Let me take you to a very cold place." The child said, "Yeah, we can go play in the snow!" I heard it's possible to snow, but it snowed the night before we went to see the snow-capped mountains, so we missed it completely.

【Itinerary Preview】

DAY 1: Zhuhai, Guangdong ✈ Chengdu Tianfu 🚝 Huanglong Jiuzhaigou Station (Chuanzhusi Town) 🚗 Jiuzhaigou

DAY 2: Jiuzhaigou
DAY 3: Jiuzhaigou 🚗 Wenchuan Self-drive
DAY 4: Wolong Giant Panda Reserve
DAY 5: Wenchuan 🚗 Chengdu

【Notes】

1. Check the weather carefully and pack the necessary clothes. Sichuan's weather is changeable, and the temperature varies greatly in different regions. At high altitudes, the temperature is even lower, so be sure to wear warm clothes. Down jackets and jackets are a must.

2. To cope with altitude sickness, you should buy oxygen cylinders in advance and have them shipped to the hotel. We didn't take any anti-altitude sickness medication and used several oxygen cylinders. We originally bought them online, but they said they couldn't ship them, so we had to buy them locally. A 1-liter bottle costs 20 yuan in Chuanzhusi Town, and 50 yuan in Jiuzhaigou.

3. When you reach high altitude areas, if you want to drink hot water, boil it with purified water, not tap water. Hot water boiled at high altitudes is less than 100°C, which can easily cause diarrhea (personal experience).

4. Airline and high-speed rail tickets must be purchased in advance. The closer you are to the destination, the more expensive it is. High-speed rail tickets must be purchased according to the time.

[Food]

When traveling with children, I mainly eat light food and rarely eat spicy food.

Recommendation - Yak Beef Soup Pot

Highest rated, with both meat and soup, it is very suitable for Cantonese people to eat in such cold weather. The yak beef is very fragrant and comes with many side dishes.

Avoid the Pitfalls - Tofu Fish

Tofu fish is a dish you'll find in many restaurants along the way from Jiuzhaigou to the Panda Base. I don't recommend it; it's simply fish cooked in tofu, and the fish is frozen. It's not fresh, not tasty, and expensive.

[Detailed Itinerary]

Day 1: October 16, 2024. A day spent traveling, taking flights, high-speed trains, and driving.

Part 1:

Flying from Zhuhai to Chengdu, I sat on China Southern Airlines, seat 51, row left. I ordered a children's meal and had a good overall experience.

It wasn't my first time flying, but a 4-year-old's experience is different than a 3-year-old's. He was "wow wow wow" excitedly the entire way. He ate the children's meal, drank Coke, and saw the scenery. He finally said he had a slight earache and finally calmed down. Finally, he got tired and fell asleep, not even noticing we landed. After getting off the plane, I walked slowly and played on the slide. The weather in Chengdu is a little different from that in Zhuhai, so I changed my clothes before picking up my luggage.

Part 2:

A taxi to Chengdu East Station to take the high-speed rail cost around 70+ RMB, with an additional 30-40 RMB for the expressway.

As for buying tickets, it was incredibly hard to get one from Chengdu to Huanglong and Jiuzhaigou Station. Ultimately, I couldn't get one. Tickets were only available at the final destination.

The Chengdu high-speed rail station is poorly designed, with only one entrance, one elevator, and one staircase. Even 10 minutes before departure, there was still a long line to get in. The entire journey to Huanglong and Jiuzhaigou Station involved walking through a cave. It was pitch black outside the window, and only light could be seen a few stops down the road. The children were quite happy eating and playing along the way, completely oblivious to the scenery outside. We arrived at the station. The temperature had dropped by over 10 degrees, so everyone changed into warmer clothes. I rented a seven-seater car nearby, but they wouldn't deliver it to the high-speed rail station, so I had to take a taxi there to pick it up. It was the first time I encountered a place where Didi couldn't be found—Huanglong Jiuzhaigou Station. Even after paying a higher fare, no one came. I had to take a street taxi, which cost 40 yuan for the ten-minute journey to Chuanzhusi Town. After picking up the taxi, we headed towards Jiuzhaigou Town. A light rain began to fall, and the temperature kept dropping as the altitude rose. Are those snow-capped mountains in the distance? We stopped along the way to see them.

Day 2: October 17, 2024. Beautiful weather, I experienced the magic of Jiuzhaigou and was in awe all day.

I heard that on a weekday like this, the average daily visitor count is 30,000 to 40,000. The B&B owner said we had to leave before 7:00 a.m. to avoid traffic. So, I left early, and by 7:00 a.m., there was already a line at the entrance, mostly tour groups. Many buses had already departed along the way!

I've heard that Jiuzhaigou has excellent scheduling, and indeed, the line at the entrance to the bus was very quick. I had to find a seat and only boarded if there was one, as the journey was quite far. First, we got off at the Nuorilang Waterfall Center Station, around 8:30 AM. This is a point the tour guide strongly discouraged, saying that if you wanted to catch a bus to other destinations at this stop later, you'd have to wait a long time. We ignored her, probably due to scheduling issues. It was a good choice. We didn't have to squeeze in with the crowds ahead of us, and we could take photos at the waterfall and then walk along the road to Rhino Lake.

>>China's widest waterfall—Nuozhilang Waterfall

>>On the way to Rhino Lake, I admired the mountains, the water, and the plants, playing, taking photos, and enjoying the scenery. It was a leisurely walk. The sky was so blue, the water so clear. But the distance was quite long, 3.6 kilometers. There were so many people when we got to Rhino Lake. I guess it was because the attractions behind were too crowded. Those who came in later had to get off at Rhino Lake or the attractions before it. There are only a few toilets here, and they are sit-down toilets. What was the person who designed these toilets thinking?

>>Next, we visited Arrow Bamboo Lake, Panda Lake, Five Flower Lake, and Pearl Beach Waterfall. We took a bus to each of the scenic spots, walked around, and then returned to the pick-up point to go to the next scenic spot. There was no need to waste time walking between scenic spots, we could just take the bus. I originally wanted to go to the Five Color Pool, but the time and energy did not allow it. The drive to the Five-Colored Pool was long and tedious, with mountains all the way around and little scenery to see. You couldn't get off the bus there; you had to go to Long Beach and take another bus. I had a bit of altitude sickness at Long Beach. If you want to see the Five-Colored Pool, you can walk up the plank road into it, but you can't see it directly from the roadside. I decided to get on the bus for the return trip. Jiuzhaigou's lakes are all called seas. They're truly beautiful, pure beauty. There were also a lot of people. Except for the dispatch at the gate, the dispatch at other pick-up points was really poor. Honestly, I was in awe all day! I marveled at the beauty of our country, the wonders of nature, the widest waterfall in China, the Nuorilang Waterfall, the Pearl Beach that looks like a cascade of pearls, the seemingly crystal-clear seas that seemed free of impurities. After Jiuzhaigou, you can't miss the water. They say clear water means no fish, but there are fish, haha. And then there's the huge passenger flow: 30,000 to 40,000 people a day, and the constant stream of tour buses!

>>Look at the crowds in Jiuzhaigou

⭐Suggested route for visiting Jiuzhaigou: Morning: Rhinoceros Lake → Nuorilang Waterfall → Five-Colored Pool; Return to Nuorilang Center for lunch at noon; In the afternoon, visit the attractions in the direction of the primeval forest. If you go upstream from the lower reaches, you can sit at the door at the end on the return journey and be guaranteed to have a seat.

Day 3: October 18, 2024, enjoy the fun of self-driving tour

Avoid the pitfalls: Don't just buy wild mushrooms from the mountains. We bought a pound for 50 yuan, but they were bitter when we cooked them. We asked the store lady, and she said they were mixed mushrooms, probably rotten. /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~

Day 4: October 19, 2024, See Pandas and Snow Mountains

Morning: Wolong Giant Panda Base

Arrived at 10 a.m. and parked in the parking lot at the entrance to the ticket gate. It was a very simple parking lot.

I guess we missed the pandas' most active time, between 8 and 10 a.m. Some were eating bamboo, most were sleeping, and the few that were open just wandered around and went back. They're really lazy.

Look at these baby pandas climbing up the trees to sleep. They are so cute. It’s a pity that they have fallen asleep. I saw Fubao from a distance, but there were too many people to get in. Bingcheng was the most active, going in and out, constantly strolling and rolling around, much to the amusement of the crowd. Tickets are 85 yuan, and children under 1.3 meters are free. They say there are over 60 pandas here, but after walking around, I only saw about ten. There were really few people, not many pandas, and the infrastructure is just average. Are other panda bases more beautiful?

Afternoon: Viewing the snow-capped mountains

Day 5: October 20, 2024, Visiting the Wenchuan Earthquake Site and the Chengdu Natural History Museum

Morning: Wenchuan Earthquake Site

Afternoon: Chengdu Natural History Museum (mostly filled with specimens, worth a visit)

Staying near the airport that night, with a 9:00 a.m. flight the next day.

The hotel provided a free shuttle to the airport, which took just over ten minutes, very convenient.

Chengdu ✈ Zhuhai, seated on the right side of row 51 on China Southern Airlines, with a children's meal and a seafood meal ordered.

Final Note

This was my first time traveling with my children's cousins and their families to see the world and see the beautiful scenery of our motherland. The destination wasn't important; the important thing was getting started.

Our short, six-day, five-night trip to Sichuan ended with a blast of laughter and joy. We had a wonderful time.

I hope everyone who has the opportunity to read this travelogue has a wonderful and enjoyable trip. Whenever you want, you can see the beautiful scenery of our motherland and experience what it means to be awe-inspiring. Don't leave any regrets!