Huanglong, Jiuzhaigou’s Hot Sister

The beauty of Jiuzhaigou doesn’t stop at Jiuzhaigou Valley. There is another national park on the opposite side of the airport called Huanglong. Playing second fiddle to Jiuzhaigou, it’s harder to find nearby accommodations and harder to get to and from. They do have a daily bus that runs from Jiuzhaigou to Huanglong (3.5 hours on a dangerous, winding cliffside road), but it returns too early, leaving you with no time to actually enjoy the park.

We passed on the return ticket and stayed in Huanglong until 4:00. At that point, our only option to get back was a taxi… and all the drivers knew it. Some of them refused to even go to Jiuzhaigou Valley, but those who were up for it wanted at least 400 yuan. It took forever just to talk one guy down to 390. He seemed a little pissed off about this, too (and was probably pissed off that I asked him not to smoke), because he didn’t say a word to us, slammed his foot on the gas the whole way, and made the 3.5-hour drive in under two.

Remember that dangerous, winding cliffside road? I mentioned it in parentheses, so maybe you missed it. That road was made even more dangerous thanks to all the construction going on. And they weren’t just rebuilding a few sections at a time, either. No, that would make too much sense. They tore the whole damn road up! Peewee didn’t seem at all concerned about his or our safety, though, as he honked his horn and screeched around every tight, blind-spotted corner. I’ve never been more afraid for my safety.

But that picture… totally worth it.

Factoring in transportation costs, Huanglong was actually the more expensive of the two parks (plus the huge risk you take in dying on the way there and back). What’s nice about national parks in China is that they often offer discounted tickets to students and seniors over 60. Not every park will accept foreigners under this policy, but Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong did, so if you’re coming, hang onto your old student ID card.

Jiuzhaigou Valley is what draws people to the area, but I actually liked the scenery in Huanglong more. The difference between the two parks is that Huanglong doesn’t have a lot of variety. The short mountain trek is just a series of [amazingly spectacular] blue pools. Jiuzhaigou, on the other hand, is an entire day’s worth of hiking from one lake to the next, past several waterfalls of varying sizes, and through forest pathways overgrown with vegetation. Nevertheless, I’m glad I saw both. They are now some of my favorite places in the country… and world.

13 September 2009 | China | Comments | Home
tags: attractions, construction, money, transportation

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