Jiuzaigou in four hours and Mianyang, China in a week

It’s that time of the year for my medical missions to China once more and this time the first segment of the trip is quite arduous. 

So I got an invitation to go to mianyang in Sichuan for some talks and work. I’ve never heard of it so some googling helped me discover it was the epicenter of the 2008 big Sichuan earthquake. 

But more importantly it was a relatively short distance away from the beautiful Jiuzaigou! 

Now short in massive China is a relative thing but it was doable. 

So basically I will take a red eye flight to Chengdu then a driver will take me to holiday inn express in Jiuzaigou then rest for the night. Early next morning I’ll go inside the park with the aid of a guide then spend four hours looking for the five flowers lake after which the same driver will take me to mianyang hospital for my second leg which is the business part. Then a few days later I’ll take a train to Chengdu and a flight to HK for the debrief then home the next day. 

The trip didn’t get off to an auspicious beginning as my limo ride went awol and I had to hail a ride to hustle to the airport. 

It was a little disconcerting to see terminal three practically empty and that got me a bit worried.  Everyone else had checked in apart from a handful of people at the business class queue.  

But Changi isn’t the top airport for no reason. Within 10 minutes I had checked in and passed customs, and was walking to my gate. Now my gate was right at the end of T3, being closer to T1 in fact. I tried a lounge in T3 but there was no food, however the kind receptionist suggested I go to the T1 lounges which were very close to my gate. The Premium Plaza lounge had decent chicken rice plus a mushroom soup and plenty of space at this unearthly hour. 

They served ? Breakfast about an hour and a half the flight and I’m glad I booked the chef. It is a full flight and the stewardess was very busy. 

So it’s a 480 km drive to JZG through some seriously mountainous terrain and many long tunnels.  

My original plan was to take a cab from the airport to the train station then a high speed train to Huanglong station followed by a car to my Jiuzaigou hotel. Thankfully my friend stepped in and provided a driver and car. 

If you think the 15-20 minutes inside the KPE tunnel is long, try stretches of more than an hour deep inside the bellies of huge mountain ranges. 

These feats of engineering have reduced the journey from more than 10 hours to around six.  

It also helped that my ride was a nice Audi A6L a stretched version of the already nice car which made the journey a lot less stressful. 

The 2l turbo is pretty economical too, it has enough fuel to cover my trip from the airport to Jiuzaigou then to mianyang and then back to Chengdu and then some. 

NVH suppression is also decent. The journey from the airport to my hotel took just about six hours with a couple of pee breaks and one lunch break. 

Somehow my first meal in China isn’t some fancy Chinese feast but a quite McDonalds meal haha. In the interest of time so that we can proceed with the long drive I grabbed a breakfast bun to munch along the way. 

The tunnel filled highway is a newly opened one, just completed in September, shortening a ten hour journey by four hours. 

Our lunch break was a mixture of instant noodles and a Siew Mai which was really nice and I had it daily during my stay in Sichuan. 

After a fairly long drive I got to my hotel - Holiday Inn Express Jiuzaigou. My friends were in Jiuzaigou a few months before me and they shared their recommendations but an online video suggested this place which was within walking distance to the park entrance. Plus it offered free breakfast and there was also a McDonalds on level one. Rates were $124 off agoda. 

Now you might be asking why am I concerned about a fast food chain despite being surrounded by food ? 

Well I’m no good with chili and Sichuan is the epicenter of hot food. So it was an oasis of food in a land of killer chili. 

Now about the park

There may be some important details to take note of

Firstly the park doesn’t accept visitors after two pm. So for those flying in from Singapore into Chengdu , you can’t use Chengdu as a base to travel up daily. Basically you need to stay near the park. 

Second 

It’s pretty high up and only you will know if altitude sickness is an issue. Bring some prescription medicine called diamox or get the Chinese medicine called 红景天。symptoms can be a cough or a bad headache and do check yourselves because it can be fatal. 

I’ve travelled to four thousand meters with no symptoms but even then I took some as a precaution as I had a cold the week before. 

Tea is a diuretic that helps and I had a chagee adjacent to my hotel that became my favorite place in Jiuzaigou and Mianyang. 

My driver walked around with me and I finally found a dumpling chain store with non spicy food. It was excellent and about 50m from my hotel. As temperatures were plummeting fast, a warm meal was most welcome. 

Speaking of temperatures, the week before it snowed in the park so I came prepared for a snowy reception but sadly it was cold without snow. Temperatures in the time were in the low teens dropping to almost freezing at night. 

So layering is vital and I had a base layer then a merino thin fleece followed by a 650 fill down and finally my new fleece lined waterproof and wind proof outer shell. For my legs I wore long johns then my thicken soft shell hiking pants and a pair of ski socks then my hiking shoes. 

I also had a fleece beanie, a bandana for my face and neck plus goretex gloves. 

When suitably equipped, you’ll find it comfortable even when the temperature drops. Layering also helps you adjust to fluctuating temperatures, removing layers when it heats up, eg when you exert yourself. 

I only had a four hour morning window to see the main attractions so the use of a good guide is worth the money. The entrance fee was 280 RMB which the guide can buy first with a pic of your passport. Her fees are 600 RMB during peak season and 400 after 16/11 when winter season sets in and the park opens later. 

I met her at 7 am but by then there are already hundreds of people queuing to get into the park. At least the queue moves pretty quickly and within 15 minutes you can enter and a good guide will take you to the important attractions before the crowd arrives. There are free bus shuttles to bring from one point inside the park to another. 

Do note that the park is about 2500-3000m depending on exact location. You may experience some altitude sickness so take the appropriate measures. 

Some spots require a little walking so wear good shoes and also bring a good pack with water and a little snack as food is more expensive inside. You can pack Mac’s or KFC which isn’t far from the entrance. 

Although I only had four hours my guide managed to show me about five major sights aka the money shots. 

Are they good? I show them for your comments…

My four hours ended too quickly and my feet were tired from the climbs but we saw most of what others would take longer and she managed to show me the sights without the crowds. From my pics you might have thought I had the park to myself. 

I quickly returned to park and shower before the long ride to my main destination- Mianyang. 

The highway was only officially opened in September and cut my trip by four hours allowing me the luxury of this side trip. 

As it’s a new route there were fewer than usual places to stop but the roads were also less busy. 

When you sit in a nice car and with good scenery around you, red and yellowing leaves enveloping you, it makes the miles melt away more quickly. Very soon I was at my destination but when I reached my hotel to take a shower then to my horror I realized my wedding ring was missing and I had left it on my bedside table! 

I managed to contact my guide who got hold of the hotel and they quickly found it and this is when the miracle of the 快递 was fully demonstrated. 

The Chinese PhD student just smiled and contacted the hotel concierge who called me and said it’s all taken off. Imagine my bewildered look.. apparently it costs only 10 RMB to ship it from Jiuzaigou to mianyang and it will arrive by the following morning! 

And true enough it was back on my hand by the end of my first day’s work. Amazing 

Now I won’t bore you with work but they did treat us pretty well, with really nice food and they paid attention to no spices which isn’t so easy in Sichuan. 

The couple of juniors assigned to me also went out of their way to show me some local cuisine, including some fine street stalls. 

After a few days of meetings and conferences, i got a day to look around and they asked me what I wanted to see.

There was a local temple, which my fellow wanted to see, and the highlight, 1140m  窦圌山. The summit, Dongyue Peak, is 1140 meters above sea level, and Yunyan Temple is located on the mountain , which houses the Doucui Mountain Revolving Sutra Repository, a Song Dynasty building . 

Li Bai wrote a very short poem on it: 樵夫与耕者，出入画屏中.

A link to some info on this mountain: 

https://www.sichuan-tour.com/about-sichuan3.php?id=9253

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xE9PHuiNdg 

There is a custom of putting a twig under an overhanging stone to support it.

It took some serious effort to climb this, but it was really worth it. The three peaks each have a small temple on them, and it is mind boggling how they managed to construct them on these peaks. 

I also had some rather nice good food, and but since I don't really take much chili or spicy stuff, you won't see a sea of red..

On the final day, it's time to take a car to the Chengdu Tianfu airport, and they were kind enough to spare us the car, train and car to the airport, and brought us direct to the airport for the debrief in Hong Kong, where the debrief was held in a very posh Shanghai Fraternity club. 

The next my old classmates brought me to a Michelin star place for brunch, Ho Hung Kee, and we also had coffee at Artista Perfectta.

Then it was a quick cab to the airport and back in time to put my 'lil un to bed.

I'll add some salient points about going to Mianyang and JZG later on...