Yading 亚丁

Pearl Lake and the Holy Mountain
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Just before leaving Kangding 康定, we would never know that the journey to Daocheng 稻城 and Yading 亚丁could be so long and unexpected. Our bus left Kangding early at 6 am. We met five other backpackers from Shandong, Harbin and Chengdu. We arrived Litang 理塘 at noon and from there our bus turned south, off the paved Sichuan-Tibetan Highway and heading to Daocheng in a rough-dirt-road. Not long after the turning, the traffic was blocked by a truck whose wheels stuck into the sand pit. Our driver had no patient to wait for it and detoured to pass the truck, unfortunately we were also stuck into the sand! All passengers had to get off the bus and give a helping hand to push the bus out of the sand. Unfortunately, one of a tire was burst while the bus leaving the sand and hit a sharp stone. We were held up for 2 hours before we could finally set off again.

Welcome strangers
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After sunset, the weather became bitterly cold at the level of 5000m. Worse still, our tire was broken again, though fixed quickly, we knew that nothing could go wrong again otherwise we would have to stay overnight in this freezing highland. Finally, we made it to Daocheng at midnight. We drop off the luggage in a hotel and had hot noodle in a nearby restaurant with other backpackers. It was 2 am when we could get into the bed. What a long, excited and unexpected marathon-bus-journey, it took us 18 hours from Kangding to Daocheng!

the road to “Paradise” was not an easy one

Quiet Yading
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On the next day, we hired a jeep with the Harbin couple and the Chengdu guy to go to Yading together. Yading is a natural scenic district so-called “Shangri-la” 香格里拉 which means “Paradise” in Tibetan language. The area consists of three holy mountains, namely Xiannairi 先乃日, Yangmaiyong 央迈勇 and Xianaduoji 夏纳多吉, and surrounded by grasslands which formed good pasture for cattle.

However, the road to “Paradise” was not an easy one. The 150km distance from Daocheng to Yading had taken us 7 hours to finish! It was extremely bumpy as the road was undertaking a substantial improvement works and our jeep was the old model of Beijing Jeep with poor suspension system. We arrived at Yading in the evening and were persuaded to ride horse to the lodging point, the Chonggu Temple 冲古寺.

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On the next day, we got up at 7 am and trekked to the nearby Pearl Lake 珍珠海 to see the sunrise. This is perhaps the best moment of our Yading trip after such a long journey. The holy mountain Xiannairi 先乃日was shadowed on the lake and the forest glowed gradually under the beams of sunlight. This postcard-like image was lingering in our memory long after the trip. After breakfast, we went to the Luorong Farm 洛绒牛场 which was surrounded by the three holy mountains. We met some villagers who circled the three holy mountains for accumulating virtue. It’s a pity that we couldn’t see all the three holy mountains as it was too cloudy. We went back in the afternoon and stayed overnight in Daocheng and then back to Litang on the next day.

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Yading is no doubt a beautiful place to visit but is not worth to spend four days in traffic while just to stay for one night. It’s definitely a good idea to stay longer and stroll around the area but we couldn’t do it just because we have to get to Lhasa before 1 June as we promised to our friends.