"New and mysterious lands always have an irresistible charm for a long-time solo traveler who loves the most beautiful things like me. This time it's A Dinh, where winter makes anyone's heart flutter" - travelblogger Lamtom shared
Having traveled so many barren roads, I no longer care about flat roads, instead I look for places that both challenge people and hide natural treasures that only those who truly appreciate them can find.
Journey lost in winter in Cam Tu
From Chengdu, the capital of Shu during the Three Kingdoms period and now the capital of Sichuan province, we rented a car to head straight to Daocheng while some other travelers used planes to travel. The short flight to Daocheng is often at risk of cancellation due to unusual weather conditions at the civil airport located at the highest point in the world at 4,411 m above sea level. Moreover, traveling by car gave us the opportunity to fully admire the natural scenery of this land, which is more than a paradise.
The Tibetan Autonomous Regions of Sichuan generally have extremely rugged mountainous terrain, with villages and towns scattered hundreds of kilometers apart on winding mountain roads, some with up to 18 sharp turns like steps reaching the sky. Cars are the only means of transportation, local buses are rare, with only one trip per day and it usually takes a whole day to cover about 400 kilometers. My route took a loop around the west of Sichuan, stopping at the scenic Szegniang Mountain, staying in the most beautiful Tibetan village in China, chatting at the gathering place of thousands of nuns in Yarchen Gar Buddhist Academy, learning about China's oldest Buddhist scripture printing factory, then heading down the Ganzi Plateau to Daocheng - a long-awaited destination on the journey when Jiuzhaigou was devastated by earthquakes in early autumn last year.
Scenery of early winter days in A Dinh
Few tourists come to Ading in winter.
Trekking route to Milk Lake
In this Tibet Garzi region, although the Chinese government has tried very hard to improve the infrastructure in the past few years, the roads we passed, it must be said that some sections of the roads were still quite bad, narrow with only two lanes, passing through the endless snow-capped mountains. The car sped along amidst the beautiful natural scenery in the early winter days, between two snow-capped mountain gullies, along murmuring streams, clumps of red and yellow trees stretching from the mountain slopes down to the stream banks. Following the deep valleys were vast grasslands at an altitude of over 3,000 m, herds of long-haired cows leisurely grazing, adding to the magnificent natural picture. The sky was blue and clear, the clear quality of the vast grassland sky without dust. We kept exclaiming to the point that the driver burst out laughing and said that he didn't know how much more excited Dao Thanh would make us. The long stretches of road, thanks to the magnificent scenery, seemed to gradually shorten.
Before entering the gateway area to Daocheng, the bus stopped at a checkpoint where we heard about altitude sickness in this snowy region. To get to Yading, we had to go to Daocheng County, from there we drove another 74 km to Shangrila Town (in Yunnan there is also a very famous Shangrila with majestic Tibetan temples next to the eternal snow mountains) before the park's internal bus took visitors 32 km to the Yading scenic center.
The guide told us that the area has a large difference in altitude. If Shangrila has an average altitude of 2,800 m, then the altitude in Yading can be up to 4,400 m above sea level. Therefore, altitude sickness is more likely to occur than in Tibet, Huanglong or Jiuzhaigou. Before going to Daocheng, Chinese people must also prepare their belongings carefully and take a Hongjingtian medicine to limit altitude sickness. Currently, there is no specific medicine to treat altitude sickness, but we can only rest and exercise less to gradually adapt to the altitude, and avoid sleeping in the car to avoid sudden changes in the amount of oxygen to the brain when waking up. Yading is a new tourist destination, not equipped with medical facilities, shops, or restaurants, so we have to take care of everything for the winter days that have arrived in Yading.
A world of its own in Yarchen Gar
While Largung Gar has not yet allowed foreigners to visit, I certainly cannot miss Yarchen Gar, the world's second largest Buddhist academy for nuns to practice. Yarchen Gar is like a wonder created from spiritual beliefs located in a valley over 4,000 m high. Compared to other areas, winter here is present very early.
Thousands of ramshackle houses stand on a vast peninsula embraced by the Jinsha River flowing from the surrounding snow-capped mountains. The peninsula is home to a nun who came here to study Tibetan Buddhism. The driver told men like me not to enter the peninsula, but to go up the high hill overlooking Yarchen Gar or wander around the outside of the peninsula. The nuns here are mostly Tibetan, with a few Han and other dominant ethnic groups in China. They usually come here at the beginning of winter and begin their 100-day training. They bring a small amount of food and necessities. The small square huts are only about 2 meters wide.2, tightly wrapped in cloth, with rocks placed around and on top of the tent to withstand the cold winds blowing through.
Before entering meditation, the monks and nuns must bow their heads. They raise their hands three times in prayer, take two steps, and then bow their heads, touching their foreheads to the ground. They will do so for a distance of more than 1 km before reaching Yarchen Gar. Then they will go to the hut and begin their meditation process. Every day, the monks and nuns pray, read sutras, sit and talk about Buddhism, some read books or take up a pen to draw the majestic landscape here. The monastic life of the monks and nuns will go through a harsh winter where there is only wind, snow and Buddhist philosophical scriptures.
The beauty of A Dinh in winter is heartbreaking.
Yading, part of Sichuan Province, China, is the gateway to the mystical land of Tibet, combining all the charm of a paradise on earth with the mystery of one of the most enigmatic Buddhist civilizations in the world.
Late autumn and early winter are the best times to admire the beauty of Yading, when the vast pine forests, golden yellow, are suddenly covered with white snowflakes. Compared to this place, the paradise of Jiuzhaigou is just a few miniature mountains dotted in a vast landscape.
Beautiful nature in A Dinh in winter
The bus took us from the park gate through the high mountains to the central area before branching off to the main attractions in Yading. We took the long branch, starting from the Tibetan Chonggu Temple, took the tram for about 5km to Luorong Cowherd and started trekking 6km to reach the “two beauties” of Milk Lake and Five-Color Lake. From the Cowherd, I saw many Chinese tourists, young and old, riding on the shaggy horses for 300 yuan/trip or 500 yuan/round trip to an altitude of 4,400m. I chose to walk so I could freely capture beautiful photos like ink paintings.
China’s trail system is quite well built, along the way Tibetan stone houses are scattered on the mountainside, the flags seem to be starting to succumb to the cold of winter. The frozen waterfalls create a dreamy, ghostly scene. As I climbed halfway up the mountain, tiny snowflakes began to stick to my shoulders and hat. Past the frozen waterfall in the middle of a bare pine forest, the temperature gradually dropped, snowflakes began to appear, signaling an upcoming snowstorm.
The group continued to climb the mountain amid the increasingly clear winter scene. The temperature dropped to -5.oC, the altitude increased day by day, some tourists had to use oxygen tanks. I started to feel tired from the cold but luckily I did not suffer from altitude sickness because I was used to places with thin air like here. The snow fell more heavily, visibility was limited to about 3-4 meters. The tourists going in the opposite direction told me to keep going, after a few steep slopes I would arrive. So I silently counted each step to reach the Milk Lake, despite the wind and snow clinging to the short eyelashes typical of an Asian. The Milk Lake in front of me was completely frozen, the cold steam somewhat indifferently rising from the lake surface, only vaguely visible were the shapes of a few discolored rocks stacked on top of each other by Tibetans around the lake. Behind were the towering snow mountains in the mist.
Flowers in the Snow
Flags in the cold wind in A Dinh
Therefore, in addition to the stunning landscape, Yading is also attractive because of its hidden beauty, the beauty of the Tibetan people. The rich cultural features of Tibetan religion and belief, the strange and mysterious customs and practices always bring a fascinating and fascinating feeling. For those who always wander in pursuit of the mysteries of history and the future of humanity, this is no different from a land full of treasures waiting to be conquered, explored and contemplated. Yading is one of the rare sacred lands that still preserves the footprints of history, of a primitive Buddhist civilization, still containing many ideas that travelers like me cannot comprehend. I can only take the liberty to bow in admiration at the way the Tibetan people and their spirit still respectfully preserve the culture and the concept of the wheel of reincarnation, along with the legendary mantra that echoes in all directions, spanning tens of thousands of years of history until today.
A Dinh has given me endless emotions about nature, about people and about meditative and spiritual life...
Luorong Oxen
Winter nostalgia A Dinh
MORE INFORMATION
1. Tour schedule:
- Day 1: Ho Chi Minh City – Hanoi – Thanh Do – Wide Alley, Narrow Alley – Cam Ly Street
- Day 2: Chengdu - Tu Co Nuong Mountain - Tang Dan Ba Village
- Day 3: Dan Ba - Cam Tu
- Day 4: Cam Tu - Yarchen Gar Buddhist Academy - Duc Cach
- Day 5: Duc Cach Buddhist Scripture Printing Factory – Xinluhai – Cam Tu
- Day 6: Cam Tu - Ly Duong - Dao Thanh - Shangri La
- Day 7: Yading – Chonggu Temple – Luorong Oxfield – Milk Lake – Five-Color Lake
- Day 8: Yading – Chonggu Temple – Pearl Pond – Daocheng
- Day 9: Dao Thanh - Ly Duong - Tan Do Kieu - Khang Dinh
- Day 10: Khang Dinh - Thanh Do - Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City
2. Visa: the procedure is quite easy. You can apply for a 15-day visa to China yourself for 65 USD.
3. Itinerary: Vietnam Airlines has flights from Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi to Chengdu every day. From Chengdu, there are also daily domestic flights to Daocheng, however, due to the harsh weather, this route is occasionally canceled in winter.
4. Hotel:
There are many options for tourists here, from homestays to luxury 4 and 5 star hotels. Room prices range from 120 yuan (guesthouses) to 300 yuan/person (3 star hotels). All rooms are clean and have heating mattresses. Visitors do not need to book in advance because this place is still quite wild, very few tourists visit, including domestic tourists.
The lake surface is completely frozen.
5. Cuisine:
- Enjoy Sichuan hot pot buffet in Chengdu, in the Jinli pedestrian street area.
- Bring dry food and provisions when entering the A Dinh park area.
- Apples and pears are abundant in this area.
- Tibetan beef is a popular food for people, they often process Tibetan beef jerky or smoked meat which is very fragrant and delicious.
- Enjoy the unique and delicious cod hotpot in Ly Duong district.
6. Means of transport
You should choose a full-service car rental service, which can be found at the hotel reception. On this trip, I asked an acquaintance to recommend me and rented a full-service service, which included a car rental service.
7. Weather: winter temperatures are quite cold, snow in the mountains can drop to below zero degrees Celsius, during the day from 5-8 degrees Celsius
8. Medical: Prepare altitude sickness medicine and thermal clothing.
9. Trip costs: Chinese visa: 1,500,000 VND/person; round-trip airfare: Ho Chi Minh City - Chengdu - Ho Chi Minh City: 6,100,000 VND/ticket; transportation and hotel costs during the trip: 8,550,000 VND/person; food costs: 4,000,000 VND/person; sightseeing costs: 2,100,000 VND/person; souvenir purchases: 500,000 VND.
