Daocheng Yading Travel Guide

  Basic information Daocheng code number: 0836 Daocheng Tourism Bureau Tel: 0836-2728672 Travel information Bring warm clothes with you because weather in the mountains are changeable; Wearing sunglasses so as to protect yourself from the strong light reflected from the […]

 

Basic information

Daocheng code number: 0836
Daocheng Tourism Bureau Tel: 0836-2728672

Travel information

Bring warm clothes with you because weather in the mountains are changeable;

Wearing sunglasses so as to protect yourself from the strong light reflected from the ice and snow;

Daocheng and Yading village are in plateau area. Visitors to the plateau may have altitude sickness, remember to drink plenty of water, try to eat light food, eat more fruits and vegetables, and avoid heavy exercise.

Medical treatment

Daocheng County People’s Hospital
Address: No. 9, Section 2, Yading Road, Daocheng County
Tel: 0836-5728120

Destination Overview

 

Destination sketch

Daocheng is located at an altitude of 3750m. While there may not appear to be much to do in this town those who do decide to stop over and spend a day here will find this town/village much more charming than it initially appears. It offers a good stepping stone for those coming from Yunnan with altitude concerns as the towns either side of it (Xiangcheng and Litang) sit at altitudes of 3200m and 4000m. If you take the time to head out of the town you will find the surrounding countryside and mountainous backdrop quite charming.

Beliefs and taboos

Almost all the people living in this area believe in the Indian Mahayana form of Buddhism but have gradually developed a distinctive Tibetan Buddhism which is also called Lamaism.

Local Festival

Horse Race Festival at the beginning of August every year

People who gather for the annual horse race in Panghe village construct a tent city. Dressing themselves and their finest horse, thousands of herdsmen participate in the thrilling horse race, archery and horsemanship contest. Other folk activities and commodity fairs are also held.

Tibetan New Year

is the most important festival there. It is an occasion when Tibetan families reunite and expect that the coming year will be a better one. Known as Losar, it starts from the first to the third day of the first Tibetan month. Preparations for the happy event are manifested by special offerings to family shrine deities, painted doors with religious symbols, and other painstaking jobs done to prepare for the event.

Best Travel season

April, May, September, and October

Consumption level

Daocheng is located in western Sichuan where traffic is inconvenient. It is normal for prices to be about 50% higher than in the mainland. Normally, it costs 15 yuan per person for noodles, and it costs 40 yuan per person for ordering food; for ordinary accommodation, it starts at 120 yuan, and the dormitory bed is 25 yuan. The supermarket price is about 30% more than the mainland. Compared with Daocheng County, the price of Riwa Township will be higher, and the price of Yading Village will be higher than Riwa Township. which is about twice than the mainland. During the peak season, prices will rise. Prices will be highest during the National Day each year, and accommodation may be three times the normal price.

Intercity traffic

 

Long distance bus

If you take the shuttle bus to Daocheng Yading, Daocheng County is a must-have transit station; from Daocheng, you can take bus to Yading villageto Aden and other scenic spots. In Daocheng County, there are shuttles to Chengdu, Zhongdian, and Kangding.

Aircraft

Daocheng Yading Airport,
Daocheng Yading Airport was officially opened in 2013. The airport is 50 kilometers from Daocheng and 123 kilometers from the Yading scenic spot (Riwa Township). At an altitude of 4,411 meters, the airport is the highest airport in the world.

How to get to and from Daocheng Aden Airport

At the airport, you can take the airport bus to Daocheng 30 yuan and to Riva 60 yuan. Therefore, many people who come by plane will go directly to Yading on the first day and will not stay in Daocheng County. The departure time of the bus from Daocheng to the airport is 6:00 am, in front of the Xiangyun Hotel near the bridge. There is no bus to the airport from Riva, so if you leave by plane, you must stay in Daocheng for one night. Take a taxi from Daocheng to the airport for about RMB 200/car, or RMB 50/person. There are many taxis to the airport near the bus station every morning at 5am.

Bicycle

Compared with the bustling Sichuan-Tibet line and the Yunnan-Tibet line, few people ride the Litang-Daocheng-Zhongdian route. In fact, the road conditions and scenery of this route are very good, and the number of cars is much less than the national road. From Litang to Zhongdian, it is necessary to climb through 6 mountain passes along the way. It should be noted that there are no villages providing food and accommodation for 80 km over Haizi Mountain and Mount Rabbit Hill. It is difficult to reach destination in one day, so you need to prepare stay outside for one night.

Attractions

 

Daocheng Yading scenic area

Honored as the “last pure land on our blue planet”, Daocheng Yading Nature Reserve was first introduced to the world when the famous American adventurer Joseph F. Rock published an article and photographs of Daocheng in the National Geographic in 1928. “Where in all the world is to be found scenery comparable to that which awaits the explorer and photographer!”, he wrote. The snow-capped mountains, steep cliffs, crystal clear lakes, vast pastures, as well as the dense woods compose a harmonious utopian land.

Chonggu Monastery

At the foot of Mt. Chenrezig, is the Chonggu Monastery, which you pass on the way to the holy mountains. It is said that at one time, an eminent monk built this temple for the purpose of worshiping the three mountains. However, disease attacked the surrounding areas at that time. This selfless monk prayed day and night to the god to save the people. Finally, all the people were saved while he was sacrificed. To commemorate his great deeds, people buried him on this land and piled majestic Tibetan cairns in his memory.

Luorong Pasture

Surrounded by rolling mountains, Luorong Pasture is the best site to view the three holy mountains. Leisurely herds of sheep and cattle enjoy the green grass, clear water and warm sunlight there. When there is a breeze, the lovely creatures are barely visible standing between flourishing grasses. It is as if some wool balls are rolling around.
In addition, the Five Color Lake (Wuse Hai) and Milk Lake (Niunai Hai) are well worth visiting.
Tickets: Tickets office for Yading scenic spot are 2 kilometers south of Riwa. The ticket price is 270 yuan, including 150 tickets + sightseeing 120 yuan, of which 120 yuan is a sightseeing bus from Riwa township to Yading village, because this section has 34 kilometers and does not allow self-driving and other operating vehicles to enter, so the sightseeing bus is a must-choice.(students, children and olds can buy discount ticket or free ticket)

In addition to this, there is a battery car go around from the gate to Chonggu Temple , 80 yuan.

Other scenic places around Daocheng

 

Poplar Forest

There are several poplar trees around Daocheng. Every autumn, the yellow-edged trees on the banks of the river hide the Tibetan architecture, making it an excellent location for photographers. The best time to see yellow leaves is from late September to late October.

Red grassland

The red grassland is located next to the road leading to Daocheng. It is close to a small reservoir in the village. The grass will be bright red every autumn, and the scenery is amazing for photographers. The time for viewing the red grass is only from late September to late October

Xiongdeng Temple

Xiodeng Temple is the closest temple to Daocheng and the largest Huangjiao temple in Daocheng. It is located on a mountainside at 4,100 meters above sea level and you can take a overlooks about Daocheng County from Xiongdeng temple.

Mill valley

The mill valley is a river valley in the northwest of the sangdui. In summer, the meadow with wildflowers blooming is very beautiful.

Haizi Mountain and Xinyi Lake

Haizi Mountain is a relic of the ancient ice cap of Daocheng. It is the most typical and largest ice cap relic in China. Ten thousand years ago, it was once covered with glaciers that were hundreds of meters thick. If you drive from Sichuan to Daocheng, you will pass through Haizi Mountain on your way. You can pick a photo with good scenery or take a short walk.
Xingyi is the largest lake in Haizi Mountain. When the weather is clear, the views of the rocks and azaleas on the shore are very beautiful.

Itinerary

 

The regular route in scenic area

The regular route within the scenic spot is from Riwa to Yading Village. You will walk pass
Chonggu temple, luorong pasture and finally arrive Milk sea and five color sea. You can choose sightseeing bus or animal transport. Or you can just walk.

1.Riwa Township (Yading village)- Zhaguanbeng (sightseeing bus)
You can take a sightseeing bus at tourist center to Zhaguanbeng
2.Zhaguanbeng – Chonggu temple (walking for 1 kilometer)
After 1 km, you will arrive Chonggu temple which is the core center of three holy mountain. Chonggu Temple (3,990 meters above sea level) is located at the foot of Mt. Chenrezig, which is also the entrance of three holy mountain. Together with the meadows and streams in front of the temple, the ancient temple has excellent viewing and shooting angles.
3.Chonggu temple – luorong pasture (7km)
Walking for 2 hours from chonggu temple to luorong pasture, or you can take e electric bike, it will cost 80 yuan for a round and 50 yuan for one way.
4.Luorong pasture – Milk sea – five color sea (4.5km)
It takes 4 to 5 hours walking from Luorong pasture to Milk sea. You can rent horse and ride to milk sea, costs 300 forth and back. You can continue walk from milk sea to five color sea for 30 mins.

Small trekking circle around Mt. Chenrezig

It is the route with a clockwise around Mt. Chenrezig, the whole trekking trip will be waking on places above 4000 meters of sea level. Since there are no accommodation points in the middle of the journey, it is best to complete it in one day. This requires the walkers to have great physical strength and the ability to walk on the plateau.
Mileage: About 25 kilometers.
Elevation: 3980 meters – 4700 meters.
Intensity: Medium.
Time: 12-15 hours. It is best to complete in one day; if it is two days, you need to camp in the Cass cowshed.
Seasons and weather: May-June and September-October are best season for hiking season.

1.Chonggu temple – Milk sea 3hours
2.Milk sea – Yakou – Cass cowshed 5.5 hours
the walking road is between Milk sea and Mt. Chenrezig.
3.Cass cowshed – Big yakou – Chonggu temple 7 hours

Big trekking circle around Holy Mountain

It takes 7 to 10 days. It usually requires the employment of guides and horses, and it is necessary to camped on the way.

Yading village – Lugu Lake ( Lock line)

The Yading village -Lugu Lake trekking route is also a hard long-distance trekking and takes 7 to 10 days and need hire guides and horses. This route is not quite the same as luya national road.

Accommodation

There are a large number of budget guesthouses across the road from the bus station. There are also several guesthoues a short distance out from town which several touts crowding around the bus station will happily take you to. However, be aware that when coming in winter, the majority of guesthouses are dead-locked, and even if there is anything open, it will not have running water nor hot water (as the water pipes are frozen during winter).

Food

Usually the Zang people eat three meals a day, but during the busy harvest season they will have four, five and often more. Their staple foods are tsamba, yak butter tea, mutton, and beef. Tsamba, made of highland wheat (Qingke) is convenient to carry around and eat whenever you want, so you can see many of them carrying tsamba bags. As for drinks, they enjoy chang, a type of wine also made from Qingke, and milk tea. The Tibetan knife, sharp and delicate, is often used to cut meat.

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