When you are doing internship in China, especially Chengdu, you have some leisure time after work. You may choose to hang out with Chinese friends or SII interns in western bar, or take the bus to some famous tourist attractions nearby. Our current interns did visit a lot of places and shared their experience with you through their articles. They’ve been to places like Emei Mountain for monkeys, Le Mountain for the biggest Buddhistsculpture, Panda base for Giant Panda, Dujiangyan for water view, Jiuzhaigou for amazing landscape etc.. Today, I am going to tell you about anotherplace you need to go, which is also in Sichuan province, it’s Kangding(康定).
Kangding is in the west side of Sichuan, close to Tibet, in a mountainous region. There is a lot of Zangpeople living there. It is better to spend 3 days at least to travel there, since it takes a day to go there and to come back by bus.
How to enjoy two days in such super place?
Day 1
It is not difficult to get the ticket in southern bus station, Chengdu(新南门汽车站). If it is possible, you can purchase the ticket online and go to the station to print out. Even it takes about 7 hours on the bus, you can also enjoy the sceneries outside the window, especially when you are close to Kangding. When you arrive there, it is highlyrecommended to try the local food—Yak meat, which is very authentic and tasty.
Day 2
The whole day is enough to check out several scenic spots. There is no direct bus to those places, so you can let the manager of hotel help you to order a car which is about 100 RMB per person, or you can go to the bus station to take the bus with other tourists. The driver will show you the spots one by one from Kangding to higher places.
ZheDuo Mountain (折多山)
Is on the top of the mountains and it’s always covered by snow. It is very challenging to drive there because of the tortuous paths. If you arrive there early, you’ll get the chance to walk on the clouds as they still remained low.
XinDuBrige（新都桥）
This is the paradise for photographer since it is very photogenic for those colorful leaves and rivers. Along the road, there’s also many rocks curved with scriptures.
TaGong Prairie (塔公草原)
It is a place to ride horse and taste authentic yak meat. You’ll be able to take some sunbathe due to the altitude and sunlight which is strong here.
If it is possible, you can go to somewhere else which is not developed well but there are less tours and more natural things. Normally, it takes 4 hours for the round trip.
Day3
Since you are going to leave late on Day 3, it is better to choose a closer spot so that you can come back to take the bus. My suggestion is MuGeCuo(木格措)
It is also called “The second JiuZhaiGou”, since you can see the four seasons’scenery on different height of this mountain. After purchasing the entrance and tour bus tickets, the bus will drive you directly to the top of it. It is covered by snow and there is a giant lake in the middle of mountains. The air is so fresh that you totally enjoy the magical nature. After that, you can take the tour bus (you can always find bus to any attractions there) to the second higher place, DuJuan Gorge. You will find there are some new couples taking wedding pictures, enjoying hot spring etc.. Moving to the next place, QiSe Sea, which is not a sea but colorful lake. Those landscapes only appear on the TV in reality. It is not difficult to finish the tour there until afternoon. Then you can catch the last bus started from 16:30.
In Chengdu, you can always find reasons to stay longer than your expectation, not only for the fast growth of business, but also the cozy life filled with tasty food, amazing sceneries, and lovely people. So Welcome to such tolerant city!
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