Tobons Around the World: Unspoiled China: Jiuzhaigou, Sichuan Province

The flight to Jiuzhaigou brought me back memories from back home. Right before our descent I look out the window and notice snowy peaks that stretch all the way out to the horizon, just like flying over The Rocky Mountains. In his broken English the pilot announces that we have commenced our descent and should be on the ground shortly. Ten minutes later I notice we are getting really close to these snowy peaks. They’re thick clouds surrounding us and I feel like I can just reach out the window and touch the snow. I see no runway in sight or no opening where we would make a landing. In all my years of flying I have rarely felt any fear or panic, but this time was a little different. I turn to Courtney and she has passed out. Wasn’t she awake just two minutes ago? It always amazes me how people on planes can fall asleep in an instant, it’s like they have an on/off switch. Hmm, I guess I will have to tackle this alone. I feel a little sweat coming down my forehead and the thought of reaching out for that snow sounds like a great idea, at least it will cool me off a little. The clouds continue to be thick and in a matter of a few minutes we are in the middle of them. I can’t see anything out the window. I just sit and hope for the best. Courtney is still passed out. At least it comforts me that she won't notice a thing. The fear quickly dissipates when we descend below the cloud cover and this gorgeous valley appears before my eyes. We are still surrounded by huge mountains, but they are farther away now. A couple of minutes later we land! Courtney also wakes up and the first thing she says is “That was a great flight, it went by so quick.” Sure it was, I say.

Technically we had landed in Jiu Zhai Huang Long, which is two hours away by car from Jiuzhaigou, our final destination. Jiuzhaigou is located in the northern part of the Sichuan province. It is kind of a gateway into Tibet and the Himalayas, reason for all the mountains. This part of China was very different from the big metropolitan cities we had visited. The airport was tiny and it was in a truly remote area. As we exited the airport, bus and taxi drivers harassed us in search of our business. After haggling for about 10 minutes we find a guy that is willing to take us to our hotel. As we walk to the driver’s car I tell him “please drive slow”. He looks at me and smiles...He has no idea what I just said. We board his VW Jetta and we zoom off! This guy was a frustrated Formula 1 (NASCAR for American readers) driver. As we speed down the windy road into the valley, Court and I strap on our seatbelts and grasp on as hard as we can. The road is absolutely beautiful though and the highway is in immaculate condition. The lanes are clearly delineated for oncoming traffic, but that does little to deter our driver from switching lanes and passing cars on blind spots. Sitting down I am thinking, “lesson learned over here, next time learn how to say drive slow in Chinese.” Maybe it will come in handy in the afterlife. I am being a little dramatic, but we made a two-hour drive in one hour and ten minutes! I wanted to ask him if that was his record time, but he would have probably just looked at me and smiled.

The initial sights in our drive to our hotel were very impressive. This place is beautiful! You hear about China having a lot of pollution and how they have destroyed their environment, but this place has been protected in an immaculate manner. The main reason people come and visit this part of the world is to see the Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve. I was not sure what to expect from this place since the pictures I found weren’t of great quality. After our flight and drive we imagined it must be great. The next day we wake up early and walk to the park. We end up staying the whole day there. It is impossible for me to describe in words the beauty of this place. It was absolutely pristine. Court and I end up walking some of the trails for about six hours. The trails were filled with one scenic spot after another. Absolutely astonishing! Anyway, I will let the pictures do the rest of the talking. After our visit here, Jiuzhaigou became one of our favorite places on the planet. Enjoy the pics!