Tibet: Nyingchi Prefecture - Lulang Scenic Area, Draksum-tso and Tsodzong Monastery

Start: Tashigang Village

1. Lulang Scenic Area 鲁朗景区

End: Draksum-tso/Basongcuo/巴松措 and Tsodzong Monastery

Lulang Scenic Area 鲁朗景区

Thee entrance to Lulang Scenic Area is located along G318 National Highway. It is a vast open space among the surrounding mountains, and offers various tourist activities like horse riding and archery. Further down is the Lulang Flower Pasture and supposed to be a great place to see blooming flowers but all we saw was greenery. 

Draksum-tso 巴松措 and Tsodzong Monastery

Draksum-tso, also known as Basongcuo or Pagsum Lake is one of the most beautiful lakes in east is Draksum-tso. The literal meaning for the lake - “Drak” means Rocky Mountains, “sum” means for three and “tso” is for lake as combination of the name means Three Rocky Mountains Lake. Another name for the lake is Tso Kou which means for "green water" in Tibetan. 

The lake shaped like a huge crescent and is about 18 kilometres long, covers an area of about 27 square kilometres and has a maximum depth of 120 metres. The lake is located in the high gorge deep valley of the upper reaches of the Bahe River, about 36 kilometres away from Bahe Town, Gongbujiangda County. 

Draksum-tso is the sacred lake of the Nyingma Sect. It also has strong connections with three towering figures in Tibetan history - the Gesar of Ling (the semi-mythical king of Tibetan legends), Guru Rinpoche who visited Draksum-tso and Nyingma lama Sangye Lingpa who founded the Tsodzong Monastery on a tiny islet just off the southern shore. 

There is a sightseeing platform, Daqiela sightseeing platform on the way to the Draksum-tso resort and we went to the viewing platform first, before walking down to the floating bridge across to Tsodzong Monastery. As we were crossing the floating bridge, our guide saw someone was mixing tsampa (roasted-barley flour). We were not sure what he said to the person but he picked up 2 balls of tsampa and passed one to us to feed to the fish. 

It was cloudy at best during our days in Nyingchi Prefecture, so the driver made a stop by the roadside on our way to Lhasa the next day so that we have some pictures of mountain when we can see the peak. The sign at the stop was 嘎拉央達杰布, literally translated as Galayangdajie river. 

Side note: Hungry, always hungry

Tibet: Nyingchi Prefecture - Cypress Park, Sejila Pass, Lulang Forest, Zhatanglucuo and Tashigang

 

Start: Long Du Hotel 龙都宾馆

1. Giant Cypress Nature Reserve 柏树王
2. Sejila Mountain Pass 色季拉山观景台
3. Lulang Forest 鲁朗林海
4. Zhatanglucuo Scenic Area 扎塘鲁措

End: Tashigang village 扎西岗村

The tour company couriered the original copy of our Tibet Travel Permit to the hotel in Chengdu as original copy is required if travel by flight to Tibet. We flew into Nyingchi Airport (LZY) from Chengdu Shuangliu Airport and were picked up by our driver and guide for the rest of the tour.

Nyingchi city

Nyingchi is one of the prefectures in Tibet and within Nyingchi, there are 7 counties. The airport is located in Mainling county and the stops are in Bayi District (formerly known as Nyingchi county). Checking in to hotels usually involved some long process of registration and as it was our first day in Tibet, the guide also organised other required permits at this day. We didn't had to but as we didn't plan any itinerary for day 1, we asked if we can followed them. It turned out to be a good decision because there was a change in the requirements and needed one of us to be present to have a photo taken. 

We were told there's a river but we didn't expect to see such a high barrier

Giant Cypress Nature Reserve 柏树王

About 2 kilometres southest of Bayi is this cypress park with many ancient cypress trees. The most venerable cypress is reported to be 3200 years old, making it the oldest tree in China. This 57 metres tall and 14.8 metres diameter tree is also sacred to the Bon religion founder Tonpa Shenrab. This is a prime pilgrim spot and Buddhist visitors can be seen circumambulating this tree 3 times, clockwise. Bon believers (Bon po) circumambulate anti-clockwise. 

Sejila Mountain Pass 色季拉山观景台

Mt Namjagbarwa or Mt Namcha Barwa is the highest mountain in Nyingchi Prefecture. A signboard at Sejila Pass viewing platform mentioned that "Namcha Barwa" means "spear firmly stood on the Earth" in Tibetan language and is composed of nine peaks. The main peak, "Namcha Barwa Peak" is at an elevation of about 7,782 metres. 

One of the best known legends tells the story that Namcha Barwa and his younger brother, Gyala Peri were both guardians of Southeast Tibet sent by god. Out of jealousy, Namcha Barwa killed and beheaded his younger brother who was more talented. As punishment, Namcha Barwa was turned into a guarding mountain of his brother while the latter prolonged his existence as Mt Gyala Peri, a rounded-peaked mountain north of Mt Namcha Barwa. 

Mt Namcha Barwa can be seen from Sejila Mountain Pass (elevation 4728 metres) with a lot of luck, as the peak of Mt Namcha Barwa is covered with snow and often covered with fog and clouds. Therefore it is also known as the "Fairy Mountain". The optimal time to see Namcha Barwa peak is from end of October to March the following year. 

Lulang Forest 鲁朗林海

Lulang (or I've also seen it spelt as Lunang) is another spot to see Namche Barwa peak which we were not lucky enough to view it. Lulang means “Loong King Valley” in the Tibetan language, or “a place that will make you forget your homesickness”.

Stone pot chicken 石锅鸡

Lunch was a popular dish in Lulang area is the stone pot chicken. The ingredients of course include chicken (a lot of it) in soup. There are options to add different types of mushrooms. The selling point of this dish is the pot it is cooked in, where it is carved out from a single rock that said to contains elements which is good for health. 

Zhatanglucuo Scenic Area 扎塘鲁措

Zhatanglucuo is a man made lake, built to improve surrounding environment. It is referred to as Lulang Lake by the locals. Access to the area is through a hanging bridge and there were some activities area for participation. One can enjoy the view of Gongbulazan Snow Mountain at the lake. 

Tashigang village 扎西岗村

Tashigang is a small village, a couple of kilometres east of Lulang. Guesthouses in this village are run by Tibetan families, mostly with a buidling with rooms within the same compound. The village is comprised of walled stone Tibetan block homes, with landscape of forested mountains across the valley. I took a stroll in the evening when sis took a nap in the room. We brought some quick oats and had that for dinner after the big stone pot chicken lunch. 

Kitchen is the building facing front, rooms in the building to the right

Kitchen where we had breakfast

Side note: Winter is coming and all I want to do is roll in bed.

Chengdu: Kuanzhai Alley, Jinli Street, People's Park, pandas and food

Chengdu was our base this trip as our international flights were in and out of Chengdu. We stayed at 4 different hotels in Chengdu for convenience. Once we checked out of the hotel at Tianfu Airport, we walked over to the domestic airport side to have lunch before took the more than an hour long train to the city. Our second hotel was at Taikoo Li as our flight out to Nyingchi the next day was from Chengdu Shuangliu Airport, plus it would be easier for sightseeing. On this day we went to Kuanzhai Alley (宽窄巷子) and Jinli Street (锦里古街). The visit to People's Park and to see the cute pandas was at our last day before flying out of Chengdu. 

Kuanzhai Alley 宽窄巷子

It consists of three parallel alleys -  Wide Alley (宽巷子), Narrow Alley (窄巷子) and Well Alley(井巷子). These alleys showcase traditional architecture, local craftsmanship, and Sichuan culture. Kuanzhai Alley has a history dating back to the Qing Dynasty. 

Jinli Street 锦里古街

Jinli Street was one of the oldest and the busiest commercial streets in Chengdu in the Kingdom of Shu, during the Three Kingdoms Period about 1700 years ago. Jin means brocade because Chengdu was famous for its Shu Silk Brocade and referred to as Brocade City at that time. 

This street was rebuilt near to Wuhou Memorial Temple dedicated to Marquis Wu (Wuhou) of the Kingdom of Shu in the Three Kingdoms Period, Zhuge Liang to boost economy as many tourists visits Wuhou Memorial Temple many year. The street was restored and imitates the ancient street with contributions from the Wuhou Temple and opened to public in October 2004.

I was told that it was named after koi fish but apparently it wasn't. 

Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding 成都大熊猫繁育研究基地

Our visit unfortunately coincided with China's May holiday which meant crowd. Which probably explained why the morning session tickets were sold out when we tried to get it from trip.com. As it was our last day in Chengdu, we went ahead with the visit. No surprise - it was crowded. 

By the time we got to Panda Express Bus stop at Kuanzhai Alley, we have missed the 12:00 pm bus and the ticket counter was not unattended. We decided to just get a Didi ride, we paid CNY 27.30. Return trip to hotel near People's Park was CNY 25.40. 

It was also a hot day so the pandas were indoors except the red pandas but they were also hiding to get some respite from the heat.

"I am a panda, not a racoon"

Brunch at Heming Teahouse 鹤鸣茶社 at People's Park 人民公园

Said to be one of the oldest tea houses in Chengdu, Heming Tea House has a history of over 100 years. We were looking up places for breakfast and as the People's Park was only a short walk away from the hotel we stayed, naturally this came up as one of the search results. It wasn't busy yet when we got there but very few people were eating, most were just drinking tea or munching on sunflower seeds or some fruits. Appears that it is a popular place to drink tea, enjoy the flowers or have their ears cleaned. 

We picked a table and sat down. One of the staffs who was in charge of tea approached us for our tea order. The teas were not cheap, some were charged per cup. We were recommended one of the black tea and placed our order. We asked the staff if we can order food, she told us she was only charge of tea orders and to wait for the food staff for order. 

After awhile another staff came with our tea, teapot, cups and a flask of hot water for refill. Still no food order staff in sight. I gave up waiting so I decided to walk around to look for a staff to place our order. Then I realised there were some food stalls where one can get the food directly. It was a little like Malaysia's coffee shop set up where you pick a seat, the drinks staff will take your order at the table and you order your food from respective stalls. However, there are a few elusive staffs who go around taking hot food order, and I managed to track down one where we ordered a bowl of zhong dumplings 钟水饺. 

Pork zhong dumplings 钟水饺, CNY 15

From top left, clockwise: mung bean fillings, chocolate mooncake-ish (this taste the worst of the lot), custard filling crane pastry, chewy bun, red bean (if i remember correctly) pastry, panda tang yuan. CNY 36

Dragon wonton 龙抄手

This was also brunch and we had it at the airport before taking the train out to Chengdu city. Overall, all the wontons we had in Chengdu were better than any of the ones we had in Australia. We also picked up a coffee and egg tart from KFC after this. 

Dragon wonton 龙抄手, CNY 38

Ice jelly 冰粉

Ice jelly or bing fen is made from the seeds of the Nicandra physalodes plant. The texture is similar to aiyu jelly and served with different toppings. The version we picked had various toppings including sweet fermented rice wine. It was refreshing for a hot day. We got it from a random stall near Kuanzhai Alley. 

Ice jelly 冰粉, CNY 12

Chunyangguan Yuxiang Paigu Noodle 纯阳馆鱼香排骨面

青羊区吉祥街6号附6号 吉祥结店 – Qingyang Qu Jixiang Jie 6 Hao Fu 6 Hao Jixiangjie dian

I was back here again for dinner as we were at Kuanzhai Alley and sis hasn't been. As I ordered the 'fish fragrant' spare rib noodles the last round, I chose dan dan noodles this time. The staff recommended chilli oil wontons to every table including ours. We were rather hungry so we got both chilli oil wonton and steamed egg with ground pork. I didn't realised the last round that they also offered pickled cabbage for free. 

Fish fragrant' spare rib noodles was less heavy compared to dan dan noodles but all four dishes were tasty. 

From left, clockwise: chilli oil wonton, steamed egg with ground pork, 'fish fragrant' spare ribs noodles 1 tael, dan dan noodles 1 tael. Total CNY 42

We walked in to a random shop near the hotel for an early dinner before going to the airport. Even though I ordered zhajiang hand cut noodles and sis ordered beef rice noodles, we thought the soup stock looked very similar. I thought it my order would be dried noodles so was a little surprised to see noodle soup instead. 

Total CNY 21

Side note: Japan or China for a year end holiday?