Jiu Zhai Guo - 10.23

Our day started at 5:15am. Standard breakfast of egg and plain Man Tou and congee at 6. Depart for JZG at 6:30. I was completely groggy and weak for about an hour, while the effects of nitequil lingered. But by the time we got into JZG parking lot at 8:10, I was a new man.


While our dumb tour mates were still clamoring for the guide to explain for the 5th time how to sightsee inside the park, syl and I already got on the designated "eco" tour bus inside. The buses were new, clean, bright, but from what some of them spewed I didn't think they were all that eco friendly.

All the pictures I've seen did not prepare me for the beauty of this place. The bus went from front gate to Norilang without stop, so all we saw were fleeting glimpses of the crystal blue "Seas" set against mountains of green yellow red and white. Fairytale land would be the only fitting description. Many a times I had to consciously close my jaws.

From Norilang our plan was to go to the upper left arm of the "Y" shaped valley, to Long Sea. It turned out to be a good plan, for even though we rode up with a full bus of people, when we were coming down trains of bus loads were driving up. The biggest lake in JZG, Long Sea was not the prettiest for its depth hides the colors. But it fed the tiny Five Colored Pond that made up for all the lacking.


It was a mostly sunny day in JZG, temperature probably around 10C. After a brisk walk I was feeling quite warm in 2 shirts 2 fleeces and 2 pairs of pants, a scarf and a hat. We breathed in cold crisp mountain air, strolled with strange yellow and stark black and white birds, and watched clouds flit around the stolid mountain faces. It would be awesome to hike this valley and camp out at some hidden away spot, take a few days to explore all the secrets of JZG. That was apparently the idea of a backpacker we saw later in the day. I wondered if the sleeping pad he tied to his pack aroused any suspicion at the entrance.

Anyway, Five Colored Pond. I didn't really count all the colors they described on the plaque. It was green near the edge, turquoise and blue deeper in, with patches of variations. A thin belt of deep sapphire blue studded the center of the lake. The vantage points available were high enough to get a good view of the whole lake.


As much as we would have wanted to hike, time constraints dictated that was all we could do at the Ze Cha Wa gully. The bus only made those two stops. We rode up to the end of Ri Ze gully on the other side of the "Y", then back down skipping the "Virgin Forest", past Sword Cliff Hanging Spring, Swan Sea, Grass Sea, and started hiking at Arrow Bamboo Sea. The movie Hero apparently filmed a scene at this lake. Hopped bus again to the next stop at Panda Sea Waterfall, where a thundering 5-branch waterfall empties out the Panda Sea (when water is low, rocks are revealed in the lake in black and white colors), accompanied by numerous smaller falls. Trunks of dead trees laid quietly at the bottom of the lake like spirits of ancient guardians; scaleless fishes flickered in their shadow.

Virgin Forest	Tourist girl dresses up
Grass Sea	Syl on the set of "Hero"
Panda Sea	Panda Sea
Panda Sea Waterfalls

A stretch of lake dwelling forest calmed the excitement of the falls and prepared us for the next stop. Five Flower Sea, the queen of all the Seas at JZG. The path afforded us views of this lake from all sides. There were trees growing upon trees of the past in the lake; reflections of mountain fall colors could almost drown out the colors of the tourists, groves of velvet green plants grew fully submerged in the water. I could spend a whole day watching this lake. I could build a house and live by this water.


Skipping Peacock Sea and Golden Bell Sea, we couldn't pass up the Pearl Shoal. A stretch of rocky slopes carpeted with pure white gurgling water, like a pan of rolling pearls, skirting trees and shrubs, flowing a mile long, mesmerizing. I totally could recognize this from the opening scene of the famous TV series Xi You Ji (monkey king story). The Pearl Shoal water empties into the biggest fall of JZG, the Norilang falls. We bused back to Norilang and hiked about a half mile to this fall. Then another bus ride shaved off 2.7km of the Shu Zhen gully and took us to Rhinocerous Sea, at 2 oclock.

Norilang Fall	Norilang Fall

Sea after turqoise Sea, we hiked past Rhino, Tiger, crossed over Shu Zhen falls, past Shu Zhen Sea, Lying Dragon, Double Dragon. Amongst the endless water and beautiful trees, abandoned tibetan villages were now scenic spots. Onwards to Reed Sea where yellow reeds covered the entire lake creating a marsh haven for birds. A patch of taller reed each crowned with a golden tuft flickered in the afternoon sun. The last lake, Bonsai Sea, was another leisurely sloped ground where Gully water ran past shapely dwarf trees growing by the one or two, each like a bonsai pot. Surprisingly by the end of the trail we had time left to spare (4:15). We needn't have rushed earlier as much as we did.

Shu Zheng Village	Ancient Spirit Tree
Tibetan Mill - Empty

We visited the nearby Lotus Leaf village. It was actually a real village with tibetans still living there. There were no bland white walls, all exterior surfaces of all the houses showcased extraordinary paintings of animals and flowers and other symbols. About half the buildings were under construction.

Symbol of local religion

Tibetan wall painting

Finally we stopped over at the Zha Ru Gully and walked 300meters to the Zha Ru Temple. The Tibetans in the Jiu Zhai area were not quite like their cousins on the Xi Zhang plateau. They practice a primitive religion called Ben Bang Jiao which was then influenced by Tibetan Buddhism. Deep within the wrap of towering mountains Zha Ru Temple looked almost newly built. The golden statues on its roof glimmered brilliantly against the dark green hills.


We picked up a tibetan Qing Luo pancake and a lamb skewer on the long (650m) walk back to our bus. Lamb good, not spicy enough. The pancake, made from a local highland grain Qing Luo and pan fried, was crispy but had little flavor.

Very nice 4 star hotel, especially for such a secluded place as JZG. But horrible dinner. Just horrible. No taste in anything.

Exhausted, we still lugged ourselves to the culture show we signed up for yesterday. First there were these clappers, hand-shaped plastic pieces hinged on a handle so they could be shaken to achieve a loud clapping sound. Gave both of us a great headache right off the bat. It was so incredible how enthusiastically a lot of the Chinese were clapping with this thing, at nothing at all! They were not two for gods sake! Then the show starts and the volume of the speakers were so loud that covering our ears made it the normal listening volume. Again, the Chinese in their own way were not bothered a bit by this. I guess it was just like when on bus they crank the TV up to so loud.

I tried their Qing Luo wine which tasted kinda like sake. The Ma You Cha ("Horse Oil" Tea) started out very bitter but ended with a toasty tea flavor that lingered nicely. I was hoping to hear the special Qiang Flute (which they say can be played 5-6 minutes non-stop) being played, but all they had were 10 seconds of taped music. Most other skits were songs and dances. The costumes were exquisite; and I did like a lot of the music, some very ambiance pieces. A lot of audience participation took place. The chinese surprised me with their apparent lack of stage shyness. But we called it a early night when the show turned too obviously "male oriented" during a silly bridal contest. Qiang wedding was supposedly very unique where the bride goes to groom's house and yell obscenities until they open their doors.

Hot bath and scalding shower (when's the last time I saw a bath tub?), hot tea, bed. Nitequil? I would've liked to be knocked out for another night but no.

500ml water 4. JZG entrance 220, bus 90 (included in package). Lamb skewer 1Y. Qing Luo pancake 2Y. JZG taxi starting 4Y.