The tour
The 6-day tour covered quite a few spots: Jiuzhaigou, Huanglong, Emei Golden Summit, Leshan, Chengdu Panda Base, and Chengdu city tour.
Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong are picturesque and are a symbol of the natural beauty. Jiuzhaigou, meaning “Nine Village Valleys”, is a wonderland that has mountains, forests, springs, rivers, streams, waterfalls, lakes, ponds, pools and shoals. On the other hand, Huanglong is famous for its karst landscape. These 2 places reminded me of the Yellow Stone Park in the U.S. although they are smaller in scale and are not abound with animals like the Yellow Stone Park. Surprisingly, these 2 national parks are very well maintained and are up to international standard.
Emei Golden Summit (3,099m) is also a must. We were lucky that it was a sunny and beautiful day when we went up to the Summit. Located in the Summit are the 3 famous temples: bronze, silver, and gold. A gold-plated 4-sided multi-Buddha statute was later added to make the scene even more awesome. Leshan is famous for its giant Buddha carved out of a cliff and facing Emei. It is the largest carved stone Buddha in the world.
How could we miss the adorable panda in Chengdu? We spent half day in one of the panda bases. The highlight was to be able to hug and take pictures with a panda (at a cost of RMB1,000). A cultural show was not to be missed too and I was amazed how quickly (less than a second) the performers changed their faces (or masks)!
