[2025 Daocheng Attraction] Travel Guide for Xingyi Co (Updated Aug)

Daocheng Yading, located in Daocheng County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, is hailed as the "Last Shangri-La," renowned for its pristine natural scenery and unique highland ecosystem. Here’s a detailed travel guide: 1. **Best Time to Visit** - **May–October**: Ideal season with mild weather and stunning views. - **May–June**: Rhododendrons bloom against snow-capped mountains. - **July–August**: Perfect summer retreat with lush grasslands, but prepare for rain. - **September–October (Peak Season)**: Vibrant autumn foliage, best for photography. - **Winter (November–April)**: Spectacular snowscapes, but some routes close, and altitude sickness risks increase. 2. **How to Get There** - **By Air**: Fly to Daocheng Yading Airport (world’s highest-altitude civilian airport) from Chengdu or Chongqing, then take a 2-hour drive to the scenic area. - **Self-Drive/Private Car**: Classic route from **Chengdu**—Kangding—Xinduqiao—Litang—Daocheng Yading (2–3 days). 3. **Key Attractions** - **Yading Scenic Area (Ticket + Shuttle: ¥266/person, valid for 3 days)** - **Short Route (Easy)**: Chonggu Temple—Pearl Lake (reflection of Mount Chenrezig). - **Long Route (Challenging)**: Luorong Pasture—Milk Lake (4,600m)—Five-Color Lake (4,700m). Hiking or horseback riding required (horse rental ¥300–500/person, limited availability). - **Three Sacred Mountains**: Mount Chenrezig (6,032m), Mount Jambeyang (5,958m), Mount Chanadorje (5,958m). 4. **Accommodation** - **Shangri-La Town (Riwa)**: Lower altitude (2,900m), ideal for acclimatization, with many hotel options. - **Yading Village (Inside Scenic Area, 4,060m)**: Convenient but higher altitude sickness risk. Recommended: "Jianshan Hotel," "Yunmo Art Hotel." 5. **Tips** - **Altitude Sickness**: Take Rhodiola supplements 1–2 weeks in advance. Avoid strenuous activity upon arrival; carry oxygen cans (¥50/can in the park). - **Weather & Gear**: Large temperature swings—pack a windbreaker, sunscreen, sunglasses, trekking poles, and sturdy shoes. Rain gear for wet season. 6. **Itinerary (3–5 Days)** - **D1**: Arrive in Daocheng; stay in Shangri-La Town to acclimatize. - **D2**: Yading short route (Chonggu Temple—Pearl Lake). - **D3**: Yading long route (Luorong Pasture—Milk Lake—Five-Color Lake). Split the hike if needed. - **D4**: Explore nearby (Red Grassland, Xingyi Cuo) or depart. Daocheng Yading is a paradise for both body and soul. With thorough preparation, you’ll fully embrace the awe-inspiring beauty of this earthly utopia!

I discovered a plateau lake that is smaller and more stunning than Daocheng Yading - Xingyicuo! Drive directly there, with few people and beautiful scenery. The lake is as blue as Tiffany gems💎, and a casual shot will be the cover of National Geographic! I just came back and immediately organized the guide, please save it quickly! [3 days and 2 nights self-driving tour] (departing from Chengdu, beginner-friendly!) D1: Chengdu - Kangding - Xinduqiao 🚗 The journey takes 6 hours, Yaye Expressway + National Highway 318, the road conditions are very good Must-stop: Kangding Airport Road (Rainbow Highway 🌈) + Sidingcuo (photographing the reflection of the snow-capped mountains) 🏠 Accommodation: Xinduqiao "Gonggazong Manor" (floor heating + viewing platform, 3,300 meters above sea level) D2: Xinduqiao-Litang-Xingyicuo (the highlight‼️) 🚗 5 hours drive, Litang direction, navigation "Xingyicuo", the last 30 kilometers of gravel road, SUV no pressure! 🌊 How to play: Arrive before 3pm when the light is the best and the lake is a dreamy blue. Hike around the lake (about 1 hour) and find the heart-shaped lakeshore 💙 Drone aerial photography (God’s perspective is amazing!) 🏠 Accommodation: Litang "Ganglamedo Hotel" (oxygen supply room, 4014 meters above sea level) D3: Litang - Xinduqiao - Chengdu 📸 Check in along the way: Tibetan costume photo shoot in Letong Ancient Town (50 yuan/hour) + Changqingchun Kerr Temple 🍜 Food: Beef buns + butter tea from Litang "Legendary Litang Tibetan Restaurant"! 💡【Summary of blood and tears experience】 1️⃣ Road conditions: You can get there by car, but the last 30 km will be a slow drive (gravel + potholes) ⛽️ Litang must go! There is no gas station near Xingyicuo 2️⃣ Altitude sickness: Xingyicuo is 4,420 meters above sea level, don’t run or jump! With glucose + oxygen bottle Choose an oxygen supply hotel when staying in Litang, and don’t wash your hair before going to bed! 3️⃣ Metaphysics of film production: Wear a white/bright skirt, and the lake breeze will bring you the full atmosphere💃 Take pictures of snow-capped mountains and blue gradient lake after 4pm, use iPhone to adjust the color +50 vividness! 📸【Photo-taking spot】 (Like in Moments instantly!) ✔ Prayer flags by the lake: red and yellow prayer flags + blue lake, Tibetan style blockbuster ✔ Heart-shaped lakeshore: Taken from a drone, it’s breathtakingly romantic! (Location: west side of the lake) ✔ Starry sky camera: Take photos of the Milky Way by the lake at night and use Star Walk 2 to find the Milky Way🌌 🚗【Self-driving Tips】 Recommended models: Tank 300/Prado (more stable on gravel roads) Required equipment: spare tire + snow chains (it may snow after October❄️) Signal: China Mobile/China Telecom have 4G, China Unicom has lost connection! 🍜【Foodie Easter Egg】 The yogurt eight-treasure rice pudding at "Cangyangge Tibetan Restaurant" in Litang is sweet but not greasy! The shavings of milk cake from the "Brothers and Sisters Canteen" in Xinduqiao will take you back to Tibet in one bite! 💬Real experience Xingyicuo is completely pristine! No tickets! No tourists! We took over the entire lake, and the water sparkled like a sapphire. Looking at the starry sky in Litang at night, it seems like you can reach out and pick the stars. ⚠️ Note: Protect the environment! Don't litter! The lake may freeze over after October, so ask the local B&B before you go!

🏔️Snow-capped mountains, 🍃grasslands, 🌲forests, 🌊rivers When many people talk about Daocheng The first thing they think of is Aden But Daocheng has more than just Aden There are many niche treasures in western Sichuan👍There are few people and good scenery 🚗Transportation: The first choice is to drive by yourself. You can drive and play as you go. The scenery along the way unfolds slowly like a scroll📷Feel the shock of the beautiful scenery of western Sichuan Don’t rush the schedule and don’t be a special soldier👀Quietly enjoy the scenery 📷Recommended attractions: 1️⃣Xingyicuo: It means "offering lake", a holy lake dedicated to the gods. It is a natural freshwater lake on Haizi Mountain in the north of Daocheng, with an altitude of 4,420 meters. The scenic area has no strong commercial atmosphere and few people. It is pure natural scenery🏔️ 2️⃣Sela Flower Sea: The wasteland becomes a sea of ​​flowers🌸It is very suitable for taking photos and punching in, very good photos! The blue sky, white clouds and sea of ​​flowers are so healing 3️⃣Haizi Mountain: huge granite boulders all over the mountain, huge stone rivers and stone seas! Only when you are there can you truly feel the vastness of the world Don't just focus on Aden when you come to western Sichuan🙅 Western Sichuan is a land full of mystery and charm Every scene is stunning

In 2023, it was a year full of harvest for Cai Cai Juan Er and Mr. Dog on their self-driving journey. At the beginning of the year, we arrived in Guangxi and unlocked several secret places around Nanning that are comparable to the landscape of Guilin. Then we visited Qinghai and Gansu for the third time, where we enjoyed the extreme beauty of the 'most beautiful Three Gorges' north of the Yellow River: Liujiagorge, Lijiagorge, and Longyanggorge. Then it was our sixth trip to Western Sichuan, where we found the 'secret ceiling' of our self-driving journey this year: Xingyi Lake in Haizishan, Daocheng County. This is also the place where Cai Cai Juan Er will take you to explore in depth in the future. The sixth self-driving trip to Western Sichuan Ten years ago, when we passed by Haizishan, we mistakenly identified the Xueou Lake next to the national highway as Xingyi Lake. It was not until this revisit that we realized that all the secret places are on the other side that is hard to reach. If we hadn't gone through hardships, we wouldn't have had the chance to see the extreme beauty in it. ——Travel notes of Cai Cai Juan Er Xingyi Lake, at an altitude of 4420 meters, is the largest of the more than one thousand lakes in Haizishan, Daocheng. It is located in the middle of Haizishan and can only be reached by a ten-kilometer unpaved road. About six kilometers of the road is a bumpy mountain road with narrow and many stones, and visitors need to go through a lot of hardships to get there. But even if you reach the lake, because Xingyi Lake is located in the hinterland of the plateau, leaning against the towering snow mountains, with complex geographical environment and unpredictable weather, you may need a little patience to wait for the extreme beauty to appear. Fleeting beauty, long wait. What we saw in Xingyi Lake —— 1. The fantastic snow mountain in the intermittent light The intermittent light that protrudes from the pressure cloud layer is compelling, illuminating the towering snow mountain that Xingyi Lake relies on. At this time, the mountains are magnificent, the lake is like a dream, and the fleeting beauty of Xingyi Lake finally shows after we have waited for a long time after a storm. 2. The broken jade lake beaten by the light wind The Xingyi Lake we approached, the light wind blew the water surface into broken jade, shining under the intermittent light after the storm. The shimmering waves in front of us and the ups and downs in our ears seem to be telling us her ultimate beauty that has nowhere to hide. 3. The plateau beach around the lake The plateau at an altitude of 4400 meters seems to have nothing to do with the beach. But in Xingyi Lake, the delicate and soft beach is under our feet at this moment, a piece of gold is spread out in front of us, gently embracing the lake. Our journey to encounter the beauty begins from the moment we step on the beach. The ups and downs of our trip to Xingyi Lake —— Let me briefly talk about our self-driving experience. First, we went through six kilometers of mountain dirt roads, with broken stones, washboards, and bomb pits all here. It was not easy to reach the destination, a cloud just blocked the snow mountain, the lake surface instantly turned lead gray, and then it became misty, and a storm came from the sky. We had to rest in the car and wait for the rain to stop. Fortunately, after a sleep, the rain stopped and the clouds cleared, and we finally saw the beautiful Xingyi Lake. 📌Practical tips for self-driving tours 📱Navigation: Set 'Xingyi Lake'. 🅿️ Parking: The lakeside viewing platform has been built and can be parked. 🎫Cost: Free to visit, free parking, no fees. ⏳Time: It is recommended to arrange half a day to explore along the lake. ‼️ Note: The road condition of the mountain road about six kilometers before the lake is poor, it is recommended that cars with higher chassis go. Cars need to be careful to choose the road to prevent bottoming, slow driving can also reach the destination (we are cars). ▶️The above content is summarized based on personal travel experience, please forgive me if there are any omissions. ▶️Affected by time, some scenes may change, based on the current situation. ▶️The address location information is provided by the website, please leave a message for more detailed information. ▶️All the attractions that Cai Cai Juan Er and Mr. Dog have traveled to can be reached by car. 🔸🔹🔸 If you like self-driving tours and don't want to take the usual path, please listen to Cai Cai Juan Er's story.