Juizhaigou: out of breath

25th July 2009
JUIZHAIGOU: OUT OF BREATH IN JUIZHAIGOU

We arrived in Juizhaigou, in Sichuan Province, last night at about 20.30 after some lengthy lost driving around. The driver even stopped a local for directions and the stranger got in the car and personally showed the driver where to go. In some ways Chinese congeniality just astounds you.

We are staying in a little place called Juizhaigou Paradise Youth Hostel which was recommended to us by Mahon from the Nomad Youth Hostel in Langmusi. Our double room costs 8GBP per night between us.

It is much better than the last place we stayed in and as far as we can see, no blood on the bed sheets. Bonus! I also discovered our beds had electric blankets, so I have been in heaven.

On our first evening, we walked around the village looking for a decent venue for dinner. Obviously, like the rest of China, they don’t really cater for westerners and 95% of menus are not translated in to English (not that I expect them to of course, but it does make things a little challenging and very entertaining).

However, the people who work in the restaurants are more than happy for you to go in to the kitchen yourself to pick your own ingredients. They will make you what they know, using what you know.

Checking out the few menus that had been translated in to English proved most entertaining. Lizzie’s favourite dish was “The evil burns a soil duck”. Mine was “Mapo beawrd Santeed in Sichuan seyle” – both of which unfortunately, we did not get to sample.

We decided on a bustling little street BBQ, full of local people. Surely a good sign? You chose from a selection raw, pre-made, meat and veg skewers. You selected what you wanted and stocked up all the items you wanted in a little basket..

They then smothered all of your chosen items in the hottest herbs and spices in the world and cooked everything fresh on the BBQ. Sitting at little low tables and chairs on the pavement under a tarpaulin, they bring each item over to you as and when it is ready.

I had a whole trout, some chicken and pork. Lizzie had meat and veg. It was de-licious! Sichuan province is famous for its FIERY food, which I can confirm, is indeed very hot. There is such a dramatic difference in the food from Gansu to Sichuan. Gansu food is a lot milder, with stews and yak prevailing.

Upon retreating to our room for the night, we were expecting another crap night sleep as has been the process so far. To our glee, we slept undisturbed until 9am, when the maid startled us awake us by unlocking our door and letting herself in.

Today we went round the Juizhaigou scenic reserve, which was as breathtaking as it was bizarre. Although it was very beautiful and remote, there were so many Chinese tourists and newly added commercial elements, that the result was a little like Disney World for the Orient – but without any rides.

Jiuzhaigou literally translates to “Valley of Nine Villages” and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. At its highest, it is 10,710ft high and the altitude is quite draining.

We have got over any sickness after being a week now at this altitude now, but you do tend to be short of breath quite easily because of the lack of oxygen and there is always a dull lingering headache.

The entire Jiuzhaigou reserve is about 240sq miles, full of alpine mountains, waterfalls and Tibetan villages. Beneath the snow capped mountains there are almost 100 bright blue lakes lining the valley floor.

The lakes are said to be ‘broken slivers of the Tibetan Goddess Semo’s vanity mirror’ – thought it is actually due to copper deposits. It is gorgeous, quiet, peaceful.

The remote region was originally inhabited by various Tibetan and Qiang tribes for centuries and was not officially discovered by the government until 1972. Extensive logging took place until 1979, when the Chinese government banned such activity.

They then made the area a national park in 1982. The site officially opened to tourism in 1984 and is now an extremely popular attraction for the Chinese. I read that the area has inspired numerous famous poets and artists over the centuries, which we could appreciate once we were there. There were again virtually no westerners around, only about 3 in the whole reserve and it pulls in aprox 7,000 visitors every day.

For the entire day, we had Chinese people taking our photo or following us with video cameras. I was under the impression the Chinese were a reticent, demure race – not so it transpires. They literally would grab us as we walked past, to pose in their photos or sidle up to us while we took in the views, while one of their party sneakily took photos of them next to us. These scenarios usually resulted in the whole Chinese group taking it in turns for a photo with us, while we stood bemused unable to escape. Typical example below.

We had a snide burger from the Reserve’s fast food outlet ‘Dicot’ and it was gooood.