This year's National Day holiday is connected with the Mid-Autumn Festival, and there are eight days of holidays. If you take a few more days off to make up for the rest days at both ends, you can spell out a ten-day long holiday. Although ten days is not enough for western Sichuan, pick a few let's go. After researching the big loop line and the small loop line, I roughly made a route. Because it is self-driving, it can be changed at will according to the situation. In fact, when walking in western Sichuan, uncertain factors may occur at any time, so we can only settle down and adjust at any time. The final line is:


D1 September 28, Wuxi-Kunming

D2 September 29th, An Ning - Maitreya

D3 September 30th, Maitreya - Anning

D410.1, Anning-Xinduqiao

D510, 2nd, Guru Rinpoche's practice site

D610.3, Xinduqiao-Bamei

D7 October 4th, Bamei-Luhuo

D8 October 5th, Luhuo - Tsoka Lake - Luhuo

D910, 6th, Luhuo-Jiaju

D10 October 7th, Jiaju-Maerkang

D11 October 8th, Maerkang-Suining

D12 October 9th, Suining-Yichang

D13 October 10th, Yichang-Chaohu

D14 October 11th, Chaohu-Wuxi


Preparations:

It’s not the first time I’ve entered Tibet, so I don’t need any special preparations. Eating rhodiola two weeks in advance feels useful. Bring sleeping pills, Sanlitong, and VC Yinqiao Tablets. These are must-haves for going to high altitude areas. A good night's sleep can largely relieve altitude sickness. There is a large temperature difference between morning and evening in western Sichuan. A thin down jacket is very useful. It is short-sleeved at noon, and it is simple and light to add a down jacket in the morning and evening. In Tibetan areas, the weather forecast and driving time can only be used as a reference, and should not be taken seriously. It is normal for the sun to rain. Also, pay attention to sun protection and bring some snacks that can fill your stomach. You cannot guarantee three meals a day during the trip.


Departure on September 28


I booked the flight from Wuxi to Kunming because my friend Aji bought a house in Anning, Kunming, and they drove to clean up the house half a month ago. I originally booked a flight at 8:00 p.m. I flew from Wuxi to Kunming, and Yuyu Xiaomei flew from Shanghai to Kunming at 8:30 p.m. We arrived in Kunming at about the same time, and Aji just picked us up at the airport. As a result, I was notified the day before departure that the flight I booked was cancelled, and I departed at 3:30 p.m., so I studied the Kunming subway and the airport bus, and finally decided to pick me up first. After arriving in Kunming, I spent time near the airport and waited for the little girl. When we arrived, we picked up An Ning again.


When I arrived at Wuxi Airport, I redeemed a VIP room for free with a Ctrip super member. After drinking tea and swiping my phone, the time passed easily. During the epidemic, the flight routes were not so busy. The plane was on time and landed at Kunming Changshui Airport three hours later. After Aji picked me up, I went to a place called Huaqing Village near Jiyang to have dinner to pass the time. After dinner, I took a stroll in the village. It turns out that this village and several neighboring villages are engaged in airport business. Most of them are inns and restaurants, and there are several specialty shops. After the epidemic, it became much deserted. When we had nowhere to go, we went back to the restaurant where we had dinner to rest. The proprietress was very kind and gave us a handful of chestnuts. We peeled them, raw ones, and looked back at them happily peeling them around the small table. Just like we are eating melon seeds, talking and laughing, we pack up and disperse after eating. The chestnuts are wild on the mountain, crunchy, and taste like the sweet potatoes that I ate raw when I was a child, but it is a bit troublesome to peel, but what I taste is a kind of enthusiasm and friendliness.

After receiving Yuyu, drive to Anning. The expressway before the festival is dressed up and brightly lit. It is already early in the morning, and there are still many cars. It is normal to think that traffic jams are normal every day. The captain of Changshui will travel 60 kilometers to Anning. , if it goes smoothly, it will take an hour, and it will be more than two o'clock after the resettlement and going to bed.


Raw chestnuts given by the boss



September 29 Anning - Yiliang Jiuxiang - Maitreya


Take a two-day tour around Kunming. The plan is to go to Jiuxiang first, then to Shilin, then stay in Maitreya, visit the surrounding area of ​​Maitreya the next day, and then return.


Yiliang is 52 kilometers away from downtown Kunming. The main attractions are Jiuxiang Scenic Area and Yanquan Scenic Area. We went to Jiuxiang Scenic Area. Due to the epidemic situation, tickets for scenic spots in Yunnan are 50% off, and tickets for Jiuxiang Scenic Area are 30 yuan per person. We mainly walked through a karst cave. Jiuxiang Karst Cave is called "Karst Cave Museum". In fact, I am not very interested in karst caves. I can't remember the stones. Then there are various lighting decorations. The more distinctive ones are the underground Grand Canyon and rock terraces. , male and female waterfalls, underground stone forest... The most satisfying thing is that there are no tourists, and it is empty wherever you go, as if you have contracted the entire scenic spot. Just walk along the passage in the cave, you won’t get lost anyway, you can reach the Hall of Lions all the way, where the movie “Myth” was filmed. Out of the Lion Hall to see the sun again, I thought I was done walking, but I had to continue to the second cave, go all the way down, and finally climb up more than 300 steps to get out of the cave, and I have to walk more than 2 kilometers before I get to the exit of the scenic spot , I can’t walk anymore, I took the cableway, 30 yuan/person, the cableway spans the mountains, and I can see the entrance of the karst cave I just walked from a high place. Walking down the two karst caves is still a bit tiring, and I guess I won’t be able to walk again if I walk through the stone forest. Change the route, go directly to Maitreya, take a rest in the hot springs, and then go to the stone forest tomorrow.

Jiuxiang Guide Map


male and female double waterfall


At first I thought the green strip at the entrance of the cave was scaffolding, but it turned out to be a slide


Contract the entire scenic spot

terraced fields


The mountain peak seen from the cable car, but there is a universe inside.


It is nearly 100 kilometers from Jiuxiang to Maitreya. Mile City is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture. There are quite a lot of scenic spots in Mile City. We chose Keyi Town and Jinping Mountain Scenic Area.


The town of Keyi, in my opinion, is a demonstration point of the new socialist countryside, which mainly reflects some features of the Yi people. We just drove up and turned around. The town was very quiet, and we didn't see any tourists or local villagers. Small yellow buildings are built along the hillside, with lush flowers and plants. It can be seen that the planning is relatively good. There should be an inn that was open before, but now there are basically no tourists. It feels good to walk in it, clean and quiet.











Come down from Keyi Town to Jinping Mountain Scenic Area. Maitreya City is named after Buddha, and the largest Maitreya Buddha in the world is in Jinping Mountain. The mountain resembles Maitreya, the temple is Maitreya, the Buddha is Maitreya, and the city is Maitreya, which is also a major feature. There are 1999 steps all the way up from the foot of the mountain. We arrived late, and the car can drive directly to the top of the mountain. After seeing the Buddha, we can see Maitreya City from the highest point. The clouds and rain rest, the sky is slightly blue, and the air is fresh. Here is a peaceful city.













When you arrive in Maitreya, you must take a dip in the hot springs, book a hot spring hotel, soak in the pool after dinner, relieve the fatigue of the day, and prepare for tomorrow's stone forest.


September 30 Maitreya-Stone Forest-Anning


Stone Forest is a very mature scenic spot, which is usually crowded with people. This year is fine, but it is a bit crowded at the place where tourists must check in.

The half-price ticket for Stone Forest is 60 yuan/person, and the battery car is 30 yuan/person. Park the car in the parking lot, take the battery car to the visitor center to buy tickets, you need to register your ID card, and then take the battery car to the entrance of the scenic spot. Judging from the neatly parked rows of battery cars and the absence of queues, there are indeed not many tourists now.


This is the third time I have come to Stone Forest. The so-called rocks have no shift, it is still those stone forests, but now the scenic spots are getting bigger and bigger, and there are more and more roads to walk. The scene that you can see as soon as you enter the door, now I'm going to walk in slowly. The stone forest is like a maze. When you leave those tourist groups, you will feel like you are in nowhere in an instant. It is very easy to get lost. Getting lost has the advantage of getting lost, and it will give birth to many sudden joys. The feeling of heaven, earth and people, quietly observing a spider, the twists and turns When I first met, I choked on Master's jokes with smoke, and the call suddenly appeared behind me... Then I chattered all the way, went to check-in scenic spots, and went to remote caves to find real fun.


















watch a spider





Back in Anning, I took a stroll around the community, sat on the grass and waited for the sunset, played with drones, and relaxed.

After dinner, I am going to drive tomorrow. I plan to drive to Kangding in one day. After checking it, it takes about 14 hours and I decide to leave at 7:00 tomorrow morning.