I found myself with a free weekend before leaving China this week. I toyed with the idea of going to Tibet, but Tibet seems to demand more time than I had available. Instead, a friend of mine from Sichuan offered to show me her home province. We flew into Chengdu and then again to JiuZhaigou which is a stunningly beautiful mountain area (about 3500 meters above sea level). It was cold and the waterfalls were just starting to freeze. The photos show one of the gorgeous blue lakes (tinted with travertine), some of the ice on the trees and ice cycles forming as part of the soon-to-be-frozen waterfall.
I was surprised to learn that this area is largely populated by Tibetians who have lived around here for hundreds of years. There are many Tibetian villages in the area. They're a bit touristy now, but it was fascinating to me that the Tibetians reach so deep into China.
On the way back to the JiuZhaigou airport, we saw a herd of yaks along the road (see photo). We also left a bit early so that we could stop and see the Tibetian Mastiff's. We visited a kennel where they were selling the dogs for up to $12,000. They were gorgeous animals and mostly really friendly (see photo), although the conditions under which they were kept was terrible. I wanted to bring them all home!
Our flight from JiuZhaigou was delayed for two hours, but it was kind of fun anyway because a whole group of us sat in the airport tea house, played cards, and chatted (see photo). It was really fun seeing group after group of people playing cards and laughing. They even had mahjong rooms in the airport tea house where people could play mahjong while waiting (see photo). Sichuan has tons of tea houses and is known for their laid back culture and friendly people. I could get used to that! The food was also, of course, amazing!
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