Calcified Pools of Huanglong

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M and I headed to Huanglong the next morning via Chuanzhusi on bus. I was exhausted and slept the entire way.

We got to the little town of Chuanzhusi, 40 km from Huanglong park. We picked a hotel (Gold Dragon Hotel, Y300) and negotiated a ride to the park. M's Chinese is 10 times better than mine and he got to do all the talking and negotiating. 😊 We got a round trip ride there for Y150. Huanglong is at 4000+ meters elevation and I was concerned about the altitude. I got a headache while I was there, but overall was OK. The drive is really steep and winding... and it was snowy.

We arrived the park at nearly 12:00 pm, and took the cable car ride up. I preferred the cable car because there was no way I was going to hike up a mountain at 4300 meters. Lots of people had oxygen cans and tanks. I had Diamox. 😊

Huanglong is very unique. Terrace calcium pools are filled with multi-colored greens and blues. It wasn't as impressive as Jiuzhaigou, but it was beautiful. It is fascinating how these pools are formed though - it takes thousands of years for the calcium to harden and form. I loved the snow mountains and beautiful trees. It was quite cold, but very charming.

In Kunming now... slight change in my itinerary. I'm not sure where next. 😊

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Photos

Huanglong
These calcified pools take thousands and thousands of years to form.

Huanglong
"Love me, but please don't touch me." Signs like this all over. This one made my laugh. Remind you of someone?

Comments

[ellie]

hahaha....you should have asked if you could buy one of those signs for yourself.