Capital of the White Wolf state

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The 9 hour bus trip to Xiangcheng was a trial, with the first 7 and a bit hours being on an unsurfaced road that was bumpy as hell. One bonus was that there was a driver-enforced smoking ban. Our chosen guesthouse had no laundry facilities (and it subsequently turned out that was the case for the entire town) so I had to resurrect long-unused handwashing skills. The guesthouse was also something of a fly trap, so I had some fun with a flip-flop before realising it was a losing battle.

Since the RG language section is only 15 pages in a 1,200+ page book, we decided to get the section photocopied so we could carry it around more easily in the phrasebook. We found a photocopying shop and indicated what we wanted doing, which the guy duly did. We then asked the cost, but he said it was free. In other words, we'd simply wandered into a random office ...

The only real attraction in Xiangcheng is the Chaktreng Gompa monastery, replete with colourful carvings and murals. We visited at prayer time, and the chanting and tinkling of bells created an appropriate atmosphere as we wandered among the butter lamps and marvelled at the large Buddhas. From the hill on which the monastery sits we could see that the valley was sprinkled with Tibetan houses.

There weren't many Westerners in Xiangcheng, with most people only overnighting here to break up the journey to/from Litang, so we received a lot of interest from the locals which took the form of plentiful "Hello"s and guys wanting to have their picture taken with LA Woman.

In what was to be a recurring theme in Sichuan, we noticed many people crouching on the pavements in front of what looked like collections of shrivelled yellow chilli peppers. These turned out to be winter worms, or Cordyceps Sinensis to give them their scientific name, which are apparently some sort of moth larvae once it has been consumed by a parasitic fungus. They're expensive, and apparently help with many bodily complaints. Not surprisingly, they also supposedly improve the performance of one's sex organs.

Dull but possibly useful info
Getting there: Take a bus from Zhongdian to Xiangcheng - there's only one, at 7AM, costing 69 yuan and taking about 9 hours. You would be advised to buy the ticket as far in advance as possible (we got ours the previous day).
Stayed at: Coffee Tea Hotel. Cost 40 yuan for a double. Stuffy and a bit of a fly trap but the shared facilities were clean (unlike those at Tibetan Bamu Guesthouse, the travellers' favourite). Would stay here again.

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Photos

Mandala
At Chaktreng Gompa monastery

Restaurant in Xiangcheng
Great hook, shame about the non-existent service

Eyes left
Teenage girl in tight jeans just out of shot

View through front entrance
At Chaktreng Gompa monastery