Hiking into Yubeng/雨崩

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We got up early the next morning to watch the rising sun fall on Meilixueshan's various peaks, but we were clouded out. The three of us joined to other hikers in Feilaisi, an accountant from Hangzhou and a graphic designer from Beijing (with a wicked Beijing accent), and together we took a minivan to the hot springs near Xidang to start our hike. The van was 200 kuai total or 40/person. On our way in, we had to buy 80 kuai (40 student) entrance tickets. To get to the village of Yubeng, we started at 9,000 feet, hiked to a mountain pass (yakou) at 12,000 feet, and then descended to the village valley at 11,000 feet. From the beginning, I was breathing quite heavily and I was always grateful when we took a break to let the slowest members of our group catch up. Many trains of donkeys passed us as we climbed. With no roads, they are the only way of transporting goods to and from the village. Meilixueshan is a holy Buddhist mountain, so many colorful Tibetan prayer flags lined the path. Better trail markers than some paint on a rock, I say!

Soon we were inside the clouds that had blocked our view earlier and tiny perfect dry snowflakes fell sparsely around us. As we climbed, the ground grew snowier and snowier, but the trail was always pretty decent and not too slippery. On our way up, we stopped at various shelters slash trash dumps which during busier tourist seasons are tea houses and small shops. The "leave no trace" concept has not yet reached mainland China. At one of the shelters we started a fire and Si Tu melted some snow and provided us with hot sweet milky coffee, basically the best thing ever! One man hiking on the same path as us had hired a local guide who cut up fruit with his huge scary Tibetan knife and shared it will all of us . The guide was also really good at starting fires.

We reached Ya Kou in only a few hours and besides the heavy breathing, it wasn't so bad. After that, it was a smooth descent to the village. On our way in, we had to pay a 5 kuai something fee. We then headed to the "Hikker's Inn" or "徒步者之家/tubu zhezhi jia," which sits just under the Upper Yubeng Village. Soon thereafter, some others we had met in Feilaisi came and together we stuffed ourselves with tons of food. Some of our friends had ridden donkeys in, so there is that option, though people don't necessarily follow you like in Tiger Leaping Gorge, so I recommend a bit of prior planning.

The family who runs the guesthouse consists of one wife, two husbands (that is the custom in the village), and three kids. One of the husbands, Anazhu seems to be the main boss and it seems that he is politically important, as he has been to New York to attend a conference at the U.N. and also there are pictures of him at a Chinese government meeting on environmentally sustainable villages. Two of the kids attend elementary school in the village and the oldest attends a boarding middle school in Deqin.

After dinner, we huddled around the woodstove, drank Yak butter tea, and roasted yak blood sausages over the fire. One woman from Beijing treated me to stay with her in a more expensive and electric blanket-equipped room. I had originally pictured trekking by myself tot he middle of nowhere to find some closed guesthouses buried in snow. However, Yubeng turned out to be quite a well-established (and increasingly-popular) tourist destination at all times of the year.

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Photos

Colorful Shelter Walls
They are made out of discarded instant noodle bowls!!

The View
Rather blocked by clouds.

Mao
On the wall of the guesthouse.

Donkeys
Blocking my way to the bathroom!

Yak Blood Sausage
Not bad.