37 Days Self-driving Tibet Travel Notes "One": From Xi'an to Yajiang

I have traveled twice in Xinjiang, once in southern Xinjiang and once in northern Xinjiang. The two trips lasted more than three months. It feels like Xinjiang has a rich and deep flavor. Tibet, on the other hand, makes me feel more aggressive and majestic. Although both Xinjiang and Tibet are vast and vast, Xinjiang's vastness reminds me of the majesty of the Han and Tang Dynasties; while Tibet makes me feel more of the strength and wildness of the vastness, which makes me feel irresistible to nature deep in my heart. of worship and awe.

We set off from Xi'an on the morning of August 26, 2020. My wife and I were traveling in a car. Since it was our first time to enter Tibet, we prepared a lot of things. I saw on the Internet that there are often traffic jams on National Highway 318, so I specially prepared a lot of stone dry biscuits. Thanks to my preparation, many problems were solved on the road behind.

On the first night, I rested in Guangyuan, Sichuan and stayed at Home Inn Guangyuan Nanhe Bus Station Guangzhou Road. The accommodation conditions and service attitude were very average. The weather was still hot, so in the evening we took a walk by the Nanhe River next to the hotel where we stayed. There were many people sitting on the steps beside the Nanhe River enjoying the shade. Guangyuan is a small city, so people seemed very leisurely.

I arrived in Ya'an the next day and stayed at the Home Inn Business Hotel Ya'an High Speed ??Railway Station. I think this store is one of the best Home Inn stores in all aspects.

Depart from Ya'an and enter Yaye Expressway. This is the second time we have walked on Yaye Expressway. The first time was in April 2018 when we went to Daocheng Yading. It was called Yakang Expressway at that time. The road ended when we reached Luding. We went down to Luding and then from Luding to Kangding. .

Driving on the Yaye Expressway, approaching Luding, I met the Luding Dadu River Bridge. The Luding Dadu River Bridge was completed in October 2018 and was completed and opened to traffic on December 31, 2018. It is a super-large-span steel truss suspension bridge built in high altitude, high seismic intensity zone, complex wind field and temperature field environment. The total bridge length is 1411 meters, the main span is 1100 meters, and the bridge deck is 239 meters from the water surface of Dadu River. It is It is known as the "No. 1 Bridge in Sichuan and Tibet". The Luding Dadu River Bridge is located on the Dadu River in Luding County, Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan. It is one of the key control projects of the "one bridge and one tunnel" along the entire Ya (An) Kang (Ding) Expressway. It is extremely difficult to build this bridge on the Western Sichuan Plateau with steep terrain and harsh natural conditions. Bridge builders adopted a large number of innovative designs, and many technical indicators were unprecedented. At the 36th International Bridge Conference held in Maryland, USA, the Sichuan Yakang Expressway Luding Dadu River Bridge won the "Gustav Linden" Gold Medal, which is known as the "Nobel Prize" in the bridge industry. It crosses the Sichuan-Tibet line, and each bridge pier appears to be shining brightly against the unique blue sky, white clouds and bright sunshine of the plateau. The bridge stands on the majestic Grand Canyon and has become a landmark building on the "Sichuan-Tibet Line". "Think far away, open roads when encountering mountains, build bridges when encountering water; never encounter mountains and seas, beautiful Sichuan scenery, see the river through bridges."

After driving not far, we entered the Erlangshan Tunnel of Yaye Expressway. Also known as the Xinerlangshan Tunnel, with a total length of 13.4 kilometers, it is a control project for the entire Yakang Expressway. It is also the fourth longest tunnel among domestic expressways under construction and open to traffic. It is known as the first tunnel in Sichuan and Tibet.

After the Erlangshan Extra Long Tunnel of Yakang Expressway is opened to traffic, it will only take 15 minutes to cross the majestic Erlangshan Mountain. The 13.4-kilometer-long Erlangshan Tunnel connects Ya'an and Kangding. In the middle of the tunnel, 80,000 LED lights light up the top of the tunnel. Patterns such as the five-star red flag, red leaves, blue sky and starry sky appear alternately, making people feel as if they have entered a time and space tunnel, providing instant relief. I felt tired from driving for a long time...

Originally, I planned to stay in Kangding on the third day, which is 2,580 meters above sea level. Departing from Ya'an in the morning, we took the Yaye Expressway and arrived in Kangding before 11 o'clock. We both decided to rush to the next stop, Yajiang County, to rest.

In Kangding County, I originally planned to take a rest, but the streets in Kangding County are relatively narrow and there are many large trucks parked along the 318 National Highway in the wide areas. I couldn't find a suitable parking area and drove directly out of Kangding.

Facing Zheduo Mountain, the first pass of Kangba. Zheduo Mountain Pass is 35 kilometers away from Kangding County. There is a viewing platform with an altitude of 4298 meters. National Highway 318 winds up the mountain. It has two lanes. One side is backed by the mountain and the other side is a cliff. The wind is very strong and there are many large cars passing by. I drive the vehicle very slowly. The wind is even stronger at the top of the mountain. Since we went through the mountains twice in Daocheng Yading the year before last, I did not park this time. I looked out from the car at the observation deck. The parking area was full of vehicles and there were many tourists at the observation deck. Up and down.

Drive all the way from Zheduo Mountain Observation Deck to the foot of the mountain. After about 10 kilometers of driving, you will reach the boundary of Xinduqiao. It turns out that when passing through Xindu Bridge, Shili Gallery Xindu Bridge was full of beautiful scenery, with small bridges, flowing water, grasslands, yak snow mountains, and picturesque scenery. Unfortunately, we passed by Xinduqiao this time and there was road construction going on. The road was very dusty, and we happened to encounter a big traffic jam at the Muya Holy Land Scenic Area. It is best not to go to this scenic spot, you know.

We were stuck in traffic for more than 2 hours at the Muya Holy Land Scenic Area. We sat in the car while eating, watching a group of people get off the cars in front of us and dance in the square until we were tired. , got into the car to rest, just at this time the motorcade was also moving slowly.

Starting from Xinduqiao, I had some lunch in the car due to the traffic jam. Then I climbed Gaoersi Mountain (4412 meters above sea level) and arrived at Yajiang County. It was already past 5 pm. Yajiang Zhang Silver Carp Business Hotel is located next to National Highway 318. Neither of us can eat spicy food, so we ordered a pickled fish and a vegetarian dish at the hotel. The portion was large and the taste was okay.

After dinner, the two of us had just left the hotel door when a brown puppy barked at us a few times, turned around and got into a Tibetan house next to it, and looked in from the outside. Jiazang's residential houses are very unique. There are many flowers and plants planted on the roadside at the entrance of the courtyard. There is a grape vine outside the gate, which bears many green grapes.

There is a self-driving camp hotel opposite the hotel, and the Gesang flowers are in particularly lush bloom.

The two of us went down to the river valley opposite the hotel. There is a steel bridge and a small vegetable garden grown by locals next to it. Yajiang is 2,640 meters above sea level. It is very comfortable to live here without worrying about altitude sickness.

This trip is basically in the plateau area. The early stage is mainly about adapting, so try to live in a low place.

Here, I will talk about a few more important things to note first, and I will describe more things to note in my travel notes later.

① Bring some dry biscuits and instant noodles that can be stored in the car, and bring enough hot water with you every time you travel. ② Try not to take a shower when you first enter the Tibetan area. If you take a shower, do not leave the hotel room with wet hair. ③Every time you encounter a gas station, if you are short of gas, you must fill it up, especially 95-proof gasoline. ④Be sure to wear UV protection glasses.