Shangri-la : Part 3 - Mugecuo Scenic Area

22 Oct 2012 : I slept fairly well. The chill was still bearable. I managed to open the windows and snapped a photo of the quiet morning in Kangding. It was 7am. The only activity that can be seen was customers stepping out from eateries. Hot steamed buns, and soupy noodles make good breakfast on a cold morning. For us, however, we munched on a few biscuits and drank coffee stirred with a toothbrush. We must always be innovative with what we have. Haha!

Electric mat that is a God-send. But sometimes, the heat gets unbearable at night, and I feel like my back is on fire, and so I have to switch it off. But it gets cold soon after. Dilemma.

My roommate and I walked around for a bit, as it was still early. In Kangding, we saw 2 army offices. That star symbol is for the army.

Opposite the 2nd army office, there was a large writing that in conclusion means - people and army are one.

At 8am, we started our ride, and was headed towards Mugecuo Scenic Area. It was about an hour drive from Kangding. This is a 4A tourist attraction, and the ticket was RMB100. After purchasing the tickets, we took the bus provided to bring us inside.

It was about a 30 minutes' drive to the top of the hill. The scenery was beautiful along the way, and with the traditional song played in the bus, the ride was just perfect.

This is where we got down. And the cold weather was painful. But still bearable. The temperature was 9 degrees. The view was gorgeous, and there were lots of professional photographers with their huge cameras and lenses snapping away. 

On the left is pine trees that are turning yellow.

I love the pine trees and its yellow leaves. I love how the yellow stood out so clearly in the background. I love how our attire contrasted without overshadowing the yellow leaves.

   

Then, we took a walk down the road to see more of the park. We gave ourselves 4 hours to spend in the park.

The gorgeous lake that you have been seeing is Mugecuo Lake. Mugecuo Lake is the largest lake in regions of 2000m above sea level in Sichuan Province.

And after walking for 30 minutes, we reached the walking trail in the park. The view, as we walked along, was breathtaking, and simply beautiful.

Look at this interesting camera. The photographer was trying to capture the movement of the waters. I could not see anything inside this camera.

There were Tibetan prayer flags and prayer wheels at the end of the route. It is not surprising, because Tibet is just next to Sichuan Province. So, Tibetan culture and its people can be seen in Sichuan Province.

We had a light meal at a hotspring area. Apparently Mugecuo Scenic Area has nearly 100 hot springs which have different curative effects. I did not try the hotspring. It cost RMB20 to enter inside. Each of us bought an egg to eat. It is half-boiled egg for RMB3. They call this egg, the Dou-wha egg which is a specialty in Mugecuo Scenic Area.

  

We walked to the bus stop that was near the hot spring area. There was a banner that welcomes the tourists to Mugecuo Scenic Area. It was just a 15-minute wait, and the bus came. We were going to stop at the Seven-Colour Sea. Very intriguing, right?

Walking quickly from the stop, my heart sank because I did not see any 7-colours! My friend told me this pales in comparison to the one in Jiuzhaiguo. I did not see the 7-colours, but I love the reflection. There was no sun either, and so, no 7 colours. Yes, the 7 colours is assisted by the sun.

Now, it was a walk back to the exit of this attraction, which took us 20 minutes.

See the long light green moss hanging from the branch? The staff said that those are lover's tears. Wow. Mugecuo means love song though. And Mugecuo Scenic Area as explained in a signboard is the origin of love songs.

When I said exit, it does not mean the entrance where we came in from, because we took the bus from the entrance. So, when I said exit, it meant the end of the walking trail. Most tourist attractions in China have a significant distance from the entrance to the main place. China is huge enough to spare enough space for that. At the end of the walking trail, we took the bus back to the main entrance.

When I took the bus at the initial journey, I was speechless by the amazing scenery along the route. Now, that I am back at the start of the journey, the scenery along the route pales in comparison to the scenery inside. 

 

Goodbye, Mugecuo Scenic Area. So surreal. So unique. So unbelievable.