DAY 6 – DESCEND FROM FIVE COLOUR POND (五彩池), Huanglong (黃龍), China

After the Five Colour Pond, we stopped by a colourful Buddhist temple known as Huanglong Ancient Temple (黃龍古寺). Outside the temple, we sat down on a bench and took out the sandwiches brought with us from our guesthouse. It was chilly and we quickly finished our lunch and began our walk downhill. From about 3600m above sea level at the temple, we followed the designated path and descend to other major sights of Huanglong. The Five Colour Pond was only the first of many travertine pools in Huanglong. Next came a series of clusters of turquoise pools including Flamboyant Pond (爭豔池), Azalea Pond (娑蘿映彩池), Mirror Pond (明鏡倒映池), Bonsai Pond (盆景池), etc. Gentle waterfalls over white calcified terrain and the dense evergreen forests created a picture of visual contrast, while occasional yellow foliage stood out as brushes of vivid highlights. Our descend to the park entrance took a little over two hours. We made it just on time, about five minutes before 2pm when our taxi driver would come pick us up for the airport.

Unlike Jiuzhaigou where our experience relied heavily on shuttle buses, Huanglong was primarily a hiking experience. Visiting Huanglong was a pleasant hike of meandering through the surreal calcite terrains at high altitude. Huanglong was less crowded and in a way less touristy. The three days at Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong were physical demanding, but were also highly rewarding.

Huanglong Ancient Temple (黃龍古寺), where we took a lunch break at its forecourt.

Elevated boardwalks provide most of the park trails.

Huanglong Middle Temple (黃龍中寺), another old temple that we passed by during our descend.

Most visitors, including us, ascend to the Five Colour Pond by cable car, then walk down to visit the various sights on our way to the main park entrance.