One-day tour of Huanglong Scenic Area in Sichuan

At 6:30 on September 16, 18 of us set off from Chengdu and arrived at Huanglong Scenic Area after 7 hours. The tour plan of the scenic area is to go to the highest point of the scenic area first, and then walk down from the top. Therefore, we need to take the cable car to the most beautiful spot in the scenic area, the Five-Color Pond. There are many tourists taking the cable car, and the queue for the cable car is about 300 meters long, but the order is well organized, and the speed of the cable car is very fast, faster than the cable cars we have taken elsewhere, but the riding experience is still good. At the end of the cable car, there is still 2.6 kilometers away from the Five-Color Pond. You can take the scenic spot sightseeing car or walk there. We certainly hope to take the car, but the guide introduced that there is a quota limit for the sightseeing car every day, and the quota for the day has been sold out, so we can only walk there. The road along the way is very good, all wooden plank roads. But the whole way is a gradual ascent. The altitude of Chengdu is about 500 meters. When we arrived at the entrance of the scenic area, it was already about 3000 meters. After taking the cable car and walking to the Five-Color Pond, the altitude will reach about 3600 meters. In fact, when we arrived at the entrance of the scenic area, some of us had altitude sickness. During the climbing process, more people had altitude sickness. Fortunately, the climbing process was slow and not continuous ascent. There were medical stations set up along the way. Those with severe altitude sickness could go in for treatment. Those with general altitude sickness could buy oxygen tanks (20 yuan/tank) for oxygen. Half of us bought oxygen tanks, and the altitude sickness improved significantly after oxygen. Most people continued to climb, but some people stopped halfway. We took the cable car to the Five-Color Pond at 2 o'clock and it took about 2 hours. Although we were tired all the way, we were immediately refreshed when we saw the beautiful scenery of the Five-Color Pond. From then on, the beautiful scenery such as the Striving for Beauty Pool, Saro Reflecting Color Pool, Mirror Reflection Pool, Bonsai Pool, Welcoming Guest Pool, Lotus Platform Waterfall, Waterfall Flowing Light, Gold Sand Paving the Ground, etc., were all in sight, and we all forgot about the time, kept taking pictures, and unknowingly played for 4.5 hours. When we returned to the entrance of the scenic area, it was already 6:30. Huanglong is worthy of the reputation of 'Fairyland on Earth'! In addition to being mentally prepared for altitude sickness when visiting Huanglong, you should also be fully prepared for the temperature changes in the scenic area. When we started climbing, the sky was clear, and we could wear a sun protection suit or even a short-sleeved shirt. But in the afternoon, the sun was blocked by clouds, and the temperature seemed to drop suddenly. Fortunately, we brought a thicker long-sleeved shirt to barely keep warm!