Hailuogou Scenic Resort, Sichuan, China

4Nymerria 5:00 PM Feb 17, 2016

Beautiful, but not hiking friendly
I wanted to hike up and move around on foot so I allowed 2 days for the park, intending to stay in one of the higher camps for the night. Just to say, I DID my research on the internet. However, information that is accessible to people who don't speak Chinese, is very limited. And so I found out all the important information on the day, on the spot. You are not allowed to walk into the park, you HAVE TO take the sightseeing bus (being the price of the bus separated from the price of the ticket, I believed it was optional). I still did some walking around, even though possibly the only opened walking path was the one to the glacier. You walk on wooden pathways with steps, which is very annoying. There are two other walking paths from Camp 3, which were actually closed to public (in winter season), but since there were no signs saying closed in Camp 3, I believed they were open at the time. I suppose they didn't expect people to walk to Camp 3 when the bus didn't stop there. That way I walked them anyway and then got on the bus before Camp 2 to come down. The driver seemed to be very unhappy and was shouting something in Chinese. When he understood there is no use since I don't speak Chinese, he let me on the bus. I didn't take the cableway due to it being very expensive and the trip costed me around ¥500 already anyway- it's very pricey. Summary (for WINTER SEASON, if you DON'T take the cableway): -you have to take the bus -you are not allowed to walk around with the exception of the walkway to the glacier -all campsites except for Camp 1 and 2 are closed -one day is enough (I believe it's still enough even if you take the cableway) -make sure the weather is going to be good The site is very beautiful, however, the way it's run and maintained is designed for needs of typical sedimentary Chinese tourist, not hiking enthusiasts!

4duckieft 5:00 PM Feb 23, 2015

too beautiful
went 1 day before Chinese new year and wasn't too crowded. we were very lucky that day as there wasn't too much cloud. sky was so clear that the mountains are visible and very worthy for photo taking. we hike from the mountain where the bus could no longer go up, which took us about 3 hours till the cable car station. the cable car went slowly so we enjoyed the 10 mins of beautiful scenery. once arrived, we walked slowly to the start of the mountain and hike downwards. there were snow/ice everywhere, so hiking was tough. there were no railings while you hiked down so really have to be extra careful. we slipped a lot of times, holding to the rocks are the other side to prevent from falling off the cliff. however, there are assistance provided if you choose not to hike. there were men asking if you need the sedan, they will carried you down and up again. but be cautious, those were not cheap and they tend to change the price once you are on their sedan. in addition, it is actually even more dangerous to take their sedan than hike the mountain yourself. have to walk slower than usual because of how high we were at, there were times we felt very heavy in our heart and breathing was 3 times faster. overall, it was a good experience. If you like hiking or a challenge, this is for you. hotel wise, don't expect much. the stars rating are fake.