Gansu-Qinghai-Ningxia Road Trip (26): Internet-famous Road - Jiuhong Grassland Scenic Road

Traveling Together Season 16 - Gansu-Qinghai-Ningxia Road Trip (26) Internet-famous Road - Jiuhong Grassland Scenic Road Aba, Sichuan September 20, 2023 Overcast with rain turning to cloudy, 7–16°C, maximum altitude of 3,700 m. Last night, we stayed in Aba County, Aba Prefecture, a small city in northern Sichuan that seems to have been upgraded from a township, with a strong Tibetan style. There are no traffic lights or police at intersections, and traffic is controlled by a city-wide speed limit of 40 km/h and cameras at intersections, but it is orderly. Today, we are heading from Aba County to Songpan County. Travelers familiar with this area will know our destination for tomorrow. The journey is over 320 km, all on national and provincial highways, with smooth roads and many curves. Of this, 220 km is on the "Jiuhong Grassland Scenic Road" (Jiuhuang Airport - Hongyuan Airport), crossing the southern end of the Ruoergai Grassland. The scenic road mainly passes through Hongyuan County, which was part of the Red Army's Long March route (Figure 1). The local government is considerate and has set up many viewing platforms along the way, with standard parking lots and restrooms, making it convenient for tourists to enjoy the scenery, take photos, and rest. This is a road through highland mountains and pastures at an altitude of over 3,000 m. There are open views on both sides of the road, vast grasslands, herds of yaks (Figure 2), grassland wetlands, and winding rivers stretching into the distance (Figures 3–4). When we arrived at Moon Bay Scenic Area (4A), it started to rain. We had lunch nearby, observed the weather, and acted accordingly. After learning about the scenic area online, we decided not to enter. As soon as the rain stopped, we took off at a suitable location nearby and took photos of the scenic area's iconic view - the viewing tower and wetland river (Figure 5). Waqie Pagoda Forest, meaning "big tent" in Tibetan, is a place to commemorate the 10th Panchen Lama's chanting and blessing (Figures 6–7). The pagoda forest is surrounded by a vast area of prayer flags, which is rare in Tibetan areas and very spectacular (Figure 8). To our surprise, on the other side of the pagoda forest, a large area of red-tiled, white-walled farmhouses is evenly distributed among the fields, resembling the water towns of Jiangnan (Figure 9). In the evening, we arrived at Chuanzhusi Town, Songpan County, and checked in. Tomorrow, we will go to Huanglong, weather permitting.