The most considerate Yading guide

For the most detailed Daocheng Yading guide, please look here. Before writing the guide, let's clarify one question that many people are struggling with: whether to go to Yading or not. My answer is that as long as you can climb, you must go. I think the scenery of Yading is comparable to that of Kanas and Jiuzhaigou. 1. Itinerary arrangement: Short line on the first afternoon, stay in Yading Village, and long line on the second day. 2. Entering Yading, I set off from Shangri-La city center at 7 am, took the Xiangdao Highway, a 5-hour drive with good road conditions, and cars can pass. 3. Arrived at Yading Scenic Area around 12 pm, parked the car in the parking lot (parking fee is really expensive), took the elevator to the 4th floor, and came out to the square in front of the scenic area. Had a quick bite at the Burger King at the entrance of the scenic area (there were no other restaurants), then entered the scenic area and took the shuttle bus (sitting on the left side by the window offers better views). The shuttle bus will stop at a viewing platform on the way for 5 minutes, allowing everyone to admire the sacred mountains of Xiannairi and Shannuoduoji. 4. Short line itinerary: I stayed at the 'Tashi Kongshu' hotel in Yading Village, which is one of the best in terms of hardware and software in Yading Village. You can see the two sacred mountains from the hotel's viewing platform. I contacted the hotel in advance and added WeChat. Before getting on the shuttle bus, I took a photo of the license plate and sent it to the hotel, and they arranged for someone to pick up the luggage at the shuttle bus station (since I was only staying for one night, I only brought simple luggage, and most of it was left in the car). I handed the luggage to the hotel staff at the station to take to the hotel, and then continued by bus to the final stop 'Zhaguanbeng'. Personal equipment: winter jacket, a can of oxygen (bought in advance at a pharmacy in Shangri-La city, 20 yuan per can of pure oxygen, two cans were enough for a day and a half, if you have a strong reaction, prepare 3 cans). After getting off the bus, it takes about 30 minutes on foot to Chonggu Temple, and then about an hour on foot to 'Zhuomalacuo' Lake; after playing and taking photos by the lake, return the same way. The endpoint of the short line is the 'Xiannairi' viewing point. To conserve energy, I did not continue, as the view was already very clear by the lake. After returning to the 'Zhaguanbeng' parking lot, take the shuttle bus to 'Yading Village' (those who do not stay in the scenic area take the bus to the exit of the scenic area). I got back to the hotel in Yading Village around 6 pm, sat on the hotel's viewing platform to enjoy the scenery, and was lucky enough to see the rainbow of Shannuoduoji and a bit of the golden mountain lit by the sun. 5. Long line itinerary: Be sure to get to the Yading Village station before 7:20 am, travel light, wear a jacket, bring some water and food, take a can of oxygen (one can is generally enough), and it's best to bring a raincoat. Leave other luggage at the hotel front desk, and when you come down the mountain, the staff will help deliver it to the station. Take the shuttle bus to Zhaguanbeng, we took the earliest bus, which left at 7:24 am. After getting off, walk to the Chonggu Temple electric cart station (about 20 minutes), and buy a round-trip electric cart ticket from Chonggu Temple to Luorong Pasture (70 yuan). The earliest cart leaves at 8 am. This cart is a must-take because the distance is far and walking is not realistic. Next, I'll introduce the 'horse grabbing' strategy: After getting off, walk through about a hundred meters of wooden walkway to the horse station opposite the parking lot, and act quickly, because there are only 30 horses. I'm not wrong, it's 30 horses. Many guides say 120 horses, which comes from this (30 horses run four times a day, after taking the first 30 passengers to the destination, they return and then take the second batch, four times in total is 120 horses, with about an hour interval between each trip. If you don't get a horse in the first batch, you'll have to wait a long time.). If you didn't stay in Yading Village the night before, basically don't even think about getting a horse. Regarding whether to ride a horse, my personal suggestion is definitely to ride, otherwise, you won't have enough strength to climb the mountain later. Horse riding is now one-way only, 300 yuan per person, and the return trip can only be done on foot. Also, there's a very important point: horse riding tickets cannot be purchased on behalf of others, the person who will ride the horse must be present at the ticket point to buy the ticket. If a group all wants to ride horses, everyone must arrive at the horse station together, it's not feasible to have someone with good physical strength run ahead to buy tickets while others walk slowly. The end of the horse ride is the famous 'Vajra Challenge Line', where you can go to the restroom first. It's a 1.5 km one-way trip to the Five-Color Sea, with a rest room in the middle selling self-heating rice. It's recommended to take the left walkway to the Milk Sea first, then to the Five-Color Sea, and then descend from the Five-Color Sea, which is less strenuous. There are restrooms next to the Milk Sea. In May and June, you may sometimes meet villagers digging for caterpillar fungus along the way, and if you're interested, you can buy some from them, asking for 25 yuan per piece, I bargained down to 20. After descending, you need to walk back to Luorong Pasture to take the car, about 3 km one way, which means that if you ride a horse, the long line requires about 6 km of walking in total. 6. Exiting the scenic area: Take the electric cart from Luorong Pasture back to Chonggu Temple parking lot, then walk to the Zhaguanbeng bus stop (about 20 minutes). When taking the bus, be sure to read the signs clearly, and take the bus to the 'scenic area exit'. After boarding, contact the hotel in Yading Village to help deliver the luggage left at the front desk to the Yading Village shuttle bus station to wait, the guests don't need to get off, the hotel staff will help you load the luggage, and after loading the luggage, you will leave the scenic area all the way. I stayed in Shangri-La town the next day, with lower altitude and better cost performance. In addition, the weather forecast for Daocheng Yading is of no reference value. It is said that drones are not allowed in the scenic area, but I saw tourists flying them, and no one cared.