Three Visits to Jiuzhaigou, So Many Surprises Outside the Scenic Area

I've previously stayed in Jiuzhai County and at the entrance of the scenic area. This time I chose the Jiuzhai InterContinental Hotel in Zhongchagou, just over 10 minutes' drive to the scenic area, and it offered the best experience of all three locations! (Great news for self-driving travelers: InterContinental has a huge parking lot) In Tibetan, Zhongchagou means "the place where the divine eagle landed." The hotel design follows the eagle legend theme, with eagle elements at the elevator entrance, lobby, and even room doorways. Zhongchagou is very peaceful, separated from Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area by just one mountain. It's clean yet not commercialized, perfect for a relaxing vacation. The room details are quite touching, like the relief wall at the headboard featuring excerpts from the "Epic of King Gesar." The separate toilet and shower design is very thoughtful. There's a tea table and sofa area by the window, making it incredibly pleasant to enjoy tea while gazing at the snow-capped mountains. The room features prayer wheel decorations, Tibetan-patterned bedding, and even sea buckthorn juice in the minibar. I must specifically praise their stone pot chicken - the pot from Motuo is bigger than my face. The ingredients are incredibly generous. We thought it wouldn't be enough, but three of us were stuffed afterward. The next day we were still pondering how they made the chicken so flavorful without being tough, with such a rich broth. If you're tired of yak meat, try this for a pleasant surprise. For breakfast the next day, I had authentic tsampa (roasted barley flour) with yogurt that had a rich milky flavor, completely incomparable to supermarket varieties. The neighboring Tibetan-Qiang Museum with its over 500 antique items is quite impressive, especially the mandala made of colored fine sand. I heard it takes three days to make and then must be completely destroyed, representing the Tibetan Buddhist concept that "prosperity is but a dream." Don't miss the bonfire party at 7:30 PM, where Tibetan guys lead the dancing - more fun than sweating at the gym. The evening mountain breeze isn't gentle, and there's a big temperature difference between day and night, so remember to bring a jacket.