After a long week of midterms, a few friends and I set off for a week of terrifically underplanned backpacking adventures. We had not yet booked hostels or figured out any transportation, but with packed backpacks, the exhilaration of having finished midterms, and overconfidence in our Chinese abilities, we boarded a 9-hour overnight train for Lijiang.
We spent a couple days in Lijiang, visiting the Old Town, wandering around parks, and hiking up to scenic viewpoints. On the morning of our third day, we took a bus to the starting point of Tiger Leaping Gorge and began hiking. The two-day trek through Tiger Leaping Gorge was one of the most beautiful hikes I’ve ever done. The whole time, we could see beautiful jagged mountain peaks across the gorge. Though strenuous at times, we had the company of other hikers and one very loyal black dog who followed us for 7 hours. We spent the first night at a guesthouse, socializing with other backpackers and enjoying the view from China’s most beautiful squat toilet.
On our second day hiking Tiger Leaping Gorge, we swam under a waterfall, descended ladders and crossed suspension bridges to see the Middle Tiger Leaping Rock, and got lost on the way to our next guesthouse.
The next day, we decided to trek to the village of Haba on foot. Though warned by a guide that we’d probably get lost, we figured we could find the path without too much trouble, putting a great deal of trust in our Chinese abilities. So without a map, compass, or specific directions, we set out.
Accompanied by various dogs and mountain goats along the way, we hiked on unmarked trails for a few hours before finally accepting that we were in fact horrendously lost. We asked for directions in the small villages we passed, struggling to understand directions given in the local dialect of Chinese. We were pointed in opposite directions. A 70+ year old man herding cows took us on a sprint through the forest. We got “lunch” at a tiny convenience store where the owner used an abacus to determine prices. We climbed a landslide on our hands and feet. We followed trails with no clue where they were leading. After 9 or 10 hours of hiking, getting further and further into the forest, we were desperate. We ended up being led down the mountain to a main road by two old ladies picking plants. After being told it was 3-4 more hours to Haba by foot, we finally managed to hitchhike in a crowded van with three men and two goats, speeding along a cliffside highway to Haba, a small town nestled at the base of the towering Haba Snow Mountain.
We spent a day resting and wandering around Haba, then hitchhiked to Baishuitai after the daily bus broke down. In Baishuitai, we saw beautiful water terraces at sunset and sunrise and stayed at a tiny hostel that cost the equivalent of $1.25 USD per night. Finally, we took a series of extremely overcrowded buses back to Lijiang, where we relaxed for the afternoon before our morning train back to Kunming.
Overall, it was one of the craziest weeks of my life, full of beautiful mountain scenery, silly stories, and (as cheesy as it sounds) unforgettable memories. I’m so glad I was able to take advantage of the opportunity to travel in China, and I can’t wait to see what adventures my next break has in store.